What The Heck Is Kit Bashing – Many Examples!

“What is kit-bashing” is a question that is frequently heard in the miniature world. At least, I was like: “say what, kit-bashing, leave those kitties alone damned”! 🙂

But don’t worry, this has nothing to do whatsoever with kitties, kittens, or any of those small domestic animals, luckily! Miauw!

So, let me explain it a little better, shall we?

updated 17/08/23

What Is a Dollhouse or modelmaker Kit-Basher?

I have shown some blog post examples before on kit-bashing dollhouse kits, like the ones from Cutebee or the ones from Robotime that I actually did myself, like “Sams’ study”.

For this last one, I changed a bunch of things; painted the furniture in blue and brown, instead of the original orange color, changed the entire floor, and made a different one from balsawood.

The fabric for the little chair wasn’t something that I was capable of doing in the first place, and when I did, there were traces of glue everywhere. So I covered it with stretchy fabric from an old blue t-shirt.

The wallpaper actually has letters on it, I thought it was suitable for a library 🙂

Have a look at my version of Sams Study in this video below:

There are different opinions about what exactly kit-bashing is, but the consensus is that making any kind of changes to the original can be considered as dollhouse kit-bashing.

It can be something quite simple that you have changed, but also a completely different interior and/or exterior can be done. Below, I will give you lots of examples of what people have done with their miniature kits.

Why Are People Kit-Bashing In The First Place?

You could ask yourself: what is kit-bashing for? Isn’t the original version good as it is?

Well, as much as you might like the original miniature kit, there could be plenty of reasons why you want to change things (from my opinion and own experience):

1. You just might not like a color OR the brand that you always buy, always uses the same colors.
   Robotime can sometimes do that for a lot of their series, especially since the furniture is often in orange.
   
   
2. There are no stairs and you really want to add one. Pretty good reason to “hack” the kit, no?
   
   
3. In your opinion, there are not enough window or door openings/you would like to let some more light in or make it more realistic.
   
   
4. On the contrary from number 3, it might be better to cover up doors or windows.
   
   
5. Still on windows and doors: you could want to make your own doors and windows, or replace them with other doors and windows that you have bought and that are more like your own preferred style.
   
   
6. You want to expand the little house or divide it into more rooms, by adding or taking out interior/exterior walls. Instead of removing an entire wall, you could also cut out a big arch in the wall, for example.
   
   
7. Adding a porch or upgrading it. Especially in the US, a porch makes a statement. This is why it’s one of the most popular dollhouse kit bashing projects.
   
   You could extend a porch and wrap it all around the dollhouse, or it can be as simple as just changing the railings or giving it another color.
   
   
8. In the same trend as for the porch, it is always possible to add a little greenhouse or a garden.
   
   
9. For more advanced projects: there are some people that make a diorama from different kits put together in one ‘town’ or place. You could even have water like a river running through different dollhouse kits! You can basicaly do whatever you want with them!
   
   These kinds of large projects are not the easiest to do, but they sure are rewarding when they are finished!

In the picture below, someone made a shadowbox from 3 different dollhouse kits! Included are Jason’s Kitchen, Sams Study, and Romantic Nordic (from Flever). Wow!

Some Tips On Dollhouse Kit Bashing.

A few tips before starting to “bash” a dollhouse kit that can be helpful are:

• Start 1 or 2 kits without bashing anything! What are you saying, Lizzy? To not bash a mini kit? I thought this was all about changing them?
  
  And yes, you are right, BUT, all these different brands have different ways of crafting their furniture miniatures, walls, fabrics, light, etc, and thus you should get the hang of them first.
  
  How can you interpret their manual, what are the usual problems, etc..
  
  It is good to have things “under control” first before you start changing anything. I made 2 kits before I hacked my third one, and I’m glad that I did!
  
  
• Be realistic about your crafting level and the time it is consuming.
  
  Making a miniature kit in the first place can take many hours. Bashing it on top of it can even double that time.
  
  About your crafting level: if you have never crafted a door or window before, don’t underestimate the craftmanship that could go into making your own.
  
  If it is just changing it with another one that you bought: now that is a completely different story.
  
  
• When asking yourself: “what is kitbashing”, people can tend to forget that they might need some extra materials, on top of the ones that are included in these kits.
  
  If you would like to make extra curtains, tablecloths, etc, for example, a Cricutmaker can come in handy.
  
  
• People start with 1 or a few miniature kits, but then it becomes an addiction. Not every little project in these kits are built or used and there are always some materials left over (beads, fabric, papercut/leaves, etc.
  
  My tip would be to save all those little bits and pieces, don’t throw them away! They can still be used for other projects!
  
  
  

Up To The Best Part: Some examples of kit-bashed miniature kits!

And last, but not least, some examples of what people have been changing on these kits!

1. The kit from Robotime called “Simons Coffee”.

I am starting with this one because I am hacking it myself, as we speak. When it is totally done, of course, I will add more details here and in a separate blog post!

UPDATE: I finished it and turned it into a “cats’ caffée” !

People have been very creative with this one for sure, just have a look at the original (finished kit) picture first and then the others below that. They look quite different, don’t they?

These are “hacked”:

2. Another kit from Robotime called “Jasons Kitchen”.

If you ever wondered: what is kit-bashing, then you should watch the fantastic examples below, where people have “bashed’ Jason’s Kitchen, from the brand Robotime. You will be amazed!

The original finished version looks like this :

And, these are “bashed”, check it out!

Look and be amazed by this one! Jason’s Kitchen had a garden as an extension, isn’t it fantastic? By Irma Ensink.

And last, but not least: this is a combination of Jasons Kitchen with Party Time!

3. A miniature kit from Robotime called “Happy Camper”.

The Happy Camper from Robotime/Rolife has had some pretty nice changes as well, especially the last one in a winter wonderland 🙂

The original version:

And the “hacked” versions:

And last, but not least, this fantastic winter version:

I could have found many more examples, but I think that by now that you get the picture, no? 😉

This doesn’t mean that the original versions are ugly, but what it does mean is that there are some very creative artists out there! 🙂

My Final Conclusion

I hope that I have answered your question on “what is kit-bashing”? But if you have any other questions, feel free to comment below in the comment section.

Or join my social media channels and be welcome in my Facebook group.

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

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