Cat Coffee Garden

I had about 10 booknooks under my belt before attempting to build Magic Wand and Magic Coffee miniature.I read all the reviews about how things had to be cut and glued together to make everything from scratch so I knew what I was getting into from the start and there were no surprises. That's why I think I really loved this style of build. It's tangentially similar to a booknook kit, but here everything is kind of freeform. No snapping things into place or just popping out a coffee maker and placing it somewhere. It's very detailed and I like that everything is 3D. Also cool to be able to open it and look at the details inside.Magic Coffee took me about 3 weeks of working on it. Another reviewer said it took them 100 hours to fully assemble and even though I didn't keep track of time spent, I believe it was probably close to that.Magic Wand took me about 2 weeks since it was a very similar build to Magic Coffee. I got tired for making wands so I had to take a break for a few days so that it didn't get annoying, but overall it was a fun build. Lots of odes to Harry Potter. My box had a paintbrush but it was was missing the paint. I happened to have green paint on hand that matched closely so I used that for the window and some trim.My personal supplies included: scissors, B-7000 glue, Scotch super glue, ruler, furniture markers to touch up edges, exacto knife, tweezers, binder clips large and small. Note that neither kit included any of this.The box was not wrapped in plastic and I was worried about missing pieces, but I went through the inventory list and counted every bead, button, and screw before beginning and 99.9% of everything was there with some to spares. I also check the lights 1st thing before every build to make sure that was working. Some wood pieces are warped and therefore I had to use superglue, but for everything else I use B-7000 glue which has worked perfect for all my builds. It was also hard to take the pieces out without splintering so I had to use an exacto knife on every wood piece. I had to keep binder clips on hand for these builds since there was a bit of clamping required to keep things together. I suggest keeping everything separated in the ziploc bags they come in. I had no issues with instructions on either miniature, everything was straightforward (though I'm very good at assembling furniture so following instructions are my strength). I don't ever read the text on instructions because pictures are usually more than enough for me. I am meticulous and patient so these projects keep my creative juices engaged.I really had a blast assembling this and recommend it for more those with more experience.

This is the third model I've built since I started doing these, and it was by far the most detailed. If you are experienced at building models, it probably won't be too tough for you, but as others have commented, I wouldn't suggest it for a beginner. To help those considering this item, I wan't to point out a few things that others have negatively commented on that shouldn't be a deterrent to you buying this item, but may be helpful for you to keep in mind if you decide to purchase:1. With any model you buy, do an inventory check of EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU START. That way, if something is missing, you can take whatever action you choose (return it, contact the seller, improvise, etc.), before you've invested too much time.2. Always read through the entire directions first, before you start to build and repeatedly while you are working on each piece of the model. The written instructions can be a little difficult to understand (they're translated from another language, so the English equivalent can get a little confusing) but the photos do help a lot. Before I glue stuff together, I try to piece the item together to get an idea of what it should look like. I also read ahead when I am working on an item to see where does it go in the final piece, if the directions are a little fuzzy, and that usually helps.3. The biggest issue you will encounter with this item is the roof panels, but I didn't see that as a reason to knock of a star. Others have commented that they could not finish their piece, and that it was essentially a waste of time. It doesn't have to be, which is why I am telling you this in the review. Another person commented (and I agree): be willing to improvise on your models, and be ok with them not being exactly like the photos on the box. As you'll see in mine, the roof panels in the front would not line up no matter what I did, there would be a big gap either at the top, or at the bottom. So don't even try to make it work, it mathematically doesn't. Even a video on Youtube showing someone building this model, couldn't get it to line up. So my husband came up with the improv fix that you see in the photos. He bought some wood pieces similar to a popsicle stick at a craft store, measured and cut them for me so that the roof would fit without such huge gaps. I painted them as close to the color as I could, and then with the vine accents, I think it turned out pretty good. Bottom line is: no one who sees the finished product will know that you improvised on it, they'll think that's how it was supposed to be, and you get to finish your model.Again, this is a challenging model and I don't recommend it for a first-timer or a kid. But if you are considering it, I hope what I mentioned above can help you out, and that you enjoy putting it together as much as I did!

The media could not be loaded. Much more involved than a typical snap together booknook. I love making book nooks but the fun is often over too quickly and was looking for something a bit more involved. This thing is not too much bigger than my hand and is crammed full of tiny objects - some that have to be assembled from even tinier objects. For example, there’s a sauté pan with lid, smaller than a fingernail that you make by cutting out a tiny disk for the base, a strip to glue around it for the sides, a clear plastic lid, a ring to frame the lid, glueing it all together with a little bent wire for the pan handle and a 2mm bead for the lid handle. I think that alone took me 30mins-1 hr to make!Instructions are not bad - photo of alternate angles may have helped with some steps. Be sure to check all the items to confirm you have everything and to familiarize yourself with the pieces. You’ll need the right tools to assemble this kit - scalpel style knife, magnifier, tweezers, ruler. I found the most difficult things to work with was the fake grass (couldn’t get the template to stick or cut through it correctly) and the gold wire (used for the faucets - the gold kept flaking off).No glue was provided with the kit - luckily I had some left over from a completed booknook.Otherwise, the results were really rewarding. Beautiful piece that provides a really strong sense of accomplishment.Update: tried to switch the power source to usb 6V (this takes 2 x 3V coin batteries) and burnt out the leds - so don’t do what I did! Tempted to rebuy and build again because it is so pretty lit up.