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Tiny Printable Buildings in Realistic or Fantasy Styles.

By , About.com Guide

Tiny printable miniature buildings you can use for railroad villages, doll houses for a doll's house, or as small buildings for a children's toy town, a Christmas scene or to set or hang as decorations. Railroad N scale and dollhouse scale meet at a point between 1:144 and 1:160 scale. These buildings are sized to fit in that range, the more realistic ones are set at 1:144 scale, and many can be furnished to make micro scale buildings for dollhouse toy shops or nursery settings.

1. Three Miniature Village Shops

Three Tiny English Village Shops in 1:144 or Micro ScalePhoto ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
These three Victorian shops are a great introduction to making village buildings from paper. They can also be printed out and glued to wood for a more long lived building. Each of the shops has a printed interior and can function as a dollhouse for inside 1:12 scale dolls house. The shops are based on buildings in Lewes UK.

2. Store Street Emporium and Castle Hill House

Miniature emporium and house in 1:144 scale made from paper.Photo ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
Add these two printable 1:144 scale shops to your miniature village. Store street is a multi story emporium, while Castle Hill house makes a Bed and Breakfast for the Victorian village.

3. Village Bank

A 1:144 scale two story brick bank for a dolls house or railroad scene.Photo ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
The miniature village bank building comes complete with a decorated interior ready for micro scale (n scale) railroad figures.

4. 1780's Alms House

A 1:144 scale dolls house with a snowman outside shown beside a quarter for scale reference.Photo ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
It is possible to decorate in this scale using micro mini furniture or items designed for N scale railroad scenes. This house, based on a set of row houses in London, can easily be used as a dolls house for the children in a 1:12 scale scene.

5. N Scale Village Church

A paper miniature village church with a bell tower in 1:144 scalePhoto ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
This tiny colonial village church is the only building in the realistic series which does not have an open back and a finished interior. The church can be added to a village scene or used as the backdrop for a scale nativity ornament.

6. Haunted House Buildings for a Halloween Scene

Printable miniature farmhouse, barn and silo for a haunted Halloween village in 1:144 ScalePhoto © 2011 Lesley Shepherd

Due to popular demand I've started to create a series of "putz" or glitter village style parts for Halloween villages. The parts are interchangeable to create small and large houses, there is also a haunted farmhouse and barn and sections of fencing to create miniature Halloween ornaments.

  • Haunted House parts in a range of colors
  • Haunted Farmhouse, Barn and Silo or round tower

    • 7. Fantasy or Putz Christmas Village Houses

    Three Putz style printable miniature cottages in N scale for a Christmas village display.Photo ©2008 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.

    These little fantasy house printables are a smaller scale version of the vintage cardboard collectibles for Christmas villages and trains. The parts are interchangeable and these houses have no interiors. These are easily assembled for a tiny Christmas village, or used as Christmas tree decorations. If you want to glitter them to resemble the traditional glitter houses, use glitter for miniatures.

    8. Printable Castle With Two Towers and Trims

    Printable miniature castle with two towers.Photo © 2012 Lesley Shepherd

    This printable miniature castle can be used for either a Christmas or a Halloween village, depending on how you finish it. The towers and building heights can be adjusted to make more pieces to surround the main castle, or you can use them for other buildings.

    If you want a fast, easy glittered castle, use the printable files as templates to cut the building and tower sides from glittered paper.

    9. Forts and Castles in Fantasy Style

    Printable towers mixed with other Putz style houses for a miniature Christmas villagePhoto copyright 2008 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
    These sections of crenellated printable miniature buildings can be combined for castles, schools, town halls and other buildings and can also be used as square additions for the other fantasy or putz house styles. You can use these for model forts for a dollhouse (1:12 scale) nursery or toy shop, or you can use them to contstruct all kinds of traditional glitter houses in miniature. In the glitter house tradition, the port cochere entrances and multi story crenalated towers were used for civic buildings or larger, more expensive glitter houses.

    10. Bungalows and a Village Church

    A set of printable miniature bungalows and a Church for a traditional dimestore Christmas village.Photo copyright 2008 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.

    The muliti part fantasy church is an example of how simple parts can be combined to make a much more impressive whole. The other small buildings in this set can be used on their own or as additions for the other buildings in the set. Samples of how the various parts can be combined can be seen in an online museum of the original dimestore houses, also known as glitter houses, coconut houses or putz houses, online at Papa Ted's Place.

    11. Wreaths, Garlands and Trees for Micro and N Scale Buildings

    One eighth inch Christmas Wreaths, garlands and a tiny tree decorate an N Scale Village Shop.Photo ©2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.
    Use these tiny wreaths, trees and garlands to turn your printable miniature buildings into a decorated Christmas village. The techniques also work to add Christmas decorations to N scale model railroad layouts.

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