Disney made a deal with the makers of Metal Earth to design DIY model kits based on their most popular characters and films. These are available for purchase on site at the Disney parks or can be found in museums, online and in certain novelty stores. Favorite designs include Star Wars Star Destroyers, R2-D2, X-Wing, The Black Pearl, 3D Castles and Cinderella’s Carriage.
The models can be put together using tweezers and pliers since the manufactuter touts that “no glue is required” to join the pieces. Sadly, the Cinderella’s Carriage model my coworker got me as a gift didn’t live up to that expectation. The undercarriage got fatigued and broke off as I was putting it together and although salvageable, other components buckled and broke off resulting in the loss of many valuable pieces and aesthetics.
Ironically, we ended up needing to glue some of it together. To add insult to injury, the instructions were not super easy to follow nor sequenced optimally so some improvisation was required. Read the entire manual before commencing to ensure success. After 6 hrs of hard work the final product was ready for display. Yay! It came out looking good but not great, and I have the scars to prove it. 😦 The part holder edges are extremely sharp!
Many of these Metal Earth kits will have you cursing rather than enjoying your evening without the appropriate tools or approach. Check Amazon for tool kits specially made and marketed for this hobby. Not recommended for the faint of heart or people with kids under 3 due to small parts. Rated 14+.
Enjoy!
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 