NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL PARIS

This was the first time I'd bought one of these and a difficulty level 5 was a steep learning curve. I recommend buying the snippers and needle nose pliers and the auxiliary tool kit from piececool too a without them this would have been almost impossible. Some of the pieces in this kit are absolutely tiny and required 3 or 4 bends. I soon purchased a magnifying headband with interchangeable magnifiers with different strengths of magnification as I think without it I wouldn't have been able to complete this. I made a few mistakes and it took me around 20 hours to complete this but the finished product is great. It's sturdy and amazingly detailed. The instructions are easy enough to follow and putting the pieces together is fairly simple. This is not an easy project to complete. You will need the tools and I recommend a magnifier for the smaller pieces and a steady hand but I thoroughly enjoyed completing this project and will complete more in the future. If you want a challenge this is definitely for you.

Wow what a model, detail is exquisite, excellent quality, some parts are difficult but as expected by its own difficulty rating, great value for money as has dual functions first as a model and second as a superb display piece. Thoroughly impressed by these models.

I bought the Notre Dame de Paris model (with tool) as I enjoy intricate builds and wanted something more challenging than the usual plastic kits. This is rated difficulty level 5, and that is absolutely accurate. It is not a quick or casual project. First impressions were very good. The packaging feels premium and everything is neatly presented inside. The stainless steel sheets are well cut and the detail on the etched pieces is impressive even before you start building. You can tell straight away this is designed to be a proper display model rather than a toy. There are 382 pieces in total, and some of them are extremely small. You need good lighting, patience and a steady hand. Although a tool is included, I would strongly recommend having fine needle-nose pliers and possibly even a magnifier if your eyesight isn’t perfect. The metal tabs require precise bending, and once you bend something the wrong way, it’s very difficult to undo cleanly. Assembly is entirely slot-and-bend – no glue required – which I like. It feels satisfying when sections click into place properly. That said, accuracy really matters. Even tiny misalignments early on can make later stages trickier, so it’s important not to rush. The build takes time. This isn’t an “afternoon project”. I spent several evenings on it, and some stages are repetitive and quite fiddly. However, when sections start to come together – particularly the towers and roof detail – it becomes very rewarding. The finished model is genuinely beautiful. The level of architectural detail is impressive, and because it’s stainless steel, it has a sleek, almost museum-quality look once completed. It feels sturdy when finished, provided everything has been assembled carefully. The only reason I wouldn’t give it a full five stars is that there are no spare pieces. If a tiny tab snaps (which can happen if over-bent), you’re stuck trying to work around it. It’s definitely not forgiving of mistakes. Overall, this is a challenging but very satisfying build for someone who enjoys precision and patience. If you’re experienced with metal model kits and want something intricate and display-worthy, it’s a great choice. Beginners may want to start with an easier model first.

I bought this for my 14-yr old son and found myself so jealous watching him make it that I bought one for myself! I highly recommend buying the Piececool tools to help make this and, even then, it is challenging due to its incredibly small parts. The packaging is very nice and the instructions are very easy to follow. All-in-all, the design of the entire product is superb. I'm not finished it yet but I'm really enjoying seeing the model grow - the detail is amazing! I'm not sure how long this will take to finish but I certainly feel I've got good value for money!

This is a difficult model with really small and intricate parts which does make it challenging, I am 3 days into building and only just finished the tower section (Steps 1 - 16) - 24 steps total. I am having a lot of fun and look forward to seeing the finished build.

After working my way up from easier models of this type I thought I would challenge myself. Definitely need the tab twisting tool for this one. I find some patience, some walking away and coming back a day later, helps with building these more complicated ones. This went well until right at the end when trying to fit it on the base and the various twists in connecting pieces meant it wasn't just quite flat along the bottom. But gently pressing here and there and tightening the bottom tabs means it looks near perfect. This is not easy to hold without bending tiny spires once it is starting to take shape, but in the end, well wort the effort, and looks very well. Especially after I put a small led light in the centre of it.

I bought a PieceCool set before and really enjoyed it, so I wanted more of a challenge and bought a new set. One level higher in difficulty. Now the last one didn't end up looking perfect, but the final product ended up still looking good. This one I couldn't even assemble at the end because milimeters of imperfection meant that I couldn't even get the full cathedral on the base, because it just would not fit. Endlessly tedious and repetitive tiny bits that weren't only boring to do but would also break at a single mistake! Do not recommend unless you hate fun and want to pull your hair out when the final product doesn't even come together.

This is a very beautiful, challenging and time consuming piece. I personally, love doing Metal Earth Models. However, with the challenge of this piece, also comes a lot of ware while bending the pieces and that ends up with them breaking, with no spare pieces...this products almost seems impossible to complete flawlessly and it is very difficult to fix and broken pieces.