jshields67 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hello All! I am John from middle Tennessee and just ended up in the dollhouse business. My mother was showing me a dollhouse she re-finished just this past weekend. Then today my wife text me a picture of a dollhouse she found for $40 in a local online auction. Turns out it is a Dura-Craft Marquam Hill Mansion. It has been through several owners as evidence of the tattered box suggest and the instructions are missing. An online search for instructions brought me here. My three year old, Kinsey, is buzzing around the house like it is Christmas already. She has a smaller plastic house and she plays with it all the time, so I am sure she will enjoy this one when I am complete. Since I am an engineer I tend to overdo things (I already have an idea to make a working 4" plasma for the living room) so I will need to remember the scope of the project! I look forward to doing this with my daughter and seeing her enjoy it for years to come. I am sure I will have many questions about details and I thank all of you in advance. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Oh John, have you come to the right place. Most of the people here don't know what the word overdo means so you are in good company. If you don't believe me, check out the gallery of members' projects, and if you do the TV be sure to post instructions! :laugh: Welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdlnpeabody Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Welcome John! My 4 year old is constantly hovering around my current house project. She can't decide between a dollhouse and a "doll castle", so I'm holding off on her build until she's a little older. When it comes to miniatures, you can't "overdo" it. The more details, the better. If you want to save time on the TV, Ron's Miniatures in Orlando does sell a working TV with video player in dollhouse scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hey John welcome! Another new member, 2David, is also building a Marquam Hill. If you decide to build a TV that would make an interesting...tutorial, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlPiper Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 There is no detail too small. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrchob Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hi and welcome John! Look forward to pictures. "Overdo" is the normal here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Welcome to the little family, John; you're in good compaany here! Where in "middle" TN are you? Mini years ago we lived in Signal Mountain when the DH worked in a foundry in Chattanooga, and one of the last times driving through we found a miniature store next to a scrapbooking store on the far East side of town. There's also supposed to be a store in Nashville, but we never found it. Which Marquam Hill kit do you have; the all-wood, earlier version, or one of the MDF kits that Dura-Craft made before the company went belly-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshields67 Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Holly, I am in McMinnville... about an hour from Chattanooga. I have the MDF version which I assume was made some time in the '90s as they have a website listed on the box. I am looking forward to getting this built for my girls (I have two, Chloe 11 and Kinsey 3, also a son John 9 month) although this will take up most of one bedroom. I will make sure to take pictures and start a thread on the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Can't wait to watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Chloe will love it, and about the time she gets "too old" for it Kinsey will be all over it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshields67 Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 I am hoping someone here can help with the missing instructions. I could probably make a pretty good stab at it without, but would feel more comfortable if I had them. I noticed some older post of others looking for the instructions so I am hopeful someone will come to my aid. I have thought about building a base to sit the mansion on and even thought about building a drawer base with several drawers so the girls can store things in it. Does anyone else do this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 You could put it on a microwave cart with drawers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I am hoping someone here can help with the missing instructions. I could probably make a pretty good stab at it without, but would feel more comfortable if I had them. I noticed some older post of others looking for the instructions so I am hopeful someone will come to my aid. I have thought about building a base to sit the mansion on and even thought about building a drawer base with several drawers so the girls can store things in it. Does anyone else do this? The McKinley has drawers at the base, and I think it's a great idea. It gives you a place to store seasonal items, electrical, spare wallpaper for fixes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 ...I am in McMinnville... Is that near McMini-ville? Sorry - couldn't help myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Not before I've had my coffee, Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshields67 Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 It has been called that before Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshields67 Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Debora, I was thinking of building a bigger base to sit it on. Something like 34"x48"x6" with three large drawers at the bottom. You dont think that would be too large do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Debora, I was thinking of building a bigger base to sit it on. Something like 34"x48"x6" with three large drawers at the bottom. You dont think that would be too large do you? It's big, but so is your house. If those proportions fit your house's footprint, then yeah. It's going to need a table or somewhere to display it. Maybe you'll want to build its display table with drawers instead of a base. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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