Built and reviewed by Martin Seidler
My build #18.
Martin has over 50 years of model-building experience and has completed 30+ Book Nook kits in just a few months. He specialises in adding lighting, custom details, and storytelling elements to bring each build to life.
This was actually my very first FIFIJOY book nook kit, and it immediately showed me something important about this brand:
FIFIJOY focuses heavily on atmosphere and immersion rather than simply creating a decorative bookshelf insert.
And honestly… it works.
The entire concept is built around a jungle expedition deep inside a rainforest environment. The scene includes a small campsite, glowing campfire, tent, climbing equipment, suspension bridge, jungle ruins, cliffs, dense foliage, and even a climber scaling the rock wall in the background.
Add the integrated jungle sound system into the mix and this becomes one of those rare book nook kits that does not just look like a miniature world — it genuinely feels alive.
What Comes in the Kit?
The kit includes:
- Standard MDF wooden sheets
- Acrylic components
- Lighting and sound electronics
- Vines, ropes, and foliage
- Decorative campsite accessories
- Plastic details including the cooking pot and snake
- Various ruins and jungle scenery pieces
The instruction manual is typical FIFIJOY quality: clear images, logical build order, and no particularly unfair or confusing stages.
One unusual design choice is the battery box placement. Instead of being hidden in the rear section, the battery compartment sits underneath the campsite area near the tent and campfire. Slightly unconventional, but perfectly functional.
Build Experience
The build itself is not excessively difficult, which was honestly refreshing.
Most of the construction focuses on layering scenery elements together:
palm trees, jungle plants, cliffs, vines, rolling terrain, statues, ruins, and foliage.
The laser cutting quality was generally very good, although a few sections had looser fitting parts that required additional glue for stability.
One detail I really appreciated was the terrain construction.
Instead of relying on completely flat flooring, the landscape uses rolling elevations and layered surfaces throughout the jungle floor. That single design decision improves the realism enormously and gives the scene a much more natural appearance.
Campfire Modifications
This kit became one of my biggest customization projects.
The original campfire lighting is not static, but the effect is more of a slow “breathing” pulse rather than realistic fire flickering.
To improve this, I added two additional flickering LEDs:
one yellow and one red.
Positioning them beside the original diode required a bit of careful work, but the final effect completely transformed the atmosphere of the campsite.
The fire suddenly looked genuinely alive.
I also modified the transparent acrylic flames using yellow, orange, and red UV resin to create more depth and realistic flame texture.
One tiny detail I absolutely loved was the hanging cooking pot above the fire.
Because the pot is slightly movable, it gently swings and catches the flickering reflections from the flames. It creates an incredibly convincing miniature campfire effect despite being such a small feature.
Tent Construction
The tent section is simple but very effective visually.
You first construct the supporting poles, then wrap real fabric cloth around the structure and tie everything together using hemp rope.
It is a straightforward process, but it adds a huge amount of realism to the finished scene.
The Cliff Problem
The cliffs are probably the most controversial engineering aspect of the entire kit.
They are assembled using multiple flat panels connected with corner pieces to create large overhanging rock formations.
The finished appearance can actually look very impressive…
…but without glue, the structures do not hold together particularly well.
This became another major customization area for me.
I filled the visible seams and gaps using standard acrylic filler/sealant — similar to the kind used for drywall repairs — then painted over the surface using acrylic paint markers to blend everything into the surrounding textures.
The improvement was dramatic.
Especially in close-up photos and video, the cliffs stopped looking like assembled flat MDF panels and started resembling actual rock formations.
Edge Thinning and Foliage Upgrades
I also used one of my standard detailing techniques on many of the foliage pieces.
By carefully thinning and shaping the rear edges of leaves and plants before recoloring them, the parts lose much of that obvious “flat laser-cut board” appearance.
This technique works especially well on jungle vegetation and dramatically improves realism once the lighting hits the scene.
I additionally added:
- Extra vines
- Moss
- Additional jungle plants
- More layered foliage clusters
This is definitely a kit that benefits heavily from additional greenery.
The Snake
The green plastic snake deserves special mention.
When first removed from the box, it honestly looked a little cheap and disappointing.
But once wrapped around the upper jungle branch and partially hidden inside the scenery, it actually worked surprisingly well and blended naturally into the environment.
The Suspension Bridge
The suspension bridge is easily the hardest part of the entire build.
Not because it is technically complicated…
but because it is incredibly fiddly.
Each bridge segment must be individually connected using string to create a proper hanging bridge effect. FIFIJOY thankfully includes a bridge assembly jig to help alignment, but even with the tool it still took me nearly two hours to complete.
Experienced builders should manage it fine.
For beginners, however, this may become the true difficulty spike of the entire project.
Ironically, much of the bridge sits deep in the darker upper rear section of the scene, meaning many viewers may barely notice how much work went into it — especially once additional foliage is added.
The Biggest Weakness: Lighting
This leads directly to the biggest issue with the entire kit:
It is extremely dark.
The acrylic roof and original lighting setup create a heavy jungle dusk atmosphere. Atmospheric? Absolutely.
But for actually viewing details, the darkness hides a huge amount of the scenery.
Without strong ambient room lighting or sunlight entering through the roof, many details almost disappear entirely.
So naturally…
I modified that too.
Additional Daylight Lighting System
I installed an additional warm white LED filament light hidden behind vines near the upper front branch section.
The goal was not to create visible artificial lighting, but rather to simulate daylight filtering through the jungle canopy.
I also added a separate rear toggle switch so I can switch between:
- Original dark jungle atmosphere
- Brighter daylight jungle mode
Because the filament LED consumed noticeably more power, I even installed a separate battery pack hidden near the speaker compartment.
Probably unnecessary…
…but from an engineering perspective it felt cleaner.
And honestly, the improvement was enormous.
Suddenly the cliffs, ruins, foliage, terrain, and camp details all became fully visible and far more impressive visually.
The original dark lighting still works beautifully for campfire ambience, but the daylight mode completely changes the viewing experience.
Final Verdict
Engineering Quality
Good overall, but not flawless.
The cliff structures really benefit from glue, filler, and additional finishing work to achieve convincing realism.
Difficulty
Intermediate overall.
Advanced in specific sections — especially the suspension bridge assembly.
Atmosphere
Excellent.
The combination of jungle sounds, glowing campfire, dense foliage, expedition theme, and layered scenery creates one of the most immersive book nook environments I have built so far.
Overall Rating
6.5–7/10 as a standard out-of-box kit.
But as a customization platform?
Absolutely excellent.
This is one of those book nook kits where modifications dramatically elevate the final result. Extra lighting, improved cliffs, additional greenery, upgraded fire effects, and detailed finishing work completely transform the experience.
And personally, this kit carries an extra emotional layer for me.
When I was younger, I spent many years climbing rocks and mountains, sleeping in tents, cooking beside campfires, and spending time outdoors in forests and nature.
So this miniature jungle expedition scene unexpectedly reminded me very strongly of that period of my life.
And maybe that is why, despite its flaws, I still have a genuine affection for this build.
The attached video shows both lighting setups:
the first section uses the original lighting with strong ambient light entering from above, while the second section demonstrates the additional custom daylight lighting system. You can also see many of the cliff modifications and enhanced foliage details more clearly in the close-up footage and photographs.
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