Category Product Lists

Mini Locomotive | Assemble me. Get on the adventure express!

Ugears has designed some beautiful and challenging train models over the years, including the Locomotive, V Express Steam Train with Tender, and Hogwarts™ Express. With the Mini Locomotive from the Smart collection, we bring you a simple, "Easy"-rated DIY train model that anyone can build, including junior train enthusiasts. This rubber band-powered wooden train (locomotive plus tender) model has surprising get up and go in such a compact body, and is able to travel over 2m on a single winding. Sleek, retro styling harkens back to the 1930's—the last decade when coal-fired steam locomotives held prominence.

The locomotive features a wind-up ratchet key, "Start/Stop" switch for easy operation, and three main paired wheels with connecting rods, to send the train speeding away along any flat surface. The locomotive couples with an open coal tender that can be used to carry a favorite toy, snack or note to a loved one across the room!

To operate your DIY mechanical wooden train model, set the On/Off switch on the top front of the train to the "Off" position, give 6-7 turns of the ratchet dial on the side of the locomotive, place your train on the floor or on a table while holding it with your hand, then flip the switch to "On" and release. Rotational power is transmitted to the wheels through a gear block, while a flywheel slows and evens the acceleration of the train. The train's rubber band motor can be wound again and again, and if you ever need to replace the rubber bands this can be done easily by spooling out the line to which they are attached, using the ratchet key.

One of the great things about Ugears models is they can be built without glue or special tools. Everything you need for assembly comes right in the box. Just punch the laser pre-cut pieces out of their composite wood boards and snap together. Made from art-quality composite wood, Ugears models can be left in their attractive natural wood state, or colored, stained or painted in a color scheme of your choosing (paints not included). When assembling your Mini Locomotive remember to lightly sand and wax moving parts to make them run smoothly (wax and sandpaper included).

The DIY Mini Locomotive with tender is a great starter model for any youngster who loves trains, and provides an introduction to the larger fascinating world of Ugears 3D puzzles, DIY model kits, automatons, robots, wooden puzzle boxes and STEM Lab model kits. As your child learns to build these delightful, engaging toys they will also be building mechanical competence.

The Mini Locomotive will appeal to anyone who loves model trains, building things with their own hands, or to parents looking for an engaging craft project for a young builder. Get on the adventure express with Ugears' Mini Locomotive!

The Marble Run Spiral Hoist is the fourth model in the Ugears collection of fascinating DIY wooden mechanical marble runs. The hoist has two types of rails to speed the ascent: the main spiral rails and vertical rails. Turn the crank to lift the colored glass marbles upwards (one marble rises per nine revolutions of the winding crank) to the three-marble storage up top. From there the marbles begin their downhill runs through exciting elements: a high-speed slide, a vertical snake and a mountain river.

Our team of designers created the Marble Run Spiral Hoist and our three other marble runs (Chain Hoist, Stepped Hoist and Tiered Hoist) as fantastic standalones, but also as modular elements able to be connected together into a super Marble Run! You can connect any two or four marble runs together with special connectors (included in each kit) for a giant marble amusement park, with a variety of soaring lifts and obstacles to overcome on the descent. The escapement at the end of each set can send the marbles back to the original hoist, to the adjacent marble run, or alternating between the two (you control this with a special weighted switch).

The Marble Run Spiral Hoist wooden mechanical model consists of 266 parts, is rated "advanced" level, and provides 6+ hours of fun assembly time. No glue or other tools are needed for assembly. Just snap the parts out of their laser pre-cut plywood boards and connect them together, following the detailed, illustrated instructions in 11 languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian) included in each Ugears kit.

There's something mesmerizing about marble runs. Kids and adults can get lost for hours watching the motions of these magical machines, and the Ugears Marble Run Spiral Hoist promises endless entertainment for all ages. Discover your inner engineer as you build this engaging 3D mechanical puzzle. If you're up for a challenge, why not assemble all four marble runs and quadruple the fun? You can leave the model in its attractive natural wood state or unleash your inner artist by painting our models in different colors, as many Ugears fans around the world do.

This model will become a conversation piece in your office or home and provide a fun diversion for your family members, friends and acquaintances. The Marble Run Spiral Hoist makes a great gift, either as a DIY kit or as an exciting toy you've lovingly built with your own hands.

Specifications

• Model size: 28.5x26.3x27.6cm

• Package size: 37.8x17x3.4cm

• Number of components: 266

• Estimated time for assembly: 6 hours

• Level: Advanced

Encourage your children to be empathetic and learn how to treat animals with this Vet Set. It consists of 3 basic pieces of medical equipment, a vaccine bottle, a bandage, a collar, 2 x-ray films, and a handy doctor bag.