Nifeliz Big Boy Locomotive, Articulated Steam Locomotive Building Block Set, Legendary Steam Train Display Kit for Gift Giving (1,818 Pieces)

It took me a long time (not to float my own boat) but I’ve been building legos for awhile and it took me a good chunk of time. This is my second neiflz set and I love this conpany. It’s the best bang for your buck. The only complaint I have is that the instructions can be a bit confusing at times but other than that it was wonderful. If you buy this set know that the side rails and hoses that connect the wheels are all different sizes and ITS NO ACCIDENT!!! DO NOT do what I did and just assume they were all the same length and js cut them to length. Yeah I know I’m dumb for that. If it was for my dumb mistake the set would be 10/10. And it also appears that you could customize it to make it battery powered if you wanted to run it on some tracks. It functions as a great model. All of the colors are the same and the plastic is great quality. It is decently durable. And is very detailed. I will hug more of their products!

As a long time fan of Lego, especially large builds, I was worried this one would not meet my high expectations.While there were a few small issues this set is 100% not to be missed if you like steam locomotives or trains. Such a fun build, amazing set, it's huge, good level of challenge and I'm surprised at the originality of the set too.First the pain points: it's not Lego. You knew that. And while this never actually deters from the set, the overall level of polish is close but there there. Larger plates, sequentially assembled, fit a little off and tend to bow over the length. This was especially prevalent in the first chapter of this build: the huge track base. But once built it's fine and there was no issue.The instructions are really well done though not quite as intuitive as Lego. Some of the slightly more complex sib assemblies are not shown complete after the sub assembly before movin to the next step. The long one-off pieces (hydraulic hoses and pipes that span the length of the boiler and wheelbase) are not quite the right length. While good they are not too short, I will get around to cutting them eventually as two are slightly too long.The design in terms of construction order is good, there were some steps that would have been better with an editor or two testing the build before final release though as the instructions could have been clearer. One glaring example is when putting the main drive wheel linkages on the drive wheels, it's not overly obvious that the orientation of the wheels matters a great deal. But if the wheels are in the wrong position with respect to left vs right side of the engine, it matters and the drive linkages fall out when. The wheels turn. This was fun for me though as I was able to find the very minor detail in the instructions that I missed and backtrack and correct it. Still, official Lego instructions call out these issues to make sure the user is aware the tiny details matter.Also ... The stickers were a pain I separate from the backing. Nothing a razer blade and patience couldn't fix in the end.... But I never had problems with the backing not releasing on Lego sets.These tiny the bugs aside, the set was as fun to build as any Lego set I've done. I just finished building the 1989 Batman Batmobile and Batwing as well as the Tumbler and this was just as fun and just as impressive as the end and $200 cheaper than each of those sets.The bags are amazing with the actual step range each bag covers (such as 1-15, 16-24, etc). This kept the large pile of spare pieces to a minimum which was easier to contain over several nights of building a little at a time. Also on this note was the inclusion of the cardboard trays for sorting pieces. What a great idea! This made building easy and straightforward.All in all, this set was a great buy. I will definitely look for this manufacturers other sets and hope the experience is consistent.

I am giving this a 5 start but may have to rethink after the building is completethe manual is detailed but because the pieces are mostly black or gray it can be confusing to understand the picture of how many rows to skipthe first step was the display stand - it was challenging for my husband who has a built a lot of lego large piece setsthe blocks are great quality and fit good and snug - no issues

I've been a lifelong fan of LEGO models, but real LEGOs are so expensive that it is difficult to justify the purchases sometimes. I have tried several of the "knock-off" brands and usually there are serious deficiencies in both block quality and fit, as well as overall quality control in missing pieces and designs that just don't go together well.This is my first Nifeliz model, and I must say I am impressed! I've also always been a fan of the UP 4000 series locomotives, so when I saw this model, I had to get it. The fact that it's not as dirt cheap as other knock-off brands and the overall positive reviews gave me a little more confidence in the purchase, and I am glad I made it. Overall, it took me maybe 12 hours or so to build over the course of an evening and the following morning. It is BIG! The overall dimensions are about 31 1/5 inches long, 5 1/5 inches tall (including the track base), and about 4 inches wide. Block quality is excellent, just about as good as real LEGOs, though LEGOs are slightly more aesthetically pleasing (things like the LEGO logo on top of the studs, where these just have nothing or mold marks). The pieces are packaged in a very clear way, with each bag of parts corresponding to a specific series of steps. No having to dig through different bags looking for the right one. Each bag contains all the parts for the steps printed on the bag. I also very much like the inclusion cardboard "storage trays" that made the build far easier to manage. A few extra pieces, and no missing pieces (though I thought I was missing one tiny piece, but I found it in the next bag).I am a bit disappointed in some design choices. For example, the coupler rods (the parts that connect to the drive wheels and the steam cylinders) only connect to two of the drivers (drive wheels) on each section. The front two drivers on each section are just free spinning. Additionally, the steam cylinders on the rear driver truck basically don't exist, and the pushrod just floats in the open. I don't know why they didn't use a few cam and link parts to simulate the cylinders like they did on the front (see pictures 2 & 3).Overall, I am very happy with this build. It went together quite easily, with the exceptions noted below, and the final model is quite a site. Read on for details on the few problems I ran into.PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE INSTRUCTIONS WHEN DEALING WITH PLATES BOTH WITH AND WITHOUT HOLES! The instructions are not very clear in differentiating these parts, and it's easy to put down a bunch of plates only to find you need to break them all up and start over. The instructions are fairly good, though the choice of colors (making previous steps all the same grey color in the current step) sometimes makes it a little difficult to see what your supposed to do).Lastly, there were a couple of loose fitting parts, one of which makes the build extremely delicate to handle (which is to be expected, but it's much worse because of the loose parts). First, there are a pair of decorative bars meant to simulate the handrails around the front of the boiler. The piece in question is a pair of parts that slip onto the ends of a plastic hose/tube that simulates the rail along the side of the boiler. These two parts simply slip over this tube, and the fit is extremely loose, especially on the right side (there is no grip on the right, it simply falls off if not braced). I added a pair of extra black beam "connector pins" to the build that tightened these pieces a little, but they are still too loose (see pic 4). Also, those plastic tubes were cut slightly too short, exacerbating the loose fit problem. These tubes should have been left slightly longer and let the builder cut them to exact length during the build.The second loose fitting part is the one that makes it so difficult to handle. The Leading Truck (the four small wheels at the front of the locomotive) is built around a rather interesting set of axle (spline shaft) connections. Among these are four gray pieces butted against each other over a short spline shaft (the gray pieces underneath the blue bar in the pic). Unfortunately, these pieces are the only things connecting the front two wheels of the truck to the back ones, and they are both very loose fitting. As a result, if you pull on the nose of the locomotive any, these pieces separate and the forward part of the Leading Truck comes away. It is also extremely difficult to put these back together because all of these parts are free-moving axle pieces meant to allow the Leading Truck a good deal of movement.There are other strange design choices, such as bevel gears being installed on almost all Drivers, but they don't do anything. It's almost like the designer intended to have a gear-drive system inside to link the Drivers together but then dropped the idea. The plastic ribbed hoses on the side were also not thought out well, as the forward one is supposed to be bent, but the piece at the front of the hose only attaches to the train at one point, so it can swivel and the force of the bent hose just pushes it away. I ended up just cutting the hose shorter and connecting it to a different point on at the back. It's not right, but it's better than before.

Excellent quality! This model is huge! Lots of parts but great fit/finish/quality! I would not hesitate to buy this or any other kit from them! My son and myself built this in about 12 hours. Instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Bags were labeled and parts were easy to identify throughout the build process. I did go on YouTube for some tips and tricks Incase there were any. Do not hesitate getting this model if on the fence about it! It’s not “LEGO” but it’s quality is on par!