Miniature Glossary

Each week in the Miniatures Chat room, I get questions about terms. Here are a few things you'll commonly hear fellow miniature makers talking about:
Baseboard
A strip of trim located at the base of a wall, covering the place where the wall and floor meet.

Butt
To join by making placing two pieces against each other, without overlapping.
Casement
A type of window that opens by swinging on hinges attached to its frame.
Chandelier
A lighting fixture that has branched support for a number of lights, and is suspended from the ceiling.
Cir-Kit
A manufacturer of dollhouse lighting components, including a tape system for electrification.
Clapboard A long thin board, thicker along one edge than along the other, used to cover the outer walls of buildings. Clapboard for dollhouses is usually sold in sheets that look like several layers of board.
Components
Parts to finish a dollhouse, such as windows and doors.
Component Set
All the parts necessary to finish a particular project, assembled into a kit.
Die Cut
Cut with a die by machine. Generally, this refers to dollhouses that have been cut from sheets of 1/8" plywood. The individual pieces must be punched out from the original large board.
Dormer
A projection built out from a sloping roof.
Dremel
A line of rotary power tools designed for hobbyists. Dremels can be used as drills, sanders, routers and saws by adding different attachments.
Facade
The front face of a building.
Fimo
Polymer modeling compound that is used to make miniature food, dolls, and decorative items. Hardens when baked in the oven.
Fishscale
Shingles with a rounded end.
Foamcore
A board made of a sheet of foam sandwiched between layers of posterboard. Sold at art supply stores in a variety of thicknesses and used for building architectural models.
Houseworks
A company that manufactures dollhouse components.
MDF
Medium density fiberboard. Sometimes used to build dollhouse shells, it tends to be heavy and difficult to cut cleanly. Mini Graphics
A company that manufactures dollhouse wallpaper.
MSAT
Mini Scenes and Things. A series of online mailing lists that deal with different aspects of miniatures.
Printable
An item posted on a web site, designed so that it can be printed and used in miniature making.
RGT
Real Good Toys, a manufacturer of dollhouse kits.
Roombox
A wooden box with a plexi-glass front used as a container for a miniature scene.
Round Wire
A traditional method of wiring a dollhouse by using 2 conductor, 32 gauge electrical wire. Also known as hard wire.
Sculpey
A polymer modeling compound used for making miniature food, dolls, and decorative items. Hardens when baked in the oven.
Small Stuff
An online mailing list for miniature lovers.
Tiny Talk
An online mailing list for miniature lovers.