A wooden mechanical construction set is so rare so far that many sincerely do not understand how it is possible at all. A simple wooden constructor does not surprise anyone, mechanical ones, but made of plastic and metal, are also enough, but that made of wood and with the possibility of self-propelled movement is still that trick.
It is possible that movable prefabricated 3D models from plywood are produced in China, however, so far the only company that has achieved success and recognition around the world is the Ukrainian startup Ugears. Since it is almost impossible to find another moving wooden construction set, we will stop at this company.
Who releases?
For just a few years, the name Ugears would not have said anything even to market specialists - the history of the company is not long at all. It all started in 2014, when a plywood constructor workshop was opened in a small village near Kiev. Someone suggested to the guys that their work is really unique and deserves more dissemination. They decided to submit their project on Kickstarter - a site where you can get money from random visitors to implement the presented project.
Visitors to the site liked the idea of wooden mechanical constructors so much that instead of the expected 20 thousand dollars, the startup raised 400 thousand.
At the same time, the young company managed to make an advertisement for itself, because they started talking about the project. After that, he quickly entered foreign markets - in particular, a representative of the Russian dealer Ugears said in an interview in 2016 that Russia is just one of twenty-four countries where such a toy is officially presented.
The modern website of the company operates in Ukrainian, Russian and English, providing an opportunity for the perfect order of goods almost anywhere in the world. Of the analogs, one can only single out a mechanical watch of Russian production. This is a full-fledged watch with gears and a winding mechanism, which is assembled entirely from wood. The focus of the product is that you need to collect it first. The idea as a whole is very similar to the Ukrainian one, however, here the manufacturer does not have enough assortment, and with it, mass fame in the world.
What is it?
If we talk about the Ukrainian manufacturer, then even he himself characterizes his creation not as a designer, but as puzzles in 3D. Indeed, most of the parts are made of flat plywood, there are just so many of them that a full-fledged natural three-dimensionality is created. The same can be said about Russian wooden clocks. The technique of joining parts is extremely simple here.
In general terms, it can be described as a tenon and groove technique - all parts are perfectly sized so that they can easily connect and disconnect without losing integrity during use.
At the same time, for the credibility of the finished craft, assembled from flat parts, the creators have to produce sets of hundreds of elements, so that even for an adult, assembling a large set can take several hours.
All major commentators openly write that such a gift is more suitable not for a small child, but for an adult man who already has everything.
When assembled, the craft is more suitable for standing demonstratively on a shelf than for an active game. At the same time, the degree of involvement of mechanics among different designers can vary significantly. For example, the Belarusian company EWA produces prefabricated plywood tanks, which it also calls mechanical, however, their entire mechanical complexity lies in the fact that their wheels spin. A fundamentally different concept is offered to the consumer by Ugears, whose famous tram, for example, moves along a track thanks to an internal gear mechanism!
Russian-made watches are also capable of counting real time, and not only allow the ability to scroll the hands.
Popular and unusual models
With the clock, everything is obvious - it is a working chronometric mechanism that counts the time in the same way as an ordinary analog would do, simply completely assembled by oneself from wooden parts. The curiosity, however, is quite understandable. A completely different matter is Ugears products, which will charm not only a child, but also an adult!
The most sought-after mechanical models must be covered.
- "Tram line" Is probably the most famous kit from this supplier. The manufacturer did not dare to use full-fledged circular rails, but he tried a lot to convey the urban surroundings around the tracks - there is a pedestrian bridge over the tram track, and a stop with a newsstand, and a depot, and several characters that will decorate and complement the picture. But the main thing is, of course, the tram itself, which is started by the turning mechanism, thanks to which it is able to independently drive from end to end!
In this case, no electronics are used; instead, a motor with a winding rubber band is used, and no glue is needed for assembly.
- "Rails with level crossing" will be the perfect set for those who have dreamed of a toy railroad, but want to get it in an unusual wooden design. Here the company went completely the opposite way - little attention is paid to the entourage, but the rails themselves have a total length of more than four meters! Among other things, they are equipped with a level crossing, the barriers of which are lowered by pressing a button. Naturally, it would be foolish to sell such a gorgeous road without rolling stock, so you can separately buy a locomotive with a tender.
If you want to make your gaming journey more believable, you should also buy the Perron set, which imitates a real train station.
- "Mechanical box" proves that not all of the company's jigsaw puzzles are toys or imitations. There is also a very real application for such a constructor. For example, this solution is perfect for an office to store business cards or bank cards in it. When closed, the business cards are reliably hidden from strangers and protected from dust, but just twist the gear to make the box elegantly rise and slowly open to meet the owner.
- "Tractor" - this is one of the first Ugears models, which brought fame to its creators, is successfully combined with the "Trailer" constructor. Such a wooden tractor does not easily move itself with the help of a rubber motor, but it also involves switching several modes, one of which involves starting the mechanism, the other - a smooth slow movement, the third - accelerated overcoming the distance.
- "Silomer" is a rather unusual souvenir. Predictably, the creators do not offer to measure their own strength in the literal sense of the word on plywood parts, so the outlandish mechanism measures the force of exhalation, suggesting what a person with lungs of such power should do. The options, of course, are also presented comic - people with weak breathing are invited to send to the kitchen and cook food, who exhale harder, could speak on the phone or even sing, and owners with strong breathing, according to the creators, should play sports in the fresh air.
See below for an overview and unboxing of the wooden mechanical construction set.
