Roundy roundy wagon wheels

The Allwood covered wagon kit I transformed into a 1:12 scale farm wagon has an ingenious method for constructing the wagon wheels. They supply dowels you cut into spokes and the shaped inner hubs.

The wheels are made from two layers of diecut plywood glued together and sanded.

The ingenious part comes in the form of the jig used to line up the spokes. It is made from two layers of plywood lined up in the middle and glued together.

The wheel assembly fits snugly onto the jig and the hub is placed in the middle. The jig has grooves in it serving as a guide for the spokes.

The instructions tell you to cut a whole bunch of dowel lengths to certain measurements, but I didn’t do it that way. Instead, I measured only the first one to the kit specified length and then measured the rest of the dowel lengths to fit. There was no way the standard measurements given with the kit instructions were going to work for all the spokes – some would be too long and others too short. That’s the nature of imprecise diecut parts.

Once the glue has dried, the wagon wheel pops off from the jig.  :D

Categories: Baslow Ranch, Model Cars, Vehicles
January 25, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – 1920s kitchen sink

I love the 1920s porcelain Kohler kitchen sink by Jacqueline Kerr Deiber that I bought for the Heritage. But, the legs are shorter than the drain pipe, making for a rather wobbly sink that likes to tip forward…and fall down. :[

To fix this problem I bought a bag of washers from Home Depot.

I attached one washer to the sink.

I then glued the leg into the hole. The washer blends in perfectly with the leg so it’s not noticeable as an extra piece.

Now the sink can stand up straight. :]

I received a beautiful basket from Lidi at Basketcase Miniatures. We did a post-holiday swap. :D

It’s so beautifully made that I just had to spend some of my mini time today playing instead of building.

Looks like grandma has been in her garden. She picked some beautiful flowers (these were made from Bonnie Lavish kits). I love this basket!

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
January 21, 2012 | 0 comments

Foyer to kitchen pocket door, part 3

Continuing work on the pocket door. The lever I built to open and close the pocket door is great and all for my omnipotent hands, but the mini residents need to be able to operate the door as well. ;] Putting a doorknob on it doesn’t really work since it would keep hitting the door frame. What I needed was pocket door hardware.

Dollhouse hardware is limited to begin with, so finding scale replicas was out of the question. I liked Kathie’s idea of using paper printouts of beautiful vintage hardware, but I had another idea. Enter two 1:24 scale letter boxes, one for each side of the door. :D This is not the first time I’ve used half scale items in my full scale builds, and it won’t be the last! A special thanks to Keli for helping me track them down at The Dolls House Mall. They are a very good approximation of the original.

I’m not usually fond of brass, but considering this is a vintage house it didn’t bother me so much.

Even though they are glued to the surface and not set in, they don’t interfere with the functionality of the door since they are so thin. Once I get the rest of door and baseboard trims in place, I think they will look even more like the real thing. :D

Part 4 here.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
January 19, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – kitchen lighting

I picked up this white chandelier from Green Gables Dollhouse. I love this fixture. I used one in black for the Newport dining area. The white gives it a wonderful vintage feel without being too fussy.

The light isn’t permanently attached. Looks like I have the positioning a little crooked. I had to shorten the chain a little since this is a shorter ceiling height than the light must be intended for. I will be covering the gaps between the ceiling and walls, as well as the holes at the bay window opening.

The light gives off the perfect amount of warm light to keep from losing the details I’m fussing over in the deep room. The silver Revere Bowl by Clare Bell Brass also came from Green Gables Dollhouse. I need to make some fruit for it.

As I was sitting across the room writing this blog post, I noticed the light through the window and had to go back for one more photo.

For the cooking area, I treated myself to a lovely Ray Storey pendant gas light. If I had had a larger budget, I would have bought the matching 3-arm down light for the dining table. But, the white chandelier is still a beautiful piece.

The gas light is very well made (though I neglected to straighten the top of the chain in this photo).

I love the way it highlights the textured ceiling. It’s the perfect vintage touch.

I don’t suppose in reality this dim fixture would do much good in the kitchen for nighttime cooking, but it casts such a wonderfully soft light over this part of the room.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
January 18, 2012 | 0 comments

3 Blind Mice show – January 2012

I am lucky to live in an area that has a mini show of some sort every few months as well as the larger Bishop International Show in April every year.  This weekend, I attended the 3 Blind Mice show.  :]

I met Carol of True 2 Scale.  It was fun putting a face to a name.  :D  You may recall I made her milk carton flower kit for the Heritage.  I picked up two of her glitter house kits – the Haunted House and the Barn.  She has amazing kits, so be sure to check out her website!  I already have her florist boxes and a cake box kit, though I haven’t worked with those just yet.

I picked up a small round side table for the Heritage parlor.  I was going to make something for this space, but the color and style work well for the setting.

I like that it coordinates but doesn’t necessarily match the style of the coffee table.  Grandma has eclectic taste like me!  And, this one is the right color to start.  A good buy, I must say!

The Chrysolite table lamp I bought previously fits perfectly!

I hadn’t planned to buy much since I have most of what I need for my current project, but I did pick up an online order from Missy at Green Gables Dollhouse.  I figured it was just as easy to pick it up in person at the show as to have her ship it, and we got to meet in person after talking online and on the phone a number of times.  :D  You’ll see those items in future posts.

Categories: Miniature Shows and Shops, The Haunted Heritage
January 14, 2012 | 0 comments