Fascinations Metal Earth Lighthouse 3D Metal Model Kit

This is a great kit for a first time builder. Simple and pretty straight forward. You can add more complexity by lighting with a battery box. Model is hollow straight up into the light chamber so it accommodates the inclusion. Was fun and rewarding.

This is the one. This is where stepped into Metal Earth. It's also the one I encourage people to start with. It's not the "easiest"; but, it's not that bad and gives you a lot of exposure to the issues you will run into with these sorts of models. "Small parts connecting to smaller parts"? Check. "Domes" and "circles"? Check. "Micro-details" (the sort of stuff that, while nice-looking, isn't "necessary" to create the model)? Check. It just doesn't pile any of it on. You'll be able to tell, with minimal investment, whether these are "for you". And if it is, the end result looks nice.....and is even a bit forgiving of "rookie mistakes". Like I said, this opened the door for me. This one was the first "hit" that got me hooked. I can only imagine the frustration if I had started on something else that, while "cooler", produces a lot more frustration.

Very easy to assemble. Built this one in a few minutes. Instructions on Metal Earth kits are not always accurate to what you get. This kit is so easy you may not need to look at the instructions more than once or twice. This is probably the only Metal Earth Kit that is not based on a real structure. It is a very generalized typical looking light house. Yet still, very detailed and cool looking. I installed an LED at the tip of the tower and hot glued the kit to a battery house. Both items can be purchased here on Amazon. Its a very easy mod that makes this kit look even better. Took less than an hour to complete!

More challenging than I expected! Also smaller than I expected, it comes in a little envelope. I thought this would be really easy but I actually messed up a bit. You have to have small hands because some of the pieces were really annoying. But good product, it’s really pretty and a nice price.

My second Metal Earth model and it was an absolute blast!!! I spent about 2 hours on this one because I'm a perfectionist and also quite enjoy taking my time to make sure every curve and bend is as well-executed and planned as I can make it. If you have never done one of these before, PLEASE consider whether it's a good hobby for you before jumping the gun with a 3-sheet project with no tools besides some tweezers and expecting to slap it together in an hour (this is a common mistake I see in these reviews A LOT). First off, these are SMALL. Very small! For me, that is a HUGE pro because I love miniatures and the sheer amount of detail that goes into the etching on these is INSANE. They are so gorgeous to look at. On this model, I had to use precision tweezers for the lil windows to get em onto the tabs because the pieces themselves are just a few mms long. Awesome! But if you don't like tiny parts, maybe not so much for you, so consider that before picking one of these kits up. I think the cable car was a bit easier than this one for that reason, so maybe go for that one if you've never done one before. And please for the love of god have the proper tools before hand. I know the packaging is a bit misleading there in terms of selling the idea that these are quick and easy, but PLEASE at least get some wire cutters and pliers/tweezers before attempting these. Also, THESE. TAKE. TIME. If you aren't willing to spend 15 minutes on one step just to ensure you get the perfect curve/bend or make sure things align just right, then maybe look elsewhere. And these kits are the epitome of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"—take your time, watch an assembly video, check out the 360° view off the Metal Earth site, and pay attention and you won't need to worry about breaking parts and having to try and super glue stuff back together. I'm new to this hobby and I'm sure I'll mess up eventually, but when I see so many reviews of (I'm guessing) impatient/clumsy people I can help but feel a little confused/irritated, because most of it seems pretty preventable if you do a little research beforehand. Anyway. Great kit, I think this one was also good for beginners, and I can't wait to start moving up to trickier kits!

The Metal Earth models are extremely well engineered and manufactured, but there's quite a bit of negative reviews because people think their 9 year old can put them together, it's not going to happen. Don't listen to the haters, don't buy them for your kids. With patience, a jeweler's magnifying headset, some decent tools and good lighting any adult can assemble them if you take your time (sometimes a couple weeks depending on the skill level). Stick with top of the line tools from Wiha or Wera and get a couple pairs of small needle nose pliers (one with and one w/o teeth on the jaws), a couple types of tweezers, micro snips used for electronic assembly and a set of precision screwdrivers. Don't buy the crap tools that are advertised along with these model kits, you get what you pay for. I work many hours at a stressful job and I'd rather sit in a quiet room and work on these for a couple hours every few days after work then watch TV; it's very relaxing and I find I'm sleeping much better. You can do it and pat yourself on the back when you finish one and it looks awesome!

This was my first purchase from the Metal Earth line up of 3D Metal Models and i can honestly say it was one of my favorite builds, the pieces are beautifully cut and extraordinarily well done, the model comes with an easy to read and easy to comprehend instruction sheet on how to put the model together, very minimal tools needed and literally zero experience required to accomplish this piece, i have it proudly displayed alongside other models that i have built over time and it sticks out like a sore thumb in a beautiful way, i will definitely be purchasing more models from this company. two thumbs way up from this happy customer.

My 9 year old son loved putting this together. Sharp, yup but he was careful. I didn’t look at the description closely enough because this thing is TINY. He had a blast but it was super small for the cost.

Essendo il primo che ho costituito, qualche difficoltà di approccio e qualche errore ci sono stati, specie sulla punta che ha pure due pezzi molto piccoli (ce ne sono anche un paio di scorta) Dovete solo metterci la stessa delicatezza e attenzione che ci mettereste nel disinnescare una bomba😀😀😀 ma in fondo non è troppo difficile e ti dà soddisfazione. Volendo si costruisce anche solo con una pinzetta per ciglia, ma chiaro che se avete qualche attrezzo in più fa comodo (ci sono dei bei tutorial su YouTube) come ad es. un tronchesino micro, una pinzetta curva da modellismo o una pizza a becco lungo. Di sicuro ne prenderò altri provando piano piano ad andare su modelli più complicati.

Montage relativement facile. Une petite déco maison et le tour est joué. Il y beaucoup de choses d'intéressantes dans cette marque de produits.

Sehr schönes Modell. Sehr gut für Anfänger des Metall - Modellbaus geeignet.

This was the second kit I made (after Big Ben). I found it fairly easy and think it comes out nicely. It is mostly straight edges so not too difficult, although the domed roof of the lighthouse is slightly curved and looking back I think I should have bent those pieces round the edge of a coin, rather than trying to do it with tweezers. Live and learn! You don't need any special tools to complete this - a pair of nail tweezers is sufficient for this model in my experience.

Looks great and fun to build.