UGears: Marble Run Tiered Hoist (315pc)

The fun with marble runs continues with Ugears' Marble Run Tiered Hoist, thethird in a series of Ugears modular marble runs. This unique entrant in ourgrowing collection of entertaining wooden marble runs features a 3-tiered stairlift that raises the marbles to the top for amusement park adventures. Thiswooden DIY kit is both a 3D puzzle and a fun toy. The Marble Run Tiered Hoistfeatures a fascinating lift, three new track elements, and interesting trap andrelease mechanisms sprinkled throughout. Turn the hand crank and watch themarbles make their journeys through various obstacles down to the collectiontray below. Multiple tracks and elements are packed into a compact space in thiswell-designed DIY marble run.

Which marble will take which track, and what adventures await? Guessing ispart of the fun. The Marble Run Tiered Hoist has three main marble tracks. Thefirst features a marble trap in which three marbles must work together to maketheir escape. The third ball is the hero, opening the gate for the secondtrapped marble, which in turn opens the gate for the first—teamwork! All threemarbles then escape down a well. The second track is a speedy roller coaster,and the third is a four-level ramp descent. All marbles come to rest in thecollection tray, where they form an orderly line behind a gate, waiting theirturn for more adventures! A special rocker arm presses the gate down andcarries each marble to the return track, where they run like excited schoolchildren back to the tiered hoist to begin the next ride.

The model kit comes with everything you need right in the box. Individualpieces are laser pre-cut into high quality wood composite boards, and can besnapped together without need of glue or special tools. We've included a set ofdetailed, illustrated instructions in 11 languages to guide you on your build.There are 10 colored marbles included in the kit, plus sandpaper and wax tosmooth and lubricate the gears and other moving parts. The Marble Run TieredHoist has 315 pieces, is rated “Advanced” level, and has an estimatedassembly time of 5 hours. If you break a piece during construction, don'tworry! Our team of outstanding customer service representatives will gladly fillyour request for replacement parts, free of charge, as part of our commitment tooutstanding customer service.

We have designed the Marble Run Tiered Hoist and the entire line of Ugearsmarble runs to be modular, that is, the Tiered Hoist works as a standalone or itcan be connected frontally or laterally to other Ugears marble runs of the sameor different design (2 or 4 models can be connected, in pairs, using thespecial connectors included in the kit). A trigger mechanism just before thereturn track can send marbles back to the tiered hoist, to an adjoining marblerun, or toggle between the two (you set your preference with a pull latch).Connect up to four marble runs to form an amazing, complex system ofinterconnected elements, all powered by a single crank. It's like the marbleshave been turned loose for a fun day at a miniature amusement park! Keep an eyeon your favorite marble and watch its ever-changing adventures through a seriesof obstacles, lifts, and tracks.

Ugears marble runs, and our entire collection of Ugears models, puzzle boxes,wooden puzzles, and brain teasers, are not just static models for display, theyare meant for hours of play. With that in mind, we designed the Tiered Hoist tohave a strong base and tightened frame parts to provide rigidity to thestructure. A muscular gear drive delivers power both to the 3-tiered stair liftand to the rocker arm down below. Accept the challenge of building thisingenious device, then enjoy hours of fun watching the colored marbles climb thestairs, pass through various obstacles, free each other from captivity, thenwait their turn to start again. Marble runs and marble races are an online videophenomenon, with thousands of videos racking up millions of views. It's evenmore exciting when you've built the marble run yourself—you're not justpassively watching a video of someone else's creation, you're the creator!

The Marble Run Tiered Hoist is a fun challenge for experienced modelers—agreat “gift to self” DIY idea or gift idea for the hobbyist in your life.Enjoy hours of construction fun, then when your marble run DIY masterpiece iscomplete, send the marbles on their maiden runs. Watch your ingenious machineraise marbles up the stairs before sending them down a multi-tiered ramp,through a roller coaster ride, or into a trap, from which the marbles can onlyescape with a little help from their friends. The Ugears Marble Run Tiered Hoistis an intriguing standalone machine, or it can form part of an intricate,interconnected collection of Ugears marble runs.

Looking for a unique addition to your home or office? You'll be glad to havethe Marble Run Tiered Hoist on your desk for a bit of mental diversion duringthe work day. Playing games is exercise for the brain and studies have shownthat short periods of play at work actually increases productivity. Or placeyour Ugears wooden marble run on a shelf in the family room and bring it downfor your children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews to watch the marbles goon fantastic adventures. The Marble Run Tiered Hoist should appeal to those whoenjoy marble runs, Rube Goldberg contraptions, clever engineering, and anyone upfor a good DIY challenge. If you've already built the first two Ugears modelruns (Chain Hoist, Stepped Hoist) congratulations and get ready to enjoy thisthird entry in your growing collection.

Specifications:

• Model size: 10.6 × 10.4 × 10­.6 in(270 × 265 × 270mm)
• Package size: 14.9 × 6.7 × 1.3 in(378 × 170 × 34mm)
• Number of components: 315
• Estimated time for assembly: 5 hours
• Level: Advanced