I received this model for Xmas and finally I completed it. I am not a novice at these types of builds I did several plus my own created designs. That being said the directions for the grasshopper body were almost incomprehensible and even using a magnifying glass I could not quite follow. So l ended with an approximate body very similar with what it supposed to be but not what it should have been.

The directions for the legs were legible enough and easy to follow. The model itself has a design weakness or the directions were not clear enough. The grasshopper has a heavy body and the leg connections to the body are not sturdy enough does not matter how hard I am tightening the screws. I even modifies the long legs with green springs to have a more sturdy ending that the ends provided that have a kind of joint mechanism so the leg rotates. Even with that the grasshopper itself barely stands up and definitely if you lift it to more to a different location the legs collapse under the weight of the body. It needs to be reset every time. This is very frustrating. Also lots of very small parts had no extras so better do not drop anything on the floor. Screws for example are cheap enough that the seller can add few more, especially for lengths less than 16 mm. Same with the lock m2 nuts. At least there were plenty of simple m2 nuts and small washers.

That being said, the overall design is clever, although few body pieces where I was sure about directions could not be made to not move so in the end I devised a kind of bracket to keep stuff together. Either way I enjoyed myself putting it together. The last photo is one of my own design of a mechanical cicada with laminated real cicada wings.

Another amazing model to put together, always great fun for me, except the photos used in the instructions, they are very different to follow and I really hope the makers consider using illustrations instead like other models.

The directions for the legs were good, the body directions were nearly impossible to follow. Bravo to the other reviewer who managed to create a cricket as shown. The pictures would’ve been easier to follow if they weren’t reduced. Not unhappy with my result but I created something quite different.