A few months ago while out shopping we spotted these miniature kits from Rolife. We spent ages admiring all the different tiny model kits and wondering what they would be like to have a go at. A few days later I was having a browse on Amazon and I added a couple to my wish list so that I could check the prices. When the one that we were most interested in came on special offer a few weeks later it felt like fate, and so we bought one as something that my husband and I could work on together.
The price of this kit is around £40, and when you realise what's included it's not a bad price at all. I don't even want to think about how long it's going to occupy us for, but we've spent at least 10 hours on it already and aren't even a third of the way through, and that's with two of us working on it! I thought I'd share our progress so far, in case you've also seen these kits out and about and are wondering what they are like and what's involved in building one.
The kit includes a decent glue, paint, tweezers and all the materials that you need. We are also using our own wire cutters, pliers (small nosed ones are best if you have them), a scalpel and cutting mat and a ruler. I think we may need other tools like a screwdriver later on. It's a good idea to have a box or tray ready to store the finished pieces while you work your way through the instructions.
When we visited our local garden centre the other day I found a completed version of the kit on display. It's a little faded but I was able to have a good look at it and see what we are aiming for!
The first step was to paint some of the larger wooden pieces that form the base of the greenhouse. Then you start by building the the items of furniture, shelves, boxes and so on. This is followed by the smaller accessories, like the bird houses, plant pots, books and baskets.
The instructions are pretty good with clear step-by-step pictures. There are some translation errors and a couple of items in the wrong numbered bags, but with a bit of common sense it's easy enough to work out. Sometimes you do need to use your initiative a little bit, and I'm expecting that when we get to putting all the pieces together there may be some room for personalising it.
Currently we are working on the plants, and there are so many of them in this kit! They are made in various different ways. Some like the plants below have pre-cut leaves which are pressed out and then glued to green wire before being fixed into a large plant pot shaped bead. There are some made from thinner tissue paper that needs to be folded, cut and positioned before being glued down. These plants have been very fiddly to make and the glue goes everywhere. We've been sitting down together for a couple of hours and managing to produce just five or six between the two of us!
When we've worked our way through the plants then we can start to assemble the greenhouse and arrange everything inside it, which I think will be the most fun part. I'm hoping that the electrical wiring part of the greenhouse isn't too tricky, and we'll need to make sure that everything is firmly glued into place, as once the walls are in place I don't think we'll easily be able to open it up again to make adjustments!
It's been a really fun project for my husband and I to work on together and we are already thinking about our next kit! There are some lovely pieces in a 'Book Nook' range which are designed to fit between books on a bookshelf, they have a cleverly angled mirror to make it look as though they extend back further than the shelf. Watch this space!
Ohh! I have seen these and they look so cute. It sounds like it is well worth the price, the details is amazing! What a fun project. x
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