Trailer: Sue Herber gave directions for making a trailer house in quarter inch scale in the July/August 2001 NAME Miniature Gazette. She had a kit for it at the National In Louisville and it is really cute. It is sort of ME inspired. Sue has pictures of her little trailer up on the web: http://thing.com/sue/current_projects/trailer/

Sherry in Uniontown

Painting on plastic, glass or even metal: I am new to miniatures but not new to painting and I thought that I would put a few tips "out there" for anyone interested. I use only acrylic paints (Delta, Apple, Plaid...) and I use them on everything! What I use is different primers for different surfaces. One thing I use a lot of is Acrylic top coat or finishes. Krylon makes a good one ineither matte of gloss finish. I use the matte finish for a primer on glass, pottery and even plaster. Spraying this on glass gives a frosted look and I have used that when designing glassware (display purposes only) I have also dabbled in painting metal lately. I buy plain old roof flashing from the local hardware store and just cut with regular scissors. In this case I use a primer made by Delta that is intended for glass but works quite well on metal. I use the delta glass paints on the metal too. This is new to me and I learned it from the Carol Duvall show on HGTV. It was a very interesting show and I used the "tin flowers" idea to make a room box out of those pesky metal tins that fruit cake comes in every year at Christmas. I just cannot bring myself to throw them away and now I have a use for them. Anyone interested in this idea go to HGTV.com and Find the Carol Duvall show episode CDS-429 for directions. Very useful idea for making many things besides flowers!

Vicki Reiter

Dollhouse kits: A tip that has worked well for me--To strengthen corners and other "structural" areas, I have used brown paper, even a grocery bag, with fibers in it cut to size, covered with glue and plastered right to the plywood. I have used this method to hold small pieces of plywood to the structure when I have decided to eliminate a window as well. When dry, this makes a very strong bond. It can even be sanded, then primed before you paint or wall paper over it.

Jacqueline_Ridout

Dollhouse Kits: I'd include Celerity, Lawbre, House That Jack Built, and Victorian Times with Real Good Toys as quality products, but don't know how the prices compare.

Dottie in Tucson

House kits In the Uk and also available in the US: I have recently made a Dolls House Emporium kit, the Country Store. The carcass is of mdf, and the details (windows, doors, stair rails) are in wood. The bay windows, the main feature of the Country Store come ready assembled, with the window panes and the frames removable for decorating.

DHE make British style cupboard houses, front opening. The designs used to be pretty same but they've come up with some really nice houses recently. I love the Lutyens house.

The kit was easy to put together, even for me, a beginner. I have to admit I was impressed, though I didn't expect to be. I have a basement for it, and it will be a Writer's Retreat if it ever gets finished! Right now it's waiting for me to put in the electrics, not my favourite job!

I am in no way connected with DHE. I bought my kit from ebay, so I got it at a discount, but I have bought stuff from them before, and they have a no quibble returns policy (as long as it's resaleable).

The main disadvantage is that it is a big company, and their stuff is instantly recognisable, although I think they're making efforts to get away from that.

Lynne Connolly

Dollhouse Kits: The Little Dollhouse Company in Toronto changed hands a year or so ago, and the present owners design their own houses. The kits are cut for them by IBEC in the same western cedar. The display houses looked to be of the same good quality, and the houses have realistic designs. The smallest has 2 rooms and an attic, the largest has 10 rooms and a hidden room in a tower. Prices range from $90 to $480 (Canadian money). Very attractive on all counts. No website, but a catalogue. For those interested, tel. nos. are 416-489-7180 and 888-763-8966, email is ail@softwonders.com I have no association with this company, but really liked their houses, and was impressed by the variety of specialist minis they had on display (doctor's office and hair salon roomboxes and much more).

Kay in Ottawa, Canada

Roombox Tavern: - just built a 1750's tavern roombox, and I don't know how to finish the top of the box. I framed the front and finished the sides in upright timbers and chinking, but what do you do with the top......all I've ever made before were actual buildings, not roomboxes.

Lynn (No E)

Siding: If at all possible, the best way to glue siding to your walls is before the house is put together, using lots of books to weight it down. (An encyclopedia on CD is handy, but not worth much in the weight department!) Putting up the siding after the house is constructed calls for LOTS of masking tape and clamps. Still very difficult to keep the bottom edge of each piece from popping up.

Dani in Bradshaw MD

Shingles: When I put on shingles, I mark the roof 3/4 inch from the bottom and then every full inch beyond that. I line up shingles along a straight edge and put a strip of masking tape over the row. This is a great job for the grandchildren, when they want to "help". In truth, having a second person to keep feeding you strips of shingles is a real blessing. Anyway, run a line of hot glue about a quarter inch below the pencil mark, and lay the entire row of shingles in one "swell foop", as my eldest called it.

The secret to a permanent roofing job is not to use low-melt glue; it will harden before you get to the end of the row, and will soften in the sunshine. I used regular hot-melt on all my buildings and haven't lost more than one or two shingles.

Dani in Bradshaw MD

Shingles: When I put on shingles, I mark the roof 3/4 inch from the bottom and then every full inch beyond that. I line up shingles along a straight edge and put a strip of masking tape over the row. This is a great job for the grandchildren, when they want to "help". In truth, having a second person to keep feeding you strips of shingles is a real blessing. Anyway, run a line of hot glue about a quarter inch below the pencil mark, and lay the entire row of shingles in one "swell foop", as my eldest called it.

The secret to a permanent roofing job is not to use low-melt glue; it will harden before you get to the end of the row, and will soften in the sunshine. I used regular hot-melt on all my buildings and haven't lost more than one or two shingles.

Dani in Bradshaw MD

Barn Plans: A great place for plans for farm buildings is from U.F.A. (United Farmers Association in Canada) where they sell plans for full size barns ect.   The person was nice enough to shrink a copy for me maybe you have an association in the states similar?   Also Lee Valley Tools sells some great books full of old plans for buildings, equipment etc.  They have a site online http://www.leevalley.com

Joanne in Calgary

I just finished a garden scene inside a flower pot.   The flower pot is tipped on it's side and corks glued to the sides keep it from rolling. I used cardboard to build up a flat floor and covered it with 1/2 inch tiles.   I made a tiny potting bench from scrap wood and put garden tools, a fertilizer bag, a birdhouse and empty flower pots on it.   Then I placed pots of flowers, a garden hose, a watering can and tiny rubber boots around the potting bench.    I completed it by gluing brown ballast on the boots and around the edges of the tiles.  I'm so in love with it, it makes me feel spring is around the corner.

Ame Fay, Covington, Kentucky

Bellingham Farmhouse:   I'm in the process of building a Bellingham now.   If you'd like to take a look at what I've done, this link should take you there.  http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=miniatureoma 

Marcia

Hagatha's House:    I have noticed the people asking that the answers to questions be posted on the digest and not mailed directly to the asker.   I asked about Hagatha's insides and roof.   On the inside, most people thought I should have hand-hewn beams with stucco or stonework inside.   I did this and it does look great, the walls are a light tan stucco with the beams dark brown,  The floors are planks, also dark brown.  The fireplace and outside walls are gray stonework stippled with black, green and brown.   Son Alex says it looks mossy on the outside now.    On the roof, I had thatch suggested the most, with sod being the second suggestion.  One reader kindly offered to send me broom straw from Georgia, which I will be very grateful for and will send some handmade roses in a florist box in swap.   Also, Another reader sent me a link to a thatching site, that showed how to do it!  More gratefulness!  I will try thatching.. what is the worst thing that can happen?  I might have to rip it off and start over.. oh, well, I've done that before!

In any case, I agree, send the answers to the digest as I really like reading the hints others give others too!  

Eileen in St. Louis

Removable walls: My husband and I design and build unusual dollhouses.   Our solution is to affix moldings in such a way as to permit tilting the wall to one side, allowing you to slide it out. If the wall is coming straight back, you can permanently affix the moldings on both sides (but don't attach wiring to the walls you plan on moving!).  If the wall is at an angle to the back, you will need to make the moldings on one side removable (or just movable).  Good luck!

Sherry Burrill

Bayberry Cottage:Working with pressed wood is fairly new to me, but so far, so good.   Have been using carpenter's yellow glue instead of Alene's tacky which I usually use.  The yellow glue holds really well.  I found that out when I realized I had glued something together incorrectly.   When separating, some of the pressed wood came apart.   Luckily, the pieces were small, and it did give me experience that may come in handy later if I do a big mistake.

A large part of the roof is glued together before setting atop the shell.   It's kind of hard lifting that heavy thing into place. Possibly, I'll even find I've done something wrong, and have to backtrack. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and if more and more kits will be using MDF pressed wood, it's time for me to learn how to work with the stuff.

Dolores

Cottage shops: How about a Victorian garden shop, with plants, tools, statuary and other and accessories on the ground level and garden/floral crafts (wreaths, topiary, dried herbs, jars/baskets of Marianne's potpourri, floral-themed stationery, specialty jams and honeys, themed tea accessories, etc.) upstairs?   Or a ladies' specialty shop, with shoes and clothing downstairs and a millinery, accessories, and parfumerie upstairs.

Loretta.Sniarowski

Little Debbie Scene: Do you have the Little Debbie box? The trick is to get it into the computer.  Disassemble the box carefully lay it on the floor and photograph it with a digital camera. Now, if you don't have one of these you will need to Photograph it and take it to Kinko's to be copied and sized. From the camera to the computer. Put it into PaintShop or similar application. Size and clean it. Print it onto craft paper for the computer...also great for greeting cards, making card games etc. Cut it out. Use small, sharp scissors. Then using your X-acto craft knife and a small ruler LIGHTLY score the places you will be folding. Fold and glue your box. Should look rather professional. It shouldn't need stuffing...unless you want to put in some small cakes!

Laurie Sisson

Little Debbie vignette:  you could try to do something similar to what I did. I needed to cover my laundry/basement Roombox. It was 9 1/2 x 13 and none of the Tide boxes were large enough. I disassembled the boxes(I used two). I soaked the cardboard for a while and the paper separated from the cardboard backing. I then applied the paper on the box and decoupaged it. Looks very good. Perhaps you could construct your Roombox the size you want for the vignette and use a similar technique.

Pearl

Judaic Symbols:  The persons building the miniature Christmas Pyramids asked what kinds of characters they might use for a Pyramid for their Jewish friends. Purim isn't too far around the corner, and it has quite a few characters to work with: it's the story of Esther, so you could have a beautiful young queen, and King Ahasuerus, good guy Mordecai (he was Esther's older cousin who raised her)and wicked Haman.

The Noah's ark Pyramid would be completely acceptable too, that story also having come from the Old Testament. It would have Noah and his wife plus three sons and their wives, and all the animals in pairs.

I reread your questions and you seem to be wanting to do something connected with Hannukah since you asked about the lamp. There are miniature Mennorahs (I'm probably not spelling it right) candlesticks. But I don't think you should limit yourself to one theme that's around the same time as Christmas - do something that will be fun and easy to do with lots of possible figures and animals. Also, I'm not Jewish, but I have  studied the Old Testament, and I do know they respect the candlestick and the star of David, and might not like to see them displayed as part of a frivolous decoration. But they would enjoy seeing Bible stories come to life - I'm thinking of Samson and Delilah, David and the Giant Goliath, etc. - you could have quite a combination of characters.