This whole idea started with David Bowie (may he RIP). I’ve been a huge fan back then, and one day, while listening to his song Golden Years, I thought, wouldn’t that make a great name for a miniature pub?
So that became the idea for kitbashing 2 of my - now former hahaha - finished dollhouse kits. Not just any pub, but one that felt like a place where Bowie might’ve stepped in for a drink, or where fans might gather and talk about the music that shaped them.
I’ll be adding tiny posters of Bowie’s Golden Years album to the walls, and there are gold accents throughout the build to reflect the name. It will definitely be something personal!
The DIY Kits I Took Apart (and What I Salvaged)
To bring The Golden Years to life, I didn’t start from scratch; I started from scraps. I pulled together pieces from two previously completed Robotime kits and added one leftover gem from a third. Here’s what I reused:
- 🏡 Robotime’s Homey Kitchen
This kit had a lot of charm with cozy kitchen details and a classic layout. I’d built and reviewed it before, but it was time to let it go. I carefully dismantled the entire thing and used many of its structural pieces, the walls, the floorboards, left the door and windows in, and actually kept most of the furniture and some accessories.
- 🍬 Robotime’s Candy House
As sweet as it looked, the Candy House had never really fit my personal style. But once I stripped it down, I realized it had a lot of useful components: pastel-colored furniture that could be repainted to place bottles and glasses on, decorative shapes for walls, and a great window element for a toilet.
- 🎹 Robotime’s Simon’s Coffee (just the piano)
I had already kitbashed Simon’s Coffee into a 'Black Cat's café', but I’d never used the upright piano that came with it. Good thing I kept it!
It fits perfectly into The Golden Years, adding just the right touch to the theme. I mean, what’s a pub without a piano in the corner?
Walk-Through: How I Built “The Golden Years” Pub miniature diorama
Here’s a step-by-step look at how I brought this Bowie-inspired miniature pub to life:
1. The Fun Part: Taking the Kits Apart and Brainstorming!
Before any glue or wallpaper came into play, I sat down and carefully disassembled the two main kits.
Pulling apart your own work is oddly satisfying when you know it’s for a bigger vision. I laid out all the parts and started brainstorming what I could reuse and how to fit them together.