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The saga of the Dura-Craft Farm House FH500, part 1

All the Dura-Craft Farm House posts will be tagged Dollhouse Diaries, so you can avoid them if you like.

Last Sunday, we were at the Save-a-Pet Thrift in Valley Springs, where we saw this enticing box. It's the Dura-Craft Farm House FH500: "So authentic you can almost smell the hay!"

This is one of my two favorite 1:12 houses, which is reprehensible of me because the window sizing and placement is really not good. Back in 2008, I had bought a completed one, in fixer-upper shape, at an antique store in Phoenix for $60, but a lot happened in 2008, and it did not make some move or other. I'd been thinking that while there was no realistic way anything big from 2008 could have made it to 2024 with me, I wouldn't mind finding another one.

This one was $50. The proprietor of the thrift assured me that the kit is complete. She knew the guy who was trying to build it, and he just ran out of steam because it was complicated. Having built kit dollhouses with Dad over a long weekend, I scoffed. (Spoiler: I'm going to eat my words, unsauced and chewy.)

Obviously, I bought it. (Actually, Dad bought it for me while I protested that I have unspent birthday and Christmas money burning a hole in my wallet, but you get the idea.)

Upon reading the instructions, I found the stamped date when it was boxed up: October 7, 1982.

Dura-Craft was an Oregon furniture maker that started using scrap lumber for dollhouses in the late 1970s, with its kit production starting around 1978. From about 1978 through the 1980s was a huge boom period for dollhouse kits, with so many more brands and models than there are today. (Furniture variety peaks in the 2000s, though, go figure.)

The pictures on the box thus show some of the earliest Dura-Craft designs. Dad has built the San Franciscan (that's the one he built while Mom was dying, that she never got to put the furniture in, so you can figure we sold that because we couldn't stand the sight of it). I think he has the Southern Mansion kit in the attic, missing one floor piece, but I refuse to build a plantation house. I've never seen the Chateau!

The first step is to assemble the walls, as the walls are not sheets of plywood or MDF, the way most kits have always been. No, the walls are assembled from individual strips of plywood, about three fingers high, with milled siding. This here is three of the wood strips already glue together.

I am grateful for the milled siding, as dollhouse siding costs a fortune, and all DIY trash-to-treasure substitutes are an incredible amount of work to do. I admire and applaud people who make their own siding from stirring sticks or whatever, but I know I would do poorly at it.

What I'm not grateful for is that the prior builder had assembled the walls with hot glue. Never build a dollhouse shell with hot glue. Don't do it if the instructions say to *cough* Greenleaf *cough*. Definitely don't do it if the instructions say to use wood glue.

Hot glue puts a rubbery, flexible layer between the two surfaces glued together. There is fabulous if you're gluing silk flowers to a hat. It is not fabulous when you have wood that's intended for square, direct joins. The wall sections flap where the joins between strips are rubbery. Some are off-kilter because a rounded line of hot glue doesn't absorb down into the wood the way wood glue does. Many are simply breaking because hot glue ages faster and worse than wood glue.

So every time a join breaks, we have to pick hot glue debris out of the tracks on one side of the wood strip. Dad scrapes at it with a knife. I don't trust myself around sharp instruments, so I alternate between heating it with a microwaved napkin (damp in the center so it doesn't catch fire, but dry on the surface so it doesn't get the wood wet) and picking at it with my fingernails. We have tacitly agreed that we will not attempt to fix every join unless walls refuse to slide into their corner posts, many steps down the road.

There is a great deal of gluing and clamping involved. We're somewhere between halfway and 2/3 of the way through wall repairs, and I'm hoping we didn't jump the gun in gluing that gable back on.

Meanwhile, the box does come with a clear photo of the interior layout!

The interior walls are not optional -- every model of this house that I've seen without those walls has severely sagging floors. The floor edges balance on narrow wood sticks that don't give a lot of support.

I need to see how tall the rooms really are before making a firm decision on who gets this house. If ceiling height is reasonable for Arvin Lebec, who's a tall guy at 7", then it's his. If it runs short -- as sometimes happens with older kit houses -- then I may rebuy the couple intended as the original inhabitants the first time I bought this house: the Archie McPhee barista and hipster action figures.

Tomorrow is yet more wall-gluing. So many walls. So, so many walls.

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Daphne's tiny cottage

My Fisher Price Little People were craving some form of domicile, and I'm not up for redoing a damaged FP house, since I just did a 1:24 opening house with the Maine Cottage.

Then Michael's put their little house shadowboxes on clearance.

Daphne's cottage is not intended to be realistic -- it's meant to feel more like a box of memories and scraps, with some features being almost two-dimensional like lithography. (Daphne is the blonde woman in blue, and yes, I watched Bridgerton.)

There are details still missing, like curtains, because after almost a month, I can't find the exact scrap I want. This will be improved later.

The kitchen cabinets are meant to indicate the existence of a full kitchen. I made the cupboard doors from leftover ends of the wide popsicle sticks on the roof. The faucet exists because I had little wires from charms bought for other uses, and the shiny card the charms came on forms the backsplash. In the absence of curtains, my wineglass charm from the Napa Wine Train makes a window ornament. The table came with the house kit. The flagstones on the kitchen floor are paint chips from the Maine Cottage project.

I made a point of using the furniture that came with the kit, adding legs to make it a little more normal.

Upstairs, the bathroom cabinet indicates that a bathroom exists. The bed came with the kit. Its bed skirt is ribbon I bought in NYC's Garment District back in 2019. The nightstand is a button from Mom's stash on a bead. The large French bulldog is a reference to the human-sized dog that came with the original Fisher Price Play Family.

I originally had much bigger plans for the exterior, including tiling it with gorgeous "Spanish tile" vinyl sheets. The tile sheets aligned badly and looked totally wrong, though. I will probably come back next year and do some exterior trim. Meanwhile, the cactus clips were a bright idea that was too big for an earlier project, but they seem to suit here.

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The Maine Cottage: declaring victory!

We've reached the point where the touch-ups make things worse, so it's time to declare victory and take a break until a wave of upgrading existing projects next year.

The house is a Melissa & Doug portable 1:24 house that I found in fall 2020 for $4 at the Savers on Boston Post Road. I'd just come back from a weekend trip to Ogunquit, Maine, so the idea was to do a Maine artists' cottage. I got it mostly painted, then moved, and this time started over with a brighter, more toylike shade of blue paint.

The resident is the grandma Tweakie Toy (1969) on the porch, appropriately named Augusta. She's negotiating with her workers, who are Playskool people from the 1980s.

The house is furnished in vintage Marx, mixing "traditional" pieces with some from the Western, Army, and Skyscraper playsets. That MILK - RAW sign is from a drive across Massachusetts. The astronaut is a visitor.

Part of the appeal of this house was being able to squeeze in a dining room. The art is cut from the summary page of one or more of New England photographer Ryan Zipp's calendars.

Directly upstairs is a little library nook on the landing, necessitated by coming up with a logical wall arrangement for surrounding rooms.

A glimpse into the bathroom. Hanging a mirror with the slanted upper wall has so far defeated me.

The two bedrooms in the back of the house belong to Augusta (pink) and her adult son Stanley (aqua), a businessman who works in Boston during the week. Future plans include a painting of Augusta as a young woman over her fireplace, but every draft so far just hasn't worked for me.

The narrow front section is big enough for a 3rd bedroom with bunk beds and an artist studio! Future project is to start a painting for the easel. Note that Augusta has a cat, named Kittery.

Here's Stanley! He looks forward to weekend activities of canoeing (found that at a gift shop in the wilds of Massachusetts off highway 3) and using his ATV. The blur under the stairs is the laundry room, which I haven't really gotten a handle on.

Do I feel good about getting this project "finished"? Yes, I do!

Next up is to finish my painted chairs for the Kid Kore Katie Krew, then next week, I can sew those gals some clothing!

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Don't play chicken

Giuseppe is mobbed by Florida's unique breed of giant pastel chicks.

In the weeks before Easter, I often get a sudden, out-of-character urge for something cute and pastel. This year, I took preventative action by going to Big Lots for $2.99 chick packs.

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Super-cheap fashion doll fakies now come in 14-inch size!

We stopped at an off-brand 99 Cents and Up store in downtown Parlier, California, where I found this Amazonian belle.

In all respects, she appears to be just like her 11.5” compatriots: poor rooting, thin hair, hollow limbs that dent if you press too hard.

Here’s one out of the bag (I found her — I don’t make a mess in stores).

I did not bring her home, as I don’t do this size of doll.

More tempting were the regular-sized fashion dolls with knee, elbow, and wrist articulation for about $8. I resisted that, too, because I kind of overbought in December and need to get comfortable with the collection size I have.

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Family portrait: February 2024

The crowd has changed a great deal since the last family portrait in July 2023, but this is within a few dolls of the long-term permanent size of what this collection will be.

Who are these tacky people?

Back row, L to R.

Kid Kore Kelsey with titian hair.

Kid Kore "Legends of Ancient Lands" blond gladiator, now named Sylvester, with the widest hips ever.

Manbun Ken, a.k.a. Kenzo.

Kid Kore "Chief White Eagle" in his Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, called Brodie by most friends outside his tribe.

Kid Kore Kelsey with inset eyes, now named Kenzie.

Remco Babysitter's Club Kristy, younger sister of Kenzie.

Center row, L to R.

Dollar Tree knee-jointed Black fashion doll with replacement Monique wig, named Delilah.

Dollar Tree knee-jointed Black fashion with darker skin, straight ponytail, and excellent shades, now named Joy. Second daughter of Delilah.

Elspeth, consisting of a white-label clone head, an AliExpress jointed pregnancy body, and a Monique wig. Wife of Kenzo.

Fashionista Teresa from 2012. Half-sister of Kenzo.

Totsy Teen Fun Lacy from 1990s. Sister of Sylvester.

Cool Sitter Teen Skipper from 1998, girlfriend of Lacey.

Kid Kore Baby Allison. Daughter of Sylvester, niece of Lacey.

Creata Today's Girl Hilary. Younger sister of both Kenzie and Kristy. Grateful to have a name that doesn't start with K.

Front row, L to R.

Wulf, Kenzo's dog. A Target Xmas ornament some time between 2018 and 2021.

Ben, a Kid Kore Katie who's socially transitioned to being a guy.

Tigger, Sylvester's tiger.

Evi Love, youngest daughter of Delilah.

Neveah, a Kid Kore Jodi of the early 2000s.

Simply Fresh Kylie on a MTM body. Oldest daughter of Delilah, half-sister of Kenzo, mother of Neveah.

Bette Mae, niece of Brodie. A Kid Kore "Dancing Brook." Officially Seminole.

Mr. Peabody, pet dog of Skipper's family.

Brooke, my first Kid Kore "Dancing Brook." Younger sister of Brodie.

Rosa Lee, a Romany Kid Kore Katie.

Kelly, younger sister of Skipper.

Lucky, a Lucky Industries Tommy clone. Younger brother of Lacey and Sylvester.

Isabelle, a Kid Kore Katie. Younger sister of Lacey and Sylvester, older sister of Lucky.

Joelly, a Kid Kore Jodi with brown-red hair. Younger sister of Kenzie and Kristy.

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If your 10- to 12- inch fashion dolls want skateboards, 99 Cents Only has packs of four in the Valentines Day aisle for $1.29.

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The topmost question in my mind is:

Has nail polish gotten weaker, or has doll face-up paint gotten stronger?

I'm trying to remove the Pepto Pink lipstick from a second, darker-skinned Dollar Tree Beauty. I'd swear I remember face-ups just wiping off, back in the mid-2010s. This time, it's fighting back. I definitely bought the kind with acetone!

Here's the BEFORE.

Her lip paint isn't great, so you'd think it'd want to leave.

Then I get to learn how to replace it with a color I like, but that's a problem for another day.

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2024 doll #1: Kid Kore Jodi

I'd been thinking that I didn't expect to find much at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, but if I just happened to find a Kid Kore Jodi in a $1 bin, I was going to get one.

Welp.

There were two booths specializing in fashion dolls. One was all vintage Barbie, including having cornered the market on Tutti (Barbie's youngest sister from 1965 to 1971, functionally replaced by Stacie in the 1990s). Prices there were ambitious. The other had a broader range of dolls, including a titian Kid Kore Jodi. I particularly wanted titian to go with my Kelsey. Want to guess her price?

Yep: one dollar.

Even after the fabric softener treatment, her hair could use more work, but I'm thrilled to have gotten her on exactly the terms I'd hoped for. This one, like newer Neveah (also probably intended as a Jodi, but by 2002, Kid Kore was on its way out), has a body slightly chunkier than Kelly. The Friends Club clothing from Dollar Tree fits well.

I'd thought "oh, I never got the leopard top outfit," so I stopped at DT and got one... well, two, to have jeans, as Evi Love also wears Friends Club, and with three dolls sharing the clothing, my existing supply isn't as generous as I'd thought when it was just Evi.

Turned out I already had that outfit, so now I have three of it. This makes the case for reorganizing doll clothes into those plastic drawer units, rather than the large bins full of ziplock bags that I have now.

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Good grief, getting new curtains on the Playmobil rods is hard! The new aqua curtains look much better than red did, but I can’t face cutting another 6 right now.

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For my own records, before I forget, the doll is Donna Reilly, one of the Kidgetts briefly made by Meritus in 1989-90. They are now surprisingly expensive on eBay, so Donna is unlikely to gain friends soon.

The Rococo AirBnB

Last year, when Target had these wooden trees in the impulse bins at the front of the store, I bought a single quarter tree, as I felt I could not justify the expense and space of buying four to make a whole tree. The tree has haunted me since, as it's too small for more than a little seating in 1:24 but too big for 1:48.

This afternoon I pulled out the 1:24-ish furniture bin to see if I wanted to do a coffeehouse or something, and I found my little porcelain furniture sets. These have been around since I was a tot, and Mom had sent them to me back around 2019, to make them my problem. So they've been across country and back, with no resolution.

They fit!

So I put up some scrapbook-paper wallpaper and found a few accessories to dress the place up. The poodle has been in my stash since I was a kid, though I don't recall why. The gal living there was being a dollhouse doll in one of Mom's dollhouses, and I'd kept her because she seemed like a good fit for smaller furniture.

This is one of those projects that doesn't accomplish anything of lasting artistic value but is soothing to do on a rainy afternoon.

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The Modern Abode is my oldest dollhouse, since Dad built it when I was three. It’s been through many furniture concepts, but my favorite was always this plain wood stylized furniture from Japan Center in the late 1970s. I was thrilled to find it in Mom’s stash.

While I need to go back and clean off bits of old Blu-Tack, I’m pretty pleased with how I’ve done it up in Japandi style.

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Brodie, Kenzo, and Sylvester welcome you to 2024

They're a bit of a ragtag crew at the moment. Kenzo is both thrilled and intimidated not to be the only adult male in the community.

I'd been thinking about Kid Kore men for several months, mostly on the subject of "no." The reason for "no" was that I was intending to rebody Kenzo... only finding a body that's skinny and pale enough turns out to be a challenge.

By December 26, Sylvester, who is the blond gladiator 1280 from Legends of Ancient Lands, had been on eBay for weeks with a 99-cent starting big and no takers. The end of the year is the logical time for sellers to move failed listings to the "donate" bin, and if he's donated it, he'll be somewhere far, far from here. So I bought him for 99 cents.

At the same time, Brodie, who is Chief White Eagle. was given a substantial markdown that would take him below $20 with shipping. He's in good shape and I kind of love his jersey, so I bought him too.

Skinny Ken looks very, very skinny between these boys. (Nude dolls after the jump.)

If Skinny Ken weren't canonically an adult in my community, I'd be reconsidering his relationship with puberty. But we're diverse! He's a skinny grown-up. Brodie is a solidly built dude, while Sylvester is all about the pelvis.

Brodie and Sylvester are not on the same body: Brodie is 1994 and Sylvester is 1995.

The difference becomes more apparent from the rear.

Both Kid Kore guys have more body mobility than Skinny Ken, thanks to twist-and-turn waists. Brodie has click knees that give me one click. Sylvester does not.

The Kid Kores definitely have different head molds.

When I was washing Sylvester, I noticed that the tan on his face was coming off. Only the tan, not the face-up! I don't want to scrub it all off, as then he won't match his body, so it is what it is. (He's a 27-year-old doll I got for 99 cents before shipping, so hey). He now officially has vitiligo,

Brodie got his hair rebraided because his rooting doesn't support any other hair style.

Unusually, the guys are back in the clothing they arrived in because nothing in my Ken stash fits them! I thought Broad Ken clothes might work on Brodie, but his feet won't go through the legs of the pants. So I will be sewing pants for them once I've done dresses for the Katie Krew.

Sylvester's role in the community is undetermined as yet. Brodie is the big brother of Brooke and uncle of Bette Mae.

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Gangsta Paradise

On the way home from reuniting Dad with his work truck, which has been in the shop all week to fix something the repair shop screwed up in November *sigh*, I stopped at a thrift store.

It was awash in 1990s porcelain dolls. This is the tip of the ice berg. To my relief, I do not recognize any as ones from Mom's collection that I donated -- it's been months, and I think I didn't take dolls to this thrift anyway.

They're shooting for the moon and pricing these dolls at $8-$10, when $3.50 is what the market will usually bear.

One of the many reasons I dropped off r/dolls was that so many posts were asking for values on dolls like this, and people did not take well the news that their fancy doll, with all its paperwork:

Had originally been totally mass-produced and sold at Ames; and

Might go for $10 on eBay on a good day.

They look like they must be lovingly made and antique and valuable, and it's like... nope. Women of my mother's generation bought them compulsively at the discount store. We don't know why.

It's kind of adorable to watch young buyers actually cherish porcelain girlies that they bought for $3.50 because they liked the doll, not because they hoped to strike it rich. This is likely the most love those dolls ever got.

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I’m surprised this gal at the 99 Cents Only is from a discount brand, as her outfit is more elaborate than some of Mattel’s serious offerings.

This gal here has friends. Little Bebops come in groups of four.

Look, her dress has dangling leaves! These gals appear to represent the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air.

Per the site of maker Happy Time, these are 10.5” dolls. There are multiple lines of Little Bebops, covering the standard territory of mermaids, princesses, fairies, and… fashionistas.

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Chief White Eagle has arrived!

He showed up three days early! I've combed out his hair, and he's now getting his fabric softener soak. I find that fabric softener works better on 1990s doll hair than hair conditioner, at least for the first soak.

His hair won't be boil-washed to remove the crimping, as his rooting requires that his hair be re-braided.

Naming him is proving to be an interesting task. It's necessary to keep track of his assigned brand identity for archival reasons, but White Eagle is a terrible thing for a dude to be named, and I don't mean solely due to racially charged othering (which is definitely an issue). It's a dreadful name because of the nature of white eagles.

Optimistically, I'd looked up where (if anywhere) white eagles are found, as a guide to deciding on a tribe for him. Well. White eagles aren't found: there was one in Colorado in 2008, and it was big news.

Being rare would be fine, but here's a quote from the linked article.

Partially albino, or leukistic, birds are rare, occurring in about one in every 1,800 individuals, according to the The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. Their catchy coats are the result of a recessive gene that reduces the production of melanin, a pigment which gives feathers color and strength. Without it, feathers fray and fall out; the wings on the eagle Miller received were worn down to the shafts. With weakened wings and a susceptibility to sunburn, predators and parasite attacks, leukistic raptors usually don’t live long.

So "white eagle" is not a compliment. Maybe he was a sickly child and nobody expected him to survive?

Anyway, his Anglo name is Brodie, for the Native American activist in S3e2 of The Pretender, "Hope and Prey." His native name is, currently, a secret not shared with me.