Wood Trick Wooden Marble Run Spiral Electric Motorized - Wooden 3D Puzzles for Adults and Kids to Build - 13x13 - Roller Coaster Mechanical Wooden Model Kits for Adults and Teens to Build

This was my second kit from Wood Trick. I assembled the Galaxy set a few months ago, and wanted to try this Spiral kit. I read reviews calling out "obvious design flaws" in the cam system that moves the stairs up and down. Cam shaft breaking, wire modifications to the lifting rods, etc. So, I paid maybe some more attention to that part of the kit. I smoothed the stairs, the connecting rods and the lower "forks" that ride on the cam wheels. Smoothed the cam wheels and waxed everything well. After assembly, I tried the cam set-up by hand. It turned and worked smooth and easy. When I completed assembly, there was no hint of a problem with the stairs.The problem I had, was with the outer return run from the trap, back to the pick-up deck. The ball was just coming down too fast and would often jump the last corner. I lightly sanded the top inside corners of the rails, to let the ball ride deeper between the rails and that slowed it down just enough to where it "almost" never jumps the track anymore.Running this kit for an hour or so, you may still find some places here and there that may need a little tweaking or smoothing, but right from the first start, it worked fine. All in all, I am very satisfied with the kit, impressed with the way everything fits together, and the clear instructions. (And I did not break a single piece while removing or assembling it).

Though this did need some powt-vukls tweaking, it was a nice build. Drive shaft needs to be VERY WELL WAXED. I snapped arm 2 before I noticed it caught. After that, I went back and rewaxed and it was fine! If you fit the pieces back the way they were with some glue, it works well enough.The pieces all were sturdy enough, but definitely take care on long, narrow parts. I did snap some of the outside marble track from pushing down on the middle of it, but that also glued back together smoothly. One actual design flaw that I might point out is that Some of the 90° turns on the marble track do allow the marbles to go off still sometimes. Could just be I need a little more tweaking or from the glued track 😅

This was a fun and challenging project for my wife and I. We enjoyed working together to put it together. I recommend you have a partner to check your work. There is a youtube.com video with detailed instructions. You'll need it because the static images in the book are often difficult to interpret. But the video clarifies thing. The reasons I only gave a 4 star rating is that when we were finished and started it up, the shaft on the eccentric cam shaft driving the ball elevator, broke and it was very expensive to have replaced. We had expected that Wood Trick would replace the defective items, but they don't. You pay for international shipping! Also Once everything is together and double checked, it requires a lot of tweaking to get it to work. Then because all connections are friction, the loosen with use. Then the balls start dropping and rolling on the floor, or flying off the rails, or getting hung up mid journey. I recommend once you get it running properly (not all that easy) you use spots of super glue to hold keep joints solid. Still, this is wood. it is not meant for continuous use. It's a novelty, not a running display. All of this said, we had a great time building it and were impressed with the creative design and engineering as well as the precision laser work.

we followed the instructions and had a functioning mechanism…..very a short period. After replacing the batteries..observed friction in the parts….that were designed poorly. Long story…parts broke/failed and now the entire maze is useless…a paperweight.Maze is not durable or designed for extended operation….wWorked for a short period of time after assembly…now garbage. Very disappointing as considerable time/effort to construct…limited post assembly operation as inferior/non-durable parts.Would not recommend

First thing I noticed when I saw this was the stair-step method used to take the marbles upward. That was not only one of the highlights of this run but also the most challenging sections to make run smoothly. I've done several smaller Wood Trick and other puzzles. This was my fifth level 5. I stayed away from this one because of the reviews. Especially when it came to the pistons and the push rods. I over waxed the first try with the steps. I used a 400 grit sand paper. The surfaces were smooth as can be. The first try everything was too tight. The steps would go up but were far too tight to come back down. I removed the wax from the steps,(that was really fun!), and then I sanded the heck out of them all with 150 grit to remove enough of the material so they would sit in the frame and move freely. Once I got that taken care of I was really nervous about the rods jamming or failing as I had read in the reviews. I took the "unit" and just played with it for about an hour or so. I did that till it moved smoothly in both directions. Then I snapped it in and turned the page. There were some tricky sections to work with but none as difficult as the stairs. Once I finished the build I just put it down. I started fresh the next day. It took a bit of tweaking but it was mostly lining things up or a tight area here and there. After about 45 minutes or so it was up and running. I can watch it run for hours. The designers really know what they are doing. The way all of this comes together is amazing to me no matter how many of these puzzles I work on.As usual with this type of "Puzzle", I would not recommend this for a child. As many say the fun is in the build so TAKE YOUR TIME, "the fun lasts longer". If details is not your thing, this puzzle is not for you.While I'm waiting for the soreness in my fingers to go away from working on this thing I'll start looking for another puzzle. This was a great project to work on. I would purchase this again.

Pros: This was a great build. Took a good amount of time and structurally very interesting. Looks great when finished.Cons: Though built with great care and extra attention to deburring parts and ensuring proper fitment it doesn't run. After spending about the same amount of time jury rigging modifications as spent building I have it just barely running with assistance. For this reason I can't recommend this product. It is ultimately disappointing.

Gives hours of amusement.

Jouet apaisant et extraordinairement bien pensé. Rien à redire sur cette marque. Elle fait de trés beau produits solides à la différence de Rokr qui sont plus fragiles

Guter Bausatz, einwandfreie Funktion.Mit etwas Fingerspitzengefühl und Geduld kommt man mit den zum Teil sehr dünnen und zerbrechlichen Teilen gut klar. Gute Bauanleitung, zwar ohne Text, aber mit aussagekräftigen Darstellungen.

Molto bello e ben strutturato !!!!!!