Changing to Part Time Status

So, as you know I have been keeping this blog up for quite a few years. I have bought and restored about 8 (maybe more) of these houses since 2008. I have often let the blog alone for a year and then come back with fresh ideas. Some of you might remember the weird google reboot when most of the photos were lost until a very helpful follower let me know to log back into an old account and it would repopulate the lost photos, thankfully it worked or this blog would still be a wasteland of random post text and not much else. I have watched the page views balloon to over 100,000, members grow to over 50 and lots of encouraging comments. Lately, I have been trying to reply, I write them, click reply and they don't appear.

I think I have just about fully covered every topic I can regarding the house. Thus, I have drifted into another aspect of my collecting which is crafting dioramas using vintage Ideal, Renwal, Marx and Plasco furniture and action figures, Barbies and PVC figures as the characters. I have started a Twitter account (@Miniopolous) to promote it, but so far havent figured out how to gain any traction. I started a Facebook profile (Johnny D'Plasticio) to post the narration along with the photos. I would call it a cross between Robot Chicken and The Far Side. I would love it if my loyal followers here could follow/friend me on that account to support me there (feedback welcome so I can improve). I have truly enjoyed making this blog and will always look back fondly. I look forward to posting funny scenes with my new hobby and I hope you all will follow me on the journey. =-)

dedicated blog/site:

https://welcometominiopolis.blogspot.com

FB Profile: Johnny D'Plasticio

FB Hobby Group: Mid Century & Mod 1/16 Scale Mini Plastic Furniture

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100029023874669

editorial details writing

Just an FYI

So, you know how most of these houses have faded to dull, beige-ish colors and now we have to go to great lengths to fully clean and spray paint the house white again? Well, it turns out that the flame retarding chemicals added to stuff in the 70s not only causes cancer and reproductive harm but never really halted fires that much to make it worth while anyway. Below is the document. =-/

I think we all knew that plastic does not accelerate fires, it just melts in the heat.

More Staging Tips

You can create and improve on these rooms any way you wish (one of the reasons why I love this house, the smaller rooms in the new house you cannot do this with). I found the rock cubes in a thrift store, I still have no idea what they are, but they work so well in mini rooms. The black squares are felt coasters I spray painted black for a wrought iron effect, and the potted plants are 99 cent store. The patio furniture is late '80s Arco (not bad, I just wish I had the chaise lounges to match). 1971 Malibu Ken look on as he tends the BBQ. 

 Also Arco is the jacuzzi tub. It came in blue and brown originally, then pink and purple, this one I sprayed the inside with auto metallic blue spray paint (highest quality I have ever used, worth the extra cost for a flawless finish), the outside is dark brown, though any shade will do, take the time to spray it so the wood grain will really pop. The mix drinks are drink stirrer tops from cost plus world market with the sticks snapped off, they are the perfect scale. I never did find a pair of sunglasses that 1978 Ken can actually wear.

Speaking of backyard ideas, I love the idea of a gazebo and or hot tub combo:

I noticed my 1978 Star Wars Cantina play set has a brown version of the flagstone floors and it got me thinking...How about his cool, miniature zen herb garden retreat upgraded add on for Barbie's house? The little blow mold form table counters are very reminiscent of the 1978 Sundae's Liddle Kiddle line. They are easily obtained on ebay rather inexpensively and of course can be customized in any way your imagination can think of: 

designing decorating furniture custom set up dolls

Just Having Some Fun This Week

While she initially had her doubts about meeting for coffee, afterwards Strawberry thought to herself, "We do have a berry lot in common". 

Yep, My Flipping Days are Done

So, when one buys a house, they arrive filthy and battered, and you get to clean up this mess at the end of unpacking

 Took me nearly 45 minutes to wade through the garbage to make sure I wasn't throwing away any pieces.

 Yep, still finding shards of post covers since they were not packed properly.

Oh joy, now I get to vacuum...

Then, when selling it, after refurbishing it (week of work), the crazy bidder never paid or responded to emails. No Buyer of any of the 5 homes I redid ever bothered to leave positive feedback. =-/ 

sigh...

FYI, the next buyer did pay but of course she is across the country so the USPS rate for 33.3 pounds in an oversize box ground is $179. FedEx is only $71. Use string tape to secure the flaps and corners, its going to need it. My net profit for my time and trouble of restoring this one: ZERO dollars. I paid $60 for it and sold it for $60 plus shipping. 

When you shop online you'll probably see houses like this on one facebook marketplace: yellowed corner post covers, 1-2 missing flower boxes, almost no flowers, dusty, somewhat faded, a couple of missing doors and windows. This is similar to what I would get on ebay around 2008-2009 for around $35-$100 with shipping. Now they are $100-$400 in random condition. There is almost always a misspelling, in this case the ad title was "1970 dremhouse"  so when searching you have to search for misspelled words, this one only came up on my "for sale" page because the algorithm knows I already searched for dollhouses and this was probably in a dollhouse category even though the word was not spelled correctly. So you have to be a bit of a sleuth and know you are getting a dirty, incomplete house from someone who doesn't know that those odd square or long white plastic pieces still in the garage or a box somewhere go to this house and so you'll need to ask them by describing the missing pieces and see if they can remember if they still have them. It's work, but if you can save one of these gems from the garbage heap or a buyer with spray paint and a weird idea of improving this thing by painting it all black or some other bad idea it's worth it. 

With so many just tired and heat bleached of much of the original color, you may have to end up painting everything if yours arrive looking like this: 

Remember, it is absolutely crucial you properly clean this thing in the bath by hand with both brush, sponge, hand cloth, etc or you will be spray painting over dust/debris and will not be happy with the outcome. An afternoon soak in a hot soapy tub will help lift 45 years of grime off for you, just have lots of Q tips handy to really get all the gook out of the endless corners and crevices. They have lived a lot in attics, basements and garages and sheds, so expect it to be work. 

buying selling online sales sale purchase obtaining wild finds garage sale store ebay facebook sellers shipping packing