Zee-Mastor
Completed Billy DIY dollhouse "Naniwa's skewer shop"
Now that I've completed my first Japanese Billy dollhouse kit, I can make an objective evaluation of them.
They're rather expensive for what you get. This kit is one of their largest and most expensive ones at 5300 yen ($48.00 US). Although the MDF was measured and cut very precisely and finished very well, the Billy dollhouse company seems to have an aversion to making smaller parts out of wood.
Many parts, such as countertops and cabinets were supposed to be cut from foam board or cardboard. The roof pieces were supposed to simply be glued at an angle, when they should have wooden triangle-shaped supports. And items that should be cloth are printed paper. I did my own part substitutions.
The kit did not come with any light bulbs and was never intended to light up. I fixed that (of course) and kicked in about $10 for additional materials (wood, MDF, various types of paper, cloth, Plastruct rails, floral wire, lights). This was a fun and interesting project, and now it looks like it came from a $48.00 kit. But in its original form... maybe not. On Amazon.Com, these kits sell for about $60.
Since I was on vacation in a foreign country and very determined to spend money, that justified the purchase. It's a souvenir of Japan, with some cultural and historical significance, as well as a hobby kit.
I have enough leftover parts and plywood in the garage to construct a similar-looking shop from scratch.
In a contest between Pakitoy (China) and Billy (Japan) dollhouses, I think that Pakitoy makes better kits for this price point. The Pakitoy kits have wonderful accessories that are correctly in-scale, and most importantly, they light up.
Completed Billy DIY dollhouse "Naniwa's skewer shop"
Now that I've completed my first Japanese Billy dollhouse kit, I can make an objective evaluation of them.
They're rather expensive for what you get. This kit is one of their largest and most expensive ones at 5300 yen ($48.00 US). Although the MDF was measured and cut very precisely and finished very well, the Billy dollhouse company seems to have an aversion to making smaller parts out of wood.
Many parts, such as countertops and cabinets were supposed to be cut from foam board or cardboard. The roof pieces were supposed to simply be glued at an angle, when they should have wooden triangle-shaped supports. And items that should be cloth are printed paper. I did my own part substitutions.
The kit did not come with any light bulbs and was never intended to light up. I fixed that (of course) and kicked in about $10 for additional materials (wood, MDF, various types of paper, cloth, Plastruct rails, floral wire, lights). This was a fun and interesting project, and now it looks like it came from a $48.00 kit. But in its original form... maybe not. On Amazon.Com, these kits sell for about $60.
Since I was on vacation in a foreign country and very determined to spend money, that justified the purchase. It's a souvenir of Japan, with some cultural and historical significance, as well as a hobby kit.
I have enough leftover parts and plywood in the garage to construct a similar-looking shop from scratch.
In a contest between Pakitoy (China) and Billy (Japan) dollhouses, I think that Pakitoy makes better kits for this price point. The Pakitoy kits have wonderful accessories that are correctly in-scale, and most importantly, they light up.