The Ashley By Dura-Craft: A little house for a little hobby
Written: Jun 24 '02 (Updated Jun 25 '02)
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Pros: Cheap, easy to build, a great beginner's house.
Cons: Cheap, flimsy. Not for smaller children.
The Bottom Line: This is a great kit for beginners and pro's alike
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| Mininut's Full Review: Dura Craft AH 130 Ashley |
I have been on Epinions for 2 years and I have finally found something I am qualified to write about. If you don’t know who I am, I am Mini; short for Miniature. I know what you are thinking, “she must be 3 feet tall”. I am not miniature but my main love is. So where did my name come from? I build, design and collect dollhouses. Yes I actually have the patience to sit down and build a dollhouse and all the tiny things that go inside but I have no patience for my husband or my 2 year old. Go get a drink, sit down and relax because I am about to tell you everything you ever needed to know about this dollhouse and how to build it.
Let’s talk about the Ashley
Whether you are a budding miniaturist or an old pro, you will find great uses for the Ashley. One of my Ashley’s is currently living in Canada as a Bakery; there is also one in New Jersey decorated as a toy store. The Ashley is perfect for theme designs or to just decorate as a house like the cat house that I built that new resides in California. The Ashley kit measures 16 ¾”H x 17 ½”W x 12 ½”D and has 2 rooms and a spiral staircase.
When you open your Ashley kit you will find 10 roof pieces, 5 main wall pieces, an upper floor piece, lower floor piece, wood and cardboard trim, 7 windows and 1 door kit and 1 spiral stair kit and a set of black and white illustrated instructions. The kit is made of 1/8” plywood and in my opinion is not as durable as some of my favorite houses, such as the ones by RGT (Real Good Toys) and A House that Jack Built. The window kits in this and all Dura-Craft houses have silk screened windows as well as a silkscreen door insert. The door is a working door but the windows are not. You can see interior pictures of this house at http://www.ohtheplacesyoullgo.com/dollhouse/annadollhouse2.jpg
What I don’t like about the Ashley
Ok I have to rant about some things in this particular kit. I am a Miniaturist and I build and design for money so after a while you start to catch things that others would not normally care about. The first thing I have to say is that this kit is off scale. Now most of you have no idea what I am talking about and if you saw the house and had minis in it then you probably would not care; but those of you who are fellow miniaturist know that this house is off scale. For those of you that have no idea what that means, I will tell you. Dollhouses come in many scales, this particular house is 1” (1:12) scale or 1” = 1’. However, when you put 1” scale furniture in this house it does not fit well and the pieces are a bit too large. I have tried ½” (1:24) or ½” = 1’ scale but it is too small. There are some ¾” scale pieces that can be found in England and these seem to fit well in this particular house. Since 1” Scale items are easier to find and easier to make then I would suggest that you sparsely furnish this house with furniture but add extra accessories. For instance, if you were to make a bakery then you would put maybe 1 small table, a counter and a shelf downstairs but put a lot of goodies and maybe 1 store clerk to make the room look more full. The upstairs can be partitioned but I recommend against it. The area is so small that if you partitioned it then you would take away much needed space. I love my large houses because I have full bedrooms and baths and you cannot do this with the Ashley. You may be able to place a small single bed with not much else in it. I generally use the upstairs as storage. In the bakery I placed extra pots and bakery boxes in the upstairs to make it appear as a storage area or attic. Another negative on this kit from my point of view is the plywood thickness. I do not like a flimsy house and I would not recommend this kit for a younger child. Most Dura-Craft houses are made of thin plywood and do not hold up as well as other kits that I have built.
What I like about this kit
This is one of the cheapest and easiest kits on the market. The Ashley sells for $19.99 at Hobby Lobby and you can sometimes find them as cheap as $9.99 at Wal-mart during Christmas. This kit is best for beginners because your roof does not require shingles and believe me, you do not want to tackle shingles on your first house. Most of the trim on this house is cardboard so you will not need a miter to cut the trim and this will save you a lot of time and a lot of aspirin. This is a kit that I have taught numerous beginners on and I am very pleased with the simplicity of it.
How do you put it together
When putting together this dollhouse kit you will need a simple tool kit to work with. In your kit you should have an X-acto knife with extra blades, Aleene’s tacky glue (the best there is), Quick-tite super glue, hot glue gun with glue sticks, scissors, small hammer, masking tape, wood filler, sand paper, acrylic paint, black fine tip marker, small paint brushes and a small pair of needle nose pliers. I do recommend that you read your instructions thoroughly before building this kit. If you are an old pro then toss your instructions aside and start building the kit however you like (also called kit-bashing). Pick out your house color(s), flooring, wallpaper and window décor before hand so that you can decorate as you build. The Dura-craft kit instructions are generally very easy to follow and you should not have any problems putting this kit together. I will warn you that the stairs are a pain in the rear and you may spend quite a bit of time on them. This house is put together using the tab and slot method so you will need to be sure to have some wood filler or wood putty on hand. The tab and slot method is simple; your upper floor has tabs that fit into slots in the walls. This is a great method for building houses because you will not need to hammer nails or create supports to hold the floors till the glue dries. Once your outer walls, floors are installed you will want to fill in the slot areas with wood putty and let it dry for about 4 to 8 hours. Sand the excess putty off till you have a smooth surface, you don’t want to paint a rough area.
Tips and hints to make your project go faster and look better
First I want to share a quick glue bonding technique with you. Take your Aleene’s tacky glue and place it on the areas you want to glue, then take a few drops of your Quick-Tite super glue and place the pieces you want to glue together. Hold these pieces for 30 seconds and then lay the item flat or use masking tape to hold the items in place. The super glue creates a quick and strong bond that will last longer than if you were to use straight tacky glue. I do urge you to use Aleene’s tacky glue instead of general white glue. Aleene’s is thick glue and bonds better to the wood and other surfaces and you can now get it in a quick drying formula. Paint your exterior walls before you put them up, this will make your paint job look more professional and very clean because you do not have to paint around trim. You will need to paint a second coat over your wood putty areas. You will also want to paint your trim before you place it on the house. Install your wallpaper and floors before you put your roof on. The best thing to do in a small kit like this is to get craft paper at the hobby store for 4 sheets for $1.00 instead of paying $1.25 per sheet of dollhouse wall paper. Walls can be painted as well but you will want to sand them before you paint them so that they will be smooth. Do not use glue to install wallpaper; this will cause your paper to bubble badly. Instead use Modge Podge found at your local hobby store and lightly brush it on with a paintbrush. Apply your paper and use the edge of a credit card to smooth the paper. Do not over do the Modge Podge or you will end up with bubbles. Modge Podge also makes a great sealer, if you place paper on the floors then place a coat or 2 of Modge Podge over it and it will dry with a shine like a real floor. You should also sand around all edges of this house as you are putting it together because most Dura-Craft houses are made with rough edges and be careful because you can get splinters. For flooring you can use paint, dollhouse carpet or wood stain. If you plan to use carpeting please do not use anything but dollhouse carpet. I hate to see a dollhouse with real house carpet in it because the scale of house carpet is much too large for a dollhouse. I love to stain the floors and use throw rugs whenever necessary and throw rugs are so easy to make as well so you are saving money. If you plan to electrify your house then you will need to do this before you put up any wall paper and you will not be able to just paint the walls once you tape wire it. You will actually have to paper or texture your walls to hide the tape wire. This house is small enough that you should be able to use a strip lighting or no lighting at all. Be careful when inserting your door, if you use too much pressure you will break the needles and the door will have to be glued in place. You will need to use small needle nose pliers and small hammer to place your door needles into the door. Always save your stairs, doors and windows for last. It is much easier to apply wallpaper when there are no windows in the way. Always cut away from you when using your cutting knife and keep band aides with your tool kit at all times.
What if I want a bigger kit
Dura-Craft offers a huge selection of dollhouses in all sizes and styles. You can go for 1 story or 3 story, 2 rooms or 8 rooms. Whether you want a Gothic Mansion or a single room log cabin you can bet Dura-Craft has it. The kits that Dura-Craft offers are
Bellingham Farmhouse 3 story with 8 rooms
Bayberry Cottage 3 story with 5 rooms
Manchester Country house 3 story with 7 rooms
Newport Cape house 3 story with 5 rooms
Winston Cottage 2 story with 2 rooms
San Franciscan 3 story with 7 rooms and 2 staircases
Linfield 2 story with 6 rooms
Marquam Hill Mansion 3story with 8 rooms and 2 staircases (My favorite Dura-Craft)
Lafayette 2 floors 4 rooms
Newberg 2 floors with 6 rooms
Shenandoah Cabin 2 story with 2 rooms
Sierra Cabin single room
Pioneer Cabin single floor with loft.
Dura-Craft also offers tab and slot furniture that you can build yourself and then decorate to match your taste.
What else is available for dollhouse enthusiasts?
There are numerous houses on the market. If you want to go to your local hobby store then you will find my personal favorite RGT (Real Good Toys) and Walmer, which is now owned by RGT, Greenleaf, Corona concepts and now and then you may find a Lilliput. I suggest you go to a local dollhouse store if you are looking for larger style houses and pre-built homes. You can also find numerous houses on-line that are cheaper but you will end up spending the difference in shipping so I would suggest going to a local hobby shop or dollhouse store. I also recommend a couple of Dollhouse magazines such as "Dolls and Miniatures" Formerly known as Doll in Miniature is a wonderful resource for buying, making and collecting miniature dolls, bears and dollhouse accessories. This magazine is no longer published but you can usually find issues on E-bay. You can find out more about Dolls and Miniatures at http://members.aol.com/DollsInMin/index.html. And what dollhouse collection would be complete if you did not subscribe to "Dolls House World" Another wonderful magazine full of tips, hints and wonderful pictures of dollhouses and miniatures. You can also find a wealth of information on their web site at http://www.dollshouseworld.com. Also available is “Miniature Collector” that will delight you with 12 issues a year. You can find more info at http://scottpublications.com/mcmag/. Last but not least is “Dollhouse Miniatures” formerly known as Nutshell News. You can view this magazine’s site at http://www2.dhminiatures.com/dhm/ or you can read my review on this magazine at http://www.epinions.com/mags-review-2B7B-C6ED783-3A3AE82D-prod1. And that is not all; there are numerous clubs and on-line sites dedicated to miniaturists. We are a large community that loves all things small. Contact me if you would like more info on clubs and organizations.
About Dura-Craft
You can view more about Dura-Craft at their website http://www.dura-craft.com/
You can even find other miniature enthusiasts in one of their chat rooms. To contact Dura-Craft by web then please go to http://www.dura-craft.com/contactus.htm or contact them by mail, E-mail or fax at contact@Dura-Craft.com, phone 503-538-3100, fax 503-538-7012 or mail Dura-Craft Inc. PO Box 459 Newberg, OR 97132 USA.
If you are missing any components to a Dura-Craft house, no matter how old it is; Dura-Craft will send you the replacement at no charge. Now that is an excellent company.
I know you want to see my dollhouses don’t you?
Ok I know you are sitting there wondering what my creations look like and lucky for you, I have a website. You can see my creations at http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut and
click on gallery to see my creations and collections or click on for sale to see what I have to offer.
In closing
This is a great kit for beginners, if you ware wanting to learn to build dollhouses or even if you are looking to build one small treasure then I would head out and get this kit. If you decide to get it and you need help, you know where to find me. Good luck and happy Mini’ing.
Big Smiles and warm Hugs
Heather aka MiniNut
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Model Kits
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Mininut
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Member: Heather
Location: Leander, Texas
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 274 members
About Me:
Mother of 4 gorgeous children and survivor of Cervical Cancer and Domestic Abuse.
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