Doll House Miniatures

Reviews

This is a beautiful little dollhouse when finished. It took about fifty hours to complete, but it was the first one I'd built, and I spent quite a bit of time wallpapering, etc. I'm sure if I build another, it will go together more quickly. The pieces need to be punched out of thin sheets and carefully sanded, and that takes time. The shingles had to be cut apart with scissors. Next time, I'll purchase a bag of shingles to add to the ones supplied, allowing us to put one more row on the main roof, gable, and dormers. We BARELY got the basics shingled, even though we were very careful not to waste pieces. We also ran into problems using hot glue on finished pieces; the glue didn't hold well to painted and varnished surfaces . . . although the directions suggest preparing the pieces before attaching them to each other. We ended up using hot glue to hold the pieces in place long enough for tacky craft glue to set. We also had to reinforce the porch railings to make them more durable. All that said, the result of this inexpensive little kit and a lot of elbow grease is a BEAUTIFUL little house with lots of tiny detail, gingerbread trim, etc. My seven year old is thrilled and will play with it for years. Her Polly Pockets are too small in scale, but (so what!), there is ample room for them. In the future, we'll buy some of the properly scaled Greenleaf furniture kits to upgrade the furnishings. You will also need: paint, hot glue and million glue sticks for the shingles, tacky craft glue, very fine sandpaper, ruler, sharp scissors, wood filler, wallpaper, spray varnish, etc. This house is fragile, though, and suitable for slightly-older children who will play quietly with their little dolls . . . not for someone who will shove it around the room frequently or try to sit on it.

My daughter enjoyed building the doll house. After receiving a new link for directions, they were very easy to follow and the diagrams were very helpful. For our first house, we did a pretty good job. This made a great snow day project. We will be ordering another house in the future.

Reviews

Not to insult anyone, if it didn't say that at the time, but as I'm looking at it, it's pretty clear to me. It says so right in the title. What concerns me is it doesn't mention the scale, which can be problematic. You have to read what all it says; becuase people who build dollhouses kind of want it unassembled, but maybe don't have the skill to assemble it all from nothing. Myself, I have the right tools, (at the very least a Dremel and safety glasses; along with small wirecutters, and pliers and scissors, paint primer and house paint.) but I wouldn't be able to make it all from scratch. What I do make; I eyeball, I've never measured anything. But then, I'm a bit weird in whatever skills I have...it's a great idea if they tell you what size/scale you're dealing with.

was very nice but takes a lot of time to put together,should order weeks in advance of a special day .granddaughter was very happy with.

I purchased this thinking it came painted and put together. It comes in thin sheets of wood that have to be painted, punched out, sanded, hot glued (instructions say to use super glue which won't work), then it needs a paint touch for the sides. Each room takes around 5 hours to assemble and paint so thats 30 hours to finish. If you have time then buy it but I sure wish someone would have warned me because I didn't have 30 hours to spend right before christmas, especially because I can only do it when my little girl is asleep so she doesnt see it.

I can't believe how they're hidden on Amazon that this is a "kit" in every sense of the word. It arrives as a set of flat sheets of wood with cut outlines. You will need to free the wood, sand it, assemble it, glue it, and paint/finish it. If you search the web you can find some pictures of the actual shipping form of this and it looks absolutely nothing like the picture on Amazon. Note: as of the date of writing this there is only one picture on Amazon, it wouldn't surprise me if they add more information later :)

Reviews

I bought this kit for my dad, who is learning to live by himself after sharing his life with my mother for over 60 years. It did the trick. He needed something to occupy his time and give him a challenge. It may be a good toy, but for my purpose it works great.

Even though there was a glitch in the delivery, the product is exactly what I wanted. I received a very nice letter of apology from BabyAge (the vendor) which was much appreciated. I would buy from this company again. Matter of fact, I'm looking at their kit to furnish my new house.

Reviews

I bought this for my daughter who was 7 at the time. She loved the idea and painting the dish. Downside was that the bowl is so small you can't see too much design when your child is done painting. After everything was arranged just so in the pot, it took about a week before the do-dads and extras started to get moldy. Watching grass grow isn't that exciting either. Flowers would have been more interesting. Tip for anyone who buys this - DON'T put the extra decorations in until after the grass and bean sprouts have grown.

Children learn to plant their own garden with small figures and treasures and watch the plants grow quickly.

It was fun setting it up but it actually got MOLDY! ewww. I think it's because it's a closed container or my daughter just got carried away with watering? Anyway, it got gross pretty fast :(

We also gave this to our daughter for Christmas, and I have to echo the praise. In the age of noisy, easily broken, and battery-powered junk toys that get abandoned by New Year's, this one is a real winner. My daughter and I spent a fun afternoon during her winter break from school arranging and planting her Wee Enchanted Garden. The best part is, she can water it and check each day to see how much progress it's making as it grows! What a great idea. She loves it. Also recommended -- the Medieval Garden, which created lots of similar fun for her big brother. These Faber Castell people are really on to something great with these kits.

My kids and I had a great time doing this. And the grass grew so fast we didn't have to wait long to enjoy it! I loved it as much as they did.

Reviews

We have bought this San Franciscan Dollhouse from OrangeOnions - was delivered fast and in intact box. However, upon opening we found a few wood trim details cracked (kit was made about 10 years ago, so no surprises). But since there were enough trim supplied, with help of glue and careful planning we have managed to complete the house with mostly intact pieces of trim. All decorative details and trim pieces made from different quality of wood, but you will have enough pieces to choose from. My leftovers from kit consist of about 10 trim pieces, several steps and decorative details - enough to repair outside decorations in case kids will accidently brake it. It took me and my husband about 10 days to put construction together (just a couple of hours per day with painting of each detail with primer and main color for most of that time), and another month for all the trim, windows, doors and inside decorations (again only evenings). It was fun project for whole family and will be a fun playtime for my kids - see photos. I would suggest to use epoxy glue for walls and main roof to ensure stability of the construction if you plan this dollhouse for kids. I've also found that booklet suggestion to paint it after whole construction is done might be difficult, so we painted it detail by detail while constructing. Overall the house is sturdy with thick walls and floors, so kids can play with it. I am sure that outside decorations will eventually fall off during playtime, but again, there is plenty of spare pieces to fulfill for missing parts. We put our dollhouse on swivel base (two pieces of wood and swivel base in between), so it is on turntable for easy access. I've also covered dollhouse outside with clear lacquer to prolong it's life. Hopefully it will survive my kids' childhood and will be passed to generations.

MY FRIEND HAS THIS HOUSE AND SHE PUT IT TOGETHER WITH SOME HELP FROM ME AND OTHER FRIENDS, AS A PROJECT. WE HAD LOTS OF FUN WITH IT AND NOW HER 6 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER PLAYS WITH IT,BUT CAREFULLY, IT IS A WORK OF ART. IF YOU WANT YOUR LITTLE TYKE TO HAVE A DOLL HOUSE TO BEAT AROUND GET FISHER PRICE, BUT FOR QUALITY AND LASTING VALUE, I LOVE THIS HOUSE

The box says "Mansions in Miniature", not mansion in minutes. Nothing on the box indicates this is a project that can be put together in an afternoon, or even a week or two. Look at the list of recommended tools that you should assemble before even beginning! It is designed to be an heirloom or collectible, and anyone who thinks a child could move a 25 lb. house around is kidding themselves. This is not a toy! It is for the serious miniaturist. I certainly wouldn't be letting my 6-year old play with something this delicate and difficult to assemble.

I'm sure when assembled this dollhouse could be every little girls dream. It appears to be beautiful but there are a few really important things it does not tell us. For starters the box says Mansion in minutes No way this would take many hobbiest a year to put together. If you want a chalenge project it'd be great if you want something to work on for a week or 2 then suprise and delight your 6 year old daughter look elsewhere. I had to sell mine unassembled because none of my friends could get past the instruction manual. One of whom used to build real houses. As I said as a long term hobbie it could be a dream come true. As a dollhouse to play with well I may never know. Ps the tower is merely to be decorative it wasn't a room. It does not mention that fact in it's specifics.