Things Are As Expected In The Land of Knockoff

The Cava Allen knockoff dollhouse from Land of Nod is okay for quality. The structure I received for Christmas has some slightly crooked stairs (notice the spacing in the image above). The cantilever work on the stairs is weak and so the stairs slope. The two fireplaces are uneven. The first floor fireplace slopes down at the front (see pic above) and the outdoor fireplace slopes to the side as seen below. 

 

 

I can live with these imperfections since this is not a dollhouse that I expect to keep forever. I purchased this house to have another structure to experiment in and so far the structure suffices as a fun backdrop for whatever miniature madness I want to create. Despite the slope defect, I like the outdoor fireplace and can see it used as a room divider or double-sided fireplace. I will note that the wood on the house is prone to dings and blemishes. This surprised me since it is intended for child's play and not a collector's endeavors. I put a "pretty" dent in the floor of the first level with a sturdy artisan piece. Sure, it can be covered with flooring papers, but...damn.  Overall, the dollhouse is what you would expect at the $199 price point = fun but imperfect.

Several folks were curious about the house's scale. It is not a single scale, but most of it can be used for 1:12 creations. The main floor or first level module is ideal for 1:12 pieces and figures. It's roughly 22.75" in length, 13" in depth with a ceiling height that hovers at the 8.75" mark. I'll let Liam (6" tall) and Ben (5.75" tall) demonstrate. 

The second floor module is roughly 16.75" in length, a little over 7" in depth with a ceiling height of about 6.5". As you can see below, these 1:12 figures still work okay in the space. The scale of the second floor is like a smaller Villa Sibi dollhouse.

I don't currently use the third floor. It is too small for my 1:12 ventures, but would be okay for those working the 1:16 and 1:18 scales. I might use this module for Mike and Sheila, etc. The module is roughly 14.5" in length, 6.75" in depth and has a ceiling height of about 5.25". It gets tight for both Liam and Ben. Neither dude can stand up straight.

Hmm. I wonder if I'll post a scene in this house tomorrow...