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Newbie with incomplete Tennyson kit needs advice!


Carolyn C.

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Hi everyone! I'm new here, and I'm on a mission. I discovered a vintage dollhouse kit - the Tennyson by Artply - in my parents' attic, but when I opened the box, I discovered that two of the parts sheets were missing (#s 4 and 11, if you check out my photo). Obviously, this kit has been discontinued and I have no way of ordering replacement parts, but it would make me sad to just scrap the rest of the kit. So I'm appealing to all you experts - what should I do? Is there a way to re-create what I'm missing, or somehow work around it? I haven't made a dollhouse since high school, and I don't have a lot of confidence in my ability to create something out of nothing...but I'd love any suggestions you might have! Thanks!

2018-07-24 17.28.14(1).jpg

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Greenleaf makes the Tennyson:  https://shop.greenleafdollhouses.com/search.php?search_query=the%20tennyson&section=product and you can contact them to see about obtaining your missing plywood sheets:

Contact:

  GREENLEAF DOLLHOUSES
  436 LAKE ROAD
  SCHENEVUS, NY 12155
  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
  Phone: (800) 253-7150
  Fax: (607) 638-9076
  email: customerservice@greenleafdollhouses.com

 
 
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Great suggestion, thank you!

Update: Just got a reply from customer service. Unfortunately "that dollhouse is laser cut now (a different manufacturing process) and the parts are incompatible with [my] kit."

So - back to square one. Any other suggestions are much appreciated!

Edited by Carolyn C.
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You could recreate the pieces out of 1/8" plywood or even mat board. The wall piece on #4 should be basically the same as the wall piece that meets it at a right angle, but with the door and window holes cut out. Maybe replace the window and door with after market components so you don't have to make all those small cuts.

If the "inner roof" is one side of the smaller roof, then it should be exactly the same as the opposite side (which I'm guessing is called the "outer roof").

The rest looks like trim, which should be easy to replicate with strip wood or commercially available trims. Here's a nice Tennyson that has had all the windows and doors and trim replaced: https://robincarey.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-gothic-victorian-dollhouse.html

 

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Thanks for the advice! That example house you included is spectacular. I studied the diagrams again after reading what you said and I think you're right, using the other pieces as a guide I just might be able to figure it out. Definitely like the idea of buying pre-made doors and trim. Time to be brave and customize!

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Is there a photo on the box or the instructions sheet showing what your completed Tennyson is supposed to look like? If so, would you please post a photo of it so I can see if it is the same as a die-cut ArtPly dollhouse that I constructed in the late 1980s. Although mine seems to be a Tennyson, the kit from which it was built apparently predates that name. That is, I still have the instructions sheet for mine and they entitled just "Dollhouse."

If your dollhouse is the same as mine, I might be able to help you. I am in the process of refurbishing mine, so I am partially dismantling it. If I can get to the pieces on my house that are missing from yours, I might be able to trace mine on paper and send those to you by postal mail.

Edited by GailGW
added a word
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You are a gem!! Your dollhouse looks just like what mine will be when it grows up. If you really were able to trace out some pieces for me, that would be amazing. I'll attach a picture below. The yellow arrows show which big pieces I'm missing (upper and lower front pieces, and a medium-sized bit of the inner roof).

Inked2018-07-26 10.50.51_LI.jpeg

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The two houses sure looks similar to me too, Carolyn C.  :)

1.  Are you missing all of sheet #4 and #11, or just the parts indicated with arrows on your photograph?

2.  I think I can get at those parts of my dollhouse to trace them.  Even if there is some variation between our kits, I would think that the analogous parts would be similar enough that you could use my tracings to fabricate parts that fit your house. I'm thinking that you could (1) use my tracings to make the parts out of cardboard; (2) use those to get the fit you need; (3) cut the parts out of wood.

3.  Assuming I can make the full-size tracings on paper that we are discussing, I will need your last name and postal address to mail them to you. I don't know this community's rules and procedures for members exchanging information privately. While I'm busy tracing dollhouse parts, howzabout you find that out from the Administrators.

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Or you can find out from one of the members who use our internal messaging system.  Hover your cursor over Gail's username at the top left of her post and you will get a box with labeled icons across the bottom; the first is an envelope labeled "Message" and if you click on that you will get a message box in which you can post your name and snail mail addy for Gail.  Then she can reply to your PM when she puts those items into the mail for you, and you can PM her again when you receive them.

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On 7/25/2018, 9:13:36, fov said:

You could recreate the pieces out of 1/8" plywood or even mat board. The wall piece on #4 should be basically the same as the wall piece that meets it at a right angle, but with the door and window holes cut out. Maybe replace the window and door with after market components so you don't have to make all those small cuts.

If the "inner roof" is one side of the smaller roof, then it should be exactly the same as the opposite side (which I'm guessing is called the "outer roof").

The rest looks like trim, which should be easy to replicate with strip wood or commercially available trims. Here's a nice Tennyson that has had all the windows and doors and trim replaced: https://robincarey.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-gothic-victorian-dollhouse.html

 

I have made the same house, although mine was made in China and had no name. Measurements are roughly the same as the Greenleaf Tennyson. I have just read that someone is going to trace these parts for you. Mine was in a similar box but mine was green and very basic instructions on back of box.... I think it was only sketches and numbers, this was my intro to dollshouses I didn`t know anything about them untill then. Hope you get to finish your house  and as you can see from the photos you can make it as fancy as you like, Robyn`s is beautiful, don`t you think

 

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  • 4 months later...
On 7/24/2018, 2:47:12, Carolyn C. said:

 

Carolyn, did you figure out how to recreate the pieces you needed?

I recently picked up this kit at the ReStore, but it's missing the instructions. I requested the directions from Greenleaf, but like you I found that the new laser cut version is similar but not the same. I'm determined to figure it out with or without directions.

Are you able to post any more images of the directions to the old ArtPly version? If I can get ahold of them, I'll find a way to clean them up and digitize them to make available here for everyone that needs them.

 

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with your missing bits... Measurements, tracings or photos of parts.

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Minime, thank you for sending the PDF instructions. 

Unfortunately I'm looking for directions to a much older kit. The image at the very top of this post shows the ones I need, so I was hoping the original poster could snap more photos of these old instructions that match my kit.

 

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  • 1 year later...

Lea, honey, NEVER EVER put personal contact information in a post!!!  This is a public forum that anybody can read, including spammers and hackers.  I have requested that a moderator remove your email address; if you had read ALL of the posts you would see to use the Personal Message feature to exchange personal contact information.

Edited by havanaholly
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  • 8 months later...

hello everyone my name is Michael I just recently got theTennyson dollhouse and the instructions are missing is there any way anybody could email me the PDF file the instructions I would be really greatly appreciative 😊

Edited by fov
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Michael, PLEASE click on those three little dots at the top right corner of your post, click on "edit" and remove your personal email address before spammers and webbots and other internet nasties inundate you.  This forum employs a personal messaging system which members can use to contact you by hovering their cursor over your username or avatar.

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On 5/29/2021 at 10:48 PM, MichaelMinatures said:

hello everyone my name is Michael I just recently got theTennyson dollhouse and the instructions are missing is there any way anybody could email me the PDF file the instructions I would be really greatly appreciative 😊

Hi Michael, I just sent you a PM with the instructions :-)

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  • 1 year later...

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