Friday, January 25, 2013

The Beautiful Behemoth

Back in November, Brae (Otterine) posted on her blog that there was a Citadel dollhouse kit originally from Lolly's in the Chicago area for sale on Ebay.  Of course, I had to check it out.  It was an unused complete kit still in the box.  I thought about it....for about 3 minutes and clicked on that crazy "buy it now" button.  Seriously, I had a huge smile on my face and giggled.

Several years ago before kids, I was in sales and would regularly go to Chicago for my job.  Of course, whenever I was in the area I would hunt down dollhouse shops.  Lolly's was one of my favorites.  Every time I went in there, I saw the Citadel house gleaming with all of it's glory.  It had a hefty price tag (around $900 as I recall) and at the time, I don't think they were selling the house in kit form.  Needless to say, I looked at it longingly. 

Here are some pics of the Citadel I found from Lolly's. 


After I had gotten back into miniatures, I saw the Call-Small's adventures on procuring her Citadel house.  She drove a long way to Chicago to pick hers up.  So, when I saw this one on Ebay for a buy it now price and free shipping, I HAD to jump on it.  It was a now or never situation.

I, like many of us have a tendancy to buy great miniatures and do nothing with them for awhile.  I got the house in November and just started on it last week. I've been a little busy, what can I say?

Anyway, along with the kit the seller sent me this awesome deck and hut tub kit which was a really nice surprise.
I took pics of the other two boxes when they arrived, but I can't find them.

I have had a couple of blog friends ask me about it which gave me a kick in the pants to start building it.



 Yes, that is an air compressor you see in the background.  I used it to nail this sucker together as I glued it.  I like power tools!

It's so big that I had to put it on the floor to build it.

Here is where I am at now.  I have the primary structure finished.
There is a yard stick leaning against it to show that it is nearly 3 feet tall and almost as wide.

I realized after it was put together, (glued and nailed) that I put the second floor in backwards and that one of the dividing walls was crooked.  Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do because the wood glue was already dry and the nails wouldn't allow me to knock anything free with a hammer.  This sucker is solid! I can disguise the floor part though.

Note to self, do not try to build a dollhouse all at once. It's all good though, I can live with it and nobody will notice...unless you are reading this.

  I'm considering a slight modification...

 Here it is with the curved tower, which is what came with the kit.
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I'm toying with the idea of using two doors in the center and making the rest of the "tower" glass.

Any thoughts?

This has always been my all-time favorite dollhouse.  I have seen some amazing ones, but this one makes me drool.  I can't tell you how happy ecstatic I am that I am the proud owner.  I can't wait to do some more work on it!

Thank You, Brae!!!
If you hadn't posted it on your fantastic blog, I would have missed out!

17 comments:

  1. What a great find and nice surprise for the seller to give you the deck!!!

    I like your idea with the glass.

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  2. What a great find and the perfect person to get it. I can't wait to see what you do with this kit. Seems the design modifications have already begun, even if by accident. :-)
    Dale

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  3. I really look forward to seeing what you do with the house. Could you post a floor plan?

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    1. I'll see what I can do. Call-Small has a Citadel too, you can check hers out also.

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  4. Good Luck to you with your work. It is a very nice and special house. Looking forward to see what you will do with the house
    Greetings from Lil in Sweden

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  5. super jealous! That's cool that you got a fresh kit--and the deck kit is great! a glass tower would be cool. I will be watching...

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  6. Oh, that deck is awesome!!! I'm so glad you're starting on it. :D

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  7. You lucky bastard you! Ha-ha I’m so jealous I want that house to but unfortunately people don’t ship them to Holland often!
    Yes yes yes ! to the glass that was my idea when i saw the house the first time too! The glass would definitely makes it more modern chic.

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  8. Thanks so much for posting!!! It is so cool to see it from a fresh kit. My Citadel does not have the curved tower, just a glass fronted rectangular one. It's cool to see the what came with it originally. What is it made of? Can't wait to see more posts!!!

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    1. The curved tower appears to be made of grey PVC pipe.

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  9. It's a fantastic modern house. Have fun!
    Bye Faby

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  10. wow. what a great house...im drooling over it

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  11. Cyd that is awesome!!! I came across one last year in the Orlando area, but couldn't figure out how to go and get it.... It was only $100 and I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeallly wanted it, but would've had nowhere to put it. Now, of course, I have that giant room... Congrats on your awesome house!!! Wonky wall and all. :D

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  12. I wrote you this really great comment, considering how my day(s) is going...and I think blogger ate it. :/

    Love this house!

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  13. Love this house too! Big and beautiful! I know you will have tons of fun working on it. :D

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  14. I too have a Citadel that was acquired from Lolly's and was already put together (great because I would not have done so). It too came with the gray tower which I am going to replace. Tap Plastics cannot create the curved tower (it is PVC pipe) so I am thinking clear flat Plexiglas. Have a tall hanging light fixture from Elf Miniatures that I plan to use in the hall. Your deck is fantastic. Will watch for more pictures of your project. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hey Mini2b, I would love to see your Citadel! You could go to Home Depot and buy a piece of PVC pipe to replace the tower, that is if you want a tower. As I'm putting mine together, I'm finding that I will have to reconfigure the stairs to accommodate not having the tower.

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