MiniCity - Circle of Magic Frame Vision

Built and reviewed by D.J. Gibson

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D.J. has completed more than 130 Book Nook and Miniature House kits since discovering the hobby in 2025, quickly becoming known for his honest and detailed reviews. He especially enjoys tab-and-slot and hybrid-style builds, with a passion for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror themed kits. When not building, he shares his hobby adventures — and occasional cat cameos from his 11 furry assistants — with the growing Nooking community.

The Circle of Magic Frame Vision from MiniCity is an interesting redesign of one of the company’s more recognizable fantasy themed kits. Rather than using the traditional “book nook” structure from the original release, this version converts the entire scene into a framed wall-mounted display complete with rechargeable battery and remote-controlled lighting.

The actual fantasy scene itself remains largely identical to the original Circle of Magic build, but the presentation changes the overall experience considerably. Instead of feeling like a shelf insert, this version feels much more like illuminated wall art.

Materials and Build Quality

The kit is constructed from printed MDF, acrylic components, a wooden frame and a cracked glass ball centerpiece which helps give the finished display a more premium appearance than many standard book nook kits.

The print quality throughout the build is excellent. Colors are vibrant, alignment is accurate and the MDF parts separate cleanly from their boards without excessive force or damage. The included instructions are printed in color and are easy to follow, making the assembly process approachable even for less experienced builders.

Because this build was completed after already constructing the original Circle of Magic version, several assembly steps made far more sense the second time around. In particular, the illuminated columns require careful alignment because the LED strings feed down through the top sections during construction. Knowing this beforehand made the overall process smoother and avoided the need for corrections later.

Lighting System and Electronics

One of the standout features of this release is the upgraded lighting system.

Unlike many miniature kits that include only a simple battery box and a couple of LEDs, this model contains:

7 LED light strings
1 LED strip
2 LED bulbs
A dedicated circuit board
IR sensor
Rechargeable battery pack
Remote control

The lighting components plug directly into the onboard circuit board, creating a much cleaner internal setup than many standard kits.

The remote control allows switching between multiple lighting modes and effects, which adds a much more modern feel to the finished display. Unfortunately, the brightness adjustment buttons on the remote appear non-functional with this particular kit, which is slightly disappointing given how polished the rest of the electronics package feels.

Even with that limitation, the overall lighting presentation is excellent and noticeably more advanced than most book nook kits currently available.

Frame Design vs Traditional Book Nook

The biggest structural difference is obviously the transition from a book-style enclosure to a framed display box.

This actually simplifies portions of the assembly process because you are no longer dealing with decorative book covers, spine details or external embellishments that were present in the original release. The frame itself is fairly minimalist, with decorative artwork limited mainly to the two side panels while the remaining surfaces use a simple solid blue finish.

That cleaner presentation works surprisingly well once mounted or displayed, especially when the lighting effects are activated.

Rechargeable Battery – A Major Upgrade

Perhaps the best improvement over the original version is the rechargeable battery system.

Traditional book nook kits often require either:

permanently attached USB cables, or
repeated battery replacements

This kit avoids both problems. Once mounted on a wall, the frame can simply be recharged when needed without removing the display or dealing with exposed wiring. Combined with the remote control functionality, this makes the kit significantly more practical for long-term display use.

It is a small feature on paper, but in everyday use it dramatically improves the overall experience.

Final Thoughts

Even though this build closely mirrors a previously released design, the changes made here genuinely improve the finished product. The wooden frame, expanded lighting setup, rechargeable battery and remote control all combine to create one of the strongest “frame vision” style kits currently available.

The build itself sits comfortably between high beginner and intermediate level. Most of the construction is straightforward, but the lighting installation and alignment steps require some patience and attention to detail.

For anyone who enjoyed the original Circle of Magic, this feels like a meaningful upgrade rather than a simple repackage. It also works very well as a standalone fantasy display piece for anyone looking for something slightly different from the usual bookshelf format.

Verdict

Pros

Excellent lighting system
Rechargeable battery included
Remote control functionality
High quality print work
Attractive wall-mounted presentation
Easier assembly than the original version

Cons

Remote brightness controls do not function
Exterior decoration is fairly minimal on some panels
Lighting installation still requires careful alignment

Overall Rating

8.5/10

A smart redesign that successfully upgrades the original Circle of Magic concept into a more modern and display-friendly illuminated frame kit.

This version of the Circle of Magic from MinyCity is redesigned from the Nook in a book format to a “Vision Frame” format. The scene itself is identical from the original version but now it is a wall mountable framed scene with remote control and rechargeable battery.

The kit is made from printed MDF, acrylic, a wooden frame and a cracked glass ball. The instructions are in color and easy to follow. The pieces are easily removed from their boards and the print work aligned perfectly.

Having already built the original version of this kit, the build went smoother already knowing what the steps were meant for and how the build would go. The light up columns are constructed and then you feed the light strings into them from the top so I knew those needed to line up properly.

The light kit is a larger light kit than most set ups. There are 7 LED strings, 1 LED light strip and 2 LED bulbs. Unlike the original version, this one includes a circuit board for the 3 light sets to plug into along with the IR sensor and the rechargeable battery. There are multiple light settings with this set up controlled by the remote control. Unfortunately, the remote brightness controls do nothing with this kit.

The obvious difference with this kit is the container being a box versus a book. That made this build go a bit quicker because you aren’t dealing with the book cover and decorations that are on the original. The box is decorated just on the two side panels. The remaining panels are simply solid blue.

The biggest improvement with this kit in my opinion was the inclusion of a rechargeable battery. Now you can leave this kit hanging on the wall and simply plug it in to recharge. This eliminates the need to have a cord plugged into the kit at all times or replacing the batteries. It also has a remote so you don’t have to get up to turn it on or off.

Although this was like building a kit for a second time, I am happy with the finished result. The use of a wooden frame, additional lighting options, rechargeable battery and remote control make this one of the best frame kits currently on the market. It is a high beginner to intermediate level kit with a 3/5 difficulty rating in my book. Nice to hang on your wall or to display with its counterpart.

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