Safe Vault

After completing a bunch of ROKR wooden pieces, I decided to give another brand of wooden puzzles (UGEARS) a try. I picked up the Model Safe Kit to compare its build quality, instructions, latch mechanism, and final product to the ROKR safe. Note that these aren't actually puzzles, there are step by step build guides. You're not meant to figure it out. In fact, if you can figure it out without the instructions, then wow! :O Total time of this build: 4 hours 45 minutes Difficulty: 4/10 (would've been 2/10, see notes) Overall Rating: B+ (up from C- in the first few pages, see notes) I started this build and immediately noticed the quality compared to ROKR. The wood is a lot less refined (read: more rough), and when popping pieces out you tend to end up with some splinters on the table. By the end of the build, there were lots of splinters. The frames in which the pieces were set also broke easily, which actually made getting some of the smaller pieces out a lot easier, so that was a plus, despite the small mess it made. I rated the difficulty of this a little higher than normal due to the first about eight pages of the instructions. While not actually difficult, fitting some of the really small support pieces in place inside the box was actually quite difficult to push them into place. I ended up using a thick sharpie to help press them down into each hole. Given there wasn't much leverage, and I didn't want to break the large wooden pieces, this turned out to be trickier than I expected. The first seven pages took about two hours due to carefully making sure the right pieces were in the right place and putting in all those darn support pieces. Once I got to step 8 and the build of the door and locking mechanism, things went a lot smoother. The steps were clear and the mechanism was well designed. At this point, the only annoying part was the toothpicks that served as the central shaft of some of the turning pieces. It would've been nice to see metal shafts provided for this like other brands do. The toothpicks did NOT fit the holes as provided and each one needed to be sanded a bit to be able to slide through multiple pieces. Once that was done, though, everything came together. The instructions for setting a code on this piece were just as confusing as first as the similar ROKR piece. However, for this one I picked the default 321. I ensured the door opened multiple times using this combination (very detailed written instructions are provided at this step) before moving on. Once the entire piece was assembled, I was quite happy with the result and bumped my personal rating up. Sure, some of the initial instructions and getting things to fit were annoying, and the toothpicks were a minor setback to sand, but in the end it's quite a nice fit and finish of a piece, minus a few splinters sticking off that I sanded. It even has a little slot in the top for coins and money to be dropped in, as well as "emergency opening instructions" should one find themselves locked out. Quite a nice touch! Final verdict - early in the build I didn't think I'd buy another UGEARS piece but now I think I will if I find something that interests me. It's a large "puzzle" that provides a good amount of enjoyment to assemble and a satisfying mechanism to play with to unlock and open the door. Quite pleased! Addendum - I actually lost whatever wax block they may have provided me (cleaners came, so I moved all the pieces to my office), so I used all natural saxophone cork grease. While not the same, it still allowed for fairly good lubrication. We'll see if it holds up, and if not, I'll wax the pieces that need it later on. Addendum 2 - No pics included since there are plenty in the reviews already from others. :)

Fun and functional! Works great, very sturdy. I would not put valuables in it, but there is an optional slot on top to use it as a penny bank. I would think it was perfect for that. Easy to medium difficulty, you must pay close attention to some steps, but overall, went together very easily. Instructions are pretty clear, not a lot of wording, mostly pictures (similar to plastic models). Very fun to put together, took me about a week working only a couple of hours a day, so it could be put together in a day or two if you really wanted to. Never had any problems fitting pieces together, unless you try to put them in the wrong way. Pieces are cut into planks, some of the smaller pieces can be a little hard to pop out, but with a little patience you should be fine. Had a blast building it, already ordered the train. Might buy all of them!

Love it! Took me about 4 hours to assemble it and it's my first puzzle. (Science major college student) It's reasonably challenging and you can see it's well-designed. It has a lot of decorative designs to make it look pretty. The pieces fit absolutely perfectly. I was misguided by some review saying some pieces don't fit well, so I forced two pieces in, and they turned out very loose and kept dropping out. You need to be patient and find the correct angle. Be very careful with the two axis, each is formed by 2 bobby pin shaped pieces. When you assemble the two pieces together, they tend to break, but most likely functional. The more annoying part is forcing the disks on the the axis, which tends to chip the end of axis. I wish they were made of metal, not wood. Please note that the instructions doesn't give you the option of choosing whatever code you like, you only a few options. But you should be able to figure it out by playing with it. (assemble it once so you know what's involved) It can be difficult to disassemble the thing and start over, but certainly not impossible, as long you don't do it more than ~3 times. A note for the ladies and the first-timers, you don't need sand paper. A nail filers is actually quite easy to handle and I think it would outperform sand paper. Nobody says you can't use scented candles or wax cubes for waxing. It is helpful to have a craft knife, but if you are careful, box cutters or even steak knives(you need to be extra careful) are just fine.

This was a gift for my brother-in-law that I helped him assemble over the winter break. It is not for the feint of heart because it takes patience to assemble the pieces and there are many of them. Work slowly and diligently to complete the project. The pictures in the instruction book are helpful, but the text is limited. Look forward several steps before assembling the parts in the current step. I recommend lightly sanding the parts of the pieces that lock with other pieces to facilitate assembly. An emery board (nail file) works well. We waxed all of the interlocking pieces with a candle - use a birthday candle for the smaller pieces and a larger candle for the large ones. I recommend using wax on any toothpick parts to ensure that they assemble smoothly. The finished piece is impressive and the safe functions as a "piggy bank" for all of the loose coins you pick up during the week. I recommend this for people who enjoy puzzles and have a mechanical mind. I intend to purchase a different model for next year's break!

Parfait, sauf une notice parfois peu précise

Good project

Veramente fatta bene , i pezzi non si rompono ed i meccanismi sono precisi. La sua costruzione non è semplice ma il bello è soprattutto questo

Präzise geschnittene Teile, eine gute Bauanleitung und es funktioniert wirklich alles super. Ich hatte keine Probleme mit schlecht passenden Teilen oder zerbrochenen Teilen. Sicher ist es manchmal nicht einfach insbesondere die kleinen Teile heraus zu lösen, aber es geht. Ein tolles Set, welchen viel Spaß beim bauen macht. Fertig gebaut ist der Tresor schön anzusehen, das detailreiche Äußere ist sehr dekorativ. Für Bauer und Sammler eine unbedingte Kaufempfehlung.

L'assemblage demande une certaine force des mains, mais le résultat vaut l'effort. Le projet est un peu difficile pour un enfant, et il faut fondre de la cire pour l'appliquer à certaines pièces. Les instructions pour établir le code pour ouvrir le coffre-fort sont difficiles à comprendre... assurez-vous de tester le code quelques fois avant d'attacher la porte.