How I Kitbashed Two Robotime Miniature Kits into a Cozy Pub Called “The Golden Years”

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!

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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.
  
  ➤ See my full Homey Kitchen review here
  

• 🍬 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.
  
  ➤ Check out my Candy House review here
  

• 🎹 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?
  
  ➤ Here’s how I hacked Simon’s Coffee

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.

2. Combining the Structures

I connected the two kit structures and added extra flooring made from architect paper that matched the thickness of the original parts. This gave me a larger base to work with.

I also added an extra interior wall to create a small toilet area, which gave the layout a more realistic pub feel.

=> 2 kits assembled into 1 and expanded for a terrace and extra space to put a piano. Rearranging some furniture to see where everything could fit.

==> Created a separate toilet room (with some balsawood), and in the meantime, I had been looking for a mini toilet on scale 1:24, because some things are just too detailed or complicated for me to DIY.

Here’s where I found the 3D-printed toilet. It was easy to assemble, and I painted the toilet seat gold.

3. Spray Painting Pieces in Gold (And Why You Should Always Prime First)

Before picking out the wallpaper, I started working on the details that would set the tone for the entire pub.

I spray-painted the doors, two windows, and two decorative wall elements in gold to echo the “Golden Years” theme.

Krylon COLORmaxx Spray Paint, Metallic Gold

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A few other small pieces, like the high bar chair, also got the golden treatment.

Important tips:

• Always prime your pieces before painting them, especially if you’re using spray paint. I skipped this step first, and the result was uneven, streaky, and honestly kind of a mess. You’ll get much smoother results and better paint adhesion, totally worth the extra step.
  
• Wear tight-fitting plastic gloves! Because: trust me, hahaha
  
• If you spray paint your furniture and such, please do it in a well-ventilated area or even better: outside!
  
  

4. Picking the Perfect Wallpaper and puzzling and gluing it together!

Next came one of my favorite parts: choosing wallpaper to match the “Golden Years” theme.

I wanted to stick to designs from my own Etsy store (Everything Very Small), so I played around with several combinations until I decided to use something with another ‘touch of gold’.

This black wallpaper with golden patterns is available here in my Etsy store.

Once I’d chosen the look, I wallpapered all the interior walls and used my wooden-print dollhouse floor paper to give it that authentic old-pub vibe.

➤ Here’s the exact floor paper I used

As you can see in the picture above, I first needed to rescale all the printables to a smaller scale to fit this diorama. My printables on Etsy are on a scale of 1:12, and I resized them with Canva: this is how you do this.

How did I attach the extra wall to the little window above the toilet room? Like this (with small clamps), hahahaha! (Thank the husband for this idea.)

5. Repainting and Reimagining the Furniture

Most of the original furniture didn’t match the new mood, so I gave everything a second life with matte black spray paint, or again with the gold spray.
It instantly made everything feel more grown-up and less “candy store.”

The bar cabinet was spray-painted black, as was the bar counter, and some pieces of furniture. The little window above the toilet had a black coat of paint as well.

Krylon black Gallery Series Artist and Clear Coatings Aerosol gloss

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Oh yeah, forgot to tell you that I had 2 pieces of ‘mirror stickers’ scraps left over and it was just enough to create the backend of the bar cabinet, so lucky me! (so you will see the reflection of bottles and glasses better)

The high bar chair had a coat of gold spray, and the cushion will be switched to red.

And the piano that I had kept from Robotimes’ ‘Simon coffee”, was assembled and sprayed in black as well, with a little touch of gold again.

Apparently, I threw away the printable for the piano keyboard, ugh! So I looked online to replace it, and had to try a dozen times on Canva to change the scale, that was a bit frustrating-lol! (If you want the file, though, you can always email me to send it to you.)

6. Setting up a little terrace corner.

The space in front of the pub is set up for a future terrace.

First, I glued a printable to the floor, and then I covered the (already gold-sprayed) pieces with a brick wall print below. So that you can still see threw those ‘walls’.

The original Candy Store Kit was way too hidden behind glass, in my opinion.

Had my hubby help me out to glue them down with Loctite superglue.

Can you see where I’m going with this? 🙂

For the little terrace table(s), I had been collecting those little plastic pizza savers you get with takeaway pizza, and they turned out nice!

As you can see, I also spray-painted them gold to match Bowie’s Golden Years.

7. Still to Come: Bowie Posters, a Brick Exterior, more furniture updates, and accessories.

There are still a few things on my to-do list before this pub feels finished.

I’m planning to decorate the interior walls with miniature David Bowie posters and records, especially from his Golden Years album.

And I need to wallpaper the toilet, hang a mirror there, etc, etc.

And for the outside wall, I’ll be using one of my brick printables to give the exterior that classic pub look.

That’s It for Now (Before I Get Too Overwhelmed 😅)

This is where I’m hitting pause, for now. Before diving into upcycling more furniture and tracking down tiny pub accessories, I wanted to organize all my photos and videos and get this post started while everything was still fresh in my head.

The next challenge will be adding the tiny details—things like bottles, glasses, stools, and that elusive miniature bar tap. These pieces aren’t always easy to buy or make at this scale.

Even though it’s not done yet, I’m already loving the direction it’s going in.

👇 Drop your tips, questions, or just say hi in the comments below. I’d love to hear your ideas, especially if you know where to find a 1:24 scale bar tap!

( will be continued )

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

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