Dormers, Chimney and Steps

I know I'm getting closer to starting on the inside when I start working on the outside finishing touches. The dormers were a challenge all by themselves. They look so complicated but they are really not. They are cut out of thick balsa wood and just covered with faux brick like the other windows. They are detail intensive though. But they add so much of the character to the house that they are worth the time.

I loved making the steps. Balsa cuts like butta anyway but even if you don't get the steps exact, you can fill them in later with spackling because they need to look like stone anyway. My balsa split when I was cutting the side pieces but I just glued the piece back together, reinforced the inside of it and kept going. You might have to make little adjustments here and there as you go but that's with every doll house build.

The chimney is just balsa too. The clay "flues" were made with an empty toilet paper roll. I cut it lengthwise and just rolled it tigher, taped it with masking tape and covered it with vinyl spackling. I gave mine a rough texture but you could go smooth and even build up paper "ridges" around them before spackling with vinyl or paper clay.

The outside is almost done. Notice the little cover awning over the door... all I have left to do is dirty it up a little for realism and make the windows and doors. Can hardly wait to move into the inside where I'll be working on the entry way first and hooking up the electrical.