PathfindersSTEM Kit – Leonardo da Vinci Helicopter Model kit Science Kits for Kids Age 12-14 | stem Kits for Kids Age 12-14 Physics Toys | Engineering | Learning Resources

My son loved this. He put it together on Christmas morning and just enjoyed looking at it.

The media could not be loaded. This was my first time putting something like this together, and it was grand. All the pieces were there including 1 extra 4 cm gear dowel, and went together correctly and fairly easily. So the directions are pretty comprehensive. My only hiccup was the section on attaching the canopy.. If you want to be able to play with the amount of luff the canopy has more precisely between its horizontal supports and be more flush with them, for a generally better looking finished product. The best way it would seem to me, is to follow only half of the first step in the attaching the canopy section. Line the canopy up like it says, and instead of 2 put 1 dot of glue only on the inside of the top horizontal support. Then pin the canopy in place with one of the little clothes pins that came with it, where that other dot of glue would have gone on the outside edge of the top support. Then follow these same steps on every support, to the last support of the the first piece of canopy. Checking and adjusting the canopy as you work your way down each. Then go ahead and do step 3 of attaching the first piece of canopy, and then finally do the second step last. Allowing you to adjust the amount of luff and how flush the canopy is as you glue the outside edge to the downward spiral. Same idea for the the second piece and steps for the canopy. This method however will likely require trimming of the excess canopy cloth when finished like the note says. I'm letting any interested reader know all this because I missed the footnote that tells you the canopy may require trimming. Until after it was already glued, and the directions look as though they're telling you to line up and glue the edges of the canopy and the downward spiral as if the cloth was going to line up and fit just right the first time. No worries though, I made it look not so spottily luffed with some careful trimming on the inside egde, and creative adhesive work. No random foreign language problems, and the tube of glue could've used another ounce or two. Just coated mine with a 15 spf lemon oil which gave the whole thing a ton more character.

It great but the glue that it came with was dry to expired cuz it doesn’t work and won’t even come out of the container

I liked it, it was fun to build, had to do some light sanding on most of the pieces but I enjoy that. Check the gear wheels to see if they are warped, sanding a bit should fix that, It’s wood after all. If you installed the canopy support dowels correctly the cloth canopy will fit, tight but fit exactly on mine, there will be be hills and valleys in the cloth, but small and flowing, looks good actually. A washer on bottom of main gear shaft helps a lot in keeping it from binding. The glue is really good, and there is enough.

An excellent product, designed from a single drawing by Leonardo. Quality of materials is excellent. Assembly is thoroughly and entertainingly laid out. Being American, I'm unfamiliar with the metric system, which, of course, is used by this Canadian company. I was able to identify similar parts by comparing lengths, though. Instruction book also covers the historic and scientific aspects. The model is beautiful. I use it as a centerpiece on the dining room table!

my 7 year old built this with me. Takes about an hour. Kinda hard to get the cloth part right. Shouldn't expect this to be a display piece, expect it to be a fun little project for the kids. We had a blast building it and my kids loves playing with it. Holds up pretty well. Simpler than expected by the age recommendation. Like I said, my 7 year ld put most of it together.

It was a very significant gift for my grandson after having a visit in an exhibition dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci in which some of his inventions, including the Premium Aerial Screw, has been exhibited in 1:1 scale models, so it has been very exciting for him to build himself Leonardo's invention understanding it fully. Thanks a lot for the product as well as for the service.

A great little kit. I bought it to build with my kid, but it was just difficult enough that I ended up building it alone. Still it was a nice escape from the daily grind. A great gift for history and engineering enthusiasts. Should be fine for older children.