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Hello everyone, I'm new


HalfPintRoo

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Hello everbody! My name is Laura, I'm 22 years old and live in New York. I ordered my first Dollhouse (Duracraft Alexandria) and I'm very excited. It is arriving Tuesday.

Can someone post for me a simple list of tools/supplies to go out and buy so I'm all set to start Tuesday?

-Laura :D

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Hi Laura! Welcome! I'm sure you'll get tons of helpful responses for a tool list. There are *so* many wonderfully helpful and extremely experienced folks here. I'd be lost without them.

I'm a newbie too.........just finished an Orchid and am starting on a Pierce. So I can give you the basic new-to-the-craft list and then I'll be taking notes along with you when the experts give their lists.

The two things that have been the most valuable to me so far are emery boards and various sizes of xacto blades. The emery boards just work better for me than sandpaper because I can control them easier when sanding edges and they seem to detail the little pieces and spaces like window trim and gingerbread better. I swiped a set of metal files from my hubby's workbench and the triangular shaped ones help square corners up in windows and doors. A sharp pair of fine point scissors such as embroidery scissors come in really handy and you definitely need tweezers, clamps and a large supply of painters masking tape. I picked up a tool kit at miniatures.com that included a mini miter box, saw, pinvise, drills and a few other things scaled for minis. That may have been an overly enthusiastic purchase, but I've used most of it. I get the feeling that I could have saved money by just buying the tools I needed individually, but it came in such a cool little wooden box! :D

It's nice to meet you Laura!

Deb

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Welcome to our forum!

simple List....

a good xacto knife- extra blades

sand paper--I prefer a sanding sponge

Tacky glue- my preference

masking tape/painters tape big roll

clamps are nice

pencil for lableing

baggies for seperating parts into

bandaids for boo boos

a cheep package of babywipes. very handy when cleaning up.

spackle/drywall/woodfill to fill in the cracks/slots

stain for the floors and interior trims,shingles

Prime spray or paint on..this will seal the wood and prepare for painting and or wallpaper

I prefer Kilz spray prime.

some people prefer papering while building some wait till after I have done both and it is a personal choice for the builder.

The Alexandria is a nice house. I tried to get my daughter to pick that one but

she wouldnt so Im dont get to do one. I look forward to seeing you build.

if you dont have a camera I would recommend a cheep disposible camera. the pictures can be put on a disc to be uploded to the Gallery. or just to keep for your self. you will want to see photos of the first house. actually I like to look at the pictures of the before after the house sits there so beautiful.

and we dooo so like our eyecandy around here.

take it slow ask any questions you have..you are going to do just fine.

nutti :D

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Hi Laura, I am in Australia, and I am a newbie too. I have ordered a Beacon Hill and an Arthur greenleaf house from the states, and am eagerly awaiting their arrival, its like waiting for a new baby to arrive.... In the mean time I am ammusing myself by making garden items, for my self and to re sell on ebay...I have to re coup some funds some how lol............

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/deb...ights/palm3.jpg

This is some of my creations so far......

Good luck with your house, and yes pics please................

Oh and thanks for the list of things guys, it is all duly noted and on the shopping list...

Debra.

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Welcome, Laura, As you browse the posts here & on the old forum site you'll find many, many tool lists.

My first two kits were Dura-Craft, a San Franciscan built for DGD & my own first house, a Cambridge. I have a Newberg kit waiting for when I have a bit more time, right now I'm having wonderful fun building Greenleaf houses.

Starting out I had a Stanley knife and a pack of emeryboards, a couple of rolls of masking tape and a big bottle of regular white Elmer's glue; also a steel carpenter's square. Since then I've added a couple of things here & there until I have a 5-drawer rolling toolbox & another poratable toolbox full of useful stuff. You'll figure out your own tool list as you go along & find what works for you & what does not.

I tell all newbies to relax, it's fun. :D

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Hi Laura,

Welcom to the forum! Duracraft houses are great! I just finished a Columbian and it went together so eaily...and the instructions are great, too.

In addition to what everyone's suggested I highly recomend an Easy Cutter, at least by the time you get to the shingles. I use mine constantly. And I know most people like masking tape, but I like the blue painter's tape because it leaves less residue.

Most of all....have fun! :D

Carol

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Welcome to the forum Laura!. Nutti pretty much covered all the things I've used so far on my first house. I do keep white vinegar (mixed with warm water) on hand to help "undo" glued parts that was done by mistake or (like window sills upside down) and fingernail polish remover to help get paint off stained pieces (works if you use it quick enough).

I am working on my first build and as you can tell, I've had to redo portions :p and with the help of more experience builders on the forum learned a few tricks to help me fix these mistakes.

Have fun, post plenty of pictures and enjoy, this will become a very addictive hobby :D

Peggi

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Hi Laura and welcome! :( As others have suggested, make sure to take lots of pictures! You'll be amazed as you go through the build what progress you've made!

Are you going to electrify your house? I used the tape method and could have used the little brad holder tool. It would have made the process a lot easier on the nerves! :p Also, a hammer and ruler or measuring tape. Oh, and you can never have enough clamps! :D

Enjoy!! :(

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Hi Laura and welcome to the forum! You are so fortunate to have this forum as you get started. My first house was a Duracraft and I was completely clueless :p I started out with tacky glue and a steak knife. Some things you learn as you go. Just have fun and enjoy it. We all learn from our mistakes, kinda part of the addiction I guess cause we always want to start something new and do it better.

You will for sure learn a lot here, these are the greatest guys and sooo good for a morale boost! Cant wait to see your progress. :D

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Hi Laura- welcome! I absolutely love the Alexandria- I can't wait to see pics of the construction process! Everybody has already given some great lists for tools and things, so I'll put in my 2 cents w/ a small amt. of things I really couldn't build without-

1. Elmer's Wood Glue- bonds stronger than wood itself. Gives football player-like strength to the walls of your house- I wouldn't use anything else!

2. heavy duty craft knife (get the blade type for cutting through wood- long square w/ 1 angled side. It's good to invest $8 or so in 1 really good knife.

3. hot glue gun- for extremely limited use on small parts. There are some weird spots in houses that have limited access, or it's hard to clamp a particular piece in place to let it dry. Hot glue dries almost instantly and by passes the problem. However, don't use hot glue on parts that are supporting any other portions of your house, and never use it for floors or major walls.

4. Masking tape for clamping walls and things together (more flexibility than traditional clamps).

5. Large flat cardboard pieces- when I was painting window/door trim it was important to keep everything together and not forget which parts went to which windows. I placed labeled post-its on a huge piece of cardboard and let all the trim pieces dry together in these labeled groups.

6. good pair of smaller, sharp edged scissors (sewing scissors, etc.) for trimming wood parts (a good fit may be a question of millimeters).

7. wood putty

8. sanding sponges/ sandpaper

9. assorted sizes of paint brushes- medium (for walls), small (for trim, doors)

10. lots of newspaper!!!

Hope it helps and that you enjoy building your house!!

-Lauren

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Hi Laura, first of all read over the instructions provided by Darrell at http://community.webshots.com/album/13924732GytFHn. You can get your kits almost anywhere, but I got mine at Circuit Concepts. You can get a kit with tape wire, a transformer and such. Lights are extra and you can get those at Circuit Concepts or miniatures.com.

Enjoy! Lighting will add so much to your house!! :p

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Ok, I can't leave out MY SUGGESTED tool list. LOL!

Welcome to our family Laura.

Here's what I started with. ...

Practically nothing but glue, sandpaper, masking tape and an xacto type knife. Oh and paint. LOL!

And truly, this is all you MUST have. But there are many things that make parts of the process a lot easier, and as such, more enjoyable and lots less frustrating.

SAND parts well before assembly. Be generous with prepping the parts and the finished result will be a lot better.

PAINT or FINISH parts you CAN, prior to assembly. Like painting all the window or door trim before glueing it on the house and trying to paint it there. Some you cannot do until later if you plan to electrify and light your creation. In this case make a TEMPLATE of the walls out of a heavy paper prior to assembly. This will come in handy later when you want to put wall paper on them to cover up the tape wire.

Some supplies well worth their very small cost...

lots of sandpaper

extra blades for your knife

brushes of various types and sizes.

METAL ruler. You may want a smaller 6 inch one as well as a regular longer foot one.

wood putty, (smallest can)

masking tape or painters tape.

Masking tape is needed for those hard to hold items as it's stronger and sort of supplies a good CLAMPING force to what it's holding. Painters tape has less hold but as has been pointed out, comes off a lot easier. If you use masking tape you can use sandpaper to clean up any residue left behind.

A few tools you will want when you can get around to getting them.

Clamps. Start with four smaller ones. You'll keep adding more clamps to your arsenal as you remain in the hobby. LOL!

Dremel or similar rotary type tool. This is by far the most versatile tool we own. We do keep adding different attachments and bits to it, each making it a bit more useful. And we're constantly discovering new ways this tool helps us out. If you purchase ONE power tool, this should be the one.

If you plan to electrify there are a few other specialized things that can help. These aren't necessary but they DO make the job easier. My first electical work used only the smallest tweezers (to hold a teeny brass brad) and a very small lightweight hammer to tap it in with. The other tools I used were the pilot hole PUNCH and tester, both of which came with the lighting kit that I bought for my "first" foray into "let the be mini light". The only things I've added since then is the brad insertion tool, (works much easier than tweezers or needle nose pliers), and a soldering iron with a very small tip for it. This helps make a better (AND LASTING) connection to prevent problems down the road which can come from moving a lot or corrosion from a humid environment.

There are many other things you'll find useful as you go along, but there's no reason to go spend a fortune getting them all right away. We have been doing this for years and ever so often pick up some new tool to try out. But with these basics you can do anything we do by just taking your time and enjoying the process of creating your version of what you see in your mind.

Well that's MY suggestion. Do what everyone else said, most of all. TAKE YOUR TIME. Enjoy the process. Getting in too big a hurry for me, only leads me to be dissatisfied with my results and makes the hobby UNfun. LOL! The journey is its own reward. Savor it.

Darrell

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Welcome, Laura!!! I don't think I have anything new to contribute to everyone else's tool list, so I won't bore you with mine. :p

I learned the hard way that it's better to do it slowly... My first house was the Glencroft, and I've ended up re-doing most of it because I was in too much of a hurry to do it 'right' the first time...

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