For those of us who combine our love of lighthouses, lighthouse sculptures, and dollhouses, 'Real Good Toys' has just come out with a lighthouse dollhouse kit roughly patterned after 'Peggy's Cove'. The lighthouse is 4 feet high, pre-wired with a glass prism lens room and a realistic blinking beacon.
The inside of the lighthouse has 3 floors, with room enough for furnishings, equipment, etc.
For those not into dollhouse miniatures, the lighthouse interior would be a great place to display spyglass, thumbnail and ornament-sized HLs. There is also a 2 1/2 foot model available.

Deb W.

Deb,

Thanks! I bought the kit and am in the process of building it. My thumnails should be just the right scale for putting on the mantle!

Dixie

I.O. just bought the smaller version of this dollhouse to make (21") high. Trouble is I don't quite know what to do with it. It is octagonal and because it's a doll house the back is open. So you would have to put it up against the wall or in a corner if you didn't have anything to put inside. And the inside would get dusty unless you closed it off somehow.

At least it would give him something to do for a while besides making more tables. Told him to please stop making tables. The house is full of tables!!!!

Mombo - tell him to make curio cabinets. Great market for them here and you'll keep him busy for years.

Joanne

Joanne, he's only a Newbie at this woodworking stuff. Most items don't pass muster the first time around and get sent back to the garage for a little touch-up. Now would you want a guy making you a curio who makes a table with 4 different length legs? Might just make some of those leaning LH's straighten up!

Maybe when he goes to Clermont this year I'll have him pack his tools. Then he can make you a curio!

Mombo

[This message has been edited by mombo (edited 10-18-99).]

The back can be enclosed with plexiglas, or you get get milled work from your local miniature shop and enclose the opening so you have an eight-sided structure. Then you can put that side against a wall. Actually, once you realize all the really neat nautical miniatures that are available, you might get the SECOND BUG and take up the miniature hobby. The level of detail in quality dollhouse miniatures are on a par with HLs.

[This message has been edited by Deb Weissler (edited 10-23-99).]

We really got a deal on this dollhouse. Found a coupon from a local craft store for 40% off any non-sale item. The store where I.O. purchased the house honors competitor's coupons. He had to return the first one as the globe for the light was broken. He got a replacement for 60% of what he paid for the first one.

I.O. has begun this project. Thought maybe the "Keeper" and the "Flying Santa" from the "Days Gone By" series would fit inside but they appear to be a little too tall.

Mombo

Actually, the days gone by figures are a little too small - the scale on the lighthouse is 1" = 1' - so the man should approach 6" tall. According to Lighthouse Depot, the keeper is 5" high, so he'd only be 5 feet tall.

Dixie

Mombo, you're right, keep him making models.

Joanne

Dixie, you're right. I inquired about their size also, figuring they would serve as lighthousekeeper family. But they are an inch too short so will go on a hunt at the Philadelphia Miniaturia for the right folks to populate 'Mobjack Light' (this may be patterned after a New England lighthouse but its home down here is the Mobjack Bay!).

The doll house I have is the shorter version (21" high) and the distance between floor and ceiling is about 4 1/2 " so those guys are too tall. With the Xmas stuff coming out I found a Keeper (in uniform) and wife that are about 2" so they are too short (unless you assume 12 ' ceilings). In the meantime they are parked alongside my Xmas pieces which makes them too tall, lol!

So you have the 1/2" scale. The miniature shows are beginning to have more and more 1/2" & even 1/4" scale so you may be able to find things you need there. Have you ever attended one? I think I sent you an email re. Ron Stetkewicz's nautical miniature line. He offers barometers, ship's bells, kegs, lobster pots and glass floats, telescopes, and sextants all in 1/2" scale as well as the traditional 1". He also has brass lamps & candlesticks and fireplace accessories in 1/2" scale. If you are interested I can give you his phone number. I will be seeing him at the Philadelphia Miniaturia next Saturday.

Thanks Deb, but I'm not really into the miniature stuff. They have shows here too. One morning at breakfast we met someone who made them and he gave us his card. We saved, "Just in case."

Deb,

Ran across this URL -
http://members.thebee.net/captainseaweed/

Dixie

Have seen 'Captain Seaweed' miniatures at several shows. They use one of these lighthouses (the large one) for displaying their miniatures. I bought a really cool telescope on a stand from them - it looks great looking out one of the windows. The folks who run Captain Seaweed give classes on assembling and finishing these lighthouse dollhouses and were also giving out helpful hints at the last show I went to in Washington D.C. Have you finished yours?

NOT YET - I HAVE IT BASICALLY ASSEMBLED, BUT HAVE THE FINISHING TO DO. I'LL SEND PHOTOS. DO YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF YOURS? EMAIL THEM TO ME IF SO, I'D LOVE TO SEE THEM.

DIXIE

I have the lighthouse shell assembled and the next step is the foundation. Mylocal mini shop showed me how to apply stucco to the foundation to simulate a stone base. I bought real slate tiles to tile the first floor too. I have not yet started the beacon room - understand this is the most challenging.
I bought working windows and door to replace the ones that came with the kit - that way I can have open windows with curtains "blowing".
'Captain Seaweed' is running wiring up the other side channel in order to provide interior lighting. I have never tried interior lighthing before so I'm still thinking about it.

Completion date on mine is tomorrow, according to I.O. It's looking pretty nice and the flashing light is the cat's meow. Will take a photo to post.

[This message has been edited by mombo (edited 11-22-99).]

Here's the picture. If you look closely you will see the light is on. We added a fog bell and the tree on the right is a candle (not yet removed from its wrapper). Cookie Monster is the keeper (don't ask)! Seeing it was Thanksgiving we added the turkey.

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=39476&a=775388&p=14223962&Sequence=2[/img]

Looks like the IO did all right. Where you gonna park your new light? Did IO put a seahorse somewhere on the light?

Dave

The lighthouse looks great! Mine probably won't be finished until Spring. My husband has decided it needs to be mounted onto a series of steps to simulate a dune and shoreline. The more we get into this the more complex it becomes! I should have just taken it out to the garage and out it together there! The main body is complete - all that's left to do is the beacon room and the wiring. And the interior decorating ofcourse. How did you finish the inside of the entranceway?

[This message has been edited by Deb Weissler (edited 12-11-99).]

Deb,

This wasn't mine, it's Mombo's. Mine is essentially done, I'm just having problems getting the inside wiring to work right. For the inside entryway, I just painted the floor gray and the walls white. I have a little hooked rug in there. I like the idea of having landscaping around it, but I need more room in my house! I have to find out how to post a picture so I can put a picture of mine up.

Dixie

Sorry for the mixup. I realized my mistake right after I sent the message and email! I went to a miniature show in Williamsburg a few weeks ago and one of the miniature shop exhibitors had both 1" and 1/2" scale lighthouses there, both with keepers' cottages! Real Good Toys has come out with a detached keepers' cottage, but the shop had kit batched the 1/2" lighthouse so that the entryway linked up wth the side of the cottage. Neat! Plenty more room for furniture! The 1/2" scale cottage has two rooms, one up and one down with a staircase; the 1" scale has four rooms, 2 on each floor. I'm still putting the beacon room together.

Mombo & Dixie - I have just met a waterman in Gloucester, VA, where I live, that makes the most incredible wooden boats in 1" scale. He lives on the water in a section of Gloucester County call Guinea (the folks living there can date their heritage back to early English settlers and they speak in a wonderfully lilting accent that is a combination of Southern, old English and local waterman colloquial). Anyway this gentleman hand builds skipjacks, schooners, dories, & rowboats with exacting detail. The dory and rowboat go perfect with the lighthouse dollhouse. I have seen simliar boats at miniature shows for $75-$125. I just bought a gorgeous dory from James for $25! If you are interested I could get one for you and mail it. The dory and rowboat both have oars and oarlocks, seats and lifepreserver - all hand carved, painted and/or stained and varnished.

I.O. has started making an oil house to go with mine. I don't really have room for a keepers house. So mine will be more of an "after" lh!

And I've gotten him 4 more model ships for Xmas. Haven't the faintest idea where I'm going to put them, plus the HL's to come. Guess I'll worry about that later, lol!

Any ideas on what to use for an antenna/lightning rod on the lighthouse? I considered drilling a small hole in the roof's finial and inserting a thick darning needle, but figured I would wind up skewering myself or someone else with it! Maybe a toothpick, but would prefer something a bit more substantial.

Oh gads, wish I'd never tried to panel the entryway walls. I stained some paneling a lovely cherry color and polyurethaned it with a semi-gloss sealer. Unfortunately the stain caused the panels to warp/twist a bit, just enough so that the glue won't pull all the panelling up snug before it sets up. Right now I have the panelling vised, trussed up with scrap wood held in place by more scrap wood, and lots of bad language to reinforce it. Think I'll paint and/or wallpaper the rest of the lighthouse.
On a happier note, the slate floor tiles worked out great!

Received an email inquiry from a miniature hobbiest surfing the web looking for nautical miniatures for her Real Good Toys lighthouse. She informed me that Real Good Toys now has a kit to finsh off the back of the lighthouse, enclosing it completely. I assume the back panel(s) is hinged but am not sure. Thought those of you with 1" and 1/2" kits might find this of interest.

Deb

Thanks for this info Deb! Incidently, we did not glue the railing or the lantern room roof. This makes for easier cleaning and bulb changing. We have flashing bulbs to alternate: clear, green and red. We also have blue but don't think blue is used in "real" lighthouses.