Pickett Hill

So now that I've put the Architect's Loft aside for a little while to decide on the tree in the alley, I thought I would share with you another project I built, this time it was my first step into a new scale, 1/48th scale.

In 2018 I was fortunate enough to go to Chicago for the three big miniature shows in April with my friend Cathy.  I had been to other shows before in both Arizona and Barcelona, but three at one time and one of the largest shows around made for a great weekend of shopping and spending time with friends.

We attended the Bishop Show, Three Blind Mice and The Miniature Show.  In the past my main miniature scale was 1/12th, I was very happy with this scale and until Camp Mini Ha Ha offered the Half Scale Fairy House in 2017 (which is now my English Cottage) I had never even looked at other scales.

But my friend Cathy also enjoyed making 1/48th scale miniatures, a scale I had no interest in at that time.  But when arriving at one of the shows, Cathy made a beeline for one table that she had to get to first and foremost.  It was Robin Betterley's table.  It really was my first experience in really seeing 1/48th scale that was designed with lots of style.  There was so much to see including their Pickett Hill furniture made for the Pickett Hill house, which was a team project made in conjunction with another show participant, Suzanne and Andrew' Miniatures, Pickett Pond, a lakeside cottage, and Petalstone, a gorgeous home with a solarium and turret.  

Here were some of the pictures that Robin allowed me to take at that time while I thought about taking the plunge into another scale.

I was so impressed with their kits and designs.  But I have to say I was hesitant in buying a house afraid that I would find the scale overwhelming.  But my friend convinced me to buy the furniture from one room and try this and see.  So my first 1/48th scale kit was Pickett Hill's Bedroom Set.  My preference was actually for Petalstone, but this kit was electrified and including a new scale and wiring together was scary, so Pickett Hill was my second choice.  Also my friend Cathy actually purchased the house kit at the show and we agreed to work on it together if I moved forward and purchased it.

So as you can see from the first image in the blog, I did manage to assemble the kit and other than the baskets in the armoire, it was relatively easy to put together.  So now I had to take the plunge and decide to get the rest of the project.  With a little help from my husband who purchased the house kit for me for Christmas that same year (from Suzanne and Andrew's Miniatures) and Robin's kind offer to set up our furniture purchases as "Kit of the Month" projects, over the course of the next two years, myself and Cathy got all the furniture, accessory and rug kits from Robin Betterley.  I also purchased the complete landscaping kit from Suzanne and Andrew as well, so at this point I was all in.  This project had to be done!

Stay tuned over the course of the next few blog posts where I take you through my highs and lows of assembling the house and all it's furniture, plus landscaping the entire project.  Inside I didn't change much of the interior, since 1/48th scale was so new to me I stuck to the instructions for the most part, and even outside I only made some minor changes.  Here's a sneak peak of what I did.  I added the 9mm knife to put things into perspective!

Until the next time......

Wanda (who is presently throwing 1/48th miniature baskets across the room!)