Flying Dutchman Pirate Ship

I love this kit. It's not for beginners and it's very challenging to build. You have to be very careful not to bend pieces back and forth or they will break off. But a little super glue will fix them. It's also necessary to have the proper tools and magnifying hobby goggles as a lot of the pieces are very small. I really recommend this to a model builder looking for a fun and challenging project.

This 3D puzzle arrives in a much smaller box than I had expected, though also builds out larger than I had expected. As a result, it is lighter and more fragile than I'd hoped too. While building - one notable issue is that pieces can come out quite sharp, so expect to come out with some nicks and cuts! Some pieces are also smaller than your fingers might be able to cope with (especially if you don't have short nails) so you may need tools to assemble this - the ones they sell might set you back almost £30 for a full set, while I would suggest a very least the specialist "classic" set should be included. It is certainly not easy to assemble, being quite the challenge, taking a lot of time and focus. It comes out looking pretty satisfying, though I don't anyone familiar with the ship would look at it and immediately say "that's the Queen's Revenge", people who aren't familiar would recognise it as *a* pirate ship. Firstly - the Revenge II possibly never existed and even if it did, wouldn't have been that kind of ship. It does look fearsome though! So finally value for money - at £38 without tools, this is quite the investment but better than some of their other sets.

I've made quite a few of these metal model kits and this Queen Anne’s Revenge model is no beginners project. It has 439 parts and is around 20cm long when finished. The level of detail on the tattered sails and the cannons is pretty impressive. Its a pretty difficult build and will take a lot longer than the few hours the box claims depending on how adept you are at these things. You also need to keep track of where you are and have a system as you can lose your place. You are looking at more like 25 hours if you want to get everything aligned properly for the average user . The curved sections around the hull and the tiny details on the window scan be difficult to sit right at first as the tabs are very small and quite stiff, so you definitely need a proper set of cutters and pliers and a lot of perseverance. The build quality is good with some real precision laser cutting, but the metal is a little unforgiving. If you over bend a tab or mess up a fold, it is a pain to fix. It is definitely not an entry level set and requires a lot of patience. I'm still building it and it looks like one of those that I will pick up time to time to kill some time and actually do it properly inbetween other builds. If you like these types of models, ships and a challenge, this is for you. 4.5/5 rounded up.

I love to do these 3D puzzles now my fingers are too stiff for knitting and diamond painting is not that easy because of the pen. I have done the wooden ones in the past but wanted to try a metal one. I have started it and there is hours of work in it, can't wait to see the ship finished. They are not as forgiving to do as the wooden ones but if you double check the pieces as you go and follow the excellent instructions you will be fine if you are new to 3D models. I find it amazing that all the pieces are set into the sheets with hardly and centimeter to spare, good planning. Great as a gift and excellent for dark evenings.

I've seen these or similar on display on various model and toy stalls all over China, and they look incredible. So when Vine offered up a couple of ships by Piececool I had to have them. When this ship, The Queen Anne's Revenge II arrived, the packaging looked cool, and I could not wait to get started on it. On opening the sleeve, it was immediately obvious that this was "high end", but it was also clear that were were plenty of teeny tiny pieces to deal with. Now, you will need tools for this, pieces don't pop out readily like they do with wooden puzzles, and, as it is metal, you should prepare for cuts and scratches, as these pieces come out sharp, some very sharp. I've drawn blood! The build is incredibly frustrating - apart from the nicks and cuts, some bits didn't sit right, some bits fell off when attaching other bits, so you have to compensate for that unconventionally, it was a painful and difficult build, BUT, I persevered and the final thing was, well it was okay. Now, this was likely due to me not having nimble and un-sausage like fingers, getting frustrated at every turn, and finally just accepting that pieces didn't fit well. Did I enjoy building? No. Will more skilled builders enjoy it? Definitely.

I would love to give this 3D puzzle a better review, but unfortunately I cannot. When I saw the advertised difficulty level, I assumed this would be something suitable for most people. What the listing does not really explain is how those difficulty ratings are determined. I was genuinely surprised when it arrived, as it came in one of the smallest boxes I have ever seen and contained incredibly tiny pieces. This is not a beginner-friendly kit, and honestly, I would not even recommend it for casual hobbyists who have some experience with model building. Many of the parts are less than a millimetre in size. As you can see from my picture, the finished boat is only around 20cm long, and my hands are already much smaller than average, which should give an idea of just how tiny the components are. The kit does not include any tools, and you will need proper fine-detail modelling tools rather than standard hobby tools. The precision required is far beyond what I expected. That said, the quality itself is impeccable. The parts are beautifully made and the overall design is gorgeous. I genuinely enjoyed building the larger sections where I could clearly see what I was doing. The instructions are also excellent, clear, and easy to follow. Unfortunately, after spending around seven hours and reaching step 11, I eventually gave up after several tiny pieces broke during assembly. The challenge simply became more frustrating than enjoyable. Overall, this is a very high-quality kit at a surprisingly affordable price, but the difficulty level feels seriously understated. If you are an experienced miniature modeller with the right tools, you may love it. For everyone else, be prepared for a much bigger challenge than the packaging suggests.