I opened the box today and was pleasantly surprised by a few things I hadn’t expected.
First, the dollhouse kit included shingles, which was great because I hadn’t seen that mentioned anywhere on the box. Since finding dollhouse components has become both difficult and expensive, I had been worried I’d need to track down shingles separately.
The second surprise was the floors — they came finished! That will save me a lot of time. The finish is beautiful and will fit perfectly with my planned décor. I’m not sure if this is an extra feature due to the kit being a “Special Edition” or if it’s standard now, but I really like it.
Usually, these kits include scored “hardwood” floors that you have to finish yourself. They also come with pre-milled siding, so you don’t need to buy that separately.
This particular kit is made entirely of MDF (medium-density fiberboard). Often, these kits combine MDF and cabinet-grade hardwood, but this one is all MDF except for some individual components. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s a “Special Edition” or if Real Good Toys has upgraded all their kits to be MDF only. I haven’t built a dollhouse in a while, so I might be out of touch with current changes.
Like all Real Good Toys kits, the schematics consist mainly of a parts list and a few illustrations rather than full diagrams. You need to measure each piece to identify it, which can be confusing for beginners and somewhat tedious. Fortunately, there aren’t that many parts, and most are easy to identify by sight. Because I’m experienced with these kits, I didn’t label all the parts this time, but I’d recommend beginners take the time to do so.
I kept the large panels in the box and placed the smaller parts on empty shelf spaces. Be sure to use the box lid as a “turntable” while assembling the dollhouse — it will save both your back and your table, as these kits are quite heavy.
