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San Franciscan 550 -- Here I Go


MaryKate

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I thought I'd start a new thread about this house as it hasn't had a lot of general discussion lately.

Sometime last year, I saw a still-in-box San Franciscan, the 550 model, at a thrift store for $60. At first, I wasn't sure I wanted it--Victorian is not really my thing--but the price was so good, and the more I looked at it, and at the tower, the more I thought: "PRINCESS HOUSE." My niece, who's about to turn 4, likes her princesses (I mean, she likes them feisty and sassy, but she does like them), and she especially likes Rapunzel from Tangled, and, well, house with a tower. So I bought the kit and she and I talked about it: we're going to have a kitchen for Tiana, a library for Belle and Sophia, a bed with 20 mattresses for the Princess and the Pea, and of course a tower for Rapunzel, among other things. 

I didn't start it right away because I'm still moving in to my new house and getting things organized, but this week is her birthday, and I've made some progress in setting up my crafting spaces, so tonight, despite being tired, I decided it was time. I'd just go through and organize and label the parts...and of course now the first foundation pieces are sitting under books, getting glued together. ;) 

One thing that surprised me was how many extras there were of the smaller pieces. There was one set of pieces for windows that was supposed to have 33 or so, and instead had 52! That was probably the biggest example, but there were extras of a number of pieces. Has anyone else run into this? There's one part I don't think I have--the smaller tower support--and one of the gables looks like the wrong shape, but those things will either resolve themselves when I get to those steps, or I can make alterations or new pieces from wood or foamcore/matboard. 

It always amazes me how much easier it is to understand directions once I've been through the parts on that detailed level. The first few times I read them, I thought it would be impossibly tricky to figure out the process (I have a Heritage started, so I do know a bit about how Duracraft houses are put together), but after sorting and labeling it all reads as crystal clear, and I thought I might as well get started. My niece is going to be thrilled! 

My goals with this house: actually finish the darn thing (having a 3/4 year old waiting impatiently to play with it will help with that); keep it simple but pretty (so, no to the strip flooring, and there's no way I'm punching out those splintery strips they use to make the foundation lattice--I can do fake stone or something more fanciful); and make it as sturdy and playable as possible (so I'm going to try to make the roof of the tower removable, and customize the doors so they open and close on pin hinges if at all possible. If there's one thing my niece is adamant about, it's that dollhouse doors should open and close! Luckily she's not as picky about the windows, so I don't have to make them open (or even let her know that's an option). I do plan to make some "stained glass" panels for some of the windows, though. I'm still debating about whether or not I'll put banisters and railings on the stairs. That may just be asking for trouble, and having them open would make it easier for her to reach in and move her dolls up and down the stairs. 

She's asked for a purple exterior, and I'm looking at two shades, light and dark, along with cream trim for the windows and posts. I'll let her pick out scrapbook paper or paint colors for the interior walls, and she's excited to make the furniture and to play with it. I found a kit on Amazon for making miniature books--a lot of fairy tales and children's books. They're somewhat oversized, but she won't care, especially since the books have text and pictures.

I'll go through past posts and the galleries to see what I can learn, but if anyone who's built this one wants to chime in with tips and tricks, I'm happy to learn!

 

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A steel carpenter's square sure helps to assemble those wall pieces, and don't poo-poo all those "extra" window bits.  I wish I'd had you with me when I built the SF555!  You will want to give the interior walls a coat or so of spackle or joint compound to get rid of the joints, but you already know that.

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Thanks, Holly--the carpenter's square is on my list for the hardware store when I go to get paint (I have one, somewhere, but at this point it's easier to buy a new one than to go through every possible box where it might be). 

I'm mighty grateful for those extras, because I know I'll mess up more than once. And yes, sparkle to make the walls smoother surfaces for our decorating adventures. ;)

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Sounds like a fun adventure! 

I made a San Fran for a friend years ago, and she recently gifted it back to my daughter since her girls were now teenagers.  Someday my granddaughter can play with it! (she is only two, but she likes playing with the people and putting them in bed.  LOL)

I do agree about leaving the stairs open for a play house for young ones! And doors on a good, sturdy pin hinge is a must!   :)  Even adults like doors that open and close!  

Have fun!!

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Always nice to hear another San Fran is in the works!  Mine came from behind Goodwill next to the dumpster about a decade ago~   In bad shape, no windows, no box no parts.   It was my 1st project, and took about 5 years,  finally.... it resides in a place of honor in my Conservatory.  

IMG_7348.jpg

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20 hours ago, jbnmini said:

I do agree about leaving the stairs open for a play house for young ones! And doors on a good, sturdy pin hinge is a must!   :)  Even adults like doors that open and close!  

Have fun!!

That's good to know. I debated whether I was depriving her of a real-looking house by taking out the railings (because honestly, they are so much work and probably the first things to break), so I appreciate your confirmation. ;) Thanks!

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I will be interested in seeing your progress,  since I am currently building a San Franciscan #555. This one is for my older sister and I have another one in the box for my 8-year-old granddaughter. So will you start an album so I can maybe "borrow" some ideas? I intend to start an album for mine soon.

John

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Hi John--yes, I do plan to start an album. Right now I have the wall panels and the foundation glued together, nothing too spectacular. 

One thing I noticed when "building" the wall panels, which was a reminder from waaaaay back when I started the Heritage: it is really, really, surprisingly easy to turn one of those panels upside down as you're gluing them together. I nearly did it once about halfway through and I started triple checking.

To make the panels straight as I glued, I lined them up against/within a T-square. And re-lined them up over and over again. I held them together with my hands for 30-60 seconds as I added each one, then, when a panel was finished, I used masking tape, hooking one end to the bottom of the panel and drawing the line of tape up over the top of the panel, keeping it tight to hold the pieces together. Then I sandwiched them between pieces of wax paper and put books on top to keep the tight taping from "curling" the panels. I let those dry anywhere from 1-3 hours, then stood them up against a wall as directed to let them finish drying for 24 hours. 

Next is a lot of painting and sanding and painting. I'm going to paint the wall panels purple on the outside and white or cream on the inside (to prep for the 4yo's decorating plans), paint the base--I'm not sure what color but I'm thinking of putting some kind of stickers or decals around it instead of the lattice--flowers or fairy wands or butterflies or something my niece will like. I also need to paint the window pieces and the channels for the wall panels before I assemble. So there's my next few (dozen??) days off sorted. *g*

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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay, I started an album for this build; had to work around the vagaries of the interface here and managed to upload the picture of my niece twice...can't seem to delete the extra one. I'll keep working on it. 

Anyway, all that's in there now are some pictures of the books I'm making for the library and the papers and do-dads I got yesterday for interior decoration. I thought I'd snapped some pictures of the foundation and walls but I can't find them yet, so I'll do that when I'm able to start painting. That'll have to wait until I get my basement guest room, and laundry/craft space organized, which I've been working on all week. I'm so tempted to start painting right here on the coffee table, but I am *not* getting paint on my brand new couch. Hence, working on the books instead. 

Soon, though. My niece is so ready to play with this house. 

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  • 8 months later...

I have continued to work on this, bit by bit (got most of my house reorganized during quarantine and have all kinds of spaces for crafting ). But I'm running into a question. The wall of the large gable, the one with the hexagonal window, is far bigger and a different shape on one side than what's in the directions, where there's a line drawing with a couple measurements. I was about to go through with just doing it as it was and seeing if I needed to alter it once I started putting the walls up. (I mean, if you've built this kit, the 550 in particular, you might know that a complete dry fit at the outset is next to impossible, so I have to figure it out as I build.) But I'm at the point where I need to at least paint it

I don't have a schematic layout of the wood sheets in the kit, so I can't tell if this is actually 2 parts that were next to each other but didn't get the die cut "lines" pressed into them, but that's my suspicion--even though I went through at one point and labeled the parts and didn't notice anything missing. Looking through some of the older threads here I came across one with a photo of someone working with the same part and it looked like the drawing in the instructions, rather than the part I punched out of the sheet. So I think I'll go ahead and cut it down...unless anyone here has run into the same problem and has insight that might help? 

I'll give it a little time--I'm still working on building and finishing the interior of the tower and the bay, so I can keep busy for a day or so before I have to decide. But I don't have a whole lot more time than that. There is a 4yo who has been denied the end of her 4K year in school and all her friends, and I'm trying to make it up to her at least a little by pushing this project to the front of my queue. Last week she and her brother helped me paint the base green and glue flowers onto it. We've planned which character gets which room (though they will all visit each other and share, of course, because even the sassiest princesses are good at sharing). I'm trying to find as many little projects for her to help with as I can, but I don't think she will have much useful advice about this weirdo misshapen part! ;)

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Unfortunately, no. There is a 5 page parts list with diagrams, dimensions, and cross sections, which is wonderfully helpful, but nothing showing the full sheets of die-cut parts. The box had never been opened when I bought it two years ago, so I don't think it went missing, either. 

And if I cut the gable piece down to size the little window will be in the wrong spot, so now I'm thinking I may have to glue it back in and cut. Maybe once the rest of the walls are up so I can make sure it fits.

 

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1 hour ago, MaryKate said:

Unfortunately, no. There is a 5 page parts list with diagrams, dimensions, and cross sections, which is wonderfully helpful, but nothing showing the full sheets of die-cut parts. The box had never been opened when I bought it two years ago, so I don't think it went missing, either. 

And if I cut the gable piece down to size the little window will be in the wrong spot, so now I'm thinking I may have to glue it back in and cut. Maybe once the rest of the walls are up so I can make sure it fits.

 

on page 19 of the instructions if you have them is the layout of the Main Gable front and it is a strange shape but somehow magically comes out when you put the pieces together ....if you dont have page 19 I'm happy to send it over

 

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25 minutes ago, Qubanqtee said:

on page 19 of the instructions if you have them is the layout of the Main Gable front and it is a strange shape but somehow magically comes out when you put the pieces together ....if you dont have page 19 I'm happy to send it over

 

OMG. You lovely people. I *do* have page 19, and thanks to Susie's post I looked at it again and I realized that little arrow imprinted on the wood by the arrow wasn't about the window, as I had assumed, but about orientation. (Which...why did I think that? WHO KNOWS!!) I flipped it around and voila! I have the right piece. I think it was your mention of magic! 

I know why it confused me--orienting it correctly for the build makes the wood grain run diagonally, and for some reason I assumed it would run up and down. 

Thanks to both Susie and Holly for chiming in and helping me get it right (before I did something irreparable and drastic!). Off to paint the gable! ;)

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  • 1 month later...

I just got a San Franciscan kit (at an auction for $10) and am looking at it and feeling daunted.  Do you have maybe a few tips you think I need to know when I start it, to keep from going crazy or messing it up?  Not the tips that are in the instructions, but things that you discovered as you worked on yours. 

 

I was looking around online to find out what I could about the kit and came across this website, which looks wonderful.  My first dollhouse (sounds so impressive, but I've done only 2) was a Greenleaf:  the Jefferson.  I bought it at Williamsburg, and you should've seen me hauling it to the airport and getting it on the plane; fortunately it was back when you were allowed more than a pound and a half of luggage without paying extra.

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