Lines Bros. Triang No.30

20232023 Lee Higgins 0 Comments Lines, Triang, Triang No.30

Introduction to Triang No.30

I recently discovered this lovely little Triang No.30, Country Cottage at an Antiques Fair. When I say ‘little’ it really is, measuring 13.5 inches wide and 12 inches high. It only has one room, with an arched porch on the side. The house is part of a series of three bungalows produced in 1939, No.30 being the smallest. This is the first Triang No.30 I have seen, in fact I didn’t realise a model so small was produced. A lengthy search on the internet and old Auction Catalogues failed to produce any pictures. Even on the Dolls’ House Past and Present Lines Bros Triang Data Base. So any information would be greatly received.

This lovely little house has been well played with, over the years. Decorated in felt pen with climbing leaves and flowers, it has evolved into what it is now. The left hand side of the roof has been replaced, using card, which has warped and will need replacing.

The door opens to reveal a small room, complete with original wall and floor paper, and a door into the porch. It is remarkable that the papers in this room are intact, with little fading, only through age.

The felt pen floral decoration continues around the house.

The hinges are very rusty but look original.

On the reverse of the house is the lighting panel, I have not removed it yet so not sure if the wiring is complete. It does look as if the house has been kept somewhere damp, as the paint is peeling/flaking away.

As you can see by the picture above the left hand roof panels have been replaced. At least it will give me a template for a new roof replacement.

Looking closely at the door panel the original floral pattern can be seen, even though it has been over decorated with a blue flower. The window also needs replacing for a Triang one.

The single room has original wall and floor paper which is in quite good condition for its age.

The porch has brick flooring, but the bench seat is missing. The flooring shows water damage, but I will keep it as it is.

Disassembly and Stripping

Now the fun begins, the best way to tackle this house as it is only small is to dismantle it. As you can see from the picture below I have removed the roof. Triang house are very sturdy and very simply built. I am not going to tough the inside of the house, just give it a good brush and stick down any loose paper.

The section of the roof that has been repaired is made from card, this needs to be removed. At least I will have a template to make a new one.

I will go into the replacement roof a little further on. At least when the roof is off it can be checked properly for woodworm, but everything looks fine.

The base looks has been over painted, also left somewhere damp as the side of the base is lifting. I can sand this down and fill any problem areas with wood filler.

The back panel needs completely stripping this panel has been damp at sometime.

I have found that the easiest way to remove the paint to start with was with a blade, then sand after, as the paint is very old and crumbly.

Inside paintwork is the same.

I need to replace the window with a Triang one. It is possible when looking carefully to see the original Triang painted flowers, these will be repainted once the panel has been stripped and painted.

The fretwork needs repairing and painting.

This little house has been highly decorated with felt pen and paint ……..

Replacing the Roof

The roof on this house is in need of quite a lot of repair? One section of the roof has been replaced with a piece of this card, the other side is showing signs of age.

Both sections of the roof have been removed, showing the wooden supports underneath. The small cardboard box you can see is to put the battery for the lights into.

There is a split in the roof that will need repairing. I will tidy up the damaged edges and nail holes with wood filler. Wood filler seems to work well as it can be easily sanded and adheres to the cardboard well.

To give the old section of the roof a bit more strength, I have put thin card on the back. This will also help when repairing the hole in the roof.

The whole structure of the roof is much better, the corners have now been repaired. I have lightly sanded and made the tile indentations more prominent, so the will show up when painted.

Template for the new replacement roof. I have marked out the tiles [see here how I do this].

All the sections of the roof have had there first coat of paint. I have used an emulsion paint and added acrylic paint in various colours until I get the one that resembles the colour that I need. This method seems to work quite well and the paint quality is not effected.

The above picture shows the Triang No.61, the roof has been sanded removing any loose paint. I use paper gummed parcel tape to join the parts of the roof. Rather than just wetting the tape with water, I use a watered down PVA glue. This helps the parcel tape stick better.

Once the tape was dry, it was ready for a final coat of paint and matt clear varnish.

Lighting

I will explain the lighting system for the Lines/Triang No.30 house. It only has one light, so it keeps everything simple. This is the back of the house showing the position of the wooden lighting panel and the hole in the roof for the battery.

Underside of the wooden lighting panel. The panel works on a wiring system that turns on the light bulb when the metal bar is turned to complete the circuit.

The wire goes from the battery connector [1] to the tabs [2] at the back of the flat metal bar. This completes the circuit to turn the bulb on and off.

Bulb Holder

The bulb holder is connected to the battery connecter [6] with a wire [5] that goes through a hole on the base. A second wire [4] attaches to the connection on the underside of the holder. The wire [4] then connects to the fittings on the back of the small round metal plate. The battery holder is held in place with two small nails on the remaining holes. [The holder in the picture has the nail through the same hole as the wire.]

Showing the connection on the base of the bulb holder.

Pictures show the different parts of the bulb holder.

The bulb holder measurers 14mm across and takes an E14 pea bulb [also known as a MES bulb, Miniature Edison Screw] For more information on bulb sizes read this article.

The bulb original bulb holder in the Triang houses do not seem to be available now. The picture below shows the new style holders.

Battery

Made by LINES BROS. Ltd., London, England. The Electric Fittings on this toy have been tested before leaving works.

The Battery is easily inserted in holder by lifting retaining spring. Please see that Battery is inserted the correct way, so that contact strips make connection with leads.

No Battery is included but standard flash lamp batteries are universally obtainable at small cost.

This is a 4.5 volt battery, it measures 66mm x 62mm x 22mm.

The 3R12 zinc carbon battery is used as a cheaper alternative to the alkaline 3LR12 battery, especially for low-drain devices. As it will probably only be used occasionally a 3R12 battery, is suitable for lighting. I remember when I was younger having a bike lamp with this battery in it. It seems to be much smaller than I remember, but then I was small to.

This shows the cardboard storage box in the roof space for the battery.

These two pictures show how the battery is connect to the lighting panel. When the battery is fitted into place, the longer metal strip on the battery is bent in half around the metal tabs. This will hold it in place.

If there is anything you think I have missed off, that you may need to complete this project leave a comment. I can then add the information to this post.