UGears Harry Potter Knight Bus

The speedy Knight Bus^TM can roar through the streets of Muggle London (or your living room) thanks to its powerful spring-powered motor, which is wound using a secret key stored on top of the bus. Raise the magical manipulator button, also on the roof of the bus, to lock the drive gears and prevent the bus from running away before all wizards and witches have boarded. With the bus stopped you can now remove the secret winding key, insert it into the ratchet mechanism on the side of the bus and give it a few twists. To set the bus in motion, press down the magical manipulator button while holding the bus, then let go! The Knight Bus^TM roars off thanks to a system of gears that transfer energy from the spring to the wheels, including a "flip" gear that lets the bus continue coasting.

The standout feature of the DIY wooden model Knight Bus^TM is its ability to transform by narrowing or expanding its width with a twist of the magical manipulator. Twist the knob on top of the bus counterclockwise and the bus becomes narrow, for squeezing between traffic. Twist the knob clockwise to expand the bus (and any passengers) to their true size. But here's the amazing thing—as the width of the bus changes, so does the speed! In its normal (not compressed) state, the bus travels astonishingly fast. Compress the bus and an internal mechanism makes the bus travel in slow motion.

You can leave the Knight Bus^TM in its attractive, natural wood state, paint it purple (as seen in  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), or do it up in any color scheme you like with your own paints or wood stains. The DIY model bus, based on a magical universe, created by J. K. Rowling, is rated "middle" difficulty, has 268 pieces and an estimated assembly time of 6 hours. To assemble, just punch the pieces out of the laser pre-cut boards and snap them together. No glue or special tools required. Don't forget to sand and wax the moving parts to make your Knight Bus^TM run smoothly (sandpaper and wax included in the kit). Detailed, illustrated instructions are available in 11 languages.

• Number of components: 268
• Estimated time of assembly: 6 hours
• Level: Medium