3D Wooden Mechanical Model Kits, etc..

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Haven't built them but I have played with a few completed ones at LHS they are pretty neat. I've heard the rubber band gun is pretty accurate.
 
The steam engine is gorgeous. Trying to decide if my father could handle it... what is the build process like? Does it require magnification and/or extremely steady hands?
 
That steam engine I believe is one of the more difficult. I have another less complicated steam engine that I will try to get a picture of. It really is hard to get them to actually work...mine do...requiring lots of sanding and lubricating with wax. But they also work as a nice just display piece. I also have a nice large tractor-trailer piece that seemed to be easier than the steam engines.
 
I just picked up the Ugears dragon. You can wind it up and the wings flap. My 6 year old son is really into dragons right now, so I want to build this for him and surprise him with it. He can put it on his bookshelf to go along with his 30+ books about dragons. 😆62665042-A2FA-43F3-BAE3-7EE4BE9B6D18.jpeg
I’ll report back when it’s finished.
 
I just picked up the Ugears dragon. You can wind it up and the wings flap. My 6 year old son is really into dragons right now, so I want to build this for him and surprise him with it. He can put it on his bookshelf to go along with his 30+ books about dragons. 😆View attachment 500466
I’ll report back when it’s finished.
Nice capture of a Lego Wheel in the upper left corner.. Shuttle? :D


Why not build it with him? quality father / son time..
 
Why not build it with him? quality father / son time..
The Ugears models are too difficult for him to put the pieces together. He can follow the instructions fine, but he can’t put the pieces together. I’ve found they require a fairly large amount of pressure to get the pieces to fit. He just doesn’t have the finger strength for it. We tried building the safe together and he wasn’t able to. I didn’t want him to get frustrated. He’ll enjoy it when it’s built.

Rest assured, we build lots of stuff together. He’s built some 3FNC rockets, a couple wooden marble runs (like this little one that taught him about the Archimedes screw) and of course Legos.252C5CF7-4C49-448E-BDE9-83AE3FBB027E.jpeg
You can see there in the background one of his many dragon stories. They’re everywhere!

Nice capture of a Lego Wheel in the upper left corner.. Shuttle? :D
Lol, good catch. That wasn’t intentional. Both of my sons helped build this one. We get every Lego space build when they come out. 9D752CF4-0166-45BA-B70C-103948F9D346.jpeg
 
@SecondRow , totally understand! as long as he watches & learns! :D

I had a lot of Dragon books too.. not so much stories, but 'about' ..

That is one kit I missed out on.. the shuttle..
 
I just finished a UGEARS WOLF-01 rubber band gun. It's capable of firing 5 shots... Nice details. However, the quality of the wood was either a little less than the wood found in a Chinese copycat kit (from UGUTER) that I found first, or the engineering was a little less than the copycat. I had several blowouts on the backside of parts (often the front face of the part) being pinned together, leaving an obvious defect.


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I suspect that it was caused by slightly longer pins. The UGUTER kits sit flush, the UGEARS are a little proud. I'm guessing that UGUTER saw that and shortened theirs to prevent blowouts. I almost forgot, the UGUTER kit can fire 6 shots.


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I’ll report back when it’s finished.
Total build time was about 6-7 hours. It wasn’t too difficult, not nearly as hard as the trimaran. Just make sure you wax everything well, then wax it again, and it will run smoothly. It’s bigger than I expected, which is nice. The dragon can be separated from the stand, so you can hang it from the ceiling or just watch your kids play with it.

My son gave it a place of honor on his bookshelf with his dragon books. I’ll post video of it in action shortly.46AFEC2F-EB31-48EC-AD84-57324CC8D867.jpeg82057B16-BA85-40BE-87C5-330C84BD6236.jpeg5351C125-E2E8-4D91-8AE1-F4964A5B3C0F.jpeg591473BA-DB2A-4A6F-B0D1-54C1B59E6699.jpeg
 
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A 4-6-2 Pacific type. Typically used for passenger service, note the large diameter drivers. This one is a European prototype and unusual, as the valve-cylinder is below the piston-cylinder. No U.S. manufacture ever did that.
 
I got this as a gift for my birthday, the Ugears Hexapod Explorer. It’s a six legged bug looking model that walks around after being wound up. It has three speeds. I really like building these and my family knows it! They have a marble run that will probably be next on the list, and I’ll get the kids to help. They’re not easy, but I find them rewarding. The dragon turned out great and my youngest loves it.
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For those of you to whom this matters, Ugears is a Ukrainian company and the models are designed and produced in Kyiv.
 
My local Ace Hardware just stared selling Ugears models with a full on display at the the front of the store. I’m sure it’s in direct response to the invasion. The display has a big “Support Ukraine” message on it. I wonder if any other stores have started stocking them.

Prices are the same as Amazon, so I picked two up that I had my eye on. No waiting for delivery and it supports a local store, so win-win.

I got both of the marble runs that are out right now. I think Ugears plans to release four in total that you’ll be able to connect together for one giant marble run, which my kids (and I) will run for hours. 7973F8E1-A640-4D35-9CB5-399DF210F4D6.jpeg
 
My local Ace Hardware just stared selling Ugears models with a full on display at the the front of the store. I’m sure it’s in direct response to the invasion. The display has a big “Support Ukraine” message on it. I wonder if any other stores have started stocking them.

Prices are the same as Amazon, so I picked two up that I had my eye on. No waiting for delivery and it supports a local store, so win-win.

I got both of the marble runs that are out right now. I think Ugears plans to release four in total that you’ll be able to connect together for one giant marble run, which my kids (and I) will run for hours. View attachment 518306


Please post a build thread! I am going to go to my Ace tomorrow to see if it is local to you or nationwide.

Sandy.
 
Please post a build thread! I am going to go to my Ace tomorrow to see if it is local to you or nationwide.

Sandy.
Heh. I’ll see what I can do. There are a lot of parts. Each one is over 350 pieces.

At first I thought it was just my local Ace, because it’s kind of an eclectic one. But you can search for Ugears on the Ace website, so maybe you’ll find them at your local. Good luck.

If it’s your first Ugears model, get something easy - preferably a static model. The instructions are Lego style, and you really need to make sure you put the pieces in correctly. If you do get something with motion, the gears will need sanding and lots of waxing. The more wax, the better. And make sure the pieces move smoothly before you move on. You don’t want to have to try to take the model apart. Trust me. Some of the models are IMO very difficult.
 
Has anyone tried Intrism marble maze 3d wooden puzzles?
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I just discovered UGears and the fact that it's a Ukrainian company means that it helps the war effort.

This was my first UGears model (Tachometer) and I didn't wax much or sand much. It was stiff at first but like cars of yesteryear, after some "running in", works great.

Seeing that it is wood, it's easy to sneak in another piece of wood to make a pulley. So can hand crank or belt to motors or engines. We even tested a Lego wind up motor.

 
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