TRAIN TIME: 2025 Christmas Train Layout - New Schreiber Cardboard House - Shutters Open

The most finnicky part of this build was cutting open the shutters for each window (20 each), then cutting out each of the window inserts and gluing them in pace. The second challenge was gluing the side walls to the ends such that you formed the overhanging portion of the side walls correctly. I'm really glad though that I went through with the build which took about 6.5 hours total over two days.

Ed.

TRAIN TIME: 2025 Christmas Train Layout - New Schreiber Cardboard House - Shutters Closed

Welll, it has been a l-o-n-g time since I posted a paper building project! I bought this Spielhaus (play house) back around 1989 or 1990 while still stationed in Germany. As a fatter-of-mact, I bought a bunch of paper models that are still waiting to be built! For the past umpteen years though, I kept telling myself that 'this was the year to build the kit'. Too many years passed until a couple of weeks ago when finally getting off my keester and assembling this. It's a nice addition to our teeny-tiny Christmas train layout (which will be posted in the coming days).

The house measures 10" (25.4cm) W at the base x 4.75" (12.06cm) D x 13" (33.02cm) H. Normally I brace the interior with stripwood but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. Tomorrow I'll post photos of what the house looks like with all the shutters open.

Ed

Ravensblight Ghost House - Pt 7

With the addition of the stairs and that small decorative dormer on the top porch railing at long last the Ghost House from Ravensblight.com is finished  That it to say, the house is finished, not the project. It comes with a nice base which will need to be assembled next. Overall I'm pleased with the results. You know, I assembled much of this building standing up! There's no place in the house to work on projects any more with a 2-yr old runnin' around and The Cave no longer has any sit-down room so I've been shoving this thing around from the washer-&-dryer to whatever little patch of open space there may have been on the in-progress train layout. Enjoy! Opa Fritza and Oma Bettina

Fun Farm - Vintage 24 Piece Paper Farm

There being very little time for projects anymore I haven't posted any vintage paper for quite a while. I got this 24-pc vintage 'Fun Farm' paper kit years ago and always meant to print it out and build it but...

Okay, so maybe I'll never get around to actually building this but at least you'll have a chance, which is why I'm posting it here today. The kit itself appears to be one of those cereal premiums one sent away for by including a couple of box tops from your favorite cereal along with a few cents, however, there's no mention of a cereal company anywhere. The kit itself was made by Reed and Associates, Inc., Chicago, Illinois but Google searches turned up no clues about the business. The artwork is on the small size and the sheet only measures 8 5/8" (21.90cm) x 12" (30.48cm). I have a large format printer and IF I ever got around to building this I'd format the art to fit on a 11" x 17" piece of cardstock so that it would build into a larger size. Anywho, that's just wishful thinking but at least you guys can - Enjoy!  Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

BJ George - Oak Park Home

Today's offering from BJ George is this nice down-sized renditions of Skyline's classic tin-litho #M4 Oak Park Home. Here's a couple shots of the Skyline version which we posted here on Toys and Stuff back on November 19, 2012:

I spent about a week or so building a bunch of BJ's models and I admit to rushing through the builds in order to get them photographed and blog-ready. A better modeler than me (which is just about everybody) would have done a neater job but the photos will at least give you an indication of the finished product. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Lest you think that a house as small as this must be a caricature here's a picture of an actual Cape Cod style house of the 1950s (this photo can be found on multiple websites so I don't know where to credit the original work)

Bernard Levey family in front of original Cape Cod

Depending on where in the country it was built, small houses like these would often times have basements which increased the potential living space. Back in Milwaukee I remember driving through some neighborhoods that were built just after the War (WWII that is). The houses there were designed specifically for GI's returning home and were meant to be 'beginner's' homes and those suckers were small, just like this Oak Park home.

BJ didn't draw in glue tabs so I simply added them in with a pen - they don't have to be perfect because they'll be covered up anyway.

As with all my paper builds, the insides are braced with stripwood

Some of BJ's models include people and here we have a family of five. Now all we need is a plot of land, the family car, and a swimming pool out back!

Templates

(don't forget to draw in the glue tabs!)

Bradley's Toy Village Set #4552 1909 - Pt 4

Here's the last building in Bradley's Toy Village Set #4552, the Village Store. Unlike some of the other paper stores I have, the display windows on this one really don't reveal much of whats inside, just some generic looking meat and groceries and a patron inside the door.. This building is a hybrid store and house - perhaps the store owner's live upstairs as was the case so often back in the day. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina