Rolife Kiki’s Magic Emporium DIY Miniature Kit Review

Kiki’s Magic Emporium offers a magically themed miniature shop with intricate, well-thought-out details. The final miniature is wonderful, and as with most Rolife kits, putting it all together is a mix of challenging and fun.

As an obsessed DIY enthusiast and miniature maker, I’ve made my fair share of kits, from the thrillingly intricate to the downright disappointing! On the run-up to Halloween, I decided to dive into the whimsical world of Kiki’s Magic Emporium DIY Miniature Kit – one that left a spellbinding impression (yep, really did that)..

Rolife, is already a brand well renowned for their high-quality DIY miniature kits, and the Magical Emporium is no exception. Although I didn’t make the connection, the shop is based around Studio Ghibli’s animated movie, Kiki’s Delivery Service.

What does Kiki’s Magic Emporium kit include?

Kiki’s Magic Emporium includes pretty much everything you need to build!

There are 148 pieces, including: 

Other things you’ll need

Unlike some of the other DIY dollshouse kits I’ve made, Kiki’s Magic Emporium doesn’t leave much room for customisation. Of course, you could paint furniture and make your own alchemy-themed props.

Kit tips

How long does it take to make?

Rolife suggests 10 hours, and I reckon that’s about right. I’ve made several kits by Rolife now, so I know what to expect, but it might take someone newer to kit building longer. Rolife’s Mystic Archives series combines their older (but still awesome) full DIY-style kits and an everything-slots-together type kit, like a book nook. 

Because all the pieces are pre-cut, this miniature is relatively quick to make. Some of the most time-consuming pieces to construct are the cabinets and the lighting, which is always a faff, honestly. Unlike kitchen kits or (oh my goodness) gardens, there are very few fiddly bits, like making plants and cutlery.

What is the difficulty level?

Kiki’s Magic Emporium balances building ease with intricate detail. I’ve made other kits that were so bland and basic that any nice detail which you still expect even from a 1:48 scale kit, was kind of lost. With Kiki’s kit, Rolife offers all the fun without the hassle. One slip of the scissors or skew whiff fold and you can ruin the effect of an otherwise good-looking kit. Since the Magic Emporium removes some of that challenge, I think this kit comes in at a 5/10 on the difficulty scale.

Tip: Keep the cutout sheet in a plastic bag or envelope until you need a specific piece. The paper cutouts are VERY loosely attached. I lost several labels and manuscripts after they floated off into the oblivion that is my crafting space

Is Kiki’s Magic Emporium suitable for children? 

Rolife’s age suggestion for this kit is 14+, but I think since many pieces are precut, a younger crafter could make Kiki’s Magic Emporium without too much assistance from an adult. As with all miniature dollshouse kits, the lighting is one of the most challenging parts. I often use pre-connected bulbs and cables to avoid that step, but if this is a one-off kit for you, it probably won’t be worth it. 

You can also follow this video, which gives pretty clear steps for wiring your miniature kits.

How clear are the instructions?

The instructions are fairly clear. There seemed to be some missing information here and there, like referring to a P40 (still no idea what that was) cutout.

The steps are easy to follow, using a mixture of photos and illustrations. While the illustrations are pretty good, there were some cases where I think a real photo would be better. I’m guessing it’s probably to do with angles and hands getting in the way of a clear shot, and it doesn’t make the kit any less enjoyable!

Somehow, I managed to glue on one of the walls the wrong way around (yes, who knew that was possible) and had to re-apply wallpaper, but I can’t really blame the instructions for that when it’s very clear which way the roof is facing.

Putting it all together

This kit is one of the most seamless I’ve ever made. So far, I’ve been impressed by this ‘upgraded’ Rolife series, and I’m looking forward to trying the Mose's Detective Agency miniature next. 

As I was saying, everything fits together extremely well. As usual, everything is numbered and bagged pretty well, but it’s the precision that I was most impressed by. Rolife have really gone above and beyond with the fit of their Mystic Archives series, especially with walls and flooring. The brick steps look particularly good. 

One of the downsides for me, and this comes with making the kit a little easier, is that some of the ‘magical elements’ were plastic. A few potion bottles would easily have been made using beads, and the spellbook constructed using card and paper. 

I’m not saying this ruined anything for me, but I think there’s still room for improvement there.

Would I try another Rolife kit?

Yep, you know it. Next on the list is Mose's Detective Agency, another of the Mystic Archives series.

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