Greenleaf Dollhouse Kit, Beacon Hill

I love this....... Been a little fly by the seat of my pants when putting it together. The instructions are so dry but fair enough. I would highly highly recommend a glue gun. Tried wood glue and took so long to dry and make progress. I skipped step 1 & 2. Will revisit those before I complete any of the trim steps. So far so good. Less than a month in!!! A month in and things are still going fairly well. Of course you pick up tricks as you go. But for a first time builder, I’m feeling good about my work. Wood filler would be a suggestion if you’re trying to be Uber professional. But this is just a gonna be a toy for my kids.

This purchase sat in my home for months because I was intimidated by the many pieces it had in the box. But as soon as I looked at the plans I was immediately confident that we (my 8 year old and I ) could build it. We now have only 3 hours into this house and it’s almost done. The materials are sturdy but you do need a few more things like glue and sanding tool and your own paint to complete. Other than that it was a great purchase.

It is primarily Balsa wood, which is a paper-like light-weight wood and the pieces are cut into the paper-like sheets of wood - it is very fragile (wood that will tear). So you are literally building this house board by board with wood the strength of a Q-tip. It likely would've been easier and cheaper to purchase actual wood from a hardware store to build a more sturdy product. Then you still have to cut out and sand all of the hundreds of wood pieces, glue them together, seal it, paint it, and design it with finishing touches (like wallpaper, etc.).

This was my very first build and I have been having such a blast. I would say that when you get this you will have underestimated how much material this is at first lol Tips: Read the warm up page first before starting. Do not start punching out pieces. Number and name with PENCIL every piece and which to discard according to the packet with map plans. This will help as you pop out pieces over time. Get the appropriate glue, qtips for clean up unless hot glue, 120 grit sandpaper (get the sheets not the block or machine). I used woodglue for most of this and masking tape to hold pieces as they dried. I hope this helps!

Instructions did not make much sence, and the wood was a far worse quality than I expected and I was already expecting it to be pretty rough. Couldn't sand anything smooth, sanding only caused it to splinter more. HOWEVER using Elmer's interior wood filler on it then sanding it gave it the appearance I wanted. Was able to find plenty of sources online to help me understand the instructions and used Beacon 3 in 1 glue for putting all the peices together. I consider myself a resourceful crafty person and had no problem that couldn't be solved with this kit. It did take me nearly 3 months to fully assemble so if you are looking for something you will have to put a LOT of TLC into this is the project for you Still a fun kit, probably not ideal for someone's first craft project, definitely designed for more experienced crafters.

Loved the concept and design. But Andy this is a big deal for me the instructions are pretty much like reading a novel with blurry black and white photos and there are very few of those does not show examples of what each completed step should look like. When it comes to the quality of the supplies it’s a mixed bag some is really good but the more intricate parts are pretty much splinters before attempting to remove them from the sheet

I cannot wait to put this together. It was bigger than I expected, but for what I am using it for, it is perfect. Well worth the money.

Love this product so much. Am still putting it together. Just make sure that you have all the panels that are listed. Was able to get the panel I needed without any problem, but it helps keep your momentum going to finish the project.