Karen's Tudor Dolls House: The story so far

Saturday, 18 September 2010

The story so far

I have now caught up with pictures as to where I am at at the present. I have a ton of claying to do, which will probably take me all this weekend and next. But it is finally starting to take some shape.

2 comments:

Michelle18 September 2010 at 20:29
It looks like you are using Das (the white one) for the clay in between the beams? I've been using paperclay and it does dry out mighty quick, so I have to work fast. I do have a white pack of Das as a back up as I need loads of paperclay!

This looks like a very large house and I admire you starting on your first one and not even using or building from a kit! I am building a Tudor house too, (it will be over 5 foot wide and 2 feet deep) but mine is being adapted as it's my version of Hogwarts. I've made all my own doors and beams...I am finishing up on the Dorma windows now. I'm not looking forward to putting all the tiles on the roof. lol

You've done so much in less than 6 months! I'm sure Karen will love it to bits once its complete.

Michelle :o)
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Kevin&Karen19 September 2010 at 00:38
Hi Michelle
Yes, I use DAS between the beams. I find it easy to work with and it doesn't shrink....if you put PVA on surface first, and it can be worked for quite a long time.

This house is 5 foot wide, but only 18 inches deep. I look forward to seeing your Hogwarts house.

I am also going to use DAS (Teracotta) on the roof. I find that DAS given the right treatment and colour washes looks very real.
And being a beginner I thought I'd stick with what I was comfortable with.

I really have got the bug and will have to do another after this, but smaller and I will have to sell it.

Kevin :o)
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The Doll House Blog

We started this Blog to show how we went about making a Doll House 1-12th scale in the Tudor style.

Karen always wanted a Dolls House as a child, but never did get one, so I said to her 'get one now, while you still can'. Karen scoured the internet, and E-bay of course to see what was out there.

We found what was out there was very expensive and we felt, not really value for money. Some Tudor Houses were upwards £1800 and although some looked good on the outside, they did not have a lot of detail on the inside, most being just plain walls and always cheap lighting.

So I said to Karen I'll make one for you dear and she quickly said 'ok, when can you start ?'

That was back in April, and I have been at it most weekends since......although she did let me off for June, as we were on holiday. It has been a learning curve as I have never done anything like this before. We could not start the Blog back then, as we needed our computer literate son for that :o)

Anyway we hope you enjoy our Blog and please feel free to comment or make suggestions. K & K.

Any one who is interested in our other hobby which is Harley Davidson & BSA Motorcycles can take a look at our Blog here:

Harley Lovers Blog

We are still working on this, so currently not much to see.

The Aim

The aim is to build a 1-12th scale Tudor style dolls house using what good qaulity materials are available to buy, ie windows etc. But actual room dimensions I thought I would decide as I went along. So there are no plans etc to follow, just what I feel looks right at the time. The aim is not to have a 'perfect' as it would have been back then house, but just to have one that Karen would like and done as well as I can with my limited abilities....never having done anything like this before. I do want it to be as realistic inside as it is outside though as I feel that is important. Also I dont want joins etc where the fronts come out to be visible.....we shall see. I had a serious motorcycle accident a couple of years back and this has left me with limited use of my right arm and shoulder.

But I do have some DIY abilities, but don't all men say that...lol. time will tell !

Here we go !

I bought a large piece of marine ply 4'6" x 2' as a base and thought that I would simply....start on the left with the kitchen and work my way to the right and then do the same with all the following floors....simples...he says.

I am going to use 9mm MDF board for the walls and 7mm for the ceilings and 3mm Ply for the back. I ordered a truck load of Mahogany strips in various sizes, as I wasn't sure what I would need. But I thought they would look better than cut ply strips that I had seen used on some houses. I also bought various strips of trim from B & Q with different designs as I thought they would come in handy....at some point.

Tools wise, I bought a small razor saw and mitre box and a Fret saw. As I have an extensive tool chest, I thought I'd manage with the saws etc that I already had.

Update

This house is starting to take over my life ! I spend hours at night thinking about what I can do or add to it to make it look special and unique for Karen. Also thinking about how can I make this front or section come out, or fit in etc etc

On average I am working on it for 14 hours a day on Saturdays and again Sundays, or until my arm & shoulder stop working in protest. I must now be totalling a good 300 hours since I started in April....we did have June off though for our holidays !.......

It has certainly become a bit of an obsession ! I never thought that I would get 'into' it as much as I have. Even to the point that when Karen comes home with furniture I say 'that better be Tony Knott's or it ain't going in !'

Oh dear........will I ever be the same ????

Karen's Tudor Dolls House

Karen's Shed Project

Saturday, 18 September 2010

The story so far

2 comments:

Our Lighting

Link to Ray Storey Qaulity Lighting