The San Franciscan by Dura-craft - Is that a trolley I hear?
Written: Dec 18 '02 (Updated Dec 18 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lot's of room to work with, beautiful design
Cons: To much fragile trim, not good for smaller children
The Bottom Line: An exquisite advanced dollhouse that is sure to become a family treasure.
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| Mininut's Full Review: Duracraft - The SanFranciscan Dollhouse |
So have you built the Ashley or the Lafayette yet? Well if you have then you are ready to move on to bigger and better dollhouses! Meet the San Franciscan, which up until this year was the 2nd largest dollhouse available through Dura-craft. Oh you should see their new line! It is enough to make any miniaturist swoon and faint! Yes you now know my weak spot, buy me a dollhouse and I am yours forever (hint, hint: laugh).
Let’s talk about the San Franciscan
When I think of San Francisco I think of grand Victorian houses stacked neatly row by row and this house looks like it belongs in San Francisco over looking the bay! What a true gem this one would be to add to any collection! This elegant lady measures 43”H x 24”W x 20”D so I hope you have a lot of room for her. She has 6 full rooms but the turret areas in each of the far right rooms can be divided into separate rooms so she can actually works as 9 rooms and a small attic storage area. The one I am currently working on is going to be set up as a Bed and Breakfast and I currently do not have pictures of her up yet but as soon as I get the basic set up ready I will start snapping photos. This house comes with 2 staircases that are not pre built so you do have to add your own rails and spindles and risers, which are fairly easy to do. This particular house has working windows, which really add to her flair and beauty. She also has a working door and a lot of space to use your imagination in. You can see un-finished interior pictures of her here http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00sanfran.jpg and here http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00sanfran4.jpg. The old version of this house is made of 1/8” plywood, the second link is the old style and the first link is the new style. The newer Dura-crafts are now competing with the durability of RGT dollhouses and they have gone to using a thicker and more durable wood. Here are furnished pictures of the interior. This is the attic area with the divider wall removed to make the room appear larger http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00san2.jpg The divider wall from the attic area was added to the middle floor to make a separate stair hall in this section http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00san1.jpg Down stairs a false wall was added under the stairs to create a pantry for the dollhouse family. This is very easy to do and very cheap as well. http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00san.jpg. The exterior of this home is just divine but don’t let it scare you a way, this is a complicated house but you can do it! Here are 2 exterior views, the first has the standard blue paint http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00sanfran1.jpg and this one has a slightly different technique and color to it and is also one of my favorites. http://home.austin.rr.com/mininut/00sanfran5.jpg.
What I like about the San Franciscan
This house is gorgeous, not only is it Victorian which is my favorite style but it is large as well. There is plenty of space in this house to do literally anything in it that you want design wise. I chose the B & B for my current work because the lay out is perfect for storage areas and would be just divine in an older setting. Just like in all dollhouses, the divider walls can be placed anywhere that you like them to be so that you can change the look and the lay out of the house. The working windows are just wonderful as are the working doors. Be sure you paint your windows before you put them in or you will have a mess on your hands trying to paint them while installed. The bay windows are excellent sources of light so you do not need to electrify this house but I do recommend it because of the size of it and the depth of the rooms, especially the attic area because it has limited lighting. I love the double-layered porches here but the stairs do hide the inner beauty of the doors but at least you can see them from the outside. All of the window and door inserts are silk screened, which give them an added beauty. And above all, the roof on this house is so easy because the house holds all the shapes and trim and the roof is simple with few angles and can be shingled quickly. But you will need to cut a lot of shingle for the main turret roof.
What I don’t like about the San Franciscan
You knew it was coming right? Have you seen this house? Have you seen how much trim is on this thing? This house takes literally hours to paint each piece of trim a good 2-3 coats. You have to be very careful with the trim on this house or you will snap it like a twig with out even trying. It is very fragile which means that this would not be a good house for little ones to play with unless you like to repair it a lot. The angles are hard to get around with your wall coverings but if you sand enough you should be able to paint them and skip the wall paper or fabric but you won’t get the same gorgeous results as you would with paper. This is a complicated kit and I do not recommend it for beginners. Now a beginner can do it but you may risk your sanity in the process. I have done tons of houses and this one makes “ME” want to rip my hair out and run screaming down the road.
Let’s open the box
The first thing that you will see when opening this big box is a 23 page black and white instruction book. The same person that wrote the Lafayette and Ashley instructions did not write this set of instructions. This set was obviously written by some hermit with limited language skills and a bad typewriter. Maybe he was just looking for some time to kill. This is a complicated set of instructions that will make you want to toss the whole thing in the trash when you first look at it but after you read them 5 or 6 times you will start to understand them better. (Are you scared yet?). Take out your instructions and read them cover to cover before you start, do it numerous times if you have to. This is a good idea for everyone from beginner to advance because you will want have some basic knowledge of the pieces as you take them out. Several pieces come molded into ply wood sheets and you “punch them out” be careful here because this is where a lot of trim looses its life. Get you an X-acto knife to help score around the wood to help it punch out more easily. There are 23 sheets all together in the older style San Franciscan. You will find the following pieces in this box. (Now would be a good time to get a drink, this could be a while.
16 – 2” siding
49 – 3” siding
4 – 7” siding
24 – 14” siding
1 – 401” large tower corner post
1 - 88” large edge trim
1- 24” small tower corner post
1 – 24” balcony railing trim
1 – 46” large corner post
1 – 84” small edge trim
1 – 49” small corner post
1 – 192” Moving window molding
1 – bundle of hard wood flooring (woohoo!!!)
1 – 26” door molding
1 – 36” gutters
1 – 48” downspout (non working/not hollow)
1 – 332” small bracket long frame
1 – 61” long frame fillet molding
1 – 130” ¼” x ¼” blocking wood
1 – 267” universal trim
11- small dowels
46 - gussets
1 36” gusset long frame
18 - decorative window screens
15 – clear window screens
1 – finial
1 – miter block
1 package plain shakes (roof tiles)
4 – hinge pins (doors)
8’ brick tape (base of house)
4 doorknobs
1 bag of 8oz brick mix
23 – pre stamped wood sheets
The wood sheets will have your doors, walls, divider walls, window and door trims and frames, as well as your roof pieces and stairs and such.
Let’s put this house together
Now I will not go over the entire kit instructions because frankly my fingers will fall off before I am half way done but I will give you the short but thorough version and I am always here of you have questions. First I want you to get your basic tool kit out that I have listed for you before but if you have forgotten, I have listed them below and added other essential items for the more advanced miniaturist. Once you take out all of your pieces and have read the instructions then you will want to “punch” out just the pieces that you need from the board inserts. Always keep them all intact till you need them otherwise you may forget which piece went where and that would not be a good thing. You will want to paint your exterior and all your trim first. You can paint the tops and bottoms while they are still intact into the boards and then paint the sides later when you can grip them when the paint is dry. The wall panels are not completed in this kit so you will need to place a lot of your siding together before you start so that your walls will hold properly. You will want to put your walls in first and then your floor supports. After the floor supports are in then you can start wall papering the interior and continue painting the exterior and do any sanding that needs to be done. The next step is to assemble your base, which will be the easiest part of this house. Be sure you have your masking tape handy because you will want to put your base together upside down and use the tape to hold the pieces together while the glue dries. Once your base is dry then you can do the brick work around the base and do your outer stairs as well. Do your flooring at this point before your roof goes on so that you can have better access to the floors and make smoother and cleaner cuts. If you choose to do carpet then do that also at this point. Next you are going to slide in your turret walls and windows and install your siding. After your windows are installed then you will want to get your doors ready for installation. Add your room partitions and then start to work on your roof and gables. Once you have that completed then you can start placing your stairs together but be sure to paint or stain them before you install them. The last thing you will want to do is to install the porches and gingerbread trim as well as your gutters and down spouts. The final result will be an heirloom that you and your family can treasure for always.
Tool Kit Contents
X-acto knife with extra blades, Aleene’s tacky glue (the best there is), I recommend 1 bottle of the regular and 1 of the quick dry, 2 bottles of Quick-tite super glue, hot glue gun with glue sticks, scissors both small and large, 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. Since this is a more advanced kit I suggest that you obtain a miter cutter (hand held or box style is fine but I do suggest the hand held.) Also go out and grab you a cheap Dremel and lots of tips to it, this house will get complicated. Oh and don’t forget your Band-Aids.
Mini’s helpful miniature tips
Always be sure to do a complete inventory, before starting your project. You may never know if a part is missing till you have your house halfway up, go to reach for that left side wall and you can’t find it. All Dura-Craft houses are guaranteed and if pieces are missing then call them up and they will ship you replacements free. Are you ready for some sanding? Some pieces will need to be sanded to make them fit together properly but sometimes even the finest grain sand paper is to much, go pull an ordinary brown paper bag and use it for your final smooth sanding. It is much cheaper than your #600 grit paperJ. Tied of the everyday look of the clapboard siding or standard paint? Try using a Stucco finish on your house for a unique approach. Mix silicone & sand with your base coat or primer until thick but you want to make sure that it is spread able. Apply the mixture by dabbing and spreading. Be sure to use straight primer around doors and windows, so that the trim rests flat against the walls. This is a great and affordable way of creating a stucco exterior for your dollhouse. When gluing your dollhouse with Aleene’s tacky glue always keep a wet rag to handy wipe the excess glue. Most bottles of wood glue say that you can paint over the dry glue, but believe me that is sometimes not a good idea and can make your work look shoddy. I can’t say this enough DO NOT use a hot glue gun on the kit itself, only use hot glue for your shingles. Always paint your house with acrylic based or water based paints. Never ever use oil based because it can cause your walls to warp and that is not a good thing! Instead of purchasing expensive dollhouse wallpaper for your mini room visit your local fabric store and purchase a yard of small fine print fabric and a can of spray glue. Be sure it is a small print or it will be out of scale for your house. Cut your fabric to fit your walls and then lay the fabric on a thin piece of cardboard and spray the backside. Attach the fabric to your wall; use a comb to work out the wrinkles. This works great because you can pre cut the thin cardboard to fit your walls and you can work out the wrinkles before you place the cardboard wall into your house. This however is really tricky around windows and should not be attempted unless you feel comfortable with cutting the angles just right.
If you want the life of your house to be prolonged then keep it out of direct sunlight, this keeps the color from fading and keeps your house in tiptop shape.
About Dura-Craft
If you are looking for a larger or smaller kit or even a different style then please check out some of Dura-crafts other models. Chances are I have made the one you want so please feel free to ask me any questions. You can see a list of current houses on their web page or on my Ashley or Lafayette reviews. You can view more about Dura-Craft at their website http://www.dura-craft.com or you can 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.
In Closing
If you want to see my houses then check out http://www.home.austin.rr.com/mininut and click on gallery. This is a great kit to expand your dollhouse expertise on. I do not suggest this house for smaller children but if you are looking for a dollhouse for children under 10 then please check out Real Good Toys (RGT) at http://realgoodtoys.com/ for the best dollhouses around.
Big Smiles and Warm Hugs
Heather aka MiniNut
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100.00
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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Member: Heather
Location: Leander, Texas
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 273 members
About Me:
Mother of 4 gorgeous children and survivor of Cervical Cancer.
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