A 1/24th Scale Victorian Cottage style Dolls House

A 1/24th Scale Victorian Cottage from Bromley Crafts

How to build and decorate one of Bromley Crafts new 1/24th scale dolls house kits using the brilliant Realistic Brick Compound and stencils for the exterior brickwork and roof tiles. A great project for learning new techniques.

Included in the kit                   
Pre-cut MDF house pieces           
PVA wood glue                       
Bricks and slates                   
Red brick compound
Grey slate compound                           
1/24th scale brick stencil
1/24th scale roof tile stencil
Re-positionable spray adhesive
Instruction sheet

You will also need 
Strong elastic band
Various paints
Brushes and mini paint roller (optional)
Masking tape
Pallet knife
Mixing bowl
Matt Acrylic Varnish
Off-cuts of wood for window sills (optional)
Front door furniture (optional)

Photos 1 & 2

The house kit comes neatly packed with its accurately cut and routed 16 individual pieces plus a handy tube of PVA with which to stick it all together. There are no instructions, so a dry run is essential to figure out which bit goes where before reaching for the glue or paint. Photos 1 and 2

As this is a 1/24th scale house, I would strongly advise painting the interior walls and ceilings before you begin to build. 
You can go over these later with individual detail, wallpaper or different paint finishes, but this initial painting will give the interior a base coat and save on lots of fiddly work later on. The two windows and front door are very cleverly designed so that they can be popped out for painting, and then popped back in again when the house is bricked. When painting inside or out, take care not to get paint into the grooves as this will add millimetres and may affect the accuracy of the build when you are gluing it all together.
The house has no staircase. If you wanted to add one, then you should cut a hole in the first floor to take it, before you assemble the house. An interesting alternative is to create a pretend or faux staircase using an illusion, false door, or a picture of one on the back wall.

How to build and decorate the dolls house

Photo 3

STEP 1 Pop out the window frames and front door from the front wall of the house. Paint the four interior walls, the undersides of the three roof pieces, and both ceilings with the colours of your choice. Photo 3
Avoid painting the parts that butt together during the build, any gaps in the paint can be touched up later; indeed the addition of skirting and floor boards, etc will cover any little paint-less gaps anyway!

Photo 4

STEP 2 Assemble the body and internal floors of the house and glue together onto the base. A strong elastic band (those red ones the postmen leave all over the street are ideal) to hold it together whilst the glue dries. Photo 4

STEP 3 Carefully paint the edges and underside of the porch roof, and the edges of the three main roof pieces in a contrasting colour; cream or white gloss paint looks nice. Whilst you have this paint pot and brush to hand, also paint the inside of the door and window frame holes on the front wall of the house.
Paint the two porch roof supports, both window frames, and the door, a contrasting shade of gloss paint. The addition of a door knob, letter box or house name/number will certainly enhance the finished exterior.

STEP 4 Glue the thin piece of roof at right angles to the front roofing piece along the pre-routed grove to create the roof ridge. This also makes the removable front portion which can be lifted off for viewing and decorating the attic.
Paint the upper sides of the two roof pieces, and the porch roof, a dark grey colour.

Photo 5

STEP 5 Using the 1/24th scale roof slate stencil and the grey compound, apply the slates to the roof. Full instructions on how to use this system are included with the product. Photo 5
Varnish the roof slates with matt acrylic to set the compound permanently to the roof. Photo 6

STEP 6 Paint the four exterior walls of the house with a colour which resembles the mortar between the bricks.
Glue the porch together before marking its position in pencil on the front wall.

 Photo 6

STEP 7 Mask off any areas you do not want to be bricked including the position of the porch. I thought that window sills might be nice, as well as arched brickwork over the two windows, so masked off suitable areas around each window in order to fit these later.

 Photo 7

STEP 8 Using the 1/24th scale stencil and red brick compound, lay the house on its side and, and one at a time, brick the side walls of the house. The back wall can be left un-bricked if your house is to sit on a shelf where the rear will be out of view. Finally brick the trickiest part, the removable front, by laying it flat down on your work surface.
Carefully peel off any masking tape whilst the compound is still damp.
When the compound is dry, individually colour the bricks to vary the hues with diluted acrylic paint. All brick walls show an enormous variety of shades of terracotta plus additional colours from black through to white. Photo 7
Having an eye out of the window on a real wall whilst you paint will help to achieve an authentic looking brick finish to the dolls house exterior.
When the paint is completely dry, varnish with matt acrylic to set the compound.

STEP 9 Slot the removable front roof into position on the house. Then glue the back piece of roof in place aligning the grooves so that butts neatly up against the removable front.
Glue the constructed porch in position over the front door. Put in the windows, the front door, and if you have decided to add some, a couple of window sills too.

The base of the dolls house can be decorated with paint, gravel, or greenery as desired. Finally, after looking at my photos of the exterior, it has occurred to me that a step up to the front door might be a nice addition too.

Photo 8

The outside of the house is now complete. Photo 8

To order your house kit and accessories click here:

Bromley Craft Products