Southern Dynasty front

After I cleaned her up and took stock of what pieces were present/broken, I dug in. I didn't have instructions or know what it was supposed to look like, so some of my decisions were just guesses.

First, I got rid of all the shingles. I'm not sure what I'm going to put back but the gritty nature of the asphalt did not seem appropriate for a little girl. Also, I got tired of picking up little rocks off the floor. I will either paint some faux shingles on top and go back with a sharpie and add lines and shapes or something else if I see a better idea. Wood shake shingles seem cool but are not really appropriate to the period or style of the house. More importantly, I've got to keep focused on the reality that this is a toy and NO ONE is going to live in this house (occupational hazard).

Second, I decided to get rid of the rear hinged section of the roof. Besides being broken, and covered with crummy shingles, it seemed very heavy. I imagined it being in the open position and then being jostled, only to fall and serves as a guillotine for little girls fingers and this was not a good idea. So I cut it back and left it with a 1/4 rear section. I wanted there to be enough light and access to the attic.

Next, the previous owner had done a fair amount of construction on the outside of the house (siding/trim) using a glue gun. So, I took all those pieces down, removed the glue residue with an x-acto & chisel and then put them back in place. Some of the siding wouldn't come down without ruining it, so I drilled some small holes and glued behind them so that I could be sure they would remain secure.

After I cleaned her up and took stock of what pieces were present/broken, I dug in. I didn't have instructions or know what it was supposed to look like, so some of my decisions were just guesses.

First, I got rid of all the shingles. I'm not sure what I'm going to put back but the gritty nature of the asphalt did not seem appropriate for a little girl. Also, I got tired of picking up little rocks off the floor. I will either paint some faux shingles on top and go back with a sharpie and add lines and shapes or something else if I see a better idea. Wood shake shingles seem cool but are not really appropriate to the period or style of the house. More importantly, I've got to keep focused on the reality that this is a toy and NO ONE is going to live in this house (occupational hazard).

Second, I decided to get rid of the rear hinged section of the roof. Besides being broken, and covered with crummy shingles, it seemed very heavy. I imagined it being in the open position and then being jostled, only to fall and serves as a guillotine for little girls fingers and this was not a good idea. So I cut it back and left it with a 1/4 rear section. I wanted there to be enough light and access to the attic.

Finally, the previous owner had done a fair amount of construction on the outside of the house (siding/trim) using a glue gun. So, I took all those pieces down, removed the glue residue with an x-acto & chisel and then put them back in place. Some of the siding wouldn't come down without ruining it, so I drilled some small holes and glued behind them so that I could be sure they would remain secure.