Steam Locomotive with Tender Mechanical Construction Kit by Ugears – Self-Propelled Modular Mechanical Model - 3D Wooden Puzzle for Self-Assembly Without Glue - Brainteaser for Kids, Teens and Adults

At first sight the box appears quite small but upon opening it you find 8 panels of highly detailed and perfectly cut lazer cut parts. Its obvious from the word go that this is not going to be a 5 minute build. With the panels is a pack of cocktail sticks and some rubber bands. Building is a joy as the parts are so accurate. You really dont need glue, its all push fit and or held together with pegs. You do need a sharp knife to separate the parts and a candle to lubricate the moving parts with wax. This model is a work of genius. It is beautifully thought out and engineered and great fun to build. You really do need to follow the instructions very carefully as its easy to miss a vital part but the instructions are very well put together and clear. A great model but not for the feint hearted.

Excellent product and great company to buy from. I recieved an email from Ugears asking if I was happy with my kit and mentioned I had damaged one part and they sent another part in the post with a few extras. Not only are the kits a pleasure to make but the company care about their customers, I would give 6 stars if I could!

well thought out kit,very well made,fun to do,instructions easy to follow,will buy another kit.only draw back length of delivery time from Ukraine.

Great model

Difficult to assemble. I wasn’t impressed with the use of toothpicks as axles and to connect various pieces. Some of the parts were wrongly labelled in the assembly guide. Luckily they were pictured as well. The winding mechanism and the use of rubber bands is not a great success. There is a similar product available which uses metallic axles and is driven by clockwork. It is easier to assemble and better value for money.

This locomotive arrived very quickly. One of my patients had build several trains whilst he was in hospital. When he laid the tracks down and I watched this train move only by the flick of an elastic band- I was sold!! What an amazing piece of work. I know my dad will have hours of fun building this train and watching it move.

Bought this for my husband who loved making it. The set was really well made and the instructions were great. Well impressed with this product.

An excellent kit. Never seen anything like it for design, complication and quality laser cutting. I don't want to appear racist etc but it was made in Ukraine!!! I shall enjoy assembling it when the weather turns. (I live in the far north of Scotland).

小学４年生の息子と一緒に作りました。なかなか細かく、時間がかかりますが、出来上がりの美しさに感動しました。

Es ist schon erstaunlich, was moderne Laser zum Schneiden von Holz für eine Präzision aufweisen. Viele kleine Schnitte und Bohrungen, so dass das fertige Modell sehr filigran und trotzdem stabil ist und wirkt. Was den Bausatz selber angeht, so muss man schon ein bisschen Kraft haben. Durch die engen Toleranzen ist es nicht immer ganz einfach, die Einzelteile aus den Platten auszudrücken. Auch das zusammensetzen des Modells muss man sich schon ein bisschen fern schauen und ein bisschen Kraft in den Fingern haben. Man muss es ganz klar sagen, erst wenn man mehrere von diesen Modellen zusammen gebaut hat, weiß man auf welche kleinen Dinge man achten muss, wo man am besten noch mal ein bisschen nach schleift, und wo man beim Zusammenbau drücken darf, ohne etwas kaputt zu machen. Man muss sich eben darauf gefasst machen, dass das Natur Material Holz etwas anderes ist als ein Modell aus Vollmetal oder ähnlichem zusammen zu bauen. Da kann immer mal eine kleine Spitze abbrechen, man muss vielleicht hier und da ein bisschen schleifen oder zusätzlich wachsen. Insgesamt aber ist das Ergebnis auch für den Einsteiger unproblematisch machbar, wenn man nicht allzu grob motorisch an die Sache heran geht. Man darf sich allerdings nicht unbedingt darauf freuen, dass das eigentlich bewegliche Modell dann auch wirklich so nutzbar ist, wie man es in den Videos gezeigt bekommt vom Hersteller. Insgesamt aber ist das Ergebnis auch für den Einsteiger unproblematisch machbar, wenn man nicht allzu grob motorisch an die Sache heran geht. Man darf sich allerdings nicht unbedingt darauf freuen, dass das eigentlich bewegliche Modell dann auch wirklich so nutzbar ist, wie man es in den Videos gezeigt bekommt vom Hersteller. Es ist eigentlich auch ziemlich nachvollziehbar. Die Verbindungen werden alle nur gesteckt, man braucht keinerlei Klebstoff, die Kraftübertragung wird ausschließlich aus dem Material Holz gewährleistet. Die Reibungswiderstände sind eben trotzdem so groß, dass so eine Lokomotive oder ein ähnliches Modell eben nur ein paar Zentimeter fährt. Der Bastel Spaß, die Optik auf dem Regal, und der sanfte Holzgeruch machen diese Modelle allerdings wirklich zu einem Hingucker. Ich würde das jetzt vielleicht nicht unbedingt einem Jugendlichen schenken ohne dass man sich als Erwachsener dabei setzt und mit hilft. Als Fazit kann ich sagen, eine wirklich faszinierende Bastelarbeit. Die Anleitungen sind gut bebildert, auch wenn man hier und da vielleicht mal eine Lupe bereit liegen haben sollte. Wenn man ordentlich aufpasst und die einzelnen Schritte erst mal sorgsam überlegt, ist der Zusammenbau auch für Einsteiger kein Problem. Etwas ähnliches habe ich noch nie gesehen auf dem Bastelmarkt, die Konstruktion dieser Modelle ist wirklich fantastisch.

In the world of touch screens this kit offers unique opportunity to build a great-looking model with moving gears, rotating wheels, operating doors, and - a nice touch - small retractable ladder. All made from wood (!) and built without using tools or glue! It's amazing how seemed randomly shaped pieces are all coming together to form such realistically looking (and functioning) locomotive with a tender. If you have kids around, get them involved too! It will provide an unforgettable experience, even if they're still too young to help (watch for small parts, of course). Just as a hint getting smaller objects out of plywood - you can extract the first one and then use it as a template by aligning and then gently pressing it against of the identical object, to break that out (carefully)

Modello piacevolissimo da costruire, una volta iniziato il lavoro è difficilissimo smettere fino a quando non si è arrivati in fondo. Per assurdo questo forse è l'unico difetto perché così il divertimento dura di meno. La precisione con cui le parti sono disegnate è assoluta ed, essendo tagliate al laser, gli incastri risultano perfetti. Avendo l'accortezza di lubrificare con cera le superfici mobili a contatto tra loro, come chiaramente indicato nelle istruzioni (completamente illustrate e comprensibilissime) anche le numerose parti in movimento ed i vari ingranaggi funzionano con la massima fluidità e senza sforzi. Vedendo le foto ed i disegni del piano di montaggio non credevo possibile che un meccanismo come questo, realizzato in legno, potesse resistere alle sollecitazioni richieste, invece tutto scorre alla perfezione. Divertimento e soddisfazione assicurati, voglio assolutamente realizzare altri soggetti di questa serie, mi è piaciuto troppo costruire questo.

I bought this model for my son as a Christmas present, who is 13 years old and had built many market-bought Lego sets (& grew out of them as well). He absolutely loves this kind of model building! As a parent, here are the reasons why I strongly recommend this product: 1). challenging but fun: this model is one of the most challenging ones to build (compared to other UGears models), but it is the adequate amount of challenge for a 13-year old if he/she likes to do things independently and loves the activities that need brainpower to do. Compared to his peers, my son has a strong skill of reading manuals on his own. The manual for this model is relatively difficult compared to Lego set models, but he could figure it out eventually. The pieces sometimes can be a bit hard to put together (needs waxing, right amount of force, precision, etc.), which actually generates a greater sense of achievement. So far he has worked on it for 8 hrs and finished about 3/4. AND more importantly, with gears, the model can move, which is much more fun than Lego sets. The kid learns how it works. Thus, it provides lots of benefits a parent looks for, including learning, working independently, and problem solving. It is a quite intriguing and engaging project to a child at this age. Parents could collaborate with the child, equally fun (I built an easier model together with my daughter, who is 9 years old, very rewarding and quality time together). 2). the quality of the model: well cut, good quality, good design, the pieces could be thicker and firmer, but I guess that could cost elasticity/flexibility, which is important to put the pieces together without any glue or other tings. 3). excellent customer service: our son broke few pieces when building this model. I wrote to the seller and hoped that they could replace these pieces and the rubber bands of the right size. They replied very quickly and, surprisingly, sent a complete new set to us. It was like a second Christmas for my son. So worry-free---how wonderful it is when you are experimenting with something!