Notre Dame de Paris

This was my 5th CubicFun project and certainly the most challenging and beautiful one. The detail in the printing and the stained-glass elements are second to none. But if you’re new to CubicFun models, don’t make it your 1st, or you might get frustrated. But that said, it’s completely worth it. I do have a couple of pointers... - Get yourself a simple (and cheap) tool called a grout pick. It’s a hand-held tool with steel pointed ends. There are hundreds of foam bits to punch out and it’ll make the build go more smoothly. Plus, there are steps where you must line-up 10+ tabs and slots all at once for a firm fit. The grout pick will be very helpful to position the tabs that don’t want to cooperate. - The acetate sheet with all the stained glass elements has a protective film on it. The instructions show an illustration of this, but It’s not prominent. Remove it for brighter windows. - The instructions are IKEA-like; illustrations with no text. As you go through each step, check off the pieces in the instructions as you use them or (like me) you’ll get to the last step and find a few pieces you missed. - Take your time with the stained glass elements. They’re held on with (provided) double-stick tape, but don’t press them firmly into place until you’re happy with the alignment. - Take your time. The building of the model is immensely satisfying. The attention to detail in all these models is amazing. The pieces fit together firmly and exactly without needing any tape or glue. The pieces pop out of the pre-printed die-cut sheets easily (again, the grout pick will help with the skinny parts). I just wish the company would release a “how-it’s-made” video to show how they design a bunch of 2D pieces to fit so well together to make a 3D cathedral. I am very impressed.

The puzzle is great. Great detail and really challenging and fun to build. But one thing caught me off guard much too late into the process of building it. Almost built the whole thing before I realized the plastic windows were glossy on one side and flat on the other. Couldn't believe I didn't catch this at the start and how it adversely impacted the appearance of the model. I couldn't find anywhere in the instructions directing which side of the plastic windows face outward. By the time I realized it I had reflective glossy and non-reflective flat windows facing the exterior. Unfortunately most of them I placed were reflective on the exterior. To get as much uniformity as I could I had to take apart one complex section to flip one window strip. But two windows on the tower section still have the flat side out since it was too much dismantling to reverse those. There are a few sets of window strips where the end of the building curves that might have a pre-bend in them to determine what the intention was for the placement of these windows. I can't recall if that is the case. I hope this helps others to realize that the window elements are critical as to what side faces outward. Maybe there is something in the instructions I missed but I'm very meticulous and technically minded in general and if I could miss this I'm sure others can as well. Another warning. The flying buttresses are very slender and sensitive to buckling and are somewhat tricky to get in. I lightly bucked three or four of them until I figured out how to get them to slide in without imposing excessive twisting or tweaking. They require some force to get in so just treat them with extra care. Also follow the directions and color coding very closely. I took for granted some pieces were identical but they are not...the flying buttresses specifically. I also put in one piece that looked symmetrical 180 degrees off. I found out much later when putting the main building sections together that the adjoining connection to this piece did not align. Luckily is was a long flat upper floor piece that simply rotated up and slid out and then rotated horizontally and easily slid back in. I loved the final product over all and commend the people who designed it and I blame myself mostly for my errors in putting it together. I hope my trials and errors prevents others to not have to struggle in those areas I had trouble with.

I'm a veteran scale model maker whose eyesight is not what it used to be. So I've been looking for an alternative that lets me make models without needing to wear special lenses to focus in on the details or to paint a model. So Cubicfun's puzzles, which snap together and don't need to be painted, seemed like a good way to get what I needed. The Master Collection Notre Dame de Paris is a repackaged version with minor updates of Clever Paper's original Notre Dame model. This was the first Cubicfun puzzle I made. It took me a leisurely two weeks to complete, but it could be done far quicker. This puzzle has been created with a level of detail that really brings its subject to life, and which minimizes the unrealistic aspects which arise from the fact that it is more a "puzzle" than a traditional "model". The Master Collection Notre Dame de Paris is head and shoulders above other CubicFun puzzles, and is a great project for serious model makers who are suffering from declining eyesight, or for a parent who wants to introduce a child to serious adult-level scale model making by doing a project together. Regarding the details of the model itself, the pieces fit together perfectly, though there was one piece (the final front facade piece) that kept popping out because the tabs had to reach past 3 or 4 thicknesses of board and so were not quite long enough to go far enough into their slots. This was easily fixed with a little wood glue. Another piece was so tiny that the colored surface fell off while I was folding it - again, easily fixed with glue. These were the only problems I had. Apart from these minor flaws, the puzzle went together perfectly. In the future, I hope to see more models with this level of complexity from CubicFun. In the meantime, I'll be buying more from their World's Great Architecture range.

I only have about one quarter of the model finished. This is my rainy day project. This is a model you want to savor and patiently assemble. At this point I can say that the directions are excellent and the diagrams are easy to understand. The pieces themselves are superb in fit and finish. They punch out easily, and organized by number on sheets. Yes, you do have to flip through the many sheets to locate the pieces, but I don’t see any way to circumvent this. The stained glass transparencies are finely detailed and adhere to the pieces using double sided tape. When finished, I plan to place some small led lights inside to illuminate this wonderful structure from within. Do some price shopping for this model as I’ve seen prices vary by about $30.00. This puzzle would make an excellent gift for the right person. Update 10/22.19: I finished the project and enjoyed every minute of it. I only found one sheet of pieces that were not printed accurately, but they didn't impact the final results very much. I added some lights and am very pleased with the results. (see video). A few tips: take time with the windows and align them carefully. They do fit the frames of the pieces accurately. Also, the mylar sheets have a protective sheet of plastic that should be removed before adhering the windows. A few drops of glue will keep some of the ornamentation on the roofs in place. This is an excellent puzzle and well-worth the money!

The word "Puzzle" in the product title and description and on the box is probably a mistranslation. Building this is not like building a 3-D puzzle in which there are hundreds of pieces in the box and one has to figure out where each piece goes. Instead each piece is pretty clearly labeled and there is a book of instructions showing exactly how each piece is intended to fit with the others. So if you buy this for a puzzle enthusiast they may be disappointed. But if you buy this for a model enthusiast--an ADULT model enthusiast--they will be delighted! The result, if the (wordless diagram) instructions are closely followed, is a very beautiful scale model. Included is a little info book about the real Notre Dame with photos of the real structure, and at the end the photos are of the model, and one needs a double-take to realize that it's the model and not the real deal. My only criticism (other than the product description) is that some of the "stained glass" pieces--translucent ink printed on stiff clear plastic--don't quite line up with the window holes in the structure. I got around this by cutting pieces apart and lining the bits up individually.

This model of Notre Dame is a beautiful kit and a good value for the cost. It's not a puzzle in the mode of rebuildable 2D jigsaw puzzles so most will build it and leave it intact. The printed detail is excellent on the card stock which adds a level of visual depth that exceeds the impact of just its interlocking parts. The fact that it can open to reveal the interior display is extra extra. The difficulty level of this is intermediate to high. Instructions are mostly excellent but a few little pieces take a little figuring out. Some parts are very thin (i.e., flying buttresses) so one must take extra care when detaching them from their parts sheets. A very satisfying project.

I have built a number of the L'Instant Durable paper cathedral models, each of which took about three months to complete, working a couple of hours each day. Not so this model, which has a completely different build construction. Instead of plain printed paper that you must cut and fold and then glue, this model is made of two-sided prints attached with a thin internal layer of stiff foam. Each piece is precut. You can literally build this entire model with no scissors, no X-Acto knife, and no glue. And although the end result will not have the exacting accuracy of the L'Instant Durable models, it is very accurate in scale and surprisingly good looking. In fact, at a distance of say ten feet, you won't notice much difference between the types. Build time is probably about ten hours, with one or two sections that leave you scratching your head for a while until you get it figured out, but the rest is straightforward with clear instructions. It's a great project for, say, ages 12 and up, and the end result is something you will want to show off because it looks so good. A great idea with excellent execution. A small booklet on the Notre Dame is also included. Five stars.

We really loved building this puzzle! Our first foray into 3D puzzles since we were kids, and according to the audiobook we were listening to, it took the 2 of us about 7 hours casually working on it after the kids bedtime. PROS: - well numbered/labeled pieces and instructions - beautiful details and accuracy (see comparison photo of us in front of the real cathedral) CONS: - my husband described this more as a “model” rather than a “puzzle”, because there are step-by-step instructions to follow, not anything to figure out, and that also means you can’t ever really take it apart and rebuild it

Hat wirklich viel Spass gemacht, das Puzzle zusammen zu bauen. Schöner als die Titanic. Leider keine Beläuchtung.

Efectivamente se realiza en una diez horas y es espectacular, le voy a poner luz para que luzcan las cristaleras. con luces está genial.

Great quality, good instructions. My son loved building it!

A very nice construction kit. Fine to build, but do read the instructions carefully. At the end you have a beautiful model of the Notre Dame of Paris. My construction videos have become a hit on YouTube.

Ürün çok kaliteli herkes çok beğendi fakat bazı küçük parçaları katlaması çok zor