Build We Must!

We started building at the end of 2000. My sister decided that we should revisit our childhood dollhouses and "upgrade" them.

Then we started to read dollhouse magazines and realized the large world of dollhouses. We sent for catalogs, went to shows, and found local shops. We were amazed and delighted. We decided to build 1:12 scale houses. My sister bought a dollhouse at Target, we put it together, decided it was too small, bought another and bashed the two! We called the house The Original Rowbottom Manse. With this success, I designed, and we built a "mansion" -- Sunnybrook Farm (see original blog for both).

All our houses have families living in them and a story is built around their personalities and lifestyles. This story is an integral part of the building process, and is included in the blog.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Great Day -- Back to the Montclaire!

Montclaire with sandstone sheets (MBS) and windows test

With 22 Larkspur Lane under control and just needing finishing touches, I feel it is time to finish Montclaire House (a RGT Montclaire kit bash). It has sat in its present state of incompletion for 2 years. I love the house, but I just drifted away from dollhouse building.
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I am making the exterior similar to a real stone house in Philadelphia. I am covering it with a sandstone stone. I started with this idea, then I was going to "hand-scribe" sandstone bricks. But in my stack of supplies I remembered sandstone stone vinyl sheets from Model Builders' Supply (MBS). Andrew and I decided that scribing was going to take forever while gluing on the sheets, hopefully would be quicker. I have used these in brick and also Spanish tile patterns and found them easy to use, well, relatively! This method will certainly give me a finished house quickest, and since we like it--a "no-brainer" as people like to say.
I painted the sheets a gold-yellow sandstone with a little sparkle to it.
Real stone house - the porch and gable will be an interesting challenge.
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I still have to work out how to make the porch that is on the real house, and the whole front section, which will be a pull-away. I think, due to the weight of the gable section, it will be part of the pull-away. Since the roof will flip up, a gable section will add too much weight. This definitely needs some thought and work.
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Some lights need to be installed and also the problem of how to connect the front lights on a pull-away section.
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Some reminder pictures of the interior:
Dining Room
Foyer and 2nd floor hall.
Living Room
Library
Master Bedroom
Attic - Music Room
Attic - Recreation Room
Addition - Kitchen, Daughter's Bedroom, Bathroom, Office
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If you want to learn about all the trials and tribulations of getting these rooms done, go to the original IrisMarchCreations blog link on this page.


Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Iris! This house is such a wonderful project! The sandstone exterior looks very good! I have not managed to "finish" any of the exteriors of my "properties" and they all need things like stone or brick for the surface! No wonder I haven't finished them! LOL! I also struggle with the open front versus the hinged or removable style! You have made all yours "closed" houses and I admire the extra effort that takes with so many of the American style kits! I really look forward to seeing more progress reports!

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  2. Hello Iris,
    It will be a magnificent dollhouse. I love your faux finish on the stone sheets. It looks very realistic and very beautiful. The interiors are very elegant! I especially like the dining room.
    Big hug
    Giac

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