Dream Castle acquired!

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I found a Dream Castle listed on eBay for $74.99 plus shipping. It was the lowest price I can recall seeing for it in my years of on-off eBay searching for it, and I had earned enough money from my seasonal job to be able to pay for it, and I ordered it Saturday evening. Now, it was hardly in perfect shat that price. It was bare of accessories save for the bracket for Spike's basket winch, the original rope for the drawbridge had enterprisingly been replaced with a shoestring, and the clips on the side walls were damaged. And the seller said it was in need of further cleaning, lots of storage grime still on it. But all the structural pieces were present and accounted for, and the price was too good pass up.

It arrived yesterday. The seller wasn't kidding about it needing further cleaning. Judging by the look and greasy texture of some of the grime, mice or some other creature had got at it while it was stowed away, so I had to give it an initial scrubdown with a damp rag loaded with a little bleach (plus throw away the shoelace), and that's taken care of that much along with some of the grubbiness. There is still plenty of the general grime of ages on it, though, still need to work on that. Would using a steam cleaner be advisable?

I also of course need to get a hold of the accessories and replace the drawbridge rope, etc. I was thinking to use a length of twine at least for now. Does anyone know how long the original was? If not I should be able to work it out myself with measuring tape. I also need to replace the stickers. Does anyone happen to have a scan of the sticker sheet?

And now, pictures:
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The stickers in the bag are the ones that came off partly or entirely during the scrubdown. Some are torn, some are whole.
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[ghouldilocks]

It looks great, congratulations! It feels so good to save up for a big purchase like that and finally be able to get it in your hands. 

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Thanks. And it really does. I am going to need some help and advice to get it fully restored to glory. For instance, I'm considering using my steam cleaner on it to deal with the remaining grime. Is that a good idea?

[emily_katie]

 I recently got my own dream castle  too! mine has snapped hinges like yours and I am thinking of ideas to fix them. In the mean time I have Spikes basket winch and drawbridge string in its original state. If you would like I could measure mine and send you the measurements? earliest I can do that is Tuesday I cleaned mine with a toothbrush and antibacterial soap. A steam cleaner may totally remove stickers but if you are planning on doing that anyway it wont be an issue  As for sticker scans, I have seen them online, I hope our dual restoration projects go well!

[Leave a Whisper]

Wonderful Swordsman! Huge congrats! Despite it being a bit of a fixer-upper you must be thrilled.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I am, Leave a Whisper. I'm very thrilled indeed.

I recently got my own dream castle  too! mine has snapped hinges like yours and I am thinking of ideas to fix them. In the mean time I have Spikes basket winch and drawbridge string in its original state. If you would like I could measure mine and send you the measurements? earliest I can do that is Tuesday I cleaned mine with a toothbrush and antibacterial soap. A steam cleaner may totally remove stickers but if you are planning on doing that anyway it wont be an issue  As for sticker scans, I have seen them online, I hope our dual restoration projects go well!

I would appreciate those measurements very much, thank you. Yeah, I'm planning on replacing the stickers. I mean, most of them already came off and they were all in poor shape and discolored.

As for fixing the clips at the bases of the side walls, I do have a solid idea there. I have a good amount of scrap plastic tubing, so my plan is to cut a section from a piece of similar diameter, and glue it on with Krazy Glue in place of the broken clip on each side. The broken upper hook on the wall without a balcony will similarly be repaired by gluing on a bit of sprue.

[Safflower]

Wow, congrats! It's so exciting to get a playset, especially if you save up

[SpookyTrees]

How amazing. Congrats to you!!!!!

[Emberfly]

Congrats on your castle!  It's my very favourite playset.  Enjoy yours 

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone. I really appreciate it.

I've been busy at the repairs. I have reconstructed the broken clips and am in the process of reinforcing where they join to the walls so that it will hold up. I've also cut and fitted a new drawbridge rope through trial and error, so emily_katie.. If you don't feel like bothering with the measurement you don't have to. It would still be appreciated though.

What would also be appreciated would be tracings of the felt banners and Majesty's felt cape. Those seem like they would be simple enough to replicate myself.

[emily_katie]

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone. I really appreciate it.

I've been busy at the repairs. I have reconstructed the broken clips and am in the process of reinforcing where they join to the walls so that it will hold up. I've also cut and fitted a new drawbridge rope through trial and error, so emily_katie.. If you don't feel like bothering with the measurement you don't have to. It would still be appreciated though.

What would also be appreciated would be tracings of the felt banners and Majesty's felt cape. Those seem like they would be simple enough to replicate myself.

No problem :') On the sticker sheets I have seen they have a template for the felt pieces. http://www.kimonostownhouse.com/fun/dream_castle.html You can find the sticker scans and templates here

[ColdRuru]

Congratz! Funny that I just got mine for a similar amount of price, it's almost complete but a bit discolored

[Shy Violet]

What a coincidence, I just got Dream Castle too! Huge congrats!! 

I measured the string for the drawbridge and it's approximately 15 inches. It's pretty much the right length for it to fully extend so I would run it through, tie both ends and cut off the excess. I need to fix one of the hinges on mine too. I have the banners and cape so I will try to get those traced out or scanned in the next few days.

I have doubles of some of the accessories if you're interested, I just need to dig them out. I think I have an extra throne, hoops, basket and some other things. Let me know. 

[kiwimlp]

^ lol, I just finished posting on your thread, Shy Violet.  I wanted Dream Castle so badly when I was a kid but I didn't finally own it until I was about 32 as an adult collector.  Yours looks great, Zelda. It sounds like you are going to make a great job of restoring the damaged parts so it will be almost like new once you are done.  Congrats

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Thanks, kiwimlp.

A look at the reconstructed clip on the right-hand side:
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The similar reconstruction on the left-hand wall needs some adjusting, but at least it holds, and with the clip there for support and the hook reconstructed the wall can actually stay on and upright with the castle open

And here's a pic of Majesty on the ramparts:
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Thanks for the congratulations, everyone. I really appreciate it.

I've been busy at the repairs. I have reconstructed the broken clips and am in the process of reinforcing where they join to the walls so that it will hold up. I've also cut and fitted a new drawbridge rope through trial and error, so emily_katie.. If you don't feel like bothering with the measurement you don't have to. It would still be appreciated though.

What would also be appreciated would be tracings of the felt banners and Majesty's felt cape. Those seem like they would be simple enough to replicate myself.

No problem :') On the sticker sheets I have seen they have a template for the felt pieces. http://www.kimonostownhouse.com/fun/dream_castle.html You can find the sticker scans and templates here

Thanks for the link, that's a big help!

What a coincidence, I just got Dream Castle too! Huge congrats!! 

I measured the string for the drawbridge and it's approximately 15 inches. It's pretty much the right length for it to fully extend so I would run it through, tie both ends and cut off the excess. I need to fix one of the hinges on mine too. I have the banners and cape so I will try to get those traced out or scanned in the next few days.

I have doubles of some of the accessories if you're interested, I just need to dig them out. I think I have an extra throne, hoops, basket and some other things. Let me know. 

Thank you very much! The Kimono's Townhouse page doesn't have a tracing of the cape, so that's very helpful of you!
I probably would be interested in some of those, at that. I don't suppose you have the shoes and crown?