CuteBee City Walk shop kits: cafe, pizzeria, barbershop, ramen bar and bookshops

Pick your shop

Sunny Cafe is a green and cream corner cafe with a chalkboard sign and a table out front. Uncle Joe's Pizzeria has a red and black front, pizza signs and a bistro table on the sidewalk. John's Hair Salon is an old-school barbershop in navy and gold, with a bench by the door. Morita-Ya is a Japanese ramen bar in warm wood, with a blue noren banner and stools at the counter.

The three bookshops each have their own mood. Jack's Bookery is a cozy English bookshop with a red post box and a lamp post outside. The Drama Bookshop is tall and narrow, with packed shelves and a book stand by the door. Gallery Bookstore is green with arched windows, mixing books with framed pictures.

Sizes

The shops share a footprint of about 6.3 x 6.4 in (16 x 16.2 cm) or a little less, and stand 7.1 to 8.2 in (18 to 20.9 cm) tall, depending on the design. Morita-Ya is the tallest. Every one fits a standard bookshelf or desk.

The build

Each kit comes as pre-cut wood sheets with printed paper parts and an illustrated guide. You press the pieces out, then slot and glue them together. Piece counts run from 210 (John's Hair Salon) to 330 (Jack's Bookery); most sit around 240. Plan on about 4 to 5 hours, a little more for Jack's Bookery.

The shells go up quickly. The time goes into the dressing: chairs, counters, menus, tiny books, plants and signs. Use a white craft glue with a toothpick, and keep fine tweezers close. Stop at any natural point and carry on another evening.

The light

Every shop has a pre-wired warm LED set with a battery box and a touch switch. It takes 2 AAA batteries, not included. No soldering is needed, and the wiring hides inside the walls.

Build a street

Because the shops share a scale and a base size, they line up well. Two or three side by side on a shelf look like a little high street at night. Many builders start with Sunny Cafe or John's Hair Salon, then add a bookshop next door.