reese006 Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 I have acquired an open but un-built San Franciscan SF 555. It still has the instructions and the VHS video (never been played) that comes with it. I have been reading through the instructions and getting things laid out. My question is, is the video worth watching? The only reason I ask is that I gave all our VCR's away many years ago and wanted to know if it was worth me trying to run one down or not. I have a 5 1/2 year old little girl that I know will love the house once built. I am new to the doll house building but feel comfortable in attempting it. I have been reading many sites and post about tips but any that anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 My first house was the SF555 and I ended up watching the video three times. The only thing I remember from it is that the guy building it on the video kept saying, "If it doesn't fit, whittle away at it until it does." The booklet was far more help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Haven't built it, and haven't seen the video, but my gut would say don't bother trying to find a player. Use the instruction book, and if/when you get stuck ask away here and there'll be help and suggestions! Good luck, enjoy the build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollymmoore Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 How cool. I didn't know they came with a video. Mine is still in the box until I move to a bigger place. I would love to see it. Maybe your library has a VCR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawinkle Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 Let me know what you end up doing with yours. I just acquired a partially built SF555 earlier today. I brought her and all her many pieces and her box into the garage (where she is going to have to live for a short while). I haven't looked for the instructions yet but will be digging them out shortly. I'm alittle daunted to be honest by the different design of this house. More of things that slip in to slots and less of the flush gluing I am used to. This is my first Dura Craft house. I'm excited but can't work on her for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 If it's partially built AND you have the instructions you'll be 'way ahead of where I was with mine (it was my very first kit house; talk about LOST!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawinkle Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 Well she needs to be repainted and if it has gone unnoticed, I have acquired THREE new dollhouses in six months. A pierce that needs ALOT of rehabbing (missing a lot of large components but mostly built), a vintage fully built from scratch house a friend's great grandfather built AND the San Fran just today. NO MORE HOUSES! lol I still have my Orchid which is not completed but close. Not to mention all the village houses. LOL I have to stop getting houses now. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawinkle Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 Well she needs to be repainted and if it has gone unnoticed, I have acquired THREE new dollhouses in six months. A pierce that needs ALOT of rehabbing (missing a lot of large components but mostly built), a vintage fully built from scratch house a friend's great grandfather built AND the San Fran just today. NO MORE HOUSES! lol I still have my Orchid which is not completed but close. Not to mention all the village houses. LOL I have to stop getting houses now. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Alexis's Daddy Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 Im building a sf555 right now for my daughter, Im finding it to be a great build and lots of fun!(maybe not the windows..)lol. but for real, tear in to it, its alot of fun and its really not as hard as it seems like it might be. I've got a new motto, It's only wood, it can be cut, glued, patched, filled, sanded, wittled or whatever else needs to be done. Good Luck! hope you have as much fun as im having doing this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Jon, you have figured out the secret! Once you become friends with wood, you can build ANYTHING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawinkle Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Instructions WERE included with the house. So just have to make a few modifications (mainly paint colors) and I can finish building the wonderful house! YAY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lubbock TX Chick Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Think of all the dollhouse kits that get built with no video...(I think this is the first I've ever heard of that had one.) I will agree with Muriel; just use the instructions and ask here if you get stuck. Much better than a video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamiamiot Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hello, I am new to this forum and joined because I see several of you have experience with the San Fanciscan SF-555 Dollhouse. I have the dollhouse in it's box and it appears to all be there, but I'm not sure. I don't have the instructions, nor the video. I take it there is a description of each and every piece in the kit? I guess that means there is a parts list of sorts? If anyone has a scan, pdf, word doc or whatever of the instructions, I'd love to get a copy!!! Or maybe there is a link to such? Thank you for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi, Tami; when you get a moment, do introduce yourself to everyone at the Newcomers' Forum. There is (or was) a seller on Ebay who was selling the instruction booklets for various DC kits. The instruction book has full-sized line drawings of the cross sections of the longframe pieces and the quantity of each that should be in your kit. The SF555 was the first kit I ever built and I would do a lot of it differently were I building one today. The video was marginally helpful, but other than showing how to assemble the milled strips to make the side walls for the shell and for trimming/ shaving the tops of each wall segment down once they were in place to fit the windows ( which you'll want to prep, paint, assemble & install as you go), the video wasn't really much help. I about wore out the instruction booklet, though! and because the build was LONG before I discovered the internet miniature communities, especially this one, they are long gone. So mini members are building or have built this house that I'm sure one of them will be delighted to help you. Another thing that helped me was to work on a perfectly flat surface and I used a steel carpenter's square to continually check that the longframe pieces were plumb. Also, when you mix an equal amount of white Elmer's All-Purpose glue to the brick powder and water you will get a more stable substance. You will want to work quickly with it. though, and in small sections. That house is the one I learned (among a laundry list of things I learned with it) to dry fit as I went along; I didn't leave a space along the foundation for the front steps and had lots of fun (NOT!!!) scraping/ chipping off dried brick compound to install them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbnmini Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 So what is the difference between the SF555 and the 557? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 The SF550 and SF555 were all wood. When Dura-Craft decided to remake all their kits from MDF the SF557 was reissued in MDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I have acquired an open but un-built San Franciscan SF 555. It still has the instructions and the VHS video (never been played) that comes with it. I have been reading through the instructions and getting things laid out. My question is, is the video worth watching? The only reason I ask is that I gave all our VCR's away many years ago and wanted to know if it was worth me trying to run one down or not. I have a 5 1/2 year old little girl that I know will love the house once built. I am new to the doll house building but feel comfortable in attempting it. I have been reading many sites and post about tips but any that anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I am in the throes of building my San Franciscan855. I bought it new several years ago while dura craft was still in business. It does not have a video. I would advise laying out and inventoring all the wood work before you begin. I am at the point where I need to install the fillet moling and I have none. It was not packed with the kit. I was missing a few pieces of the siding but I coped with that, and didn't think too much about it. But the filet molding rests on the sides to form the floors ans am at a los as to how to handle that. A carpenter I am not and I don't have the tools to fashion it. Point being before you start and waste your time make sure everything is there........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I watched the video three times trying to get answers to questions that weren't in the instruction booklet; they weren't in the nideo, either. Come here and ask your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Just saw the date on the post. I am new to the forum and am just discovering things. Sorry, you are probably long finished with the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Sorry I missed your introduction in the Newcomers' Forum. IMO the primary function of this forum is to answer questions and to share knowledge, and with several people building the SF555 lately, it's certainly a good idea to bump up these older topics, rather than starting a new one and missing information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamiamiot Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi, Tami; when you get a moment, do introduce yourself to everyone at the Newcomers' Forum. There is (or was) a seller on Ebay who was selling the instruction booklets for various DC kits. The instruction book has full-sized line drawings of the cross sections of the longframe pieces and the quantity of each that should be in your kit. The SF555 was the first kit I ever built and I would do a lot of it differently were I building one today. The video was marginally helpful, but other than showing how to assemble the milled strips to make the side walls for the shell and for trimming/ shaving the tops of each wall segment down once they were in place to fit the windows ( which you'll want to prep, paint, assemble & install as you go), the video wasn't really much help. I about wore out the instruction booklet, though! and because the build was LONG before I discovered the internet miniature communities, especially this one, they are long gone. So mini members are building or have built this house that I'm sure one of them will be delighted to help you. Another thing that helped me was to work on a perfectly flat surface and I used a steel carpenter's square to continually check that the longframe pieces were plumb. Also, when you mix an equal amount of white Elmer's All-Purpose glue to the brick powder and water you will get a more stable substance. You will want to work quickly with it. though, and in small sections. That house is the one I learned (among a laundry list of things I learned with it) to dry fit as I went along; I didn't leave a space along the foundation for the front steps and had lots of fun (NOT!!!) scraping/ chipping off dried brick compound to install them. Thanks, Holly, for the info and tips!!! I've really gleaned a lot from reading through the comments/replies - it's a priviledge to be able to access this forum! I will have to check out the ebay seller and see if the instructions for the SF555 are listed. I think it would be great if this forum had a section that had all the instuctions to the different houses "out there." Thanks so much for your time and effort! Tami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I don't think it'd be appropriate for this particular forum to carry instructions for other manufacturers' kits. Since Dura-Craft is no longer in business, I see no problem with someone sharing their instructions with you. The ones I had, like the video (AND the house, alas!), are long gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 The dollhouseworkshop.net has the SF-550 instruction posted Go to the "artilcle" page, then scroll down a full screen to the link for "instructions" I collect and post instructions for out-of-business dollhouses... if you are done with your build, I would gratefully accept and archive the instructions for all to use. doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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