Ravensburger 3D Empire State Building

In 2006, Mr K and I went to New York for his 30^th birthday and of course we had to visit the iconic Empire State Building.  The Empire State Building is a 103-story skyscraper and has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 feet (443 m) high.  It is the tallest building in New York once again since the September 11 attacks in 2001. They have been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

This is us on the rooftop of the Empire State Building.

This is me at the other building looking across the Empire State Building.

Those were happy times and now I am very excited to receive this 3D shaped puzzle of The Empire State Building!

This is a brand new Ravensburger 3D jigsaw concept using the latest puzzle technology from Germany.  This puzzle uses unique hinged plastic pieces, which slot together to build a sturdy and strong “building”. No glue is required.

This puzzle has got 216 high quality plastic pieces and measures 46.5cm when complete.  Each puzzle piece is printed with a number on the reverse side, so you can either assemble the puzzle by eye, or just by following the numbers. I sorted them out into my Lego advent tray by putting them in 1- 9, 10 – 19 etc! It is so handy to reuse the tray! I knew one day I would find a use for it.

It requires 3 AAA batteries for the LED light box to be placed on the plastic tray. Then cover it with the printed base board to display on a shelf or table top. Watch the changing colours create an amazing light show in the dark.

This is how it looks like when it is lit up.

This puzzle is suitable for aged 12 onwards.  I found it quite challenging and fun at the same time.  For some pieces, I did find it hard to slot them in properly so I had to dissemble a few pieces before slotting them back to realign them.  It only take me an hour to build and it was not difficult at all.

Here are a few tips to complete this puzzle:

1. Make use of a tray with lots of compartments (like a large advent calendar).
2. Clip the pre-bent hinged piece together tightly.
3. Have a rubber band handy. I used it to keep some areas tight while I completed the top.
4. Pieces with a plastic dot on the printed number means that you have reach the level to slot in the rectangle plastic.
5. Be careful to not force it as it might break.

Our family were very impressed with the building and now it going to sit proudly in our living room!

Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.