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Holiday miniature show on HGTV starting November 27


fov

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I just watched a six-minute preview of this show.  I found it streaming on Amazon Prime and then had to download the HGTV app. It is called the "The Biggest Little Christmas Showdown", showing Friday night, Nov 27, 9/8c.   It is Christmas-themed with the three teams of contestants with two people each had a month ahead of time to prepare for it with partial builds, then they have 12 hours in a Santa's Workshop-type of setting to finish their work.  Oddly enough, the first challenge is for a Christmas-themed Hawaiian cottage.  Not quite what we do here but it looked interesting enough to be worth a watch.

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3 hours ago, havanaholly said:

I googled the show's title and got to watch the preview, too.  Kathie, I think you & NJ are well out of it.

I agree and I couldn't even make it through the sneak peek...a real turn off. I doubt I watch the show. 

 

1 hour ago, Medieval said:

 It was just a sneak peak. They have it arranged just like the Christmas cake competition show. I'm not sure I will be able to stomach it with all the forced drama. I might just stick to you tube channels. Lol

I'm with you...YouTube here I come! 

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10 hours ago, Mid-life madness said:

I'm counting on colorful discussions/critiques.....

First critique....discuss the plaid chair that the host is holding up: Serious lack of pattern match

Ouch!  :doh: No self-respecting inhabitant of my mini world would accept that as anything but an example of poor workmanship. I hope he's pointing out the error.

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Sneak peek: https://www.pix11.com/news/morning/james-monroe-iglehart-dishes-on-new-hgtv-series-biggest-little-christmas-showdown

I cracked up when the news lady said "I learned a new word -- miniaturist! I didn't even know there was such a thing!" (I expected the word she learned to be "kitbashing" or some other lingo, not something as obvious as "miniaturist.")

Are we really that invisible?!

 

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4 hours ago, Mid-life madness said:

Someone from D.Thomas Fine Miniatures is suppose to be a contestant. I am looking forward to learning something, anything.

I googled their website and it says they are thrilled to be contestants and had ad for show on homepage. I didn't look further...waiting on phone call from the vet. 

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As others have stated, this inspire people to try this hobby aka addiction. One drawback may be that people think it is a quick process and they can build/complete a big dh in a few weeks. Although I do get a lot of immediate gratification, it is not because what I do is completed quickly (it might just be that the paint looks good once it finally dried). 

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From a Google search looking for contestants of the show, I stumbled upon this newspaper article about their hometown participant in the show.  Enjoyed the article very much so thought I would share the link to the newspaper article.  I hope the link works:  Going big time with her miniature skills | South Whidbey Record

 

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On 11/24/2020 at 12:47 PM, fov said:

Sneak peek: https://www.pix11.com/news/morning/james-monroe-iglehart-dishes-on-new-hgtv-series-biggest-little-christmas-showdown

I cracked up when the news lady said "I learned a new word -- miniaturist! I didn't even know there was such a thing!" (I expected the word she learned to be "kitbashing" or some other lingo, not something as obvious as "miniaturist.")

Are we really that invisible?!

 

It's not that we as a community are "invisible" per se, I just think that many people nowadays lack a large vocubulary.  One would think that as a TV personality she would have done some basic research beforehand or had an intern comb the internet for information in order not to sound banal.   Almost every child has played with a dollhouse a one point.  This hobby was very popular in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and is experiencing a renewel in interest with technology loving Millenials and Generation Z who are also interested in the handmade and unique tems. 

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I thought the show's first episode was pretty good. I caught the host, just once, say "men-a-tourist" instead of miniaturist. Why I let that bother me, I have no clue! The surprise mini-challenge was sneaky, but all three pairs of competitors seemed to take it on surprisingly well - as if a roomy space in each structure had already been set aside as a blank canvas area for a "just in case" event.

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When Genevieve called one of the entries "ridiculous"  I had to wonder if it was one of those slang compliment type things or a insult. 

As for the rest of the show...meh... really didn't see anything I was wowed enough by to copy but then I was flipping back and forth to the Hallmark movie. Hope they step it up next week. 

Holly...hot glue alert! Tons of it. (time constraints perhaps)

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Warning: spoilers ahead

NJ and I had our little watch party and texted during the show. We both felt the chairs built for the very large house were well-designed and nicely executed. The house itself was well designed but turned out to be a bit too ambitious.  If only they had lined their water feature with cling wrap or used a silicone sealant instead of hot glue for waterproofing, it would have given them points. It was well integrated into their overall design.

Couldn't figure out the sloppy construction on the Mom-&-Daughter team's house; they even had an extra elf to help get it right. I liked the way the daughter saved the koi with paint. When I was making the fish for the houseboat, one batch also inexplicitly turned to charcoal, so I felt her pain! I couldn't figure out how they managed to have all the cardboard & book covers on hand. Brought from home? 

Would have like some explanation of exactly what the ground rules were for pre-show prep. I understand they had a couple of months to prepare.  I am curious to know what supplies were provided on site. Never saw a good shot of the workroom shelves.

The way the winning crew addressed & solved the water-leak issue was impressive; grace under pressure, and their detail was excellent. I think the highlight of the show was how their work reflected their ability to incorporate unusual materials into their items. They actually seemed to enjoy what they were doing. :) 

We were both appalled at the amount of hot glue used by all contestants. As Lisa said, maybe time constraints. 

As for the judges, June Clinkscale and the miniature movie set artist were honest but encouraging, diplomatic in their critiques. The third judge (never heard of her) looked as if she were there against her will. Didn't see her smile once and also was put off by her ridiculous remark.

Will watch again next week, but may just record and watch the next day. It's a stretch for me to stay alert until 10 pm. :D

 

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I'm not sure when I'll watch it, I hit the bed before 2000 last night (no nap yesterday) and today the hubs wants to shop for a new Chrome Book (the computer we're using now is a C**** knockoff with a screen so small we can barely read anything on it.  I understand hot glue for a show like this, but I would think if the finished houses are going to be ppassed along/ donated the builders will go back and remove it and replace it with a more durable adhesive.

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I also watched last night and agree with the previous observations. I had just said to DH that I did not know how the glue and paint would have time to dry in 12 hours when I saw they were all using hot glue and little to no painting done. The mother/daughter team got knocked down for the strings of hot glue.  I thought the same thing about the books - they must have been made at home, just too many of them. The winning team had amazing details in the bar area. Everyone got dinged for being a little out of scale. The "ridiculous" person is a designer who has had her own shows. They said she was a guest judge, so maybe there will be different ones each week?

 I have to give these people credit - there is no way I could create & fix my problems with such a time limit, I need time to think. 

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I liked the stop motion animator's house and thought it should win, but the pontoon boat was my second choice. The mother/daughter house looked so sloppy to me. The front windows weren't lined up! I also cringed at all the hot glue and didn't understand how the paint and air dry clay could dry so quickly. I get that the time constraints are part of the competition but it gives a false impression of what it's like to build miniatures.

I think the books had been made at home. They said at the beginning that the teams could create 50 percent of their project ahead of time. That's a weird metric -- who's to say what the 50 percent mark of a fully built and decorated dollhouse is?

I think "ridiculous" was a slang compliment. They smiled after she said it.

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51 minutes ago, fov said:

They said at the beginning that the teams could create 50 percent of their project ahead of time. That's a weird metric -- who's to say what the 50 percent mark of a fully built and decorated dollhouse is?

Good point! I wonder if they were given a hint of the theme in advance. Seemed a bit coincidental that the winning team chose a pontoon boat, perfect for this theme. 

I think "ridiculous" was a slang compliment. They smiled after she said it.

Glad to hear this. I was so surprised by the "ridiculous" that I missed the smiles.

 

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