Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanical dragonfly is something we've seen advertised on social media, and Norm assembles it to show you how the kit comes together, its motorized kinetic movement, and what hiccups he encountered along the way. It's an aesthetically beautiful piece that has a lot of presence, but the operation and fluidity of its movement leaves a bit to be desired.
Kinetic dragonfly model: bit.ly/2KPJ5kE
Moyu mechanical models: www.moyustore.com/collections/3d-metal-puzzle
Disclosure: This kit was provided by the manufacturer for purposes of review.
Shot and edited by Norman Chan
Music by Jinglepunks
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Set build by Asa Hillis www.asahillis.com
Thanks for watching!
Guessed the price perfectly
Just needs some little bits of silicon grease and WD-40.
Low and behold... You did the most expensive kit they had. $400? No thank you. For that price, I can buy many many far more useful things.
That several people could work on it is total BS.. maybe 2 if you are a couple or a father/son moment
It's an ornithopter! Urza would be proud! (He wouldn't he'd be furious)
Hey, perhaps next time, stop talking for a while so we can actually hear the noise you are talking about? Keep up the cool stuff!
image so crisp + lighting delightful, joy 2 watch
Careful with this vendor, I placed an order at the beginning of this week with express shipping, and still don’t have a tracking number. Customer service and the shipping department is out of the office until the end of next week on holiday. So they take weeks to even ship, and from China, so even weeks later when it finally ships then still will take forever to arrive.
500 bucks for a mis-manufactured piece and a motor that's too annoying to keep displaying? That's a nah from me.
On further reading of the Comments below, I now know where our Host could find 3 more, equally geeky nerds. Spoiled for choice, really. .
Knowing that it can be assembled in 1½ Hours by 4 persons is a bit superfluous knowledge. Where are you going to find 3 more equally geeky nerds ? Like our admittedly VERY skilled host, they too will be sitting alone in a darkened room. (Like me too, ready to spend time watching a guy assemble useless device.) 🐺 wahhrroo00OO00oo00OOO ! .
Get Adam to build an improved version with a bigger motor, maybe a V8?
$500 retail for that model? It's cool, but I'll stick with my gunpla - more satisfying to put together, longer builds, and definitely cheaper!
Where Subtitle? :(
Costing the guts of 400 quid, it would need to be grinding coffee beans or cracking the Enigma code as a subroutine.
would you need to oil the gears? lol
Okay, can someone explain to me why Norm got more dislikes everytime...? He seems like such a nice, pationate, talented guy, and I can't understand why he got so much dislikes everytime.. If you don't like it, then don't watch it, simple solution to a simple "problem" '-' ...
Love the combination of wood and brass
It's disappointing on many levels. It's powered when it should be entirely mechanical. It's jank and I don't understand how this thing is expensive.
Automaton*
It's a great kit, a fantastic build, and your workspace for this was surprisingly tiny. and yes, those top wings are backwards...
Gorgeous
Beautiful buuut... 400 bucks and a piece that's WRONG?!? Nope. Loose tolerances, sure for 100 bucks, but ..nope.
OOooooo, very cool! I really like how they have the hardware laid out in the containers like that. Incidentally, I had a hummingbird watching though the window while I was watching the video...
$400. This is NOT a project for the majority during lockdown! I'm sorry but WTF? Really? $400 on this?!
I'd rater buy a nice little model Stirling engine.
Steam punk or mechanical?
Maybe run a little fine grinding paste through the gears, turning by hand. Then clean and lube with clock oil
those gear teeth might benefit from some fitting or the shafts might benefit from some reaming. I think if you start stripping pieces and go bit by bit adding them back, you might find what's causing that issue
For that kind of money, throw a couple hundred bucks on top and you can get a Prusa MK3s 3d printer kit. You'd have as much fun assembling it(if not more) and on top of that it will open up a whole new hobby.
500 bucks for that thing, and apparently quality control still fucked up.. I have an ornithopter that actually flies, and it cost half the price of that thing.
This looks cool! I'm gonna buy thi- $400... nevermind
Rambling twat... i just wanted to see the fucking thing move
I got this kit in December from Moyu and definitely recommend. I was quite scared of ordering from this store in China but it arrived on time and customer service is good Edit: why did you mount the wings backwards??
How is the quality of the kit? are the parts precise? Thx.
Yeh its clunky because its meant to be!!! Have a look at the masters creations Bob Potts. fiworld.info/goon/fme2z4CurH-pm6M/videot.html
What is the song in the time lapse?
I definitely own some MoYu rubik cube. I had no clue they made flat pack models.
You have the wings wrong. Left ones on the right and vice versa.
Why do I suspect if this were a Transformer it would convert into a ceiling fan?
That looks absolutely amazing! I just wish it didn't cost $400 (on SALE!)
Yeah it's $399 from $599 for anyone immediately wondering. I stumbled across this video and watching it started considering model making but the price tag slammed the door on me for this hobby lol
Also known as an "entomopter."
I just did this myself. It was pretty nice.
Looks like something out of Dishonored 2.
That would be way cooler if it was spring/clockwork powered
I would treat the wood so it looks polished.. that was a big thing back in the days where people where still proud in building machines.
Kitsch!
DaVinci in the design. ✌
Looks like a background prop from the old Myst game to me. Very pretty.
That's so cool it's a shame I'm broke
$400
Looks like a real-life Thopter from Magic the gathering. Awesome looking kit!
Wow!.. $400 reduced from $560, you would expect it to have gold parts for that ridiculous price.
@bad1dobby - Well, I do know... but it is still a ridiculous price. Go look at their website and see more ridiculous prices. Next time, make a general statement, do not attack the comment and/or the commenter. :)
You obviously have no clue how much work goes into creating a working automaton - let alone designing one for other people to be able to assemble.
Turn the lights on! We can’t see it!
I love steampunk ornithopters
Why is Norm doing reviews for Instagram store scams. Isn't this an AD if they sent it for free?
$400? You're fucking insane.
For anyone complaining about Norm's building skills (tightening things too much, not enough oil): fiworld.info/goon/loGc4HnGznatp30/videot.html&ab_channel=JoanNPET In this video you can also see the mechanism slow down considerably.
more lube
It'd look nice being run by a small Mamod or Wilesco steam engine
It's beautiful, but I think it either needs more voltage for the motor or a stronger motor. The website shows a 3v power supply going to it and that's not enough to power relatively large metal and wood pieces like that. I'd hook it up to a bench power supply and crank up the voltage slowly while monitoring the power draw to make sure I'm not burning it up.
Seems like crap for $400. Pass
$400
I don't mind (in fact I like a bit of extra tinkering) but mild machining on something this expensive is a joke!
The wings look like they’re on backwards, the brass veins would be at the back
@Lotek Nomad Yes, definitely: fiworld.info/goon/loGc4HnGznatp30/videot.html
Wonder if that's what's causing the motion to drag.
Assembled with all the care and attention to detail of a Sears toy catalog photographer. Love ya Norm, couldn't resist that one.
@m f Picard facepalm moment
The link to the product shows the brass veins on the back. Norm put the top wings on backwards.
I wonder if they got permission to copy the OG art piece...
Is electricity really expensive in the Bay Area? If not, maybe turn a light on for the next video.
Really cool but $399? No thanks.
Let Adam give it more power and weather it for you(us).
ever heard of grease? they run smoother with some lubrication! A thick grease on the gears, light oil on the pivots.....
How about filming it in decent light so it can be seen 😡
I got really excited there for a second, I thought it said Firefly/Serenity, instead of Dragonfly. >.
@Phillip Greene Who ever makes that kit will be rich quick.
no joke if it was mels ship in walnut and brass I'd be ordering it right f'in now lol
Maybe put a little lube on some of the joints to give the motor less work.
The wing action is completely wrong. On a real dragonfly the front and rear wings alternate to keep it balanced.
I imagine it might be noisy because they for aesthetic reasons picked a very small and anemic motor and had to gear it massively to work, I think it would have been a better idea to use a bigger higher torque motor in the base and had the display pole be a static outer shell and an internal drive shaft with bearings at the ends or something.
seems to me you have the two sides misaligned with each other but if it was machined properly it would have been pretty hard to do that. if you're not too fussed you could loosen up some screws and try to realined the two sides.
If I had the disposable income to spend $400 on a model that’s definitely one I would go for. There’s lego kits in that ball park and this looks way nicer for an office or something. Maybe a little on the big side for most people unless you can work out a way to hang it.
@RadicalxEdward you should check out 40k. They have $1000 models that aren't even motorized lol
The motor noise seems like a small issue to me. It’s gorgeous and would be another interesting project to beef up the motor section.
The noise would drive me nuts, and for 400 USD, with the original price being 560, I would definitely expect better. The movement is also really janky.
Hmmmm, steam engine conversion? I bet you could figure out a way.
Need to adjust it
Really nice looking kit - Thanks for sharing Norm!
horrible site, f..k👎.
I thought this was a scam. Glad it's not. I might have to get one!
Looks beautiful, but for 400 bucks I would expect it to fly!
Yeah, I honestly did a little gut-punched-omfg reaction when I saw the pricetag. It's beautiful, sure, but... blimey.
big carnival row vibes
When I saw the parts come separated in tackle boxes I was like this thing’s expensive isn’t it lol. Yeah, like 500 bucks.
Dont worry, its on sale. Its *only* 399 now
@and2good2 Yeah, it's easier when you have a fair amount of money (from followers/viewers/etc), because then you get things sent to you and don't have to spend anything. This might sound like envy (and it is, to a degree), but I don't begrudge anyone that gets stuff like that. They've given companies a reason to give them things. But it does frustrate me, because I know my kid would love to do something like this, and I know I'll never be able to give it to him.
@and2good2 he mentioned it was sent to him #ad
I have enough toys I don't play with, unless it actually flies.
It looks like norm has two apple pro display xdr’s in the begining of the video, so i dont think 500 bucks is too much for him 😂
*beautiful kit and assembly...personally if and when i eventually get one of these kits for myself i would lightly hit the edges of the brass with a bit of sandpaper to round them slightly...that's just a personal aesthetic...these kits are pricey but absolutely gorgeous otherwise*
This would really benefit from a muscle wire mod.
this would be a cool 100 dollar gift idea, but 400 bucks? Insane, Greedy af
Make me one for $100 please, dont skimp out either, i want quality!
Cool model, but the finish on the brass parts is bad and I think some of the wood pieces, like the rings, would look way nicer if they were one piece. Seems like something someone would spend $400 on and then really regret it once they got it. Thank you for the video and review.
Probably the "wrong" motor then? In some models i have made i can clearly see that they had another motor or part in mind but that probably ran out so they jammed something else in!
A beautiful idea. I will have to make the real thing.
Lol...their prices are obnoxious. No thanks
Brass gears are known to make noise. A little light gear lube could quite them down a lot and make the motion smoother on the other moving parts, too.
I was sort of surprised that some sort of lube on those gears wasn't used. We didn't see the whole build, so perhaps he skipped that part? But, I think it looked pretty dry.
Adam would fix it. . . .
The wind flapping doesn’t look right. The motor might be running in reverse. Try reversing the polarity.
The motor is not running in reverse but he mounted the wings backwards, and even if you mount them right, it's a quite "unrealistic" wing movement
In the end you feel that you been burned. 400 bucks ? Thanks Norm for keeping my wallet shut. Moving on.
You really need to focus on removing the word "Uh" from your vocabulary. Halfway through you have said Uh/Um 46 times. I couldn't finish the video.
Plural automata, singular automaton, never "an automata".
i had latin in school, 25 years ago, and everytime someone makes such mistakes, my ears are twitching. I loved the teacher but hated memorizing thousands of words and their forms...