Assembly of the kit
Before commencing assembly or painting it is useful to do a dry run to check how the parts fit together
1.
- it is much harder to correct mistakes when glue has been applied!!
Start by staining or painting the timber overlays (parts 12-16), barge board (17), window frames
2.
(18,21,24), door parts (27) and floors (3,4,9,10,11). Use a dark oak stain or similar dark coloured paint
for the timber frames, windows, etc. A lighter colour could be used for the floorboards.
It is also easier to paint the internal walls and ceilings before assembly (parts 1-10) and the door
3.
threshold.
When the paint and/or stain is dry start assembly with the main part of the building. Note it may be
4.
necessary to sand off any paint on the slots and tabs to achieve a good fit.
Glue one side (1) to the rear (2) ensuring that the tabs engage fully
5.
in the slots.
Glue the two internal floors (4) into the slots in the side (1). Note
6.
that the tab is not central so the floors only fit one way round.
Glue the other side wall (1) to the rear and floors.
7.
Glue the bottom floor (3) to the assembly and set aside to dry.
8.
Glue the ground floor front (7) to the two front sides (8) ensuring
9.
that the tabs engage fully in the slots. Make sure that the sides are
square to the front.
Glue the other two front pieces (5 & 6) to the sides. Ensure that the
10.
slot on part 6 is to the bottom.
Glue the two floor sections (9 & 10) in place. The large tab at the front engages in the slot in the
11.
appropriate front wall and the two small tabs fit into the slots in the sides.
Glue the ground floor/pavement (11) in place with the tab on the front wall engaging in the slot in the
12.
floor and the floorboards to the inside.
When the glue has dried fit the hinges next. Two large elastic bands can be used to hold the two parts
13.
together while the hinges are attached. The hinges may be fitted on either the left or right side of the
building as required. Fit the hinges where the marks are on the side walls. This means that the internal
floors provide some support when pushing the pins in. Be careful to keep the hinges straight and
central to the join between the walls. A little superglue may be used to attach the hinges in addition
to the pins. A little extra superglue may also be run round the edges of the hinges after pinning. Be
careful to keep the superglue away from the join in the hinge!
Paint the underside of the jettied upper floors a dark colour to match the timber overlays.
14.
Now glue the timber framing overlays in place starting with the front ones (12,13,14). The overlays
15.
project at the sides so as to overlap the side overlays. Apply glue to the back of the overlay preferably
using a fine point applicator.
On the side where the hinges are located chamfer the edges of the side overlays slightly (15, 16) so that
16.
they don’t prevent the front opening.
Glue the front side overlays (15) in place butting up to the front overlays with the bottom of the overlay
17.
above the marked line on the side.
Glue the overlays (16) in place on the main side walls. Note that the shorter projecting timber is to the
18.
front - this give the correct spacing between the timbers across the join.
