YAQUMWThe Mini Counterweight Trebuchet Europe Medieval Siege Equipment Chariot Catapult Weapons DIY 3D Wooden Puzzles Model Kits for Adults STEM Projects Tabletop Toy

It's the first time I've tried this kind of thing and I must admit I'm very impressed by the quality and the result. It's not something to build in a day or two. One thing to remember is left and right side when nailing the pieces, if you don't then one side will have bent nails showing rather than nice nail heads. I decided to stain the wood to give it a darker (see video)Oh and it does actually work

As someone who has played, this took me to the medieval times. Realistic and sturdy. Great value for money. Comes with all the parts and tools.Tips for building:1. There are lotsa tiny brass nails that you have to bend to keep joints in place. Get comfortable doing that as you need to do a lot of that. Personally, I’d use the pliers to bend them slightly and then use a sturdy metal such as the hammer to press it down.2. Watch the video. Very helpful to get started. Parts used in the video vs what’s shipped to you can vary slightly. Keep the instructions manual and the video handy.3. It takes a few hours to build it, so find a comfortable place. Split it into different sittings, if needed.4. Involve kids. They love to participate.5. Be careful when you take the parts out. Use the provided sharp knife to loosen it. If anything still breaks, take it out carefully and use fast drying glues.Hope you like it as much as I do. Going to lookup similar products as I want to build more now, ha ha.

I was looking for an adult model kit that would turn into something I'd actually like to display. I'm not into cars, planes, or rockets, and feel there aren't a lot of options for me that don't look cheap while still being related to something of personal interest. I'm thankful for finding this kit. It was a joy to assemble, and I was able to spread the time over four days by tediously sanding each piece.I encountered one problem during construction which was that the top bar was too thick for either of the bushings to slide onto. It required sanding down the entire outer coat of coloring plus a bit further. It is the only piece on the machine that is a light color, which does detract a bit from the look. But really, this was the only problem I had during assembly and it's not a huge deal. Just felt pertinent to include.

I watched the video just once to visualize what the plans were saying. Having done that, the plans made perfect sense and I did not have to refer to the video again. The fit of the laser-cut parts was near perfect. The only filing I had to do was for the ends of the ladders. For bending over the ends of the pins, I used a tack hammer rather than the lighter one supplied with the kit although the 'soft' end of the kit hammer was handy when a part needed a bit of persuasion to go into place. I used 250 .177 lead air gun pellets for the rubble box - that seems about right and not messy.

This unique kit could have been a 5 star rating except for the following:1) Wood was excellently laser cut making almost all the pieces easy to remove from the board. The thinner wood boards of plywood delaminated when pressing brass pins into place. The delamination causes small pieces of wood to be removed from areas around edges near the predrilled holes. Since I stained my wood prior to building the kit, I had to go back and touch-up these areas with a stain pen.2) Some instruction illustrations were not as clear as they could have been.3) The thread provided could easily have been a better grade and weight that would not have frayed when handling the various pieces of thread you needed to cut.4) Using the blunt brass nails to hold the pieces together produces an rather rough surface even though you press the pins into the wood.After assembling four other manufacturer's wood "puzzle kits" this kit remains unique and the above comments should not prevent you from purchasing it as it was fun to build, pieces fit nicely and makes for a nice conversation piece.