~morningstar~ Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I love the style of the Garfield, and the Queen Anne, if you could mesh those two, you'd have in my opinion, the perfect house. I can't explain it.. Something about the to that just makes me smile. ~morningstar~ ps: I also love the Allison..but that has more to do with it being my first dollhouse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Mike, check the math, the house might be 1:16 scale, since that was a popular scale back then. If you're using 1/4" plywood, how will you curve those curved walls? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Mike, check the math, the house might be 1:16 scale, since that was a popular scale back then. If you're using 1/4" plywood, how will you curve those curved walls? The scale seems wacky Holly... After getting deeper into the plans - I've decided to draw them at 1/24 instead of 1/12 to allow for a bigger kitchen & dining room. etc. In the article it says to use wallboard for the curve? I'd suggest laminated mat brd or poster brd. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tappy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 In the 3D drawing above (post#44) I did increased the height of all the ceilings. I thought your scale drawing looked taller than the PM drawing! What computer application do you draw in? Is it Autocad? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfprincess Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) Mike, Bless you for going to so much trouble! But where are the curves? Those curved sections 'make' the house, and worry me the most! 1/16th scale was the most popular in the UK for generations - because most doll's houses were aimed at the kiddie market. The furniture available then was predominantly moulded plastic (yes that's how we spell MOULDED LOL) or perhaps made from balsa or other light wood. The scale does seem wacky, I totally agree, and must seem even moreso to your eyes. By the way, my friends, don't ever pay for these plans online. They are free to download, in their original form, exactly as they appear in the magazine. Many on eBay, Pinterest and elsewhere are selling the original plans for $5.99 or more. Okay, not a lot of money - but they are available for free. I wonder what happened to the lady who posted, in August 2012, that she was just about to start building this house? She seemed experienced, she had all the necessary tools - but she never posted again. I've seen online, uncredited pix of a finished version of the house. I can only repeat that to me it seems fiendishly difficult! And its curves, along with sides that open, make it even more of a challenge. I could build a basic house, but it wouldn't be THAT house! LOL. Mike, if you do decide to build this wee treasure, and I'm sure you have the ability, please keep us posted and also tell US how to build it! Edited January 17, 2014 by elfprincess 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 What computer application do you draw in? Is it Autocad? CAUTION: TECHIE TALK!! Tappy, I use the free version of Sketchup 8. Very user friendly - I wish some scratch-builders or bashers on the forum would use Sketchup - its so exciting to see your creation come to life in 3D! I need a Sketchup buddy to share my thoughts with! LOL For the cut-out plans I manually copy the measurements from Sketchup to CorelDraw (both programs open at the same time) & re-draw everything. :insane: In CorelDraw I can organize the project by page, scale it, & print it out. It can be printed @ 1/24, 1/12 etc. in page tiles for scale size plans. I think my printer does the tile printing not CorelDraw? One reason I use sketchup is because all the parts of a dollhouse can be dry-fitted (virtually) - less errors later in the real world when I cut out everything. You can virtually move walls, resize them, change the scale of the entire dollhouse, add 2D textures, transparency, draw in layers - this allows you to show only the parts you want to see or edit, & finally you can move thru the dh as if you are inside of it. Lots of flexibility! Any takers?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Mike, Bless you for going to so much trouble! But where are the curves? Those curved sections 'make' the house, and worry me the most! 1/16th scale was the most popular in the UK for generations - because most doll's houses were aimed at the kiddie market. The furniture available then was predominantly moulded plastic (yes that's how we spell MOULDED LOL) or perhaps made from balsa or other light wood. The scale does seem wacky, I totally agree, and must seem even moreso to your eyes. By the way, my friends, don't ever pay for these plans online. They are free to download, in their original form, exactly as they appear in the magazine. Many on eBay, Pinterest and elsewhere are selling the original plans for $5.99 or more. Okay, not a lot of money - but they are available for free. I wonder what happened to the lady who posted, in August 2012, that she was just about to start building this house? She seemed experienced, she had all the necessary tools - but she never posted again. I've seen online, uncredited pix of a finished version of the house. I can only repeat that to me it seems fiendishly difficult! And its curves, along with sides that open, make it even more of a challenge. I could build a basic house, but it wouldn't be THAT house! LOL. Mike, if you do decide to build this wee treasure, and I'm sure you have the ability, please keep us posted and also tell US how to build it! No problem - I enjoy drawing! I was just drawing the curved walls yesterday & thought of 3 ways this could be done: Using poster board, mat board or venneer - cut the window opening out, wrap/glue the layers of pb, mb or veneer around an 8" diameter can or other cylinder, (it doesn't have to be exactly 8",) hold it all together with rubber bands, let dry. The window plastic could be one of the layers, or it can be added later. Cut curved strips (ribs) of wood or mb for the top & bottom of the wall & window & create a stud wall, then glue on a poster board skin. Cut curved strips (ribs) of wood or mb going from top to bottom, about a 1/2" apart, add studs vertically framing the wall & window, then glue on a poster board skin. (This option would give a smoother curve than opt2.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Maybe you all have already seen these sites but just in case someone hasn't I thought I'd add them to this discussion. Here is one link and here is one link to the house that was built from those popular mechanic plans. Those of you that are interested in it might get info by contacting the writers of the articles. This link is to a dh with similar style listed as being 1938. I think this is the brand - but not the model - that was being discussed in another thread as being a possible collector item. It does show a good view of furnishing something of this era - not historically accurate in my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Mike, you might be happier waiting to cut the windows until after you curve the wall piece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Mike, you might be happier waiting to cut the windows until after you curve the wall piece. Yeah Holly - the laminating might create a stair-stepping effect. You could cutout the window opening on just the center layer, then cut out the remaining layers after gluing - using the center layer as a guide/template. And probably make the wall a bit longer for the same reason. Yu might have to do a bit of spackling on the seams - actually you could spackle all the exterior walls - its a stucco house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tappy Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi Mike, Thanks for the info on the Sketchup--I would love to try it, but I don't have a pc--I only have the one at work and they are very picky about what we download (with very good reason I am sure!). The drawings you are creating look really professional! It is really neat to see the drawings--they look as good as the drawings in the home plan books! On the curved windows, what about plastic food containers? I think a 2-liter bottle might not be the correct diameter, but what about a pretzel container from Aldi? Or is the plastic not clear enough? This way, it would already have the curve built-in? I am thinking of trying a bash with round large oatmeal containers & a pop-bottle as an addition on another one of my planned but never realized projects...1/2 scale Van Buren bashed English country house... Tappy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonberry Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Mike I've downloaded Sketchup and am busy looking at the tutorial videos. We had a similar software about 10 years ago and we designed a basic house for our vacant stand in South Africa. Sadly, we never built it, but we had lots of fun designing it! It is late at night here, so I'm a bit foggy, but I have some questions, if you don't mind: Why do you redraw in another program? Is Sketchup not good for printing the plans? What makes Sketchup better than the other program (or why don't you draw it there only)? I do like the Sketchup warehouse with 3D furniture to put in - gives you a better idea of size and scale. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 I started a new topic for the half scale Art Deco dollhouse plan. Go here > click Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi Mike, Thanks for the info on the Sketchup--I would love to try it, but I don't have a pc--I only have the one at work and they are very picky about what we download (with very good reason I am sure!). The drawings you are creating look really professional! It is really neat to see the drawings--they look as good as the drawings in the home plan books! On the curved windows, what about plastic food containers? I think a 2-liter bottle might not be the correct diameter, but what about a pretzel container from Aldi? Or is the plastic not clear enough? This way, it would already have the curve built-in? I am thinking of trying a bash with round large oatmeal containers & a pop-bottle as an addition on another one of my planned but never realized projects...1/2 scale Van Buren bashed English country house... Tappy Thanks Tappy I kept the 1st floor curved window at an 8" diameter, but in half scale it should have been 4" dia. - so the soda bottle would work, great idea! I think Wally World has 3 liter bottles!! LOL who knows what Cosco would have... ...not sure how clear the plastic is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Mike I've downloaded Sketchup and am busy looking at the tutorial videos. We had a similar software about 10 years ago and we designed a basic house for our vacant stand in South Africa. Sadly, we never built it, but we had lots of fun designing it! It is late at night here, so I'm a bit foggy, but I have some questions, if you don't mind: Why do you redraw in another program? Is Sketchup not good for printing the plans? What makes Sketchup better than the other program (or why don't you draw it there only)? I do like the Sketchup warehouse with 3D furniture to put in - gives you a better idea of size and scale. Thanks, 1st of all its free! It's not like 'house drawing' software - its more about raw shapes. Sketchup basically prints the 3D "still image" that's currently showing on your computer screen - more like a paint program. There are no plans or diagrams - its like a virtual dh with all its parts. Its kind of like measuring a real dh that's already built - then making plans from those measurements. I could just draw the plans in 2D with something like CorelDraw - but I need to see the dh in 3D to visualize it...especially the vague PM Art Deco dh article. Its great for working out problems like roof angles, etc. Careful with the furniture - its a real memory hog. The warehouse has entire houses already drawn, but they are not broken up into walls & floors? If you need help using Sketchup feel free to ask me. Sketchup Reference Card (pdf) > click here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApeDolly Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 mike where did you get the free version from and what one is it i see 4 or more types some say only free download ..but that does not mean they woun't ask for money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 mike where did you get the free version from and what one is it i see 4 or more types some say only free download ..but that does not mean they woun't ask for money Wow, I guess I haven't downloaded in awhile! A lot of those download sites are trying to trick us into downloading their stuff - purposely confusing buttons! Download the free version of Sketchup8 for Microsoft Windows here > click here (on that page click the big yellow button) It seems Google sold Sketchup to the Trimble co., they changed the free version #8 to SketchUpMake, still free, but along with it an End Users Licence Agreement (EULA) that states you can not sell anything you create with Trimble's SketchUpMake. If we did want to sell commercially we would have to buy the Pro version for $590.00. Sketchup8 does not have the EULA attached - so we can sell our creations it we want! Trimble is probably hunting down all non SketchUpMake versions tho... :hunter: Sketchup Reference Card (pdf) > click here If need help using Sketchup - let me know. :thumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheckMouse Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Getting back to the beginning questions on this thread - I would like a structure that would make a nice hotel. It would have to have several floors - at least 4 - with a connecting hallway and rooms down both sides of the hallway. So much could be done with a hotel! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 When my family finally moved to FL immediately after WWII my grandparents managed a four-story hotel in West Palm Beach; I can remember everybody mopping up water and broken glass from those fourth floor rooms immediately after the hurricane of 1948 had blown through. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfprincess Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Maybe you all have already seen these sites but just in case someone hasn't I thought I'd add them to this discussion. Here is one link and here is one link to the house that was built from those popular mechanic plans. Those of you that are interested in it might get info by contacting the writers of the articles. This link is to a dh with similar style listed as being 1938. I think this is the brand - but not the model - that was being discussed in another thread as being a possible collector item. It does show a good view of furnishing something of this era - not historically accurate in my opinion. Thank you for those links! The finished house featured in the first is absolutely gorgeous. The second, red-trimmed house is the one I've come across a lot online. Your comment that the 'period' of the furniture seems historically inaccurate is entirely justified. One possible reason may be the scarcity and expense of Art Deco furniture, particularly in the 1/16th scale. Another is that the child for whom the house was made didn't care for Deco (LOL). I would guess the only furniture commercially-available at the time was contemporary. The third link is to a Tri-ang house that comes up for sale more often than might be expected. Just before Christmas a fully-restored and decorated version was offered on UK eBay for £149.00 buy-it-now. A great price; had I been in a position to, I'd have grabbed it. Right now another - in poorer but 'original' condition - is being offered on UK eBay for a much higher price - £500.00 I think. The seller may as a consequence struggle to find a buyer but then, who knows? A devoted Tri-ang collector may come along and think, YES! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 When my family finally moved to FL immediately after WWII my grandparents managed a four-story hotel in West Palm Beach; I can remember everybody mopping up water and broken glass from those fourth floor rooms immediately after the hurricane of 1948 had blown through. ...not the style of hotel I was imagining - but I like it much better than what was in my head! ...not awake yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgansmith Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I would like to see more great houses with small footprints and more great multi purpose structures that allow our own creativity to rule the build. This way of design I am thinking might include a lot of what has already been said. A hotel...I say multi purpose. An apartment building, old fashioned department store, hotel or outright mansion. But, smaller footprint and tall. Something else I would like to see is more storybook style houses and more window and door options. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 ...not the style of hotel I was imagining - but I like it much better than what was in my head! ...not awake yet... The Keystone Hotel was an old, early 20th Century version. The first floor had a little lobby with desk and telephone on the right, and on the left side was a guest parlor. Through the door there was the manager's suite on the right and at the back and a couple of large guest rooms on the left. Up the stairs the second and third floors had smaller guest rooms on each side and a guest bathroom at the end of the hall; and the fourth floor had five tiny rooms on each side of the hall. My grandmother and one colored maid named Nellie kept the place clean, washed and changed the linens and vacuumed. The fourth floor hall was bare wood, I remember. ...Something else I would like to see is more storybook style houses and more window and door options. Oh, now I'm with you on that! As for window & door options, those are awfully easy to make. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheckMouse Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I would want a more modern hotel, with a private bathroom in every room. Maybe a penthouse at the top. A basement for extra supplies and furniture - and maybe a dark and obscure corner where no one goes anymore, and no one remembers what's in there! There is a hotel in Port Townsend, WA, known as the Manresa Castle. It was originally a home for a business tycoon, and is now a hotel. It is supposed to haunted. We toured it a few years ago and it is fascinating. Still has the original elevator "Otis" I think. And part of the basement has never had a floor put in. Kind of gave me the chills to see that this dirt is still the same dirt that people walked on over a hundred years ago - no floor, no accumulated plants or disruption. You can almost step back in time Not that I would try to replicate that magnificent hotel in miniature, but it does stir the imagination. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 And part of the basement has never had a floor put in. Kind of gave me the chills to see that this dirt is still the same dirt that people walked on over a hundred years ago - no floor, no accumulated plants or disruption. You can almost step back in time Well, just come to my house then. Mine is from circa 1850 and still has some dirt floors!! We even have an old well in the cold cellar. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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