I love building LEGO. Unfortunately, current market rate for LEGO is about $100 per pound; I’m also actually pretty bored by most LEGO licenses (Marvel, Star Wars, and Harry Potter are all varying degrees of “not for me”).
So I’ve been looking for less expensive, more expressive ways to scratch the building itch. I got into Gunpla because it’s relaxing to me to place 200 water slide decals, not because of any particular series love (though I’ve since come to appreciate it). And I mentioned the TEMU off-brand LEGO building blocks earlier.
This kit, “Sakura no Densha” or “Cherry Blossom Train,” is what they call a book nook – it’s designed to sit on your bookshelf along with your books and offer a little miniature fairy door surprise to anyone browsing. It has a good amount of depth and dimensionality, and even a bit of tricky wiring to get the lights working. I think it’s super cute, like a little street from a Ghibli town sitting on my shelves.
It’s mostly thin MDF and cardboard, about half tab-slot and half glue. My life got a lot better about halfway through the build when I bought ultrafine tip craft glue. Don’t try to do this with Elmer’s, I beg you.
You can get the kit for $24 shipped on TEMU, which is a pretty great price for a solid week of crafting. There’s five different kits, and I’ll be giving another one a try soon now that I’ve gotten the hang of it.
