Ah, my first Cape May Cottage from Northeastern Scale Models. It’s a lovely little kit and for the most part, much simpler than the Queen Anne. However, those dormers kicked my butt — the added thickness of the shingling threw everything off and I had to do quite a bit of hacking (and cursing) to get them to fit.

I also decided to do a bit of kit bashing. One of the “features” I dislike about 1:144 houses is that it is nearly impossible to see the first floor rooms at the front of the house. So I chopped the second floor in half and made it a loft. I also converted two rooms into one nice size bedroom. This way, all the decorating of the front rooms isn’t just an exercise in gluing my fingers to tiny bookshelves.

Oh, and of course, I added a stairwell — how else would the inhabitants get to the second floor?

This miniature house is now in a private collection.