3D Wooden Puzzle Mechanical Intelligence Steam Train

This is a nice model of a steam locomotive in the
2-6-2 wheel configuration, Prairie type. It has lots of detail & small parts. Some parts have to bend, ie things like the engine cover which is laser-slotted to bend into a curve. With a small model it’s very easy to snap, and judicious use of glue helps.
Some of the pipes around the locomotive are small enough that if the larger pieces are very slightly warped, the small ones break. More glue.

Wax is a must for putting the ends of parts into holes and slots. My model came with no wax, but I had a small amount left over from other puzzles. When in need, I use small white candles from birthday cakes. They’re excellent.

I found following the pictures carefully for things like wheel and axle assembly was a very necessary practice. It doesn’t take me hours to make a 3-D puzzle, it take days. But it’s fun and good for thinking, as problems have to be solved.

As a finished product it’s very attractive. It is not made to be used as a toy, only for display. The wheels aren’t made to turn. There is a moving part on the tender - half of the top opens.

I won’t make another like it, only because it’s not moveable. I’ve made Rokr-Robotime’s movie projector, airship vehicle and gramophone, all of which actually work! (The airship doesn’t fly, of course, it winds up and runs across the floor.) I’ll stick with pendulums, solar, wind-up, and crank
operation just to have more fun.

My father had an absolute BLAST building this. He has Parkinson's but figured we'd give it a try. He used tiny dabs of super glue as he went so it would hold together as he worked on it. A couple tiny mishaps, but it did the trick. What a fantastic, fun, and entertaining gift this made! Great cure for COVID lockdown boredom :)

I give this a 10 I built it in 2 days absolutely love it the detail is magnificent. There was spots I did have to use super glue on be cause it wouldn't stay in place. There was a couple pieces the broke but luckily my glue skills is great.. but there nothing I can complain about honestly..

I have built several kits of this type and all have been fun - some more so than others. For myself this little engine was just as enjoyable building as was a similar, but larger, version manufactured by others.
I like to paint the wheels red while the parts are still on their part boards. I just mask off the surrounding areas carefully and spray red both sides of those parts on the board. I think the red contrast is appealing. Lots of little parts but assembly was no problem. Tweezers do help. A few parts have duplicate pieces I suppose in case you break a part.
I do use super glue to hold most of the parts in place as the little engine and tender will sit on the shelf for years. Parts do fit nicely - the glue is just an extra measure of security.
Fun little evening projects.

We purchased this for our son for Christmas and he and I put it together this afternoon. Lots of small pieces but the instructions are very clear. You can find a QR code for videos through the instructions for a little more help. Watching it come together it awesome. So many small details and moving parts. Our son is 11 and we had to help with some of the more delicate parts. Great way to spend the afternoon together.

My father had an absolute BLAST building this. He has Parkinson's but figured we'd give it a try. He used tiny dabs of super glue as he went so it would hold together as he worked on it. A couple tiny mishaps, but it did the trick. What a fantastic, fun, and entertaining gift this made! Great cure for boredom.

This was my first attempt at building one of these kits, but it won't be the last; I've already ordered the Jeep, and will probably do the locomotive after that. It's been many years since I built a model of anything, and I have to say I enjoyed this a bunch. I suppose you can assemble it without tools, it's very well designed, and there are extras of the delicate parts, but you may find, as I did, a couple of small tools will come in handy and aid assembly. A sharp hobby knife, tweezers (my old man's hands don't work like they use to), and a couple of needle files. This project was quite immersive, and although it took me longer than four hours, I enjoyed every blissful minute of losing myself in the building process. There were a couple of challenging sections, but in the end, I didn't break any parts, and the result looks good. I may touch up some of the spots where the parts were joined to the sheet, and find a suitable place in my home to display it. Great job, ROKR!

The package arrived on time, which was great because it arrived a day before it was gifted for a Birthday gift. I bought this for my husband who is a truck driver and enjoys working with his hands. First thing of the bat, he loved it. He thought it was very cool, and that same night he began building it. A total of maybe 5-6 hours to complete (done in three days, so about 2 hours a day). The instructions were clear, the packaging was good, and I enjoyed that it came with a few extra parts of the fragile pieces (some break, we used gorilla glue for those). We did use a pack of handy tweezers to take out some parts, it helped with the fragile pieces. Overall he enjoyed building it and the end result is super cool. We will be adding wood polishing to protect it and are looking into our next project.

I've done several puzzles/models, and they are all high quality and fun. The jeep is one of the more detailed and intricate of the models. It can be a bit difficult to assemble, where many of the pieces are thin and delicate and go into narrow places (or at least when old, fat fingers are doing the assembly). But it is worth it, to enjoy the eventual quality of the model and construction. I needed some glue, for a couple parts that didn't go together quite firmly enough, and for a couple parts that I managed to crack and needed repair. Overall, a highly enjoyable model.

Great little steam engine with tender. Easy enough assembly with care and patience. ‘ALL’ required parts and plenty of vulnerable delicate extra parts included as well. I broke exactly 1 part during assembly and there was a spare included. I do not understand the reviews stating that parts were missing. That would be near impossible with the way this is packaged. Be careful removing the smaller parts from the tree if you are a beginner. Some pieces did require very light sanding to allow for easier installation. If you do break a part, exact a repair and keep moving along. Have Loctite glue and xacto on hand. Very enjoyable. It’s not brain surgery!