MUDDY CREEK
Building Sears Catalog House 115
I received the Sears house 115 and in two short evenings I added it to the Sears neighborhood. I followed the instructions pretty close for this one and it is a snap for a wood kit. Every thing you need comes packaged with this kit. It has an exploded view instruction sheet and you can go to the web site to get the more detailed instructions. Listed here are a few pictures of the kit.
As I said I followed the instructions pretty close, the first thing I did was to paint or stain some sections before cutting them loose from the frame. I stained the walls a whitewash white and painted the trim and roofs a dark gray. You can make any needed touchups later. I mixed my own block color for the foundation and steps using a light gray and a couple of drops of a tan color.
After it had all dried I cut the sections loose from the frame and took out the blank pieces for the windows and doors. I then laid out the wall sections in the order they belonged to keep myself in tune.
I used 240 grit sand paper, the sticky kind, and placed it straight on my work surface. This gives you a flat surface to work with and the mitered corners are easy to achieve this way. Sand carefully and fit the 2 walls as you are working to get a smooth mitered corner. Stay with the instructions on this.
When satisfied with the fit I started gluing it all together, into sub assemblies at first and then all together. It is pretty straightforward.
Here it is glued and ready for the window and doorframes, the porch railing, if you are going to use it, and the cellar doors if you wish to use them. Here I deviated from the plans just a little, I made the angle for the cellar door steeper for my needs and glued to the notch in the rear wall. I glued the railing to the outside edge, as I will later need the extra space for some details on the porch. (This is just my thing OK, you can follow the plans for this.) The roofing material you will love for it eliminates the strip-by-strip of the shingles and used a one piece cut to fit sticky sided shingles that work and look fantastic. Again follow the instructions for this.
Here are some photos of the sides and rear of my house.
I added acetate for the windows and painted on some shades and curtains. For the next picture I added the first Sears house to give you an idea of how these nice affordable structures will look when planted in your neighborhood.
Is this going to be a nice block or what? I can hardly wait for the next one to come out. This kit is nice, easy to work with and looks great when completed. Muddy Creek is doing a fine job on these and I sure am glad to have them to go on my layout.
They look fine from any angle you want to view them.
Jim Marksberry
Building Sears Catalog House 115
I received the Sears house 115 and in two short evenings I added it to the Sears neighborhood. I followed the instructions pretty close for this one and it is a snap for a wood kit. Every thing you need comes packaged with this kit. It has an exploded view instruction sheet and you can go to the web site to get the more detailed instructions. Listed here are a few pictures of the kit.
![aru.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/aru.jpg)
![arv.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/arv.jpg)
As I said I followed the instructions pretty close, the first thing I did was to paint or stain some sections before cutting them loose from the frame. I stained the walls a whitewash white and painted the trim and roofs a dark gray. You can make any needed touchups later. I mixed my own block color for the foundation and steps using a light gray and a couple of drops of a tan color.
![arw.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/arw.jpg)
After it had all dried I cut the sections loose from the frame and took out the blank pieces for the windows and doors. I then laid out the wall sections in the order they belonged to keep myself in tune.
![arx.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/arx.jpg)
I used 240 grit sand paper, the sticky kind, and placed it straight on my work surface. This gives you a flat surface to work with and the mitered corners are easy to achieve this way. Sand carefully and fit the 2 walls as you are working to get a smooth mitered corner. Stay with the instructions on this.
![ary.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/ary.jpg)
When satisfied with the fit I started gluing it all together, into sub assemblies at first and then all together. It is pretty straightforward.
Here it is glued and ready for the window and doorframes, the porch railing, if you are going to use it, and the cellar doors if you wish to use them. Here I deviated from the plans just a little, I made the angle for the cellar door steeper for my needs and glued to the notch in the rear wall. I glued the railing to the outside edge, as I will later need the extra space for some details on the porch. (This is just my thing OK, you can follow the plans for this.) The roofing material you will love for it eliminates the strip-by-strip of the shingles and used a one piece cut to fit sticky sided shingles that work and look fantastic. Again follow the instructions for this.
![arz.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/arz.jpg)
Here are some photos of the sides and rear of my house.
![asb.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/asb.jpg)
![asc.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/asc.jpg)
I added acetate for the windows and painted on some shades and curtains. For the next picture I added the first Sears house to give you an idea of how these nice affordable structures will look when planted in your neighborhood.
![asa.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/asa.jpg)
Is this going to be a nice block or what? I can hardly wait for the next one to come out. This kit is nice, easy to work with and looks great when completed. Muddy Creek is doing a fine job on these and I sure am glad to have them to go on my layout.
![asd.jpg](http://www.railimages.com/albums/jimmarksberry/asd.jpg)
They look fine from any angle you want to view them.
Jim Marksberry