JMBricklayer 70003 Steampunk Dinosaur Marble Run - Tips and Tricks

 

Hey brick fans, we are back to show you some of the exciting features of the JMBricklayer Steampunk Dinosaur Marble run.   We will then talk about some of the tips and tricks I found that helped me get the most enjoyment from the set.

A huge thank you to JMBricklayer for providing me with an advance copy of the Marble Run set to build and preview.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post set review, the Marble Run set is definitely a challenging set and is meant for expert builders.  If you are new to Lego compatible sets or marble runs, make sure you have someone help you out and be sure to follow the instructions properly to get the most satisfaction from the set.   Don't get discouraged, just keep at it and you will be rewarded with all the fun and excitement watching the marbles make their way around .

In case you missed the other parts of my JMBricklayer 70003 Marble Run reviews, you can find them here:

Unboxing the JMBricklayer 70003 Marble Run set: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2024/06/unboxing-kickstarter-funded.html

Part 1 - Building the JMBricklayer 70003 Marble Run: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2024/06/constructing-5391-piece-jmbricklayer.html

Part 2 can be found here: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2024/06/building-5391-piece-jmbricklayer-70003.html

It's not on the JMBricklayer website yet, but is available at a discount through the Kickstarter program which indicates that sets will ship starting in August 2024.

So here are some tips that you may find useful during your build.  I also point out some of the tricks I used to help me with building the marble run.   Ok, let's go!

Tip #1

Review the instruction manual first and understand the placement of all the features such as the dinosaur platform, the storage tanks, the chemical tanks, etc.   Failure to place the elements in the correct location may impact future steps and item placement down the road.

Tip #2

Take your time and don't rush.  This is a complex set and it has many, many steps.  It took me about two to three weeks off and on to build the set, and then about another week to perform functional and marble testing.   If you run into problems, take a breather and come back and look at it on another day.

Tip #3

Test as you build.  Once you have the battery and motor attached together, check their operation because if these don't work, you have no marble run.   If you encounter any problems with either the battery pack or the motors be sure to reach out to JMBricklayer support.  My understanding is that thy will send you replacements for missing or defective parts.

Tip #4

Use new batteries.   The included battery box uses 6 AA  batteries which are not provided.  It's extremely important that you use new batteries, because old batteries will not have enough juice to power both motors.  In fact, during the course of my building and testing, I had to replace my first set of new batteries with another set of 6.   So make sure you have new batteries at your disposal.   Maybe one day, JMBricklayer can make the set powered by an external power source such as USB or whatnot.

Tip #5

The moving dinosaur steps.   There are two sets of the and they are driven by gears and cams underneath the steps.  They are driven by one of the motors.  The other motor will be dedicated to operating the tower lifts.  After you have constructed each of the moving steps, try running them by placing a ball at one end and see if the marbles move from one end to the other.   I messed up the placement of the cams on one of my steps and had to take it apart and redo it to get it working right.

Tip #6

The two elevator lifts.    I can't stress enough how vital these two elevators are to the set.  One is like a tractor chain that lifts the marbles up the tower.  It is constructed in stage 4 (pages 125 through 160 of manual A) and it's important that his runs smoothly.  Any friction will cause the corresponding gears to seize up and stop.  Testing consists of making sure the chain runs smoothly, however we cannot run any marbles up it at the moment.

Regarding the corkscrew elevator, the base of it has a collection area for the marbles (as shown on page 118, of instruction manual A).   The bottom is constructed of 3 parts, a 6x10 plate, a 2x10 plate and a 1x10 plate.  In the instructions, the 6x10 plate is at the front and the 1x10 is at the back.   I found that it collapses when I try to apply pressure to the structure in steps 3-60 and 3-61.

My trick:

To mitigate this problem, rotate this part so that the 1x10 is on the front and the 6x10 is on the back.   This will make it sturdier when building up the cage that sits over the base.

The corkscrew elevator is constructed in Manual B, Stage 5 (pages 221 through 224) and requires special attention when winding the hose around the central stem.  The transparent green shaft (stage 5-40) and the gold tile wall are what guides the marbles up the corkscrew.  Once you have built and attached the green tower, try putting a marble in the base and see if it makes it's way up the corkscrew.  You might have to hold the central stem of the corkscrew straight to make it work.

Tip #7

The track holders.   The track holders and the long brown hoses are what make up the tracks for the marble run.   You should position the clamps so that they make a consistent width of track for the marble to run.  If you position them too close together or too far apart, the marble will fall off the track.  You will be building a lot of them for the set, so make sure you make them the same for each one.

My trick:

I found that it was sometimes difficult to keep the clamps in place, especially when trying to force them into the holes of the technic arms.   Some of them would pop off just as I was installing them with the hoses.   My solution was to stick technic pins into the holes and attach the back side of the track holders to them instead of the front.

If you have some of these smaller technic pins, see how I inserted them into the technic arms.  Now you attach the track holders to the pins instead of trying to force them into the holes of the technic arms.  These are the type of technic pins I'm talking about.

You don't have to do it everywhere, only for those parts where the clamps don't stay in place.  Of course, this solution will only work if you have some of those small technic pins in your parts bin to use.

Tip #8

Most of stage 6 will involve the installation of the track for the marble run.   The instruction manual provides exact measurements for both the rails of the track.   There is an inside and outside rail and the most times, they are not the same length.  There are four different lengths of hoses, so make sure you use the right ones when cutting.

My trick:

Ok, here's where I cheated.  Instead of checking the manual each time and measuring the tracks and cutting, I simply attached the hoses in the place where they need to be installed and cut in place.  I found I could move much more quickly doing it this way, but if this seems difficult for you, stick to the instructions in the manual.

Laying of the marble run track starts on page 274 in Manual B, stage 6.   The sequence of events starts with step 6-18 and working to 6-48 on page 304.   The instructions essentially start laying the track from bottom to top.   There were some parts of the instructions where I could not tell where to connect the tracks, being that they were on the bottom, I found it slightly disorienting.

I stopped and went back over the steps to lay the track, and here's what I did.

My trick:

I started laying track from the top to bottom.  Here is the somewhat reversed sequence of track laying I used for my Marble run that allowed me to visualize how the track would flow downwards:

6-48, 6-47, 6-46, 6-42, 6-41, 6-40, 6-37, 6-38, 6-36, 6-35, 6-45, 6-44, 6-43, 6-39, 6-24, 6-20, 6-18, 6-19, 6-21, 6-22, 6-23, 6-25, 6-26, 6-27, 6-28, 6-29, 6-30, 6-31, 6-32, 6-33, and finally 6-34.

By doing this I could run a marble down each segment of the track as I laid it and troubleshoot it's ability to stay on the track and adjust the track as needed.

Tip #8

Guardrails.  Sometimes no matter how you adjust the track, the marbles just won't go where you want them to.   This is especially true when they are coming out of the top of the elevator lift or coming out of the lava tunnel.   They just shoot out past the track.

My trick:

I had lots of extra leftover brown hoses after installing the track.  I figured I could put it to good use by making some guard rails at problem points throughout the track, like at the aforementioned exit points and when tracks did a sharp curve.   Just cut some of the hoses to the length you need and use the extra clips and clip hem to the track.

Here's a guardrail I added when the marbles exit the dinosaur pit.

Here's multiple guardrails I added where the marbles exit one of the dinosaur steps and feed into the base of the corkscrew tower lift.

I added a guardrail at the mouth of the corkscrew lift.

There are many more, such as exiting the orange lava tunnels, and the exiting the dinosaur body. Just add them where ever you need them.

Tip #9

There are two cranes that you build and perch on top of the upper platforms.   The cranes work really well and they will hold the load of pipes, but the weight of the pipes causes the crane to topple off the platform.

My trick:

I added 2 pieces of 2x6 blocks as a sandwich layer between the cranes and the platform.  By providing the extra clutch needed, and positioning the balance point slightly off the platform, the cranes stayed firmly in place.

Tip #10

Balls, balls, everywhere!   It's inevitable that no matter how well you build the marble run, some of the marbles will fall off.   I started to collect them but had nowhere to put them.   

My trick:

To solve this dilemma, I made a container out of spare bricks and attached it to the marble run technic frame, close to the top of the lava tunnel.   This made it easy to consolidate the marbles, whenever I had to retrieve them, and putting them near the entrance to the lava tunnel seemed like the best location.

Here's my blog post on how to make your own storage container:  https://bricksandfigs.blogspot.com/2024/08/i-made-custom-storage-tray-for.html

Tip #11

As mentioned earlier, there is a single motor that drives both of the marble lifts: the chain lift and the corkscrew lift.   The shared gearing for both of these lifts also connects to a set of extra gears that turn but provide no other function other than cosmetic.  In my case, the torque generated by having those extra set of gears attached, caused both of my elevators to slow down and stop during their operation of transporting multiple marbles in the lift.

My trick:

Pictured above are the gears that I'm referring to.  I managed to pull this assembly off and disable the small gear on the other side of the grey U joint, thereby rendering these gears inoperable.  By doing this, there was less stress caused to the elevator gearing and now the lifts work perfectly in my marble run!

In conclusion, I found the JMBricklayer Steampunk Dinosaur Marble Run set to be really amazing and challenging.  It tested my patience at times, but the end result was worth it.   I hope you found my tips and tricks to be helpful to address some of the minor issues I had when putting the set together.   I can definitely recommend this set to anyone who is a fan of GBC marble run setups or just want an exciting and challenging building experience.

More info about the JMBricklayer Kickstarter program can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jmbricklayer/jmbricklayer-steampunk-marble-run-70003

Don't forget to check out the JMBricklayer website and visit their Facebook and Instagram pages to participate in their promotions and monthly contests where you can win free sets and get exclusive discount codes up to 60% off.   For the non sale sets, you can use my special discount code itsnotlego15% to save an extra 15% off.

The latest deals: https://www.jmbricklayer.com/special-deals-for-us/?wpam_id=33

Want to see more JMBricklayer set reviews?  Check them out at https://bricktoyreviews.blogspot.com.

Bye for now!

#jmbricklayer #marblerun #kickstarter

Building the 5391 piece JMBricklayer 70003 Steampunk Dinosaur Marble Run set - Part 2

 

Hi brick fans,

Welcome to my blog post about the new Kickstarter funded JMBricklayer Steampunk Dinosaur Factory Marble Run.  It's got a whopping 5391 pieces and comes with a battery pack and two motors to power all the dynamic features of the set, such as the two working elevators, the moving staircases and the spinning dinosaur!

If you are interested to know more about the JMBricklayer Kickstarter program for the Marble Run set, you can find the link here.  The Super Early Bird and Early Bird pledge funding has already completed but there is still a special discount happening right now.

JMBricklayer a leading global provider of Lego compatible brick sets was so kind to furnish me with an advance preview copy of the Marble Run set, which I had the pleasure of building and testing.

This is my Part 2 post, a continuation of my previous blog post which is Part 1 which you can find here.   I also did an unboxing blog post which you can find here, if that interests you.   Part 1 looked at the first four stages of the construction of the marble run.  This post will look at the final  stages 5 through 7 of the build.

Stage 5 of 7

For this stage we are working from instruction manual B.   This stage will focus on building the Lava tubes and it's associated supporting structure and the corkscrew elevator.

Here are all of the parts bags for stage 5.  There are 23 numbered bags: 70003-59, 59A, 60, 60A, 61, 61A, 

62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 69A, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, and 77.   

In stage 5, we will be constructing the following features:

Lava tunnels and supporting structure (pages 175  thru 220)

Marble Run track holders (pages 188 thru 191, 216 thru 218)

Corkscrew Elevator (pages 221 thru 233)

The multi-level orange Lava tubes and requisite scaffolding structure are installed right next to the vertical lift tower.  Marbles will come out of the vertical lift and fall into the lava tubes, which are a series of connected ramps.  At the moment we can only drop marbles into the lava tube to make sure they come out the bottom.  Once the track is in, we will have to do more thorough testing.

As part of the scaffolding support, we also add extensions and clips whose purpose is to hold the marble run track in place.  The track will be installed in the next stage.

The next component to be built is the corkscrew elevator.  First you build the long central shaft.  I forgot to take a picture of it while I was working on it, so here is the diagram from the instruction manual.

You then wrap a hose around the central shaft.   It took me awhile to figure out how the hose wraps around the center shaft properly.  As the instructions suggest, you need to pay close attention here.

Here's a closer look at the corkscrew tower during it's assembly.  I did a preliminary test of the corkscrew and  it's really neat to see it in action.  

The transparent green windows allows one to watch the future marbles as they ascend to the top of the tower.  

In the above picture, you can see the multiple track holder extensions that protrude from the main structure.

Stage 6 of 7

Moving on to stage 6, let's take a look at the parts inventory.  There are 14 bags numbered as follows: 70003-78, 79, 80. 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, and 90A.

Stage 6 will continue adding more supporting infrastructure, especially along the exterior of the corkscrew elevator,  and the installation of additional track holders.   This will pretty much encompass pages 234 through 273.  After that, the remainder of the instructions for this stage are basically laying the track all around and through the marble run structure (pages 274 thru 304).

Here's a look at the flexible tubing that is used for the marble run track.  It comes in 4 different lengths and to ensure you have enough track , the manual specifies which length of track you need to use to cut down to the proper size.   

Laying the track was a bit time consuming so I didn't really take many pictures during this stage.   Once you have laid all the track, you have basically completed all of the functional components.   Feel free to have some fun now and try out the marble run track, elevators and steps!

All of the components you need to build in the last stage 7, are basically cosmetic, so now is probably the best time to start your marble run testing.  

The marble run set provides you with 10 orange "marbles" which are Lego compatible basketballs.  

For the the testing of the Marble Run, I will make a third and final blog post, where I point out some useful tips and tricks on how to increase your enjoyment of the set.  I will also show you some of my modifications, like my custom ball holder which can be attached to the frame so that it's easier to collect and store your marbles for your next run.

Anyways, we will look at the final stage 7 and see what other neat elements we can add to the set.

Stage 7 of 7

For the final stage we have 12 bags of parts, numbered sequentially from 70003-91 thru 70003-102.

As I mentioned previously, the rest of the elements are just the icing on the cake.   Let's look at all of the cool elements now.

There are two pallets of pipes (pages 305 thru 309).  Place them where you like or follow the instructions.

Two pallets of covered barrels (pages 310 thru 311). Place them where you like or follow the instructions.

A rotating Laser gun, needs to be mounted as per the instructions (pages 312 thru 314).

Flying dinosaur needs to be mounted over top of the corkscrew elevator, so that it can rotate.  (pages 315 thru 324)

And finally there are two working cranes.  They can rotate, and raise and lower their loads using the string reel. (pages 325 thru 339.

The quality of the bricks is excellent and as you can see from the pictures, the marble run looks amazing.  Brick clutch is excellent with just a few minor issues with the track holders not staying in place, but they can be easily pressed back in.  

The marble run set is quite challenging but if you follow the instructions correctly, it can be a very rewarding experience, especially when you see that the marbles are making their way through the tracks and obstacles.  Definitely my favourite parts of the sets are the two elevators that lift the marbles up to the top, followed by the dinosaur themed steps. Other notable features include the spinning pterysaur which looks like it had just escaped captivity.  If you love steampunk and dinsoaurs, you will definitely want the marble run set in your collection.

Ok, that's a wrap for this blog post.  Hope you have found the information helpful.  Once I have created the tricks and tips blog post, I'll update the link here.

Don't forget to check out the JMBricklayer website and visit their Facebook and Instagram pages to participate in their promotions and monthly contests where you can win free sets and get exclusive discount codes up to 60% off.   For the non sale sets, you can use my special discount code itsnotlego15% to save an extra 15% off.

The latest deals: https://www.jmbricklayer.com/special-deals-for-us/?wpam_id=33

Want to see more JMBricklayer set reviews?  Check them out at https://bricktoyreviews.blogspot.com.

Thanks for looking!  Bye for now!

Constructing the 5391 piece JMBricklayer Steampunk/Dino Marble Run 70003 Building Block set - Part 1

 

Hey brick fans, welcome back to my blog!

Today we will review all the steps it took to build the mega sized structure which is the JMBricklayer Steampunk/Dino themed Marble Run set.   In case you missed the unboxing of the building block set, you can find it here.

Recap

Here's a quick recap of the set.  It has been under development for about 2 years and JMBricklayer launched the set as a kickstarter campaign on June 21, 2024.  It reached and surpassed it's funding goals in  record 9 hours, showing that there is a huge interest in this unique set!

Brand: JMBricklayer

Set and Number: Steampunk Marble Run Dinosaur Factory 70003

Theme: Fantastic Idea

Piece Count: 5391+ pieces

Age Rating: 14+

Numbered Bags: Yes

Stickers: No

Printed Parts: No

Minifigures: No

Lighting Effect: No

Motorised: Yes - 2 motors included

Powered: Yes - 6 AA Battery pack included

 The construction of this gigantic set is broken down into 7 stages.  As I mentioned in my previous unboxing post, the Marble Run set is subpackaged into three boxes, of which Box A contains parts bags labelled 1 thru 4, Box B contains bags 5 thru 7 and the third box contains the track and motors. 

***

Warning:  This is going to be a very long blog post, so feel free to take a break and come back anytime!

***

Stage 1 of 7

So of course we will start in Box A, bag 1.   Bag 1 is broken down into 14 smaller parts bags.

For those who are wondering, the smaller bags are prefixed by 70003 with the numbers as follows:  1, 2, 3, 3A, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and a bag that has no number.   I'm guessing that maybe they needed to add more parts after the initial packaging, hence the odd numbering system.

The parts will correspond to stage 1 of the instructions as pictured above and all of this will be assembled on to the large 48x48 stud baseplate that is provided in the set.   

If you need to preview the build and watch the JMBricklayer tutorial, you can find it here complete with the instruction manuals available fr download.

Before we begin, you want to make sure we have a large workspace because the footprint of this set is enormous and you will need to have access to all the parts from the various bags.

BTW, a red brick separator tool can be found in the very first parts bag labelled as 70003.1.  It's a useful tool that might come in handy later.

You can't just put the parts down on the baseplate willy nilly, you must follow the specific location of each part as designated in the instructions, because a mistake here, will impact the rest of the build.  See the red dots on the page above.

It would be impossible to document every step in pictures, but I will point out some of the highlights as we go.  We start by building the dinosaur platform (pages 4 thru 10), a nuclear reactor (pages 11 thru 14), a chemical tank (pages 15 and 16) and then we install the 9V battery pack (pages 23 and 24) and one of the motors (pages 30 and 31).  

Remember that you need to supply your own fresh AA batteries, 6 of them, since they are not provided with the set.

A medieval looking nuclear reactor?

Ok, someone please tell me why there is a monkey inside the chemical tank?

It's not steampunk, if there's not a lot of steam!  Lots of piping and handles which I totally forgot to attach back to the dino platform.

We placed the red flames randomly because it was hard to figure out the placement.  Since they look to be decorative, I didn't worry about impacting any future steps, and if they get in the way, I can always remove them later.  Did you notice  the two frying pans on the flames?  In hindsight I should have left the flames off altogether as you won't really notice them after the entire marble run structure is built around them.

Here's the how the Marble Run set looks after completing stage 1.  I tested the functionality of the battery pack and motor here to turn the first set of gears.  Luckily no issues with their operation.   Ok, time to move on to stage 2.

Stage 2 of 7

There are a total of 20 smaller bags for Stage 2 and they are prefixed 70003 and numbered as follows:  12, 12A, 13, 13A, 13A, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.   

Yes, I got two bags marked 13A but the contents of each bag was different!  Check it out!

In stage 2, we will be constructing the following features:

Steampunk Chemical Tanks (pages 36 and 78)

Dinosaur Steps (pages 35, 37 thru 43, 76, 79 thru 83)

Dinosaur Pit (pages 67 thru 71)

Motor #2 installation (page 62)

The first dynamic feature is the marble run is the moving dinosaur steps.   There is essentially a ger driven camshaft underneath the dinosaur steps that makes them go up and down. There are two sets of these steps.  

I tested the first step using the motor and it was ok, but I had difficulties on the second set of steps because they were jamming. I don't know if I got the placement of the cams wrong but it seemed that the 4 stud long technic pin used was interfering with the proper operation.  I substituted it with a 3 stud long technic pin from my space parts, and then it worked ok after that.

Here's a pic I took with the Dinosaur pit and second motor installed, but before the second set of Dinosaur steps.  Under the dinosaur pit is a two way diverter that will be later used to move marbles in different directions when the they are dropped into the pit.

And here the second set of chemical tanks and dinosaur steps are installed.  The second motor is responsible for driving both sets of dinosaur steps, which are now working properly at the end of stage 2.

Next to the Dino pit, there is a large gear with chain drive that slips once in awhile, but I tried to get the tension as tight as possible.  Not a showstopper at this point, hopefully not an issue later.

Stage 3 of 7

Here are all the parts bags for stage 3 with 14 bags in total and numbered sequentially from 70003.29 thru 70003.42 with no numbering anomalies.

There are two main components built in stage 3, the mechanical dinosaur and the base for the corkscrew elevator.

The mechanical dinosaur has to functions.  The dino body is a diverter, so any marbles dropping into the top will be randomly redirected.  The dino head moves up and down (driven by the big gear with the chain we mentioned in stage 2).  The mouth of the dinosaur has a flame that will knock marbles into the dino pit when the head moves up or down.   Hey, who let that guy in?  Security, we have an intruder!!!

For the last component of stage 3, we build the technic base and frame for the corkscrew elevator (which will be built in a future stage).  

Stage 4 of 7

In stage 4 we have a total of 16 bags of parts numbered 70003.43 thru 70003.58.

Stage 4 sees the construction of a vertical marble lift elevator (not the corkscrew, that one comes later).  

There's a special warning in the instruction guide about it being a difficult assembly, but I don't recall having much issue with putting this part together.

After installing it to the baseplate, make sure to test that the tracks are moving properly through the technic frame by attaching it to the motor driven gears.

At the very top of the vertical lift sits a bell tower and again it looks like we have yet another intruder.

Ok, so I think I will end this part of the post here.  We have just finished the instructions from the Manual A with the corresponding parts bags 1 thru 4.

Time to take a break and pick this up in part 2 of the blog post where will be review Manual B and assemble the Marble Run using bags 5 thru 7.

Part 2 can be found here: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2024/06/building-5391-piece-jmbricklayer-70003.html

Thanks for staying with me for this long, hope you found the review of the JMBricklayer Steampunk/Dinosaur Marble Run helpful.

Don't forget to check out the JMBricklayer website and visit their Facebook and Instagram pages to participate in their promotions and monthly contests where you can win free sets and get exclusive discount codes up to 60% off.   For the non sale sets, you can use my special discount code itsnotlego15% to save an extra 15% off.

The latest deals: https://www.jmbricklayer.com/special-deals-for-us/?wpam_id=33

Want to see more JMBricklayer set reviews?  Check them out at https://bricktoyreviews.blogspot.com.

Bye for now!