Advice on first build

[jrs]

Good Afternoon All,

I am a complete newbie to this hobbie and would like to build a dollhouse for my daughter. She is too young to enjoy it now but I will leave it in her room for when she gets older.

I have a couple of questions.

(1) What tools do you recommend? Do I need a Dremel? Other …

(2) Do you suggest painting with an air brush?

(3) I want to leave the interior for her to do as she gets older (if she gets into it). Is it doable to paint, decorate walls after it has been assembled?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

Thx

JS

[KathieB]

Hi, JS, and welcome to the community!

What a lucky little girl!

But, Dad, why don't you think about building a house she can play with now and then build a more elaborate one when she's old enough to handle it with care?

You'll probably find it so enjoyable to build the house that you'll want to do another one anyway, so you can incorporate all of the things you learn on the first one. B)

For a younger child, keep it simple. Paint instead of wallpaper (so you can scrub the crayon marks off), no acetate on the windows (in fact, no windows or doors is an option, they like to reach in through the window & door openings), and solid, chunky wooden furniture easy for little hands to move around without knocking off a leg.

[KathieB]

(1) What tools do you recommend? Do I need a Dremel? Other …

A Dremel is useful, especially if you are going to do any bashing, but you can also use emery boards for sanding small pieces.

(2) Do you suggest painting with an air brush?

If you're comfortable with an airbrush, it would work very well.

(3) I want to leave the interior for her to do as she gets older (if she gets into it). Is it doable to paint, decorate walls after it has been assembled?

Depends on the house. Most rooms can be accessed after the building is completed, but some have hard-to-reach areas that need to be addressed before it is completely assembled.

What house are you considering?

[havanaholly]

Welcome to the forum family and please introduce yourself to everyone at the Newcomers' forum, too. You ask some excellent "noob" questions. First of all I would suggest using the "Search" feature on the tool bar. However I'll be happy to give you my personal opinion on these:

(1) What tools do you recommend? Do I need a Dremel? Other …

Which kit are you planning to build? There's a basic tools' list: clamps, pencil, steel straight edge/ ruler/ carpenter's square, utility or craft knife, carpenter's wood glue, sandpaper, wood filler/ spackling compound

Then there are tools it's nice to have: pin vise or other small hand drill, sanding block, EZ Cutter, gluing jig, coping saw, pony clamps, heavy-duty stapler, etc

Power tools are wonderful once you're thoroughly addicted and have to keep building dollhouses, along with the furniture that goes in them (I have four or five rotary tools, a Dremel sander, a bandsaw, a scrollsaw, a benlt & disc sander, a full-sized wood lathe & a mini wood lathe).

(2) Do you suggest painting with an air brush?

Why? I have yet to paint with an airbrush. Unless you use very thick paint or aren't careful, it's possibe to paint with a brush and not leave brushstrokes.

(3) I want to leave the interior for her to do as she gets older (if she gets into it). Is it doable to paint, decorate walls after it has been assembled?

You will want to check on what will & won't be accessible for decoration after it's built by doing a careful dry-fit with the masking tape before you actually start gluing anything. If you want to give her lovely hardwood floors it's easier to do them before the house is assembled. How old is she? If she is younger than 6 you don't want to hang doors or install windows yet. Is she 10 yet? Go ahead & prime the inside with a matt finish paint for her to decorate over. If she's younger, use a semi-gloss or gloss paint that the crayons & stickers she'll want to decorate with will come off when she's older and wants the house to look nicer and have widows & doors. If you think you'll want to wire the house for lights when she's older, make templates of all the walls and you can decorate them, and then later remove them, wire the house and replace them/ redecorate.

[jrs]

Thank you very much for some great advice .... to answer the question of which house I am going to build ... I am deciding between the Garfield or the Harrison.

Once again thank you... once I begin I will post some progress.

Jeff

[havanaholly]

A lot of members are building the Garfield, so you're in good company. Several have also built the Harrison, which is one I want to build one day. I had such fun building the Glencroft I'm hooked on half-timbered houses.

[debra]

Hi Jeff, and welcome to the community.

I agree that a chunky plain style house would be better for a small child with chunky furniture, easy for tiny hands to play with, and wont break easy. Paint with bright colours etc, and dont have too many fiddly bits.

Once you start building one of the more elaborate houses, I bet you wont be able to part with it lol, they are so addictive.

Be prepared for years of dollhouse building lol, you may want to add a room to your Real life house as well, some members here have 30 houses lol, I only started 3 years ago and now have 4, it is addictive. Step Away now.....while you can lol.

But never mind whatever you decide to build will be wonderful adn your daughter will adore you for it.

Good luck and please remember we here love to see pics....we thrive on pics...'

Cheers Deb in Australia.

[Corwin]

I would build either the garfeild or harrison, when she is older, i would stick with something small for now. Or buy the big kit, and a small one, when she gets older you can combine the two.

[kathi17]

I would definitely build her one of the smaller kits first. It would be fast and easy to build, and she will be able to play with it wile you are working on the larger house.

The Garfield is a really beautiful house, but you will probably have to do much of the decorating while you are building it. Also, with a house like that, you will probably want to electrify it, and do a really beautiful job of decorating it, which will cost more money than you expect. (You wouldn't believe all the great ideas you will come up with when you start building one of the true masterpieces like the Garfield).

The Harrison is much more suitable for a small child, but it is also one of those houses that you may want to buy special things for as you build it.

I would go with one of the smaller houses with very little gingerbread while she is that small. You can decorate it easily, and if something breaks, it's not a big deal. You would also be able to redecorate it later if you wanted.

If you build the Garfield, it will probably take you the better part of a year, unless you have a lot of time to work on it every day. It may even take longer. You also may want to go slowly with it so you can buy whatever you want to make it special. As she grows, she will be watching you build it, and by the time she is a little older, she will be able to play with it with you. When she gets to be at an age where you think she is old enough, give it to her then. As you are building it, just keep telling her that when she is older it will be hers. It will still be special to her, because while she is young and only playing with it with you, it will be your's and her special thing to do.