Would appreciate advice about letting go/keeping kits

[Thimble Hall]

Hi , may be someone can help me.

I have been selling many of my dollhouse kits locally as I know I will never be able to do them all but I wanted to hang on to a couple of unopened ones.. I have a couple in progress I am hoping to get back to but have some other kits I am unsure about wether to keep or not.Maybe someone who has made these ones I stlll have could advise me about any  good or bad points that may help me decide. I have mostly sold my Greenleaf ones, jst 4 left apart from two Victorianas. If it is worth the work, I might try to hang on to these two. I have read the blog about the McKinleys which was very thorough and I guess somewhat similar and I do have a place to put these .  I am not looking for buyers by the way, local is best as folks pick up and I am amazed how quickly the others sold.

My quandry comes because I also have a Newport,a Granville and my Queen Anne.None of which I advertised.I was rather hoping I could manage this last one maybe  but I am a little unsure and am totally unsure about the first two. I am trying to be positive but realistic. I will not be able to finish the two in progress, plus all the others too.I am keeping my stash of 1/48ths as I can do those on a tray on my lap.It is the bigger ones I am unsure of. Two of them will have to go.

 

I realise it is not easy to advise someone else but would appreciate any help you would suggest, especially with the last three mentioned and the Victorianas.

 

Thank you  XX Jeannine

[AmandaJC]

I haven't made those kits, so don't have any advice. Other than keep the ones that still speak to you and make you happy! It's good to be realistic and let go of the ones that you know you won't do. 

Good luck! 

[fov]

Jeannine, I bashed two Victoriannas together into one big house. I'm pretty sure we talked about this when you bought the two kits. You can see my blog posts about it here: https://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?tag=greenleaf-victorianna (they're in reverse chronological order so you have to go to the bottom of each page and keep clicking "Older Posts" until you get to the beginning).

I was very invested in this build and I'm happy with the result but it was a lot of work. It took me about five years off and on and it definitely wasn't an "easy" build because I deviated from the instructions so much. That might not be something you want to do. It could still be fun to build both of them as separate houses, or you could just build one and sell the other one. It's a rare kit so I'm sure you can get a good price if you're willing to ship. If you only want to sell locally I think the price you get will depend on whether people understand what they're getting.

I tend to hoard kits even if I realistically know I'll never get to them. But when I have been able to part with some kits, I found afterward that I didn't miss them like I thought I would. The Newport, Granville, and Queen Anne are all large houses and if they're too much for you, there's no shame in admitting that! I would be overwhelmed trying to complete one of those houses, let alone all three. Quarter scale is nice because you'll still get the satisfaction of completing a house but you won't have to invest as much time or money into it.

If you're curious how it turned out, here's a photo of my finished Victorianna bash:

[Thimble Hall]

Your house is lovely, yes we did talk about it. Things have changed a bit now though, I want to keep them seperate as I have 2 super wall spots for them and I will make  two or none I think.I am pretty determined to keep one of the big houses, the Queen Anne I think. I have no idea how much interest there would be in the other two, wether thay are sourced or not.. It is very hard tio admit I am getting too old to do somethings and have to choose what to let go. I had 16 kits leave me this last week and still have 5 to go apart from the big ones.Thank yiu for the help I do appreciate it XX Jeannine

[IndyCindy]

The Newport isn’t a “hard” build in terms of the shell. It’s been many years since I made mine, but I remember it coming together very quickly. You’ll spend little to no time sanding/prepping the pieces of your Newport. It’ll be ready to dry fit and glue straight out of the box. 

Having said all that, here I am 10+ years later and I still haven’t completed all the exterior railing and trim details! That’s just me being distracted by other fun miniature projects though. I have a very bad habit of completing the shell of a house and wanting to decorate and “play” rather than finish construction. 

[IndyCindy]

6 hours ago, fov said:

Jeannine, I bashed two Victoriannas together into one big house. I'm pretty sure we talked about this when you bought the two kits. You can see my blog posts about it here: https://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?tag=greenleaf-victorianna (they're in reverse chronological order so you have to go to the bottom of each page and keep clicking "Older Posts" until you get to the beginning).

I was very invested in this build and I'm happy with the result but it was a lot of work. It took me about five years off and on and it definitely wasn't an "easy" build because I deviated from the instructions so much. That might not be something you want to do. It could still be fun to build both of them as separate houses, or you could just build one and sell the other one. It's a rare kit so I'm sure you can get a good price if you're willing to ship. If you only want to sell locally I think the price you get will depend on whether people understand what they're getting.

I tend to hoard kits even if I realistically know I'll never get to them. But when I have been able to part with some kits, I found afterward that I didn't miss them like I thought I would. The Newport, Granville, and Queen Anne are all large houses and if they're too much for you, there's no shame in admitting that! I would be overwhelmed trying to complete one of those houses, let alone all three. Quarter scale is nice because you'll still get the satisfaction of completing a house but you won't have to invest as much time or money into it.

If you're curious how it turned out, here's a photo of my finished Victorianna bash:

Every time I see a picture of this house I am in awe. It really is such a stunning example of miniature kit bashing at its finest! 

[Dalesq]

The Victoriannas are very hard to find kits and highly coveted. So I would hang onto them if you want to build them and have the spaces picked out for them. If the Queen Ann is half scale, again, that is a hard to find kit, and while it’s a big house, it’s won’t take up the footprint of a 1:12 scale house. 
I work almost exclusively in half scale and use a TV table as a work table so that I can sit on my couch and putter away on minis. 

[fov]

6 hours ago, IndyCindy said:

Every time I see a picture of this house I am in awe. It really is such a stunning example of miniature kit bashing at its finest! 

Thank you! It's in my living room and sometimes when my husband and I are watching TV at night the house catches my eye and I just stare at it for a while.

I hadn't thought about prep work, but that's a good point. RGT houses like the Newport will go together more easily than the Granville or the Victorianna. On the other hand, that's going to be a heavier house that's harder to move around for painting and decorating. I was assuming the Queen Anne you mentioned is RGT's Queen Anne, which would have the same problem.

 

[Felthen]

I would agree with Emily that RGT houses are heavy but the the half scale ones may be ok. I am working on a half scale front opening Victorian. I thought that in the box it was was too heavy but once I pulled it out and dry fit it together it was fine. I easily carried that house around and moved it at will, even filled with furnishings. The way RGT packages their kits you might be able to carefully open the box and do a quick dry fit and just check the approximate size and weight. They can be re-packaged very nicely to work on or sell later.

[Felthen]

Not if it is the huge RGT Queen Anne of course.

[Thimble Hall]

4 hours ago, Felthen said:

Not if it is the huge RGT Queen Anne of course.

It is the huge one

[Thimble Hall]

4 hours ago, fov said:

Thank you! It's in my living room and sometimes when my husband and I are watching TV at night the house catches my eye and I just stare at it for a while.

I hadn't thought about prep work, but that's a good point. RGT houses like the Newport will go together more easily than the Granville or the Victorianna. On the other hand, that's going to be a heavier house that's harder to move around for painting and decorating. I was assuming the Queen Anne you mentioned is RGT's Queen Anne, which would have the same problem.

 

Yes the Newport and the Queen Anne are RGT  The Granville is Artply and they are all 1/12th scale. My big imported UK one is the heaviest I have and if I need to move it my SIL does it for me., He will turn it upside down if I want to work on ceilings etc. I like these heavy MDF houses as there is not the sanding as I have an allergy to wood dust so I have to be careful. I have my half scale Fairfied on the go and of course I have changed it a lot.. I really must finish that as I have been collecting  high quality furniture for a long time for it. The kitchen seemed like a fortune.Bespaq is what I am buying I don't know of another company who make such great mini stuff like them but maybe there are some

[havanaholly]

If you want to spend a fortune on QUALITY furniture, check out Ferd Sobol; but I think he only builds in 1:12.

[Thimble Hall]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:03 AM, fov said:

Thank you! It's in my living room and sometimes when my husband and I are watching TV at night the house catches my eye and I just stare at it for a while.

I hadn't thought about prep work, but that's a good point. RGT houses like the Newport will go together more easily than the Granville or the Victorianna. On the other hand, that's going to be a heavier house that's harder to move around for painting and decorating. I was assuming the Queen Anne you mentioned is RGT's Queen Anne, which would have the same problem.

 

Yes the Newport and the Queen Anne are RGT  The Granville is Artply and they are all 1/12th scale. My big imported UK one is the heaviest I have and if I need to move it my SIL does it for me., He will turn it upside down if I want to work on ceilings etc. I like these heavy MDF houses as there is not the sanding as I have an allergy to wood dust so I have to be careful. I have my half scale Fairfied on the go and of course I have changed it a lot.. I really must finish that as I have been collecting  high quality furniture for a long time for it. The kitchen seemed like a fortune.Bespaq is what I am buying I don't know of another company who make such great mini stuff like them but maybe there are some

[Thimble Hall]

Well I have pondered and dug deep in  my heart and I am keeping the RGT Queen Anne.  The Newport and Granille can go.. I best fits the place I have and I like that it is wide, my tther  big house that is ataying  is very tall.

 

I will keep the 2 Victorianas for now..maybe..they really should go but something is holding me back. so I am followwing my heart on these.

 

Thank you all so much for your help, you helped me make a difficult decision..I can move on now.