Tiny Library Challenge: The Final Chapter

Everyone loves a good trilogy. Except in this case. Because this is the final chapter in the trifeca of insanity otherwise known as miniature library kits (see parts I and II). But today it ends. Today, Katie is bringing it home with the Rolife 3D Creative Bookend: Sunshine Town. Our FINAL mini library kit (and possibly our favorite, honestly). Take it away, Katie!


To its credit, the Rolife 3D Creative Bookend: Sunshine Town (TGB02) looked seriously adorable online and, at quick glance, did not appear to be as complicated as Sam’s Study. Added bonus: it has TWO CATS that inhabit the cozy street scene!

Sunshine Town retails for around $45 on Amazon, though I’ve seen it on Etsy and Ebay for less. Like the other two Rolife kits we’ve tested, the suggested age range is 14+, which I completely agree with. Younger children will definitely need assistance manipulating the smaller bits and pieces, as well as tackling the lighting and battery box.

The instruction manual was similar to previous kits. One difference was the use of illustrations to indicate the specific actions I needed to take, such as what to glue together and where to paint. Speaking of paint, almost every step included painting one or more of the pieces white, which I skipped entirely after finishing the sign that greets you at the front of the display. I don’t think there’s much of a difference in appearance and, to be honest, it looks just fine unpainted.

There is a combination of wood and paper pieces to build together, and the provided glue stick has a small tip and works well. There were a few instances I did have to pause and allow extra time for parts to fully dry before moving on, but that was rare.

I was dreading the lighting display, but it was relatively straightforward and, dare I say it, remarkably easy to put together. Since this was not my first mini build rodeo, I knew exactly what to do when the instructions said to heat the “heat-shrink tube.” A lighter from home worked beautifully to melt and bend the little shaded light that illuminates the stairs in front of the coffee shop (a task I finished outside of the library walls, to ease the fears of any of my colleagues who may be reading!). All of the wires neatly tuck into a panel at the rear of the box.

The hardest task was to close the bookend with the final side wall. Making sure all of the connection tabs and the street parts were in the proper place to finish the build was a bit of a struggle.

My only other complaint is with the bookend being so deep and narrow, there are a few areas that are hard to see, even with the mirror to help reflect the back of the scene. The curved bay window in front of Carefree Books has a cute display inside that is difficult to enjoy, and you really have to search for the red mailbox on the building wall in the back (which looks similar to the mailbox we used at our Tintin movie event).

The touch pad to turn the lights on and off is really clever, and the two interior street lights along with the overhead pendant envelop the scene with an inviting warm glow.

As anticipated, Sunshine Town looks positively charming tucked on a shelf between copies of your favorite books. It’s my personal favorite of the three Rolife miniature kits we’ve tested. Because… cats! I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.


And thus ends our miniature library kit tests. They were tedious, delicate, maddening, and took waaaay to much time. But there are much worse games to play.

Lumos

lumos candles 2

Oh, how we have wanted to test these floating LED candles for the blog. And YES they were just as amazing as we thought they would be!

Katie first spotted the Leejec Flameless Taper Floating Candles on Amazon. We’ll admit, they are pricey. You can get them at various lengths (6″, 7″, or 11″) and in various amounts (6-20 in a pack). We needed quite a few for our gallery display cases, so we went with the 6″ pack of 20 for $60.

Each candle requires a AAA battery (not included) and had a long, invisible fishing line extending from the top. But the best part is…wait for it…you turn them on and off with a wand!

Hanging the candles was a bit tricky. The fishing lines are really, really, really long. We ended up wrapping them around paperclips (which was kind of slippery and frustrating until you got the hang of it), securing them with tape, sticking the wrapped paperclip through some plastic light covers in the case, and then anchoring the wrapped paper clips with more tape. It definitely took some time and patience!

In the reviews on Amazon, some folks used thumbtacks to secure the candles to the ceiling, some used poster putty. Others hung them on already existing light fixtures. It was agreed the fishing lines were super long, but for people with cathedral ceilings, that was a bonus.

There’s no denying the final results. Our exhibit cases look amazing with the candles twinkling and swaying. And the wand is so much FUN to use. Honestly, we spent about 20 minutes turning the candles on and off both up close and at a distance. Sometimes one candle would lag behind the others and you would need to do another quick click, but generally they responded really well to the wand commands!


While these candles are expensive, the results speak for themselves. This is a really special set, and has earned a Pop Goes the Page five star review and two wands up!

Postscript: After displaying the candles in our cases for a couple months, we’ve learned that their “burn time” is about 20 hours before the batteries wear out. So while they’re great for parties or a special event, they’re not so great for long-term displays (or just get ready to burn through a lot of AAA batteries)! 

Mysterious & Puzzling

It’s truly a puzzler! Katie (and friends) test drove a Sherlock Holmes mystery jigsaw puzzle…deerstalker and pipe not included. Take it away Katie!


The Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band mystery jigsaw puzzle is by BePuzzled, a company that touts itself on forcing people to think and solve their games in unconventional ways. The puzzles are classic mysteries with a challenging twist: you read, build, and solve using clues from both the written story and the completed puzzle. I bought mine in a toy shop for $18.95 while on summer vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but you can find it online for slightly less. The suggested age range is 15 and older.

The short story Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band originally appeared in the UK edition of The Strand magazine in February 1892. The story was later included in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection, which was published in October 1892.
Inside the box is the 1000-piece unassembled puzzle and a booklet with the mystery to read.

The solution, which is the conclusion of the story, is provided but it is cleverly printed backwards. You read it by simply holding it up to a mirror, which is such a unique way to hide the answer!

I started by building the edges, and this is the point when I realized this puzzle was going to be more difficult than I had originally thought. In keeping with the mysterious nature, the finished image does not match the box cover. An SOS was sent to my library colleagues, inviting them to help.

A few folks answered the call and worked with me on Holmes’s latest case. Interestingly enough, every one of them had a different puzzle approach. One person took pieces that looked similar and lined them up in a row. Another moved pieces into piles and worked specifically on building a small section to later drop in.

One colleague clearly loved puzzles because she slowly and methodically finished around 1/6 of the mystery in just a few hours’ time. She’s the reason I can say I completed the puzzle in just under two weeks!

And yes, dear blog readers, I used some Photoshop magic to blur the puzzle. No spoilers from me!

Despite my (sometimes constant) groaning over not having an image to work from, I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzling challenge. It added an extra layer of intrigue and definitely more excitement when the puzzle was solved. I feel younger children can get involved with the puzzle build, though they may get frustrated since they don’t have any reference to a solution.

Even though I have partnered with Detective Holmes on many Cotsen-related adventures, I have never read Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band. I was entirely unaware of who or what was behind the unfortunate events described in the story, so the solution was quite a surprise. For those who may have already read the story and know what happened, this particular puzzle may not be the best option. Thankfully there are several other BePuzzled mysteries to choose from, including one from Alfred Hitchcock, and I assume each has a unique story line.

The mystery puzzles are afoot!

Interested in more Holmes posts? Try our virtual escape room, our live escape room, a review of a snail mail mystery game, and this super fun simple activity with rebus cards from our special collections!