First timer

[woodinville guy]

I purchased a magnolia kit to assemble with my 8 year old daughter. I am an experienced woodworker so I have some talent. Do you have any suggestions on how I should attack this kit with my daughter so it is a fun experience for both of us to assemble together? How long should I expect it to take us to assemble it?

Do I paint it prior to assembly?

Thanks,

Dave

[Deb]

Hello Dave! Welcome to the forum and to the magical world of miniatures! Since you have a background in woodworking, you're already a step ahead.

The folks here who have built a Magnolia will be able to give you a time frame for that house. I've done an Orchid in three weeks and a Pierce in six weeks but it depends on how much time you have to devote to it and how much detail you wish to put in it. (I sleep 8 hours, work 8 hours and devote the rest of my time to obsessing, er, I mean, working on minis.) :lol:

As for the painting and wallpapering, if you're not going to put electricity in the house, I highly recommend painting and wallpapering as you go. It's easier to detail the components individually than to try to fit adult hands into tiny places after it's assembled. (That's a matter of personal preference tho) Everyone has a different style and method of building a house so you'll get a variety of answers and lots of input to your question.

My preference is to prepare each piece as I go along. Do a dry fit first---put the house together with tape to make sure all the tabs and slots align, and in pencil, mark each piece where the walls and floor meet so there are guidelines for the wallpaper. It's a good time to shave any tabs and slots that might need a little coaxing to fit snugly, and to check for any warping.

I do the floors first (scoring in the floor boards and then staining and varnishing) and then start on the walls. After they're sanded, I seal both sides and then paint the exterior. (I give it a final coat of paint after it's assembled to cover any scratches or spackling but putting on a couple of coats of paint before the windows and assembling give a neat, finished look) After the exterior sides are painted, I put on the wallpaper and then prepare and install the windows. I've got pictures of that process in my "Pierce in Progress" folder in webshots (link under my name below) if you'd like to see how the wallpaper, paint and windows look on the individual pieces before it's assembled and how I mark off the individual rooms and floors.

It sounds as if you and your lucky little girl are going to have a wonderful time building the house together. Not only will she have a treasure to cherish a lifetime and pass on to her own children, but she'll have a golden childhood memory of building it together with her Dad. She can definitely be involved in the whole process from sanding the wood to helping paint to picking out her choice of colors, wallpaper and furnishings.

Congrats on the Magnolia and welcome again to the community.

Deb

[LPCullen]

Welcome to the forum Dave! The Magnolia is a very, very pretty house! For time frame, if you're working on it a couple hours a night, I would guestimate about 3 weeks to build. In regard to painting, priming, etc., we usually put the shell of the house together prior to painting or wallpapering, but you have to figure out what works best for you.

This is a house that we have built, and I do have construction pictures of it. If you would like to see them, let me know and I will create an album and provide you with a link.

[MiniMadWoman]

How exciting that you're building a house with your daughter Dave! :lol:

What they all said! I'd definitely prime it first and paint and wallpaper before actually gluing the house together. Makes it much easier and more fun! Your daughter can pretty much work on every aspect of the house with you! I'm sure she'll especially like the shopping for supplies part! Oh, and the decorating and furniture parts too! There's just so much to enjoy and share together! Take your time and don't make it a chore. It's supposed to be fun, fun, fun!! Well, okay, there will be moments . . .

Good Luck and keep us posted with pictures too! We love those pictures!!

[molmrath]

The Magnolia is a nice house. I have one in a box awaiting its turn to be assembled. My next project is the Orchid I bought for my 5 year old though. I'm sure your 8 year old will be much more helpful with the building than my daughter will be. I've done houses both decorating before assembly and after and I can see advantages to doing it either way. It just depends on what works best for you. Good luck with your building. I'm sure you and your daughter will have a great time just being together working on it. I'd love to see pictures of your progress too. :lol:

[Minis On The Edge]

Welcome to the Community!! What a wonderful treat your daughter is in for. Building a house AND memories. It takes a first timer 13 hours to build this kit according to the sheet I have here. This does not include decorating and painting.

I like to paint and wallpaper as I assemble the house because I am not as neat as some people are after the house is built.

Please take pictures so years later, she'll have pictures of the joyous time you both share together. Please share them with us too!

[havanaholly]

Belated welcome to the forum, Dave (we've been on the road again). I usually do the floors if I know how I want them, then the dry fit, then decide about paint/paper. I don't do the exterior until the house is assembled, but I prefer to decorate the interior as I go along, or even paper before assembly, if possible. At least I get the paper pieces cut out and ready to go

If you want to wire for lights, I read a tip to make patterns of your walls out of card and paper them & attach with doublesided tape.