Fantasy Villa Woodcraft Construction Kit FSC

Very good quality, kept my interest, in these very trying times and the finished product is very pleasing to the eye. Now trying to find the best paint to finish the job.The only difficulty is following the online instruction, which tests the eyesight somewhat. but to be fair this might be down to the size of screen in use.

I bought this as a gift for my 9yr old daughter but it was a little too tricky for her to build herself so we ended up with her finding the numbers on the instructions and me putting the pieces together. The finished build was a lot sturdier than I was expecting when I first started. There are a couple of wobbly bits but these can be sorted with a drop of glue if needed. Most of the pieces were easy to push out of the sheets although there were a few occasions where the wood did split so you do need to be careful and try pushing through from the back if the piece doesn't push out easily. Most of the pieces fit together well but some did need filing down a little to get them to fit. The kit does include a small square of sandpaper to smooth down any rough edges.We haven't painted ours yet so I can't comment on whether it is easy enough to paint once it has been built. We did start to paint the first few bits but decided it would take too long to do it that way (impatient 9yr couldn't wait to play with it!) We have added fairy lights though which look fab! I used 3m string lights, put the battery pack under the stairs and threaded it all through the rooms inside and then around the outside of the house.As mentioned, it is sturdier than expected so my daughter has been playing with it, rather than just having it on display, although the inside spaces are quite tight so it might not suit everyone. She hasn't broken anything yet! We've recently bought the furniture set for it as the other dolls house furniture she already had was too big. The new bits fit well and she's been using her LOL dolls as the family as they seem to be a good size for it all.Overall, it was worth the price and the time taken to build it - my daughter loves it!

I love the design of this house. Some nice features. Thanks to other reviews, I knew in advance that this would not be easy, and it certainly wasn't. But that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I like things that take a bit of work. The main points to bear in mind if you are thinking of buying it are:1) It can get a bit physical some times with having to widen slots etc.2) Dexterity is a must, especially when building the side tower. You need about 4 pairs of hands.3) You'll get splinters4) Not all the pieces are cut fully to the back. One piece in particular was barely imprinted on the top. It was one of the chimney pieces with 3 slots in the middle, so was a nightmare to sort out. I ended up chipping away bit by bit, as the laminated wood is really solid in the middle. It looks pretty rough now.4) some areas you will need to glue as you work, just to get it to stay together. This isn't ideal if you want to decorate. It also means you can't have a dry-run before permanently assembling.5) I used extra tools - a thin diamond file set, 2 types of glue, string to hold some particularly awkward bits together until the glue is dry.

I bought this a while ago but have only just got around to making it (now I've got some time on my hands...).I did have a small nervous breakdown when I saw the instructions it came with BUT there is a step by step on line guide which was easy to follow and showed where each piece was in the pack and exactly where it had to go (highlighted in blue). It went together easily and I think it looks fantastic - a very impressive little wooden house with lots of ornate features. I have left mine as bare wood but I see some people have painted theirs and they look amazing. You can get a pack of flat pack furniture for it too, which I have ordered to go with it (details are on the packaging of the house).I placed a lamp behind the house so it is illuminated and I think that looks rather good - turns it into a rather impressive light feature! Took me a couple of days to put together. I mostly didn't need to use glue, only for the wooden window surrounds which have to be glued on and one or two bits that were a little loose.