Super pretty and fairly straightforward - I love that they give you so many extra pieces!
Video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcNxrhsFRKy/?igsh=MWdtYWt0YXlsc2Q0Yw==&igsi=MWdtYWt0YXlsc2Q0Yw==
Mods:
Flatback rhinestones added on castle tower
Glow-in-the-dark UV resin “orbs” added to the tops of the piers/columns in the back
Scattered star-shaped glow glitter
Edge painting
This was the longest build I’ve done and probably the most complex, but also the first time I had a Tonecheer mechanical kit work perfectly from the jump! No complete demolition and rebuild required!
This is a very fun project, but I recommend one of those handy little hammers that come with some kits, because the connections on this one are TIGHT!
Tonecheer also has a complete build on their YouTube channel (in three parts) and it’s super helpful if you run into any problems…
…like when you end up with extra unaccounted for parts (not red numbered as extra but full on *essential* parts) that…um…eluded my attention. 😬
I was brought to tears only once and it was by a miniature telescope deck?! Not by the little Orange Washers of Doom! Progress! 💪
I finally finished my slightly customized version of this kit (thanks again to Pluck and Bookshelf Memories for organizing a great charity raffle)!
I loved the basic architecture of the original, especially the narrow winding alley, little storefronts, overhead lanterns and all the layered sightlines, but I wanted the finished piece to feel much more lush, atmospheric and slightly magical rather than simply assembling it exactly as pictured.
Obviously, the biggest change I made was VERY LIBERAL addition of cherry blossoms... I added a frankly unreasonable quantity (obtained from both the Bookshelf Memories cherry blossom extras add-on pack and my local Michael’s) in several shades, letting them spill over rooftops, crawl between buildings and arch across the alley. Given the clear setting of springtime, I also added moss and greenery to soften the hard edges of the structures and make the whole place feel older and more established.
Other small changes:
I used a piece of corrugated gray cardboard for the fish market security door and weathered it a bit; I added faux “ice” to the fish market display by hammering some glass beads I had into sharp smithereens and then gluing them in with UV resin; and I made my own ramen bowl by (very inartfully!) using UV resin and a piece of white wire.
Huge shout out to Eric at Bookshelf Memories for his level of customer service - I had trouble getting the lights to work and sent an email to the support address. Eric got back to me IN TWELVE MINUTES with a solution that fixed the issue (switching the two black wire posts and using a different USB-C cable). That’s the fastest support I’ve ever received from any company. It’s obvious he cares a great deal about the build experience. A+
(Others who did this kit might notice the missing bookstore door - it might be in a hotel room in Foxboro, or a waiting room at Mass General, or lost to the bowels of my car. This kit traveled with me all over Massachusetts this month, and while Bookshelf Memories offers to replace any lost pieces with NO QUESTIONS ASKED (amazing!), my ADHD took over and I couldn’t wait to finish. 😬)
This was definitely one of those builds where “I’ll just add one more thing” became a recurring event. 🌸🌸🌸🌸 I was a bit heavy-handed with the sakura but I love the final result. I think I’m finally calling it finished…although nookery pals probably know how dangerous the word finally is. 😬
I used a combination of SS5 and SS7 in Crystal Heliotrope with plain crystal SS30s on the globe.
It’s Mikrokosmos-themed…hoping against hope that will be one of Foxborough’s secret songs! 💜
Finally finished a million hours of edge painting - this one is almost exactly the same build as Tonecheer Star Workshop. If you’ve done Star Workshop and cried on the floor in a pool of wood lubricant whilst covered in pastel acrylic marker, then you are ready for this one!
All in all, a very satisfying build, although I had to remove a troublesome mango from the tumbling fruit globe as it kept getting stuck and jamming up the entire mechanics.
I had to deconstruct and reconstruct the entire thing only TWICE! I’m getting better. Nailed it! 😬
(Crystals added because…of course.)
A few more photos in the replies.
This is Rolife’s “Beverly’s Ice Cream Truck,” an adorable non-nook build with lots of color and lots of 3D extras. I didn’t love the faux ice-cream cone on the top of the truck, so I used lightweight DAP spackling compound tinted with a little magenta paint, and scooped it into a disposable pastry bag to pipe out my own soft-serve topping for the MDF cone. 24 hours of drying and it’s solid! A few polymer clay faux sprinkles and a little glitter and…🪄✨
I changed the signs to “Parker’s Ice Cream” for a mischievous teddy bear who loves sweets. And, of course, rhinestones are always “on the menu.”
Super fun build with lots of potential for modification - Leo’s Coffee Truck is next, once it’s back in stock…
I made this as a Father’s Day gift and have thought twice about giving it to my dad, because it’s loud as hell and wonky. Hopefully he will receive it with the spirit of charity with which he received my dripping mud pies as Father’s Day gifts in the 70s. It’s by far been my worst build, but YMMV.
My issues (not accounting for user error, frustration and ADHD): kit uses tiny connection pieces to hold super delicate embellishment pieces to the main body — splintering and breakage everywhere; construction process that causes the battery pack to dangle, tugging at the wiring - resulted in motor detachment; bought a brand new motor after I had re-soldered the original one twice and it still failed; faux leather pieces have sticky backs but peel away, so every one has to be re-glued; flimsy paper background piece that will stick at the connection point unless you Mod Podge that sucker down perfectly (a somewhat impossible task once you’ve looped it around the turn mechanism unless you have gerbil-size hands); HUGE ACCORDION PIECE FROM HELL - it provides structure for the entire curved back wall and once it breaks, you’re totally SOL. Mine is held together with duct tape, superglue and tears.
I’ve realized that I have the patience for Chinese Food Record and Seabreeze but not for delicate, splintery Anavrin and Anavrin-adjacent kits. Different strokes, y’all. Happy Father’s Day!
Building book nook kits is my hobby, and I love to modify existing kits to reflect my interests - kpop being my favorite! I took a Rolife kit called “Sunshine Town” and made it into Stayville! It’s overrun with SKZOOs peeking out from everywhere…
Another stab at Sunshine Town - this time turning it into a Stray Kids fandom experience called Stayville (STAYS are the fans of Stray Kids).
Sunshine Town is such a basic and easy canvas on which to build - I added the usual mix of sticker paper skins, flatback rhinestones, printed vellum, printed transparency film, paint and greenery.
I’m a huge fan of building booknook kits as a hobby, and recently got a space capsule themed kit from Joohour. Obviously, as ATINY, I had to modify the kit with a NASA theme!, right?!
It was a super fun project - lots of Cricut vinyl and printing out images on sticker paper!
Very shaky and terrible video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYxFwR7lczM/?igsh=eXJtbmN0Ym13YWQz
Yes, another kpop modification! Mu-ah-ah-ah! 😈 Ateez has a song NASA that just seemed to BEG for a build. Who am I to deny that call?
Added lots of blue wires, printed stickers and holographic Cricut-cut vinyl. I also used Black Soot Distress Ink on a sponge to make the entire capsule look weathered and beaten inside, as if commandeered by a rogue group of space pirates. The little box was supposed to hold a plant, but I changed it to an Ateez lightstick instead.
Fun kit, although once again I met my nemesis (expander/accordion pieces) and lost in the “bend but don’t break” battle. I covered up my sins with more Cricut vinyl.
Terrible and shaky video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYxFwR7lczM/?igsh=eXJtbmN0Ym13YWQz
Thanks so much to u/pluck-the-bunny and Robotime/Rolife/ROKR! My prize from the latest event arrived just now and I’m floored! My Nanci cup runneth over…they got this arctophile totally right.
Can’t wait to get started on the typewriter.
Thanks again to everyone who was so supportive and kind.
Video is here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYErnYNlWsq/?igsh=cjVzcmYwYzB3cTF5
So, this kit is essentially Tonecheer Sweet Dreams, on acid. You will be painting edges until your markers run dry. Luckily, Tonecheer INCLUDES TWO ACRYLIC MARKERS. Yes! Not too many kits acknowledge the edge-painters of nookery…thanks Tonecheer! Also, they give you actual glitter stars and sparkly pieces of blue translucent “star ore.” It’s fun.
Per tradition, the bloody thing worked perfectly until I was close to the end and then…the Star Cylinder - it almost broke me. The frustration with that component was CLOSE but not quite “Emily’s-Flower-Shop-Wire-Rack” level. As advice to future builders of this behemoth: do not flay yourself ritually until you pop the entire cylinder component into the build, because some of the stabilization seems to help everything move smoothly. The Tonecheer directions tell you to check to make sure it works prematurely, in my opinion…because the damn thing didn’t work until I gave up and installed it into the build, believing it would never function.
There is a lot going on with this kit - lots of movement and things on springs. The “star ore cart” actually detaches - Tonecheer suggests it is an independent toy.
One thing that irks is that the plastic “tubes” or cylinders are just flat pieces of thin acrylic that you peg into rounded shapes. They not only attract every dust mote and particle within a five mile radius, but they are also both lit up dramatically, thereby highlighting every dust mote and particle (and, in the case of this builder, every fingerprint and smudge). If you have your own clean room (for whatever reason - no judgment) then you might be able to build this without getting anything on the acrylic.
For the pastel patrons, the rhinestoners, the blingers, bedazzlers and sparkle punks - this is your Xanadu.
I used “neon purple mocha opal” rhinestones from Qiao on AliExpress - mostly in SS10 with some SS8 and SS6 for smaller areas and filling in spots.
Freebies done! Lightstick done! Now to wait until August…💜 I’m loving all the incredible crafts, freebies and lightstick decos posted here!