Ugears 3D Mechanical Timer Wooden Puzzle - DIY Model Kit for Adults, Teens & Kids | STEM Educational Toy, Eco-Friendly Wood Craft | Perfect for Home Decor, Office Desk & Gift Giving

UGears are remarkable building projects. I was looking for something to build that would be more attractive and cheaper than some of the models out there such as Legos; less messy to build than a plastic model that requires glue and paint; more complex than some of the skill level 2 or 3 model car kits; with larger parts than the Metal Earth kits, but not as complex as the $1000 Japanese model locomotive kits. I had given up on finding any such thing until I came across UGears.They are low tech (rubber band powered) and are perhaps more attractive to youngsters in Eastern Europe than they will be to many modern Americans. But I totally enjoyed putting this kit together and I think that anyone who likes to build things will have a lot of fun with it. And the price is right. It's hard to find something for $40 that is this entertaining.The parts arrive as four small sheets of heavy plywood that have been laser cut to precise dimensions. You just push them out of the sheet. Some were a little tight, and I had to wiggle them back and forth a bit to get them out without damage but a bit of patience goes a long way and in the end, all my parts emerged in perfect condition and I did not need to use a blade to loosen any part. The trickiest parts had been pre-punched when the kit arrived, and several of the smaller parts and more delicate parts came with "spares" to allow you to recover from loss or damage.No glue is used. If you make a mistake you just pull the things apart and rebuild. But the finished model is surprisingly robust.The instructions are very clear. They contain a minimum of words, but those words are in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Polish, and Ukrainian. Othewise the instructions show the parts very clearly in shaded color diagrams, indicating where on the plywood sheeds you will find the part, and where it goes on the model. A little measuring tool is included with the kit and the instructions show how to use it whenever necessary.The instructions recommend using candle wax for some of the gears; I used wax from birthday candles for practically every joint and this made a huge difference when inserting Tab A into Slot B. The only problem that I encountered was due to the fact that the toothpicks supplied were 7mm long, while (according to the instructions) 6.5mm toothpicks were actually required. It wasn't until halfway through the project when I realized this was going to be an issue, at which point I started sanding the toothpicks with a bit of fine sandpaper, and got them all down to 6.5mm. With wax on the toothpicks, I did not break a single one (although they give you about 6 extras).As you build this model you marvel at the clever engineering skills these guys must have, to design such a complicated structure and encode it all in 4 or 5 laser cut plywood sheets. First you build the various gear assemblies and then at the last minute you put them all into the frame. It wasn't until I had the whole thing together that I was able to understand how it was supposed to work. This much took me about 3 evenings of 2 1/2 hours each, so about 8 hours, although I guess if I were going to make another one I could do it in half the time.It didn't work the first time. I had to watch where the mechanism was sticking, then take the gear assemblies out of the frame, adjust a few of the distances, add lots of wax, and put it back together again. Go slow and be patient. After about two such iterations (accounting for another 2 hours), I had a working model and I have to say, it is amazing.I’ve assembled many of these wooden puzzles...this one was fairly easy to assemble and works well IF the instructions are patiently followed..there are quite a few gears that need to mesh and you will be working with toothpicks (yes..that’s right,toothpicks) that are used for axles and rubber bands that are used to power the machine...close tolerances are the key as to whether it works when you’re done! Mine works but not without constant realignment of the movement! Can you use it for practical timing?? Probably not but was sure fun to put together!!Not so. These people are absolutely wonderful to work with. My dog chewed up the hardest section to put together and they re-placed the parts free of charge! I was impressed. Excellent service.The "not so" part...I received my parts about 3 weeks or so later. Sat down to finish this piece and..,well, I broke the toothpick. Can I get it out? No. I tried a thin round file..no. Looking to buy an awl now, for a thing I will never do again.Will I ever get another one...no. Just stupid to not be able to fix it over a dumb cheap toothpick.If I hadn't gotten it as a Christmas gift, it would be in the trash right now.I’ve assembled many of their models and as others have mentioned, the toothpicks snap really easily. I had taken to sanding down the toothpicks just to fit them in... until I finally had one snap in 3 places, where it was lodged deep inside a gear that it can’t be removed and therefore can’t replace the toothpick that’s supposed to be there.All of the previous models I’ve worked with had metal dowels. Why couldn’t they use that for this model??Update: with an extra pair of hands we were able to dislodge the errant toothpick and finally complete the model. It looks pretty, but no amount of tension adjusting will make it consistently keep time. I guess it’s just a decorating piece with occasional moving parts.The construction is somewhat complicated, but not too difficult if you take your time. The parts can be difficult to separate and to assemble using the included toothpicks. This caused me to break a piece and have to order a replacement for the price of shipping. The use of fishing line for the rolling pendulum is finicky at best.The biggest problem is the escapement. Having waxed gears push on 2 waxed toothpicks as hardly reliable at keeping the gears from jamming or skipping.The "alarm" mechanism was a mystery to me until I watched a video and found that when the device hits zero, a lever under tension "might" make a snap sound. Ignoring the performance, it is sturdy.Having to wax and cut toothpicks to use as nails is a strange idea to me.The kit is nicely laser cut and the parts pop out easily. The toothpicks used as axles is not a good idea. they are too inconsistent in diameter and length. I will be rebuilding the kit using either wooden dowels or metal for the axles.It does run but is very uneven in operation. I really thought it would be a better kit than what it turned out to be.The laser cuts of the wood parts are way too shallow took a lot of work to extract the parts. The axle holes in the gears and parts that required axles were too small I actually had to Enlarge the holes in order to get the toothpick axles in place.. This puzzle was way too difficult because of the poor workmanship of the maker. Perhaps I got an exceptional puzzle that made mine so difficult to build.Ok , massive fan of the Ugears stuff I have over 10 models, loves the concept of this Timer, had plans to even use on my gaming stream for a countdown timer.Also was really smooth and good at the start, but as soon as the actually “mechanics and clockwork” part came it was just to hard.And I’ll say this as an avid fan, I do wish they would do 2 things, make better materials for the important stuff.And THE biggest thing they need, is videos of the hard parts with more concise instructions.I’m now left with a very nice NON working timer.I gave up, a combination of poor instructions and poor parts , just made it both frustrating and impossible to get it to work.Sad but I’d steer clear of this one., unless you want a real challenge.I had my heart set on the new model coming out soon to treat myself for Xmas as I live alone.The “sky watch Tourbillon”, but I won’t be buying now, unless I read reviews saying it’s easy… Shane this one wasn’t.Beautiful looking. Needs time and patient to make. The rubber bands are difficult to slot in and stay in place. But main concern is ease of the instructions if you dont know exactly how a clock works and how the parts should slot together. I was very careful to follow and triple check everything during assembly. Careful to accurately match the cocktail stick cutting guide to ensure correct lengths. But in the end it never worked. Even after half hour of trying to figure what should do what and making adjustments for the bad cog positioning it never ever did anything. The tolerances seem too loose to be a reliable timer and my tolerance of the wasted money and hours finally came to an end. Expensive firewood.The model kit I received falls down in two areas:- the wooden toothpicks used as spindles for the gear shafts were too short in length to span the width of clock. In several cases the tips of these toothpicks had been snapped off.- the booklet diagrams showing how to construct the unit were indistinct in someplaces making it difficult to analyse the procedure.I have previously constructed several of these types of puzzles successfully and regret that I am unable to complete this unit until I can locate a further supply of the toothpick style spindles.A very well received present. The parts fit together well and the mechanism works well (though apparently the rubber bands need a little tweaking to get the timing just right and a little candle wax helps the mechanism work smoothly :) For a first time builder of these it was completed very quickly and smoothly and even revitalised an interest in an older creative project so definitely a good choice for people who like to be creative with their hands :)Fun to make, but I reckon very hard to make it work properly. In my case, the cocktail sticks were too long and rather fragile