Strombecker Walnut Pieces

The Strombecker company Started producing 3/4" scale furniture in 1931.  In 1936 they started producing 1" scale furniture and in 1938 they introduced a new more expensive line of 1" walnut furniture.  I have collections of all 3 of these.

These are the pieces I have from the more expensive line of furniture.

I have had one of these chairs for a couple of years, but I was recently to find another side chair and an arm chair on eBay.  The seat is upholstered in textured leather.

The dining room side board features burled walnut panels in the working doors.  It also has two working drawings and was another recent eBay find.

I have had the table  and the original box for a while, but my dining room set is getting closer to becoming complete!

The table from the more expensive line, slides open to expand and accept a leaf.

I also have two round tilt-top tables and the "Governor Winthrop" secretary.

The grand piano is part of the collection too and can be seen by clicking here.

Strombecker-walnut-1inch-scale

Strombecker-1-inch-collection

My 3/4" Strombecker collection can be seen here:

3/4" Strombecker collection


My 1" scale walnut Strombecker furniture currently resides in this Colonial Dollhouse by Rich.  The house dates from the early 1940's.  It is one of my projects that is "in-progress"  More on it later, but here is a sneak peak.

Celebrating 100 Posts !

WOW - It is hard to believe that I am celebrating my 100th blog post.  I noticed that I had reached 99 earlier this week and realized that 100 posts is quite a milestone!  To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect when I started blogging back in January of 2010.  At first I just wanted a website or a way to share my miniature collection and projects, but along the way, I feel like I have made so many friends and learned so much.

  

I want to say THANK YOU to all of my followers and those who have helped make a difference with your emails and words of encouragement and inspirational projects over the past 975 days or 2 years and 8 months ( there is an app for that! )

One of the things that has really surprised me are the posts that people find the most interesting.  As you can see over to the right, My trip to the Oak Alley Plantation is currently the most popular post, followed by the apartment project, and the Playmobil House - who would have 'thunk'?  Those are certainly not the ones I would choose!

Of all the projects that I love the most - Carolyn's Place is in my top favorites.  This is the house that I built with my daughter - she selected all of the finishes and we spent hours working together over a few years.  

Collecting seems to where I have the most time lately.   If you have not seen some my collections, please click a link below and leave a comment: 

Tynietoy 

 Kilgore

Strombecker 1" Walnut 

Strombecker 1" Painted 

Tootsietoy 

Kage 

Hall's Lifetime  

Goebel Stuart Library  

Arcade Cast Iron 

Donna Lee  

Arcade Laundry Room 

The other thing that this milestone has brought to my attention is how many unfinished projects I have!   I enjoy spending what little free time I have, working on several projects at once, multi-tasking, mulling ideas over in my mind before committing to something.   Even when a project is "finished" - it seems there is always something I could do to make it better.   I do find it exhilarating, being able to escape to my log cabin project or jump back to simpler times and previous decades with miniatures using some of my collections or antique houses.

I also find it fascinating how all of us miniature enthusiasts around the world, can not only get lost in our own projects, but find joy and inspiration ( and maybe a tinge of envy?) in each others work!  Again, THANK YOU to all of my followers and I appreciate your friendship, comments and emails.  I look forward to several hundred more posts, new projects, finishing old projects, and making new friends along the way - Troy

I would love to hear from you - my email is tulsatinystuff@gmail.com

Recent Aquisitions

While I have not had much time for actually working on miniatures, I do still have my lunch hour during the week to find estate sales and garage sales.  I have picked up a few odds and ends over the past few weeks Including a bag of 3/4 scale odds and ends, a vintage marble top Ice Cream parlor type table and chairs, a pair of hand painted porcelain plate (earrings!) and a great 1" scale dresser.
 

I will salvage a few pieces from the bag of Strombecker pieces and see what I need to complete my collection.  I keep it in my Playtown Cardboard house which can be found Click Here.   The nightstand is new to me.  

I also have a collection of 3/4" stained wood furniture.  Click Here   The rest will probably end up on eBay!

This bow front dresser was a great find, it appears to be hand made.  I do not think it is a kit, because the wood is a lot heavier, but I could be wrong.  Any help identifying it would be appreciated.

Dollhouse Display

I came across this antique dresser today at a garage sale.  I am not sure of the age or even the style - any help would be appreciated.  It is very sturdy and seemed to me just the right height to display one of my houses.  As I was inquiring about buying it, another patron asked me if I was going to use it for T.V. stand.  I smiled and said, "No I am going to use it to display a dollhouse"  She said "How wonderful"

It measures four feet long, two feet deep and about 26 inches tall.  It came with two large carved scrolls that support a large four foot square frame for a mirror and also the disassembled pieces of frame.  Two of the drawers have brass locks but no keys.  The entire piece is oak and oak veneers.  

I am not sure which project to display on it.  My initial thought was the  Crescent Moon Cottage , but then I was leaning towards my log  Cozy Cabin Project .

It might be fun to build this piece in miniature too?  

1/2" Scale Victorian

The very last thing I need right now is another project, but I came across this 1/2" scale Victorian house the other day at an antique mall and like Ado Annie in the musical Oklahoma, I couldn't say no.  They were practically giving it away.  I asked if the price tag was correct. 

 The colors are a little bold for me.  The first order of business will be to tone down the red roof and probably select a more suitable color palette for the exterior instead of the stark white.  I think I can turn this into a true Victorian Painted Lady!

 The interior is pretty much a clean slate.  The previous owner had started wiring it with copper tape.  I had seen 1/2" scale projects here and there but had not really paid much attention to them.  I had no idea there were so many components for this scale on the market.

 The package came with so many little things - doors, door hardware, wood flooring, wallpaper, and a stair kit with railings.

 It also has interior walls that can be placed and a wiring kit.  There were also a few furniture kits tucked inside.

The other pieces that caught my eye in the bag of goodies that came with this, are some pretty great fireplaces, a canopy crib, and a Bespaq plant stand and an ornate carved piece of wood - possibly a cornice piece for window coverings or over a door.  I had never really thought about tackling a 1/2" scale project, other than my antique pieces.  Maybe I can use it for my Tootsie Toy collection?  

Getty Museum - oui!

 I have not had a chance to work on miniatures in quite a while, but I have been able to get in a little "research" while on the road.  My wife and kids and I, just finished a multi-state road trip before the start of school last week.  My wife and I were able to visit the Getty museum just outside of Los Angeles.  It was truly amazing and it was free!

This French room dates from the mid 1700's and was taken apart, numbered and installed in the French wing.  The floors, wall panels, and ceiling were beautiful - and yes, so was the chandelier and the period furniture.

 This French room had a chandelier that dates from the early 1800's.  The inspiration for the light was a hot air balloon and the crystal bowl on the lower section was designed to hold live gold fish!

 My wife and I joked about which bed we should buy for our home back in Oklahoma.  This pink room also had some great asymmetrical wall sconces dating from the mid 1700's.

 We settled on the blue bedroom set from the 1780's.  Complete with ostrich plumes.  It reminded me a bit of the Queen's bedroom in the Queen Mary's Dollhouse.  I also liked the woodwork that housed the curtains in the room.  They let the furniture take center stage.

For those of you who are not familiar with the museum, I found this photo online.  It is a great piece of modern architecture atop a hill, overlooking Hollywood and Los Angeles.  Visitors park below ground in a parking structure and take a tram ride up the hill to the museum complex.  Each building houses different periods of art.

 This was me next to a piece of modern art with the main courtyard in the background.

There was a model of the museum for the blind there.  It was pretty impressive.  It was constructed of sturdy metal so that one could feel the architecture of the museum and get a little taste of what they may not be able to see.  If you look close you can see braille on the buildings.

Recent Acquisitions

I have not had much time for miniature projects this summer.  We are getting our house ready to put on the market.  So I have been busy with repairs, painting and de-cluttering.  Any advice on how to pack up a room full of miniatures would be greatly appreciated. 

These are some recent purchases from my lunch time estate and garage sales.

I was fortunate enough to find a 1" scale Strombecker side table and carpet sweeper.

I have another table like this one, but not in as good condition as this one.

I came across this small box marked "Made in Germany" at an estate sale yesterday.

It has most of the pieces to make a miniature sleigh.  I am not sure of the date, but it looks pretty old.  Any help would be appreciated.

I found this small country style table at a local antique mall.  I will probably find a home in my cabin.  I will make some small checkers for it.

This small lead house is probably part of some railroad set, but I thought it would make a great dollhouse in one of mine.   

Recent Acquisitions

 Here are a few of my recent acquisitions.  I have not really had time to work on projects, but I have taken time during my lunch hours to find a few pieces here and there.  The small painting was at a garage sale.  The small glass vase and yellow glass picture were at an estate sale.  The yellow glass pitcher has flowers painted on it.  I picked up the stove on eBay via Canada. It was made in Germany.

 

 I came across these small resin buildings at another estate sale.  They are actually thimbles!  I figured they might be good accessories in one of my houses.  They are less than one inch tall and very detailed.

 I found this old Tupperware container at an estate sale this week.  It was one price for the whole lot.  There were a few treasures in there. Also a bag full of small lead pieces and accessories.

 The piece I like most is the metal wringer - other pieces were a working Tiffany style lamp, some clay pots and some metal pieces.  

Miniature Treasure Chest

I have been pretty busy these past few months.  Most recently, I have been preparing for my son's scout camp.  They have a pirate theme this year and I am in charge of one of the projects - a miniature treasure chest.  After a few trial and error runs, I determined that the lid was going to be too hard to build by hand. Arrgh!  So I pre-assembled them. The scouts will put together the base of the box and apply the straps.

The troupe is on a tight budget and luckily, Home Depot donated some supplies.  
I finished assembling these kits last night and the boys built them today. 

My son Cole is now on the lookout for some treasure!

Recent Acquisitions

While I have not had much time for miniature projects lately, I have still taken time (usually on my lunch hour) to hit a few estate sales and garage sales  I picked up this Strombecker table for a few bucks.  The rest of the items are mostly accessories.

 Below is close up the smallest basket that I have ever seen.  Its pretty great.  I could not get the picture to rotate, to save my life - just tilt you head.

I came across these smaller scale items at an estate sale - I will display them with my Tootsietoy collection.  They are metal ( possibly lead)  there is a jello mold?, a milk bottle and a leg of meat ( pork?)  My Tootsietoy collection can be seen Here .

I won this Walnut Strombecker table on eBay recently.  I was excited because it came with it's original box.  The table slides open to accept a leaf.  I have one of these already, but this one is in better shape. My Strombecker Walnut furniture can be seen Here .

 I came across these three pieces at an estate sale.  

I believe all three of these items were at that same sale.  A wooden Strombecker bathroom heater, A plaster bathroom scale, and a small red plastic alarm clock.  I will stick the scale with my Hall's collection.  MyHalls Collection can be seen Here .

A brass vase with a removable lid, a blue and white porcelain bowl, a metal coffee cup rack with some spatterware mugs, a brass spittoon and a brass bed warmer.

 I thought this old Websters Dictionary was pretty neat.  It is made from wood and heavy paper.  Does anyone have an idea how old this might be?

 I picked up this small scale metal train.  I will probably paint the plastic wheels.

 The last two items are a butter church and a plate of fruit.  Who doesn't need a butter churn in their miniature collection?