Where am I am and what am I up to lately? Making Tiny Village kits of course but in a brand new location that changes frequently.

I am now officially a "Nomad"  on the road full time since the beginning of August in my small vintage travel trailer pulled by my Honda Element. The combination has certainly drawn a lot of attention wherever I go. The first question people ask is "did I have the trailer custom built to go with my car?" No one believes that it is a 50 year old vintage trailer. Of course the only thing still original on it is the fiberglass shell and the lift mechanism for the popup roof section. All of the interior is new, the frame, axle and wheels are also new as is the canvas in the popup. It even has a solar panel on the roof now and of course modern electrical plug-ins for USB devices as well as LED lighting. 

Of course I also put in a desk space in the trailer and I have a portable workshop space, ie a dome tent with space to stand up inside of it. photo above is of my current campsite including that dome ten at the campsite I am staying in near the town of Poulsbo, WA for the rest of October 2020. It is a nice place, very large campsites.

Yes I am still going to be making miniatures. I brought along the Coastal Cottage dollhouse to finish. Plus I am still making and selling Tiny Village kits in my Etsy store. Despite Covid 19 it has been a good year for my Tiny Village sales. Hopefully this winter, now that my vision is a little more improved and less warpy looking, I can design more kits for that series. 

A traveling business is not all that difficult to do as I have cellular connections for the internet and I have electrical power from solar and a generator if the camp sites I stay in do not have electrical power available. So I can cut kits, package, receive orders and do shipping. 

Do you know what a "Snowbird" is? That is what I now am, a person with an RV who goes south to warm sunny places in the winter and north to cool places in the summer. The dream of many persons in my age group 😊

2017 Tiny Village Castle Instructions

Now available from my Etsy Store!
Tiny Village Castle 2017 and the same design reduced in size to create the Micro Tiny Village Castle 2017, is a fairy tale castle that was designed to coordinate with the houses and buildings in the Tiny Village. There are two color choices, white,  and gingerbread brown. The  smaller micro size version of this kit also uses these assembly directions. The photos used in the instructions were taken using the lager Tiny size which is approximately 1:220 scale. These are to be considered as decorative  pieces. They are not scale models. I am the artist designer as well as being the paper engineer and I am also the person who cuts and packages them.

This Castle (inventory number 48)  is made up of 9 sections, some are towers, some are roofed walls and two are residential types of structures. You will finish each of the sections and then  assemble them together with glue as the final step.

 Before you begin to assemble this set please refer to the posting located elsewhere on this blog http://glitterhouses.blogspot.com/2014/03/tips-for-folding-tiny-pieces.html for extra advice on making and handling the folds on some of the very small pieces such as folding over the pieces that create the crenellated details at the top of the walls. 
 
Now and again you may find you will need to use a sharp knife to remove a chad from a window or slotted opening.  But don't remove the hinged doors as they are meant to stay attached. 

 Before you begin assembling a building section glance all the way through the instructions for that part to you familiarize yourself with what task comes next. 

If you wish to decorate a building with gel pens or felt tip markers it is easier while the pieces are flat. If you wish to paint only do so after the glue is completely dry.  The first coat of acrylic paint must be very thin so that it will seal the paper without making it soggy. Do not ever apply heavy coats of paint.  Glitter should be applied after assembly as excess glitter between pieces will interfere with the precision fit. If you wish to have "glass" in the windows you can apply transparent paper to the inside of the windows before assembly.

If you wish to add miniature sized SMD LED lights inside of the structures you will need to do that as you assemble the building. Read the tips on lighting that are found at the very end of the assembly instructions before you start putting the kit together.

Tools and other supplies for assembly

Tools needed are as follows. A sharp pointed craft knife, a #11 blade is good, I use the knife for removing any hanging chads from windows and for helping to remove excess glue before it dries. It is also good for gently pushing the walls into position. You can use a toothpick or fine point glue applicator bottle for adding just the right amount of glue. Toothpicks can also reach into deep spaces to help you adjust the edges of pieces during the glue steps. Bamboo skewers are also a great tool for reaching inside of the buildings to encourage the walls into proper position. As this kit has tall towers in  the skewers are very useful as a toothpick will be too short to reach some places. Tweezers with slanted, straight across tips, often called eyebrow tweezers, will help you hold onto the very small parts and help with making some of the  bends. Your fingers are the only clamps and the tweezers are the only clamps you will need. Just use them to gently press the parts together until the glue grabs.  Not shown in the photo is a pair of  fine point detail scissors. You might need them to trim any slight overhanging edges that could interfere with a flush fit when working on the final assembly of the castle sections. 

When gluing paper a small amount of glue is best as you don't want the parts to get soggy.  The low moisture, clear drying, thick, PVA glues work well but choose one that dries water resistant if you wish to decorate the building with paint or glitter. My favorite glue is Crafters Pick "The Ultimate". See the sidebar of this blog for sources on materials such as glue, glitter and tools such as the fine point glue applicator bottle with a .7mm metal tip. I love these applicator bottles, they make the assembly go super fast! A .7mm (#17) stainless steel sewing pin makes a great stopper for the metal tip. It is important to only use stainless steel pins as regular pins will rust.

On every building you should always pre-fold the pieces on the bend lines before you start. This method will slightly weaken the paper and make it much easier to get the wall sections into the perfect alignment.  It is often important to test out what you are doing to be doing by dry fitting pieces together before you apply glue to them. More than any other tip I can give to you this dry fit testing before you apply any glue will give you confidence and also lead you to success.

You can of course work on more than one building at a time. I often have two or three sections of the castle in progress to allow for glue drying time on parts. Just don't mix up the parts for different sections  as each part is unique  and can only be used on its own building. I also recommend placing all of the parts that are not in use towards the back of your work surface. Remember....tiny parts can easily get swept off a table by sleeves and hands and they can be difficult to find.

After you have assembled a section and the initial glue has dried you can reinforce the inside edge of the join, where it can't be seen by adding a fillet line of glue. An example of that is shown in this photo.

There are no typical types of paper model tabs that get folded over and glued in the kit. The tabs in this kit are there for aligning the pieces exactly in the right place during the assembly, they are not meant to hold the kit together. Do not put glue on them. The slots the projecting tabs fit into are generously sized, you will have no problems connecting the various sections of the castle to each other.

Now lets begin putting your Tiny Village Castle 2017 together!

# 48-1    

Begin by assembly this tall, narrow, stair tower.

You should have the  parts shown in the photo in the packet for the building section 48-1. Your packet of parts will be labeled "-1".

IMPORTANT NOTE:
I have placed some small marks on some of the pieces to help you identify which side of the building is the exterior surface of the castle.  It is critical to get the pieces folded the right way. If you do make an error and get one of the sections wrong contact me through my Etsy store about purchasing a replacement for that section of the castle.

There is also  a mark on center floor pieces and on some roof pieces. That mark indicates that side  will be facing down towards the bottom of the castle. You will get reminded of what these marks mean several times in the assembly instructions. Some roof sections are reversible, I don't put marks on those pieces. Other roof sections are very obvious in how they locate so I don't mark those.

This is the first piece to assemble, the roof of the tower.  Apply glue to the inside surfaces of the roof as seen in the photo. The upper edges of the roof just touch each other without any overlap. The lower roof edges rest on top of the base.

TIP: Practice the moves for putting things without adding any glue. That helps you prevent making errors. Practicing the steps before adding glue is useful because you will need to work quickly as the tacky glues grab fast.

 Look at the first photo in the section to see what this folded over dentil detail will look like.  Apply glue as shown in the photo. Fold the dentil details down onto the exterior surface of the building. Remember look for that mark on the building which indicates which side is the exterior.

Tip: I use the flat tipped tweezers to press together the folded over crenelations to get the fold line nice and flat.

Now flip the walls over so that you are now working on the interior surface.  In this step you will be inserting the center floor and joining together the side seam of the tower walls. The steps you will be doing here are typical for the castle sections in this kit that have crenellations or dentil details.

TIP: First practice this next step without glue so that you understand the moves you need to make. In this case you are rolling the walls around the center floor inserting the small projections into the slots in the walls.

VERY IMPORTANT: The long side of the tower wall on the right hand side, the one with the glue on it, will rest on top of the cut edge of the wall on the left side. Use the flat side of your knife to make sure the edges of the wall are flush to each other. The bottom edges of the walls must be even with each other. This  glued wall surface overlapping the edge of the wall that mates to it is typical.

There is a small triangle cut into the center floor piece. That triangle points to the first piece you insert into the slot in the wall. You will always start on the left side in all of the castle sections. Gently push the center floor  against the bottom of the slots.

Apply glue to the base and fold up onto the walls. Make sure the edges of the wall and the base are aligned. This squares the building up so that it will assemble properly with other pieces in the castle.

Apply glue to the upper edges of the tower. There are two small projecting tabs that will fit into the two slots on the base of the tower roof. Do not put glue on the tabs, they are just there for alignment.

Now put the roof onto the tower. See photo below for how it will look.

Congratulations, you have completed the first section of the castle. You have also learned my basic assembly system which you will be using on the other sections of the castle.












#48-2

This section of the castle is the "Keep". There is a small shed like room on the exterior wall. That is called a "garderobe".

This building section of the castle looks different than the tower you just completed but the assembly steps are much the same.

Don't forget to fold the all parts along the bend lines before you put any glue on them. It makes the assembly much easier to do if you are not trying to make sharp fold lines while you have wet glue on the pieces.

The parts shown in this photo should be in your 48-2 packet.

Arrange the garderobe piece so that it faces the direction shown in this photo.

The wall on the right will rest on top of the edge of the wall on the left.

Then fold up the base being sure the building walls are squared up to the base.

Add glue to the top edges of the walls and fold the roof down. Look at the roof from below to make sure the overhang is even on both of the two narrow sides of the structure.

Set this part aside for now, it will get installed after the  tower walls are assembled.

With the exterior of the building facing up towards you apply glue as shown on the crenlations at the top of the wall. Look at the first photo for 48-2 to see what they will look like after being folded.

Press them flat until the glue grips. Your fingers and the flat faced tweezer are the only clamps you need. The glue grips quickly.

 I am sure you will remember this step from the tower you just completed.

With the interior of the walls facing towards you insert the center floor. The tab with the triangular cut inserts into left side then wrap the walls on around the center floor. The wall on the right that has glue on it will rest on top of the cut edge of the wall on the left. Be sure the bottom edges of the walls are even and the sides are flush to each other.

Note, sometimes the lower edge  of a wall will be slightly bowed inwards. Just gently push on the lower edge of it with a finger to straighten it before you put the base on.

Add glue to the base and secure in place.

Time to put the roof in place.

First look at the roof and notice the mark on one side of it. That will be facing down towards the base of the tower. Practice installing the roof before you put any glue on the tower. I tilet the roof and start it by inserting one side then lower it down engaging the projections into the crenelations. Sometimes you may need to gently pull on the top of the wall to open it just a very small amount so the roof slips into place. I generally use the flat side of my craft knife to nudge the walls outwards that very  small amount. You can use a skewer, toothpick or non sharpeded back edge of the knife to push the roof down into the gaps.

Time to put the garderobe in place. I have outlined in glue the area on the building where it belongs. Insert the tab into the slot on the building. Be sure it is sitting nice and level, parallel to the walls.

It is not a super tight fit so you do need to visually check that alignment and make any needed adjustments to its position.

Congratulations, you have finished the castle keep tower section.













#48-3

 The entry tower is next.

Your packet for 48-3 should contain the parts shown in this photo.  Note that there is no mark on the roof showing which side goes down. That is because it fits into the building either direction. 

 There are a lot of details to fold over onto the exterior surface of the walls. The crenelations at the top and also trim pieces for the gate opening.

With the interior of the walls facing up towards you as shown in this photo:

Insert the center floor. The triangle on the floor points at the first projecting part that inserts into the slot on the wall at the left as shown in this photo.  Wrap the walls around the floor. 

The wall on the right side will rest on top of the cut edge of the wall on the left. The bottom of the walls must be even and the edges along the join need to be flush. 

Now you will fold the base over onto the walls. Place the glue on the bottom edges of the walls. Then fold the base onto the walls. Make sure the tower is nicely squared up to the base. 

Almost done with the entry tower.  The roof is the same on all 4 sides, no need to figure out which way it goes. Add glue as shown in the photo and put the roof into place. Remember if it is a little tight  you can gently pry outwards on the tops of the walls so that it can slip into position. 

Congratulations, you are finished with the entry tower. That was fun!













#48-4

 This is one of two rampart wall sections. They look very similar but they are not identical. To be sure you do not mix their parts up complete this one before you begin assembling the rampart wall section numbered 48-5.

Only two parts this time :)  

with the exterior side of the walls facing you apply glue as shown in the photo. Then fold the crenelations over and hold until the glue grabs.

To join the walls apply glue as shown in the photo. The wall section with the glue on it sits on top of the edge of the other wall. Be sure the bottom edges of the walls are even and the side edges are flush. Important: Let the glue  dry before doing the next step.  

The roof goes on first, before you fold over the base.

The building is an irregular shape and inserting the roof first will establish that shape and hold it in that position for the next step of gluing the base on. 

Before you add glue do a practice test fit of the roof so you know the moves you are going to need to make when you have glue on the surfaces.

Apply glue as shown in the photo and fold the base down onto the walls. You may need to do some small adjustments to bring it all into perfect alignment around the edges. If there should be a small overhang of the base along the edges then use sharp scissors or a knife to trim it even to the exterior surface of the wall. Do this trimming adjustment after the glue dries. 

Congratulations, you have completed section 48-4








# 48-5

The is the second of the two wall ramparts. It locates on the opposite side of the castle building that has turrets on it.

Only two pieces in this castle section. 

Apply glue and fold over the crenelations onto the exterior side of the walls.

Apply glue as shown in the photo. The wall with glue on it rest on top of the cut edge of the wall it mates to. Be sure the bottoms of the wall are even and that the sides of the wall are flush to each other. Let the glue dry before the next step.

The roof is put in place now. Remember that the side of the roof with the markings on it faces down towards the base.

 Now the base is glued into position.


Congratulations, you have finished section 48-5













#48-6

This roofed wall section of the building has 3 parts, the lower, the upper and the roof. 

The sides on the upper part has sections that fold back and forth as a Z shape to created the overhanging dentil detailing. 

The 48-6 section is similar but not identical to the 48-7 section. Do not mix up the parts. 

You need to be very careful when you put the roof onto this structure and refer back to this photo to make sure the projecting area at the roof faces in the right orientation. There is a door on  one side of this building so this view can be your reference guide as to the correct orientation of the projection on the roof.   

Only 3 pieces but the upper walls are the fussiest ones to fold and glue that you will have worked on so far. So take your time and  do some practice assembly on them without any glue.

Lets start with the lower walls. They are very easy to do. You know the routine. The bottom edges of the walls are even with the wall that has the glue resting on top of the edge of the other wall. Then after that grabs apply glue to the base and fold it up. 

These upper walls  are the fussiest parts to work on that you will encounter in the whole project. Don't worry we will get back to those easy to do steps after the upper walls of 48-6 and 48-7 are finished.



This is a side view of the upper walls to help you understand that Z shape fold that is needed to create the overhanging dentil detail.  

Apply glue to secure the first layer of dentil details against the exterior side of the upper walls. Fold and hold until the glue grips.

 Now you will add glue and fold over that last section of the Z shape. Fun to do and a whole lot easier than trying to glue individual pieces of trim onto a building. 

This is the tricky part of the assembly.  Be sure you look at the next photo after this one before you get started. You will fold the wall around and put the base in place in the same set of motions. This is where you should practice before you add glue. The base of the upper walls has to rest right against that very narrow ledge that was created by folding over the dentil details. You also have to be sure the edge of the wall that wraps sits on top of the edge of the wall it meets and is flush at the edge.

This is a bottom side view of what the upper walls look like when completed. 

 Glue the upper section to the lower section. The projecting tabs at the top of the wall and the slots they fit into make it easy to align the pieces. Set the lower section on the table, put the upper section on it and apply some gentle hand pressure until the glue grabs. 

Fold over the tabs at the top edges of the walls. Their only purpose is to keep the roof from falling into the building while you position the roof on top of the walls. 

When the roof is in place the sides of the gable end walls and the edge of the roof need to be flush. Remember they will be right up against other parts of the castle and you don't want to have large gaps where one section mates against another.

Congratulations, you are finished with section 48-6, now we will do a repeat of these steps with the wall section that goes on the other side of the entry tower. Similar in looks but not identical to this one.


#48-7

Three parts to this section of the castle, the lower, the upper and the roof. If you have already worked on 48-6 then you will know what is happening so I will keep the written part brief.

These three parts should be in your packet

Assemble the lower walls. Remember the wall section with the glue rest on top of the mating wall and they need to be even at the bottom and flush at the sides. Fold up the base.

Glue the first layer of the Z fold in place.

glue the next layer of the Z fold in place

wrap the wall around and also put the base in place at this same time resting it against the narrow ledges.

glue the upper walls onto the lower walls

glue the roof in place making sure that the gable end walls and the edges of the roof are flush to each other



Congratulations you have completed section 48-7

Have some fun, set some of the sections together without using any glue. 

The next two castle sections have more steps because they have more pieces to them.




#48-8

This would be the great hall of the castle, the part that has the bed chambers for the family.  This is the view from the outside of the castle. It has a tall bay tower section projecting from the wall with a dormer above it.

This view of the great hall shows the courtyard side with its small garderobe room projecting from the wall. There is a dormer on the roof line. The roof has a slot for the chimney to fit into.

Your packet for 48-8 should have these pieces in it.

Lay your chimney piece on the table facing you as shown in this photo. 

Apply glue and fold over the sections at the top edge of the chimney, hold until the glue grabs

Now turn the chimney over so that it is arranged as in this photo. Add glue and fold the walls around so that the wall with the glue rest on the cut edge of the opposite wall. The top edges of the chimney should be even. 

Hold until the glue grips then set aside  while you work on the rest of the building.

This assembles  the same  as the garderobe on the Keep tower.  Apply glue, fold the walls then fold up the base making sure everything is nice and square.

Fold the roof down onto the walls and hold until the glue grips. Set the garderobe room aside while you work on the rest of the building

The small bay tower has some crenlations that need to have glue applied and then they get folded over onto the exterior side of the walls. 

Now the center floor is put in place and the walls wrapped around it. Remember the bottom edges of the walls need to be even where they mate. The top edges of the wall will not be even so don't worry about them.  

Hint: sometimes that long wall the bay tower rest against  will bow in slightly. So before you glue the base in position just gently pull the wall outwards with your fingertip to straighten it. 

Apply glue and fold the base up being sure the building is square and edges are flush.

 Practice folding the bay tower up and fitting the tabs into the slots before you add glue. That way you will know the moves you need to make to get the tabs into the slots.

Put glue on the edges of the cardstock as shown in this photo.

Once the bay tower is in place use a skewer or some other long thin object to reach inside of the bay tower to spread the tabbed sides outwards so that you don't see a large gap  along the edge of the slots. 

Lets get that little roof for the bay tower in place. This is where you need to use those flat tipped tweezers to grab onto it while you guide it into place. 

Hint: The projections on the roof that fit into that window on the building need to go in first, then lower the roof  into the crenelation gaps.

Important note:  before you put the roof on be sure the end walls of the building are standing up straight rather than tipping inwards and be sure the long sides of the building are now bowed inwards.  If needed use a little finger pressure to gently persuade them into alignment.

Do a practice installation without glue. Fold in the sides of the large dormer first. Then you have to gently pull outwards on the top of the  dormers with a fingertip to get the roof to slide behind the dormers. 

Put a small amount of glue inside the dormer side walls to secure them.

Now apply glue to the edges as shown in the photo. Holding the pieces with tweezers makes installing these small roof pieces much easier to do. 

 Now the smaller dormer roof is put in place.

 The garderobe and chimeny get glued into position. Before the glue grabs be sure they are sitting squared up for the horizontal and vertical position in relation to the building. You don't want to look at a crooked chimney on the top of the building you have been working so carefully on to make it look perfect.

Congratulations, you have completed section 48-8, only one more left to assemble

 This section of the castle is another hall that would have in it the public reception spaces such as a throne room and a small chapel.  

This is the view of the building from the outside of the castle. There are turrets on this side.

 This is the view of the building from the courtyard side.

Your packet for 48-9 should contain these parts. 

A lot more pieces but fairly easy to assemble. 

There is a very small difference in lower dentil details on the turret walls for the micro sized version. This photo shows the larger Tiny sized version. 

The first steps you will be doing are assembling  the smaller pieces and details.

Arrange the chimneys as shown in the photo. They are a mirrored opposite pair. 

Apply glue and fold over the top edge to create the decorative detail around the top of the chimney.

Apply glue to the edges as shown in the photo. The top edge of the walls should be even. 

Set the piece aside for later installation

With the exterior side of the Nave section facing you apply glue and fold over the crenelations.

Flip the piece over so that the interior side of the wall is now facing you. 

Fold the walls in and then fold the base up against them. The edge of the base and the outside of the walls should be flush.

Set aside for later installation. Do not put the roof on the Nave at this time.

 On the exterior surface of the walls glue into place the small trim details at roof peaks.

 On the courtyard side of the main building there are crenelations to be folded over on the small projecting bay. Remember fold them onto the exterior surface of the walls.

 Assemble the pyramid shaped turret roofs and set aside to dry.  You made a the same type of roof for section 48-1, the first tower you put together.

 Apply glue and fold over the crenellations 

 The turrets are mirror opposites of each other. They are marked with an R for right and an L for left. Be sure you make a mirrored pair.

The turret walls differ slightly in the micro size. At the lower edge on the crenelated details there are some small pieces that have been eliminated as they were too small to fold reliably. 

Apply glue and fold the walls around to join. The wall with the glue rest on top of the cut edge of the other wall that joins to it. The top edges of the walls are even so that the roofs sit flat onto the turrets.

 Use your tweezers to grab onto that diamond shaped tail end of the base to lower the base into the crenels.You may want to practice this move first without using glue.

 Apply glue on the upper edge of the turret and set the roof in place. This is a visual alignment, look at the roof from the underside to make sure it is evenly spaced from the edges of the turret walls.

 Now that all the  small assemblies are finished its time to assemble the main walls.By  now you are very familiar with the routine of wrapping the walls around the center floor. Use the triangular cut in the floor as a guide to point at the first slot on the wall on the left side in this photo. Remember that the mark on the floor faces down towards the base of the building. 

Now the base folds up. That lower edge of that long wall is quite likely to be bowed in a little so use your finger tip to gently persuade it to be straight before you fold the base onto the wall.

 Apply glue to the edges of  Nave section  as shown in this photo. Remember to use a long thing object such as a skewer to reach into the Nave and push the sides walls that have tabs on them against the edges of the slots so that there is not a large visible gap at the edge of the slot on the exterior of the building.

On the courtyard side of the building apply glue to the edges and fold up the small bay room. Once again use a skewer inside of the walls to spread them outwards against the edge of the slot. 

Glue the roof on.

The turrets install now. You should test fit the turrets before you apply glue to make sure you have them in the correct location.  Looking at the building from the side that has the Nave, the small bay with a cross on it, notice that one turret is marked with an R for installing it on your right, the other is marked with an L for the left side installation.

In this photo you can see the edges of the main walls where glue needs to be applied. On the turret itself put a small amount of glue on the cut edge of the slot that touches against the side of the tab.

Set the turret in place and from the backside of the wall press gently until the glue grabs to make sure there is no visible gap at the edge of the slot. After the glue has dried for several minutes you can add an addition fillet of glue on the inside of the walls for extra strength at the join lines.

Now it is time to do a practice installation of the main roof without using any glue. First slide the side of the roof down between the turrets but not quite all the way down.

 Then on the other side of the roof fold the sides of the dormer back out of the way and use your fingertip to very gently push the top of the dormer away from the wall so that you can slide the roof behind it.

Now that you have practiced you are ready to take the roof back off and then fix it in place with glue.

Be sure the end walls are straight up vertical rather than leaning into the building.

Apply glue as shown in the photos. Now put the roof in place, look at it from underneath all the way around the building so make sure it is seated down properly and the distance from the walls to the edge of the roof is even along the length. You will have than a minute of time to make minor adjustments before the glue grabs.

Spread open the sides of the dormer and secure them on the backside with a very small amount of glue. Then apply glue on the edges and set the dormer roof in place.

The last step for section 48-9 is to glue the chimneys in place.  The side of the chimney with a small straight edge (as shown in the photo) is the one that drops down into the slot on the roof.

Make sure to visually check the chimneys to see if they are standing straight upright, if not make any needed adjustments before the glue grabs.

Congratulations, you have finished assembling the final section of the castle kit. Now its time to join the sections together. But I suspect you have already been playing "lets build a castle" with many of them.

 The highlighted area indicates where to put the glue. You do not need to apply 100% coverage with the glue,   applying lines of glue across this area is sufficient.

These three parts go together. Test fit the tabs if they resist going into the slots just very gently press on the tabs with your finger to barely bend the tips of them towards the middle of the building section. That will be enough to self guide them on into the slots.

Keeping the base of the buildings against the table top gently press them together until the glue grips. Do not hold the pieces up in the air, the table top itself is acting as a primary index for the proper location of the pieces so that the bases of the pieces are all on the same level to allow them to stand straight.

This is the next sub assembly. Join the 48-1 tower to the 48-2 tower. You can see the orientation of these two buildings because the door at the top of the narrow 48-1 stairway tower opens out onto the roof of the 48-2 "Keep" tower.

The highlighted area indicates where to place the glue. You do need to stay without the bounds of this area as part of the stairway tower projects past the edge of the side of the keep tower.

This is the next sub assembly. The entry tower 48-3  and the two roofed wall sections 48-6 and 48-7  that fit against the sides of the tower.

This view is looking at the entry from the outside of the castle. You can tell it is that side because there are two small holes above the tower entry that would be used for cables for a drawbridge. If you want to you can make a drawbridge and use some thin cord for cables. Not every castle has a drawbidge but some do have dry moats and others have moats with water. It is your choice to decide on the setting of your castle.






If you are a little confused as to which side of the walls goes against the tower I have given you some special shapes to match up. In the upper section of the roofed walls the 48-6 has a small triangle  up near the peak of the roof and there is a matching triangle to that one on the side wall of the entry tower. Just place triangle against triangle.  On the 48-7 section up near the roof there is a circular hole and there is also a matching circular hole on the side wall of the entry tower. Just line up those special shapes and you have the orientation correct.

Next you will join the side of 48-7 to the side of 48-2. Keep the lines of glue withing the highlighted area because a portion of 48-7 extends past the 48-1 wall area and you don't want to have glue left exposed on the exterior of the building.

Side of 48-6 is now joined to the wall of 48-9.
Practice this before you apply glue to the parts.

The first move to make is to slip into the V shaped area on the roof of 48-9  the extended roof area on 48-6. To do that I tilt the 48-9 building then lower it down until wall touches wall. You may need to use your finger or the flat side of your knife to gently lift up the roof edges of 48-9 near the join as they likely will get slightly pushed downwards during this process.

You now have two halves of your castle.  You just finished the entry gate half. The other half has the turreted hall.

This is a good time to apply glitter or other decorations on the surfaces as you can still reach the courtyard side faces of the sections. But don't get any glitter on the surfaces where you will apply glue to join the halves together. The glue and glitter is thick enough to mess up the precision of the fitting of the parts to each other.

To join the two halves together apply glue in the highlight areas shown in this photo.

Included in your kit are some optional pieces that can be used to set your castle on or used as templates to create different bases and they can help you plan where the castle goes in your own custom layout. It is not required that you use these piece, they are included for your convenience for helping you put together various display scenes that you might wish to create.

There is a small circular disk with a hole in the center. This piece will fit over the top of an LED tea light candle. It is used in conjunction with the larger circular base that has a courtyard area cut out of it. Just glue them together.

I have included the cutouts of the outline of the courtyard that I removed from the other pieces. Those can be used as templates or even as the bases for creating landscaping within the courtyard.

The last piece is the outline of the exterior of the castle with the area of the courtyard removed from it. There are also holes in it that line up with the holes in the bases of the castle pieces.  The use of this piece is as a template to help you decide where to place the castle in a decorated layout that includes Tiny Village houses. The holes are there to help you establish where to run wiring in your display base for lighting the castle.

Wiring the castle with LED lighting  needs to be done during the assembly of the parts. There is a hole in the base and also in the center floor to allow for the wiring to go into the building sections.

The entry tower section 48-3 lighting is a little different. To put a light into it you will need to run the wires up into one of the two adjacent roofed wall sections 48-6 or 48-7 and then into one of the opening in the side the entry tower. I made the slots on the tower and also the upper floor of the roofed wall sections wide enough to thread a small SMD LED light through them. Leave the roofs off the tower and the wall section during the final joining together assembly of those sections  to make that easier to accomplish.