Today, I am taking you through the next Rolife DIY book nook kit review, and this time it is one of the new ones; a book nook kit called Sakura Densya.
This review and walkthrough will be a bit shorter than usual, because it is honestly so easy to assemble, without the use of many crafting materials or issues that I encountered 😉
But I will take you through some points and pros and cons, so let’s go!
Updated 03/01/24
But First: What Is Robotime/Rolife again and is it legit?
Robotime, aka Rolife, is a brand that has been making DIY dollhouse kits, 3D wooden puzzles, and miniature toys since 2007, and is located in Beijing in China.
I have already created several of their one-room kits and even hacked them a bit, so they sure are legit!
In recent times, they have developed a lot of book nook kits and the one that I want to take you through today has an Oriental design. But you will see what I mean below.
Don’t forget that these kits are to be self-assembled and that they can decorate your home in a pretty way 😉
A Rolife DIY Miniature Dollhouse kit Called Sakura Densya
Let’s dive a little deeper into detail about this particular miniature kit.
The previous DIY dollhouse kits from Rolife/Robotime that I assembled, were all “regular” and modern kits or one “Greenhouse” kit, called “Cathy’s Flowerhouse“, or I even hacked one named Simons Coffee and turned into a cat Café 🙂
This time, however, it is a book nook kit and it is more a 3D puzzle than an actual kit to “assemble”.
What I mean is that you need to literally push out “puzzle pieces” and just push them together, step by step and layer by layer.
Most of the time, I didn’t need glue, but sometimes you do need it, just a little bit is enough.
The design looks quite Oriental to me, with an Asian name as well.
The pink flowers, the stream, and the design of the walls give it a Japanese/Chinese look.
You can place a book nook perfectly in your bookcase, between real-size books, it is a surprise for visitors to see these! 🙂
This Book Nook took me about 22 hours to assemble, which is relatively short in my case haha!
Check out this book nook kit called Sakura Densya on Amazon
Check out this book nook kit called Sakura Densya straight from Robotime
Assembling Sakura Densya book nook kit, my process with images and videos
- First of all: make sure to “click out” one piece at a time to assemble the 3D puzzle, and not all at once like in the publicity ads, because it will be hard to find out in which order you need to put things together 😉
- There really is no need to apply a lot of glue on plastic pieces, or in general for that matter, or it will show! Just apply a tiny bit of glue with the help of a toothpick, using grab-fast tacky glue will be good enough!
- I decided not to film the whole process from start to end, because honestly, this was very easy to follow and make according to the manual.
But I did film a final video and some things in between while in process, check it out on my Youtube channel below.
While you are at my channel, please don’t forget to “like and subscribe” to it, thank you!
- When you read in the manual something about “spare parts“, do realize that this means that you will still need those “spare” parts later, and are not meant to throw away or not needed again.
As I thought that I wouldn’t need them anymore later in the process, I “clicked” them out all at once (from the frame), and that wasn’t a good idea, because these little parts all have different sizes.
When you go through the manual step by step, you will probably see what I mean, sorry for the confusion right now 😉
- Attaching the lights and the wires for the lights is quite easy to do, compared to the previous kits that I made.
Just make sure that you attach the inductor in the right way, and not upside-down like I first did :-).
Place the inductor in the right direction, with the wires on the upper side.
It did it upside down first, so the wires were beneath the wood and the book nook wasn’t stable lol!
Lights OFF ==> Lights ON! Just by touching a touch light.
- I honestly loved the excellent quality of this book nook kit, there was even a piece for the little streetcar, which was totally bendable without even breaking. A very nice piece of quality engineering!
- Sometimes though, very small pieces could split while I tried to push them too hard in the holes, then I just glued them on.
- Assembling the walls together at the end was a bit tricky, as the holes didn’t exactly correspond with the tabs ( because 0,10 of deviation off on one side, can bring the whole thing into disbalance ).
So I decided to just file a few edges of the tabs here and there, as you can see in the video below.
Making edges a bit rounder by filing them.
The final result!
This is how it looks on the exterior:
Sakura Densya Rolife DIY miniature dollhouse kit- A Review
Let’s get over a few positive and negative points that I noticed. These opinions are totally my own!
The Good.
- with this puzzle, you don’t need to compare wooden pieces anymore to a paper sheet (where the exact measurements are on) to see if it is the right piece, you just “click” them out of their wooden frame and you can glue pieces together straight away!
Not sure what I mean? Please take a look at the video below where I explain the manual of Robotime’s “Sam’s Study”.
- Because of the need for so little glue, there is hardly any visible glue residue
- This kit has the looks and feels of a puzzle and the pieces “pop out” quite easily, as they are perfectly laser cut.
The only difference is that you do need to sand these puzzle pieces a bit haha - No more wirework, oh my gosh! lol (well, some people do love the wirework haha)
- I am impressed by the quality of this kit, I think it has improved!
- the manual is very well explained and detailed. If you understand the symbols well, it would be hard to make a mistake.
And trust me: I am fast in making mistakes with these kits haha! - Everything is already painted/no need to paint.
- There is no need for tons of crafting materials, just some fast-grab glue, superglue, sandpaper, and batteries. A little screwdriver is included.
- If you are looking for a quick project/book nook, this is the number one choice.
- Made from eco-friendly materials, except for one piece of plastic.
- For some parts, you don’t even need glue, as they click together just like that, although I wanted to be sure and I did add some glue sometimes.
- I love how the lights can be turned on without a switch! It has a touch light and is very new in the miniature kits world!
The Bad.
- If you are someone who wants to hack kits, this is not for you, as everything has its place and you really can’t differ from this. So, you might miss the challenge as to have a unique book nook.
- some very small pieces are hard to push together. I have delicate fingers and nails, so that was sometimes a struggle for me personally.
- very small pieces could chip off easily/need to be very careful sometimes. But when the kit is finished, you won’t even notice that.
- The final fitting/assembling of the walls can be a challenge
Check out this book nook kit called Sakura Densya on Amazon
Or, you can compare prices to:
Check out this book nook kit called Sakura Densya straight from Robotime
related article:
- Lego from China by JMBricklayer- an in-depth review
- A dollhouse in a dollhouse review on a scale of 1:144
My Final Conclusion
I really enjoyed assembling this Rolife DIY miniature dollhouse kit and I think that the result is one of the most pretty book nook kits that I have ever had.
Especially the touch light is a fantastic feature!
If you have any more questions about this topic or would just like to chat with me, please feel free to leave a comment below or join me on my social media channels or large Facebook group.
I wish you happy crafting!
Kind regards,
Lizzy
Hi everyone!
My name is Lizzy, and I am an amateur miniaturist obsessed with everything in the dollhouse and miniature world, ever since I was a teenager.
So far, I have created 2 dollhouse projects, a backyard shed and a miniature treehouse, tons of DIY dollhouse kits, and “hacked” some.
I also created a fairy garden, and lots of small and simple miniature projects on my YouTube channel. (mostly made from trash or everyday items).
I love to write as well about all things happening in the miniature world, hence the reason why I created this blog!
I wish you happy reading and crafting!
Lizzy
Great review of the Rolife DIY Miniature Dollhouse Kit! The pictures and detailed descriptions of the Sakura Densya kit really help give a sense of what it’s like to put together. I appreciate the honesty about the challenges faced during the assembly process and how the author overcame them. The added touch of personalizing the dollhouse with extra decorations is a nice touch. Overall, it sounds like a fun and rewarding project for anyone interested in DIY miniatures. Have you tried any other kits from Rolife or other miniature brands?
Hello Murry!
Thank you for the supportive comment, I always try to be thorough 😉
I haven’t added personal things this time though, as it is really a complete kit that can not be changed, you really need to assemble it step-by-step this time 🙂
Oh yes, for sure, I have made a lot of miniature kits so far, check out the 7 best DIY dollhouse kits.
I wish you happy crafting!
Kind regards,
Lizzy
I loved reading your review on the ROLIFE DIY miniature dollhouse kit, Sakura Densya. Your detailed explanation of the assembling process and the quality of the materials used in the kit was very helpful, and it has convinced me to go for it. I also appreciate the beautiful pictures you included that showcased the final product. Keep up the good work!
Hello Dave!
I hope that you will have a lot of fun assembling this book nook kit from Rolife and I thank you for the positive comment!
Kind regards,
Lizzy