Grandpa Lee's Miniatures
How To assemble the shell The necessary prep work is now done and soon all this stuff is going to start looking like a real doll house. Some may recognize the model we're working on as a popular kit on the market today and wonder why it appears that I'm making several changes to the manufacturer's original plans. I want this to be a show piece inside and out, but unfortunately, while this kit stresses an appealing outside appearance it comes with only a very Spartan interior. For that reason I've added simulated flooring, changed and eliminated some of the interior partitions (which is discussed in greater detail on our "Decorating" page), eliminated the fake upper roof to streamline appearance, and eliminated the staircase as well as extending the second floor deck. Doing away with the stairs may seem surprising at
first, but in this kit the stairs run straight in resulting in the loss of a lot of useable interior viewing space. Remember that the "missing half" of every doll house can only be imagined in any case so why not suspend your disbelief a bit more and assume that the stairs are in that part of the house never to be seen. But by all means, put the stairs in if you like. The point of all this is to demonstrate that you are free to exercise a little creativity within the structural confines of your kit and you should feel free to do so. There's also another good reason we don't want to be blind slaves to the manufacturer's instruction booklet-these booklets often contain significant errors! This generally comes about because the book may fail to capture the most recent design changes made by the manufacturer, so above all let common sense be your guide.
Am I on the level? The shell is made almost entirely of fairly large structural pieces that go together easily. The main trick in this early stage of construction is to keep everything square and aligned. Being properly aligned doesn't always mean flush edges; often small overhangs are called for so pay close attention to the booklet about this. However, contrary to what the book may also suggest, don't try to put too many pieces together at once; "while the glue is still wet" as they tend to say. These big panels have a life of their own and love to move out of position if given half a chance. Better to positively join only a few pieces at a time-and always in the proper sequence of course. Hint When edge gluing panels place them on a flat nonstick surface such as heavy glass or thick plastic to keep them even and for easy release after drying. About now you may also be tempted to run out and buy an electric brad nailer. I don't recommend it for the casual user because it's so easy to miss the edge of the panel beneath and even if done right you will still have to counter sink and patch over the nail heads.
Keep it all together Maybe you think you'll just use finishing nails and a hammer for quick assembly. Think again. particle board of this type has a hard surface and a soft belly. It will be hard to start a nail unless predrilled. Pounding also shocks other adjacent glued parts, and once the nail is started the soft body beneath is likely to crumble and split anyway. If you're determined to nail, drill a generous pilot hole first, but it's much better to simply apply a full bead (no more
than 1/8" in diameter) of fresh wood working glue and then clamp glued edges together as tightly as possible. Sponge off excess glue that appears on any prefinished surfaces. Using hot melt is another temptation, and is actually useful in some applications such as applying roof shingles, but not here. Depending on its grade there is always a risk that it will "pop" loose at some point and we don't want to risk that happening later between structural members. The steel angles shown in the top photo are worth their weight in gold for keeping things square, and notice too that the stairwell opening is already blocked off in this model.
Sometimes the book is your friend So far so good, and it's starting to look like something, but wait, danger lurks ahead! During these early stages of shell construction, it's very easy to make a major mistake. Consider the symmetrical two window panel shown in this photo. It would be very easy to glue it into position with the siding facing wrong side up. Hazards abound. These particular floors are made of a major piece with two similar but slightly different sized pieces edge glued. Are they in the right place? Is the whole thing flat? If you do decide to put in stairs, know that the stairwell opening is not necessarily in the middle so even this single piece can be in only one right position. Hint The back of the booklet labels every piece with corresponding dimensions. Unless you're certain, confirm and mark every piece for installation as called for, and dry fit every piece before gluing. To paraphrase an old saying "Measure twice and glue once". One final tip about the glue bottle. Keep the tip opening clean by sponging off after use and then blow into it. Keep the little cap snug when not in use. If the neck clogs up, unscrew the cap and dig out the clog. As the glue starts to thicken after repeated use thin it out with a little water and shake well to mix.
Almost there Let's stop here for a moment and take stock. All prepainted structural members are now secured properly in place. The only exception is that no internal partitions can be placed until the main circumferential electrical bus line is installed. Notice that the brick slurry has also been painted
onto the house footing using a provided template over a gray painted surface simulating the mortar. Most people recoil instinctively at the prospect of using this stuff, but it actually works quite well. Incidentally, a thick brush works better than troweling as the book suggests. I might also mention here that I've made no provisions in this brickwork for front stairs because if I ever use outside stairs at all they will never be permanently attached. This is a heavy model with a fairly large footprint and once permanently added, any odd protrusion such as stairs are always either in the way or getting knocked off. If you like, make protruding stairs as separate assemblies and later just place them loose against the house while on display. Finally, take advantage of lulls while the glue dries to assemble and finish small assemblies for later use. For example, this is a good time to line off the roof for shingles but don't add anything else to the house until the 1st stage electrical work is finished.
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Grandpa Lee