nikki Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Hi all, another quick question. Oh! I feel like I have SO much to learn.. Is there a basic lighting kit that can fit the pierce? Are there lighting kits that are easier to use then others? What do I look for in a lighting kit? thanks for any help! n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatColorado Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 The easiest kit I found was this one: 15 pc Hardwire Kit It doesn't include the transformer. The transformer dictates how many lights you can have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 oh, ok, this looks good. I can't believe it is so affordable. So Could I get the transformer from the same place? And it says that it has on off switches, does this mean that each room has on off switches? thanks n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatColorado Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Unfortunately, it just has one switch that turns all of the lights on or off. There is a way to wire the rooms separately, however I haven't done that myself. Yes, Manor House sells the transformers as well. I have this kit and I like it very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 If you would like to do tape wiring this kit includes everything to get you started I think including the transformer. Peggi https://www.manorhouseminis.com/product.asp?sku=ck103 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 If you would like to do tape wiring this kit includes everything to get you started I think including the transformer. Peggi https://www.manorhouseminis.com/product.asp?sku=ck103 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This one that Peggi mentions will support up to 33 bulbs in your house. This means "total bulbs", NOT light fixtures. When planning out the lighting for your dollhouse, keep in mind that many fixtures have more than one bulb each. There is also a larger kit that will support up to 64 bulbs at: http://www.miniatures.com/hbs/global/Index...ail.asp&P=72100 Either kit will work perfectly for such a large house as The Pierce (it was MY first house too! B) ). Like Peggi said, these kits included "everything" you need, and I think they both also include an instruction booklet to get you started (the Deluxe kit does for sure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 15, 2005 Author Share Posted June 15, 2005 Ok, Thanks Peggi and Marie! I am bookmarkeing both of those. I was wondering what the whole bulb thing meant (oh, the simple things I'm learning!) So, how WAS your first-house-pierce experience Marie? n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Actually, it wasn't bad for a first house. It turned out quite nice and I wish I had pictures. I did a stucco exterior (after using tons of wood filler to fill in all the tab slots as well as to smoothe out the corners, etc.). The staircase was my favorite part of the interior. It's a great house and I like the room layout. My second house was the RGT Thornhill and it was the Thornhill I ultimately fell in love with because of it's sheer size, the room layout, etc. Alas, I no longer have this house either, BUT I did run across some OLD pictures I took during the early stages of it's construction. I'm having a friend scan them for me so that I can keep them in my webshots album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Nikki, I am attaching a webshot that was very useful to me in wiring my Lily. http://community.webshots.com/user/darrellpayne This is from the old greenleaf forum and was done by members Darrell and Melissa. Once you go to this site look under electrification folder and Darell gives excellent step by step illustrations. Also try http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com/toms-tips/electical.html, another good place to look for tips is smallstuff-digest and do a search in their archive for lightwire or tape wire. Between these 3 sites luckily my Lily lit up the first time and hopefully your Pierce will to. Peggi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Oh thank you so much Peggi! I will check out those electrical links! Marie and everyone else > I was wondering what folks do with their houses after they build and decorate them. So many of you have done so many projects, I thought maybe everyone had 10 room houses and had a finished dollhouse in each room! hehe B) n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 not everyone has ten room dollhouses(though I ams till lusting after a castle or house like the Queen ANNe ll--which means I do away with living room furniture and just have dollhouse! B) ) but I DO have several houses in each room. The den holds my landscaped sugarplum on the entertainment center, a primrose that is finished but needs to be turned into a Honeydukes' candy shop--a scratch built winter garden conservatory.........and my daughter's dollhouse., and a couple of kits that have not been put together. Then we move into the kitchen, with a cottage in progress, and another sugarplum via Shabby Chic Boutique that is being heavily worked on......and a centerpiece won at a name state day........the living room holds my doll emporium shop, also in progress, club projects, dolls, and my golf caddyshack on a shelf.........so my poor husband can't move with all the 'dollhouses' throughout the house! And we haven't even gone into my daughter's room yet! You could say we have our own mini neighborhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 oh my! Thats what I thought! n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameless1 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Awright, one more link, and then my brain truly is empty. Here's another tapewire tutorial (I can't vouch for anything about it, as I don't electrify) and, by the same author, the Grandma's Mansion saga, a great read for anyone who's the slightest bit nervous about building. You will never feel bad about ripping out wallpaper again, even when it's the third pattern you've tried in that room. I was wondering what folks do with their houses after they build and decorate them. So many of you have done so many projects, I thought maybe everyone had 10 room houses and had a finished dollhouse in each room! We have an 800-square-foot apartment with two rooms if you don't count the kitchen and bath. I vaguely recall that my reason for doing half-scale was space. The smaller-scale houses live in the foyer; the larger ones are in the bedroom and are demanding closet space. I am determined that dollhouses do not live permanently in the living room (though the Arthur has been on the dining table for so many consecutive weeks that no one believes me), but hubby occasionally eyes this mansard-roof model that's intended to double as an end table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Marie and everyone else > I was wondering what folks do with their houses after they build and decorate them. So many of you have done so many projects, I thought maybe everyone had 10 room houses and had a finished dollhouse in each room! hehe B) My Pierce and first Thornhill got left behind and stored at my Mothers house after my first husband and I split up and I moved to Alaska. Many reasons contributed to not being able to get them back; mostly $$$. So, they ended up getting sold at an estate sale when my Mother passed away. As for the monster of a horse barn I built, I gave it to my stepdaughter. The Foxhall Manor ended up being sold on Ebay so that I could have $$$ to build my current project, the gothic villa. This house is one I plan to keep to showcase my mini's collection. The Tudor that I'm also working on has an undecided fate. Although it's going to be the flagship for my website and forum, I haven't decided whether I'm going to keep it or sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 So Marie, do people actually buy these dollhouses on ebay, already assembled? I was wondering that, shipping must be a killer! Or what? How does that work, and how much can you make selling houses you've built already! n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Calamari, sounds like a lot of houses! What are you gonna start doing with them all!? n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 So Marie, do people actually buy these dollhouses on ebay, already assembled? I was wondering that, shipping must be a killer! Or what? How does that work, and how much can you make selling houses you've built already! Yes, people actually buy them already assembled and decorated. Especially people that have never built a dollhouse before and want to have one without having to make it or even to give as a gift. What you can make really depends on the market (supply and demand) and how the economy is going. I think other factors that contribute are the uniqueness of the structure, shipping/pickup, and it's amenities. If your name is Rik Pierce or Bill Lankford, that can help too! My Foxhall Manor sold for much less than I would have liked, but it was also unfurnished and was also a readily available kit that could be bought. Perhaps if it had been a 'one of a kind' and fully furnished, it would have sold for more. But it found itself a nice home in New Jersey and shipping it there cost it's new owner over $600 smackers!! B) It was a gift for her daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 $600 just for shipping!!! Holey smokes! B) So this is definitely not for the average person! HA! I can't imagine buying anything that cost more to ship then what I paid for it! But, I suppose it must have been a deal! Do they cost so much more then that to just buy an assembled house from one of these online dollhouse companies? n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Oh she paid more than $600 for the house, but still....ACK!! B) I imagine that the big companies can get a decent price for a finished house. It all depends on the quality of the craftsmanship and who's willing to spend the $$$. For instance, look at The Lawbre Co. (http://www.lawbre.com) as an example. Their finished houses sell for thousands of dollars and they don't include any furniture or accessories. They are sold in what we know as "turn key"...or ready to move in. I would love to own a Lawbre house, however, I can build an equally nice house from scratch on my own; for less money. Over time, like with anyone, my skills develop and enhance, and in my humble opinion I feel I will be able to compete with Lawbre in the future for my own projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Oh my goodness!! You ahve got to be kidding!!! Those prices are crazy!!! n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I know!! If you weren't the average person and brought home an $8,000 paycheck each month the prices wouldn't look so insane. But Lawbre houses are some of the highest quality houses out there. And perhaps part of the price is the "name" as well. Like with anything else. Your going to pay a lot more for a dress bought at Bloomingdales than you will at JCPenney. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameless1 Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Calamari, sounds like a lot of houses! What are you gonna start doing with them all!? n <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Putting up more shelving. Seriously. If we ever get around to finding the 12" "floater" shelves that a local hardware store swears they have, the Victorian Cottage Jr., the mystery vintage house, the Arthur, and the planned Westville could all go on the little walls on either side of the front door. Similarly, if we shelved the entire foyer, the half-scale collection would have plenty of room to expand. What worries me is if we ever move -- the one place where we can potentially afford a condo (San Francisco is expensive) doesn't have big hallways. I'm hoping for property values here to drop so we can afford a 1.5-bedroom unit. If I ever get tired of a house and don't want to redecorate it, I'll sell it. I don't do the kind of artisan-style workmanship that yields a real profit, but with housing prices here, it is always a better deal to sell or donate something you don't use rather than to store it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Marie and everyone else > I was wondering what folks do with their houses after they build and decorate them. So many of you have done so many projects, I thought maybe everyone had 10 room houses and had a finished dollhouse in each room! hehe B) n <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nikki, I have not kept all of my houses. The Columbian was given to my mother, the Buttercup was given to my mother-in-law, the Orchid was given to my daughter, the Newberg and the Arthur were given to my husband's aunts, and the Magnolia was given to my niece. Have I missed one? The Wildwood stable resides in our primary house on top of the entertainment center, the Victorian Townhouse and Tennyson reside side-by-side in our primary residence in our bedroom, the Van Buren and its gazebo reside in our primary residence in my office. The Pierce, Emerson Row and Worthington are in our secondary residence. Don't know what I am going to do with the remaining ones I have to build that will be for us ... However, I do have one more child to leave home (he is 16) and then I will have HIS room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki Posted June 16, 2005 Author Share Posted June 16, 2005 Ha! youa ll are too funny! Will I EVER have THAT many houses? I don't know! n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Ha! youa ll are too funny! Will I EVER have THAT many houses? I don't know! n <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh yee of little faith! B) It won't be too long before you discover exactly how 'addictive' this hobby is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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