CRIOLPO Book Nook Kit - DIY Doll House Booknook, Book Nook Miniature Kit for Bookshelf Doll Houses for Adults Teen Halloween, 3D Wooden Puzzle Bookends with Sensor Led Light

I recently had surgery on my left hand to remove an arthritic bone at the base of my thumb. I bought this model to help me heal my hand and provide me with a fun way to get physical therapy. This model is a God-send! My thumb is getting a great workout, but I find I am really enjoyed building this model. It has had a peaceful calming effect on me and helped me develop a sense of joy in accomplishment in something for myself.For those who are considering building one of these models for your bookcase, here are some observations that may be helpful:1. This model is moderately challenging. I’ve found that while the instructions are excellent for the most part, you will need to use some common sense in things like which edges will be visible and how to run the wiring for the lighting.2. I used wood glue on the model. I built tons of plastic and flying models as a kid and found that while convenient and fast, superglue will make it more difficult to fix mistakes (and you will make some on this model. Wood glue sets up fairly quickly with the materials in this model, but gives you some flexibility to reposition a part if you need to, or un-do a mistake before the glue fully sets. Use the glue sparingly by applying a thin film of glue to the tab or edge using a toothpick. Use just enough glue to hold the piece in place and no more. And always dry-fit each part before you put glue on it. That will help you numerous times.3. The parts are precision laser cut and clearly marked. Take the time to cut the tiny pieces of wood that hold each piece during laser cutting. Don’t just break them out - you will risk taking off some of the details on the pre-painted side. Gently sand any left-over protrusions on each part so they will look and fit better. I bought a marker for touching up wood and that cleaned up the unsightly marks left by the cutting process.4. There is an LED light in the fireplace that I trplaced with a yellow self-flickering LED for a flame-like effect. Most folks with some soldering skill and who know which end of the soldering iron to hold can do it. It adds motion and life to the model and came out even better than I thought it would.5. About 40% of the time you will spend building this model will be spent making books for the bookcases. It is very tedious work, and will really challenge your dexterity and patience. The makers of the kit made building the 70+ books the first part of the kit. The real fun starts when you build things that go into the box.6. I saw some reviews that state that the parts don’t fit. I did not have that problem. A few items fit snugly, but fit with a little coaxing. Besides, the model is wood. If something doesn’t fit, trim it with your Xacto-knife until it fits AFTER you are sure you aren’t inserting it wrong.😀7. Stuff you will need:- Xacto knife with a spare pointed blade or two- Wood glue. You could do it with superglue, but that would be like doing The NY Times Crossword in ink. Apply wood glue with toothpicks.- Tweezers- Good lighting - the model is fairly dark- A work surface you can cut or spill a little glue on. One of those self-healing crafting mats is perfect.8. Enjoy the journey! This is not one of those kits where you add glue to the box, shake the box, and poof-you have a model.Best wishes. If you buy this model, I hope you have as much fun putting it together and enjoy the finished product as much as I did. I hope this helped.

Note that dust covers aren’t included and the top has a large open space. This is very beautiful. The parts are very sturdy. The instructions were not always super clear but I was able to figure it out. I didn’t like that I had to build all of the pieces before assembling whereas another nook i built had me build a piece and then attach it immediately.

Overall a really nice book nook. The quality was good, sturdy thick wood, clear instructions, came together nicely. Only downside was that it did not come with glue and all the books had to be cut out and glued (in some other kits they are stickers) and the wooden pieces fit together but were not friction fits, so everything had to be glued to hold its shape. The lights come pre-wired and all the electronics worked. Took about one full day to assemble. End product is pretty and fun to look at.

Photos are from the middle of the construction. My entire family found putting this together entertaining. It is NOT what I would consider something that you will put together quickly, but it is easy. The instructions are clear and mostly accurate. Very few mistakes. I found one while still putting together the books, but it was obvious and you just apply common sense and you'll get it right. So you start off putting together the books and then taking those books and making piles of books. Just stay with the instructions and it will make sense later. Then you start making furniture. It seems like getting through the first three pages takes so long, but then things start moving along faster. We used two types of glue: wood glue for gluing together wood-to-wood pieces and we used regular Elmer's glue for sticking the paper labels and book covers to wood pieces, etc. The way we did it was that we (as a family of four) would start gluing things together until we need to wait for them to dry and then we went back to gluing things together again. It took us about 3-4 days, visiting the project a few times a day, to complete it. It looks great. We are very happy with the project and it looks great in our library. It functions well. I was happy because I bought one from a different company that marketed on Facebook a few years ago and I was completely ripped off. This product from CRIOLPO, turned out to be good.