UGears Mechanical Wooden 3D Puzzle Model Dream Cabriolet VM-05

The media could not be loaded. This was the most fun model I've ever put together, including Metal Earth. There are so many movable Parts on it, so it's a challenge but at the same time the directions are so well done that when you see an error it's your fault because the instructions show exactly what to do in full color.It runs good but my shifter is loose so I have to make sure that the gears are engaged correctly in order for it to run. The windshield wipers are really cool, they are fragile so you have to be careful while you are assembling the car. All the features work very good and it's very fun to show. Very complicated so patience is needed. I did sand off all burrs, and it's a good idea to wax all moving parts and where they touch a flat surface. The waxing they say to do but it's up to up to figure the best way to do it. I used the wax stick that comes with it for the flat surface and a toothpick and lit tea candle for the gears. Rather like painting the melted wax on.In the picture I show some of the things I needed. The wood glue is for one time I broke the tool they give you (which is essential) and another time one of the parts broke a little bit when I took it out. But those were both my fault. Otherwise no glue is needed but good to have on hand. I started using a razor blade to help break the wood free on the delicate parts. They do give some extra part including both whipers.Overall I would love to put this model together again using some wood stain in colors just to see how it would look with some red or turquoise.This, in my opinion is truly an exceptionally fun model to assemble and show.

This was a great kit and turned out wonderful. The car is so very detailed. The windshield wipers are very delicate and one broke on me. Luckily the kit came with (2) spares. I recommend that you don't install them in the sequence of the build, put them on at the end of the assembly. I inadvertently broke one while manhandling the car while engaging in the further building of the kit which lead me to perhaps tip the car upside down and the wiper somehow got damaged due to not being particularly careful while using brute force to assembly perhaps a stubborn piece and not being aware of the wipers fragility. The car doors are hinged and swing open the windows move up and down. The wipers move as in a real car. The trunk springs open and like the front hood. The (4) driver and passenger seats fold down and the car comes with a cute workable jack for simulating a tire change with the mechanics of a real jack rather novel. Take your time with this one and take breaks, I do about 90 minutes a day, just to make it last and to fill spare time and have something wonderful to look forward to for perhaps 10 days or so.

The first thing that needs to be addressed here is the toothpicks. It seems the toothpicks get attacked mercilessly in these reviews, and fear of the toothpicks is what made me hold of on buying this for so long.The toothpicks are a bonus, and the amazing part is that when you add the number of toothpicks you need to the actual number of parts, it's probably well over 1,000 total parts in this model.The toothpicks are not used for structural support, and they are not used in the drivetrain in any way. They are mostly used as tabs to hold parts together, but that being said, you're going to want to buy a precision snipping tool for assembling. You will be cutting a lot of toothpicks, and it's important to be precise.Now one thing to point out before I go on is that this kit is legendary in the wooden model kit world. I had heard of it long before I considered buying it. It is for good reason. It is extremely well made, and the finished product is very cool.But the reason I can't give a 5 star review is because I hate the rubber bands. I don't like working with them, and I found out that the reason my first UGears kit didn't work is because one of the tension rubber bands broke somewhere along the way without me realizing it. So, in a nutshell, I will likely not be paying full price for any UGears models that include rubber bands in the future.Now, with all of that being said, this kit is amazing. Everything works. Well, everything worked. Maybe even a little too well.The one major flaw in the kit is a series of three gears that really doesn't have anything to anchor it. I noticed it during assembly, and if I had to re-assemble this kit, I would try to fashion some sort of brace to keep those three gears in place. In order for the kit to run, I had to jiggle it a bit to get those three gears to snap into place, and then vroom.I figured that out while holding it in my hand. When I set it on the ground to give it a go, I didn't expect it to take off like a rocket trying to overcome earth's gravitational pull. Let's just say it has a high velocity rollover accident on its inaugural run. It veered slightly off to the left, caught the edge of the base of a cat condo, and flipped diagonally into the wall where the hood caut the wall and the rear end when hurdling down the hallway. There were a few pieces strewn about when it was done. I was able to get it pieced back together or it to look cool, but it will not run anymore.That's fine. The accident I witness was actually really, really cool. I would genuinely pay an extra $5 on a kit like this if I was guaranteed to be able to witness something so spectacular when I was done.But as a result, I now have two UGears kit that look awesome but don't run.