Tuesday, January 22, 2013

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...

10 comments:

  1. Your guys crack me up! In the second and third pictures, they look like they're getting ready to robot dance like in the Roomba commercials!

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    1. Ha! I wasn't sure that would come across. You know my "crazy". They are doing that overdone gangnam style in the second pic and Liam is doing the Roomba dance in pic three. I'm glad you can see it, man!

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  2. Oh yes! Please do post a scene in this house tomorrow... I'd love to see more photos of it!
    It's a pretty cool house, what kind of wood do you think it is made of? Seems strange to have it so fragile for playing with. Is it some type of ply or balsa?
    Hugs, Mins xx

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    1. Hey Mins!
      I will post a scene but it's a single room. I think it is made of birch plywood. It's very smooth to the touch. It isn't really that fragile, but it shows wear if you bruise the surface. Also, maybe I'm just She-Hulk with my decorating and they didn't foresee such "brutality" when they were in the design phase...wait, they didn't design it. I'll say "building phase".

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  3. Normally I would say you get what you pay for but in this instance I think $199 is rather steep. Maybe I'm naive. Is this the going rate for a child's plaything that would be damaged in next to no time?

    However, I'm sure with you mad decorating skills you will soon have this fit for the front page of Elle Home =0)

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    1. Well, I guess compared to the other houses out on the market, the $199 price is about what I would expect. There are other houses on the market that cost more and have to be built that also feature subpar to poor quality so...shrug. Like I said to Mins--maybe I'm just She-Hulk and the house can't take my man hands and aggressive decorating--Ha!Ha! But it was a surprise to see the bruise in the floor after the piece bumped.
      And speaking of how dangerous my "mad skills" are, we'll see if I can get some creative scenes in here. You're too kind to pay me such compliments.

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  4. Thanks for this review. Its very helpful to see photos designed to inform and not just make a sale. That said, I cant wait to see what you do with it.

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    1. Thanks Studioseven,
      I hope I make you proud, man! Smiles.

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  5. Bwahahaha!!! I love your dude's poses. Too funny. Thanks for the great scale visual. Can't wait to see more. :D

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    1. I'm so glad that people get my odd humor...well, most of the time. Ha!

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