Built & reviewed by David Richards Build #36
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This is the first book nook that I have built by MiniCity and when I received the parcel from our very friendly lady courier I knew something was different – it was twice the weight of any kit I have received before.
| Category | Rating |
| Build Quality | 9/10 |
| Instructions | 10/10 |
| Difficulty | Advanced Beginner |
| Lighting | 9/10 |
| Value for Money | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 9/10 |
I opened the box and realised why. They nearly ran out of letters of the alphabet when labelling the templates. It all looked very high quality at first sight. I have seen a number of people commenting about this kit, especially the dinosaur construction, so it was with slight trepidation that I opened the instruction manual.
Instructions
These are absolutely first class instructions. Clear to read, high quality images, a completed picture at the completion of each stage. There is also a QR code so you can download a high resolution manual.
When you have done a lot of builds – not as many as the rest of the B.N.W. team admittedly, you can gain a confidence level through the manual before looking at anything else. Read – confidence level HIGH.
Like with any kit before I did anything else I tested if the lighting circuit worked. Reliability is generally very good these days but there is nothing more frustrating than finishing a kit, inserting a couple of AAAs and zilch – nothing.
Books
If you do not like covering books then this most probably is not the kit for you. The clue is in the kit name Library Max. I didn’t actually count but it is in the circa of 200. To avoid being as bored as watching Scotland play football (joke John) I tend to do a batch of books. Types A and B are relatively low numbers so I did all of these. Type C are the main ones of which there about 200 so I build a supply and then stop. I came back to these at 4 times during the build.
A nice point to note is that the adhesive on the book covers is fantastic unlike some other brands which means you are not re-sticking them all the time.
The Build
This is not a difficult kit. For a beginner the main thing is there are a large number of parts which may be daunting. As per all reviews the Dinosaur is fiddly rather than difficult. It does take a long time to build as you have to peel the adhesive layer off each side of every piece. Top Tip: I use my crafting blade knife to peel it back – however it does take a long time. Glue: use lots of glue to fix each piece as they will move.
The one area where the instructions were not clear was how the wire fitted into the battery arm and this is where I broke my one and only piece. Read through the instructions a couple of times so you can understand the wiring.
Beyond Library Max is more of a museum rather than a library, despite the abundance of books. There are a couple of nice models which are assembled from a lot of parts. Notably the ship and airplane
The hardest part through each stage of the kit is joining the sides. The instructions do not show any glue being used but it is definitely required. When you join stage 1 to stage 2 you need to be very careful of the dinosaur tail as it sits in stage 2 but is built in stage 1. If you knock it, it will fall off – trust me if did 3 times!
The first join
If you are confident about the fit and everything is in the correct place I would use glue to secure the tabs as they are not a Tight Fit (In the Jungle, the mighty jungle – over 60’s only).
The other area which is not 100% perfect is the small beads of wood that create the mantels as there is only one securing point so once again B7000
The Third Side
Nothing very dramatic here apart from the advice of using glue. Those of you who are observant may have noticed I have the front ladder the wrong way around in this photo but this was noticed and fixed at the end.
There is an amazing amount of acrylic parts which are used for balconies and staircases so these take time again due to covering the protective layer off each side.
The Final Join
A few joints which needed pressing together
No real issues with the third wall and you can now see the enormity of the kit. I still haven’t spotted the ladder being the wrong way around at this time.
The Roof
I did see a number of complaints about the touch sensor not working but I do use glue rather than stickers to secure it and it does work. You need to spend time to make sure all the light wires from the roof go into the right place securing using glue and stickers or else the back will not fit.
Joining it together
I suspect that this was user error i.e. Me but I didn’t get a tight connection when joining the remaining pieces together but with my trusty B7000 nozzle it worked in the end. But after trial and error and lots of spider webs (if you know, you know) it was secured with no light leakage.
Final Verdict
This is a brilliant kit with quality material, great instructions and no wonder if is ranked as one of the Nookers favourites. MiniCity are one of the industry leaders. Whilst this kit is relatively old all the reviews we publish about MiniCity are very favourable.
I would rank this as an advanced beginner kit as there is nothing seriously complicated just a little daunting as a first build which Martin found out.
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Copyright Book Nook Workshop 2026 – All rights reserved. (David Richards)
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