JMBricklayer Steampunk Marble Run 70003 is a building bricks GBC(Great Ball Contraption) set that combines elements of the industrial steam age and dinosaurs. Powered by a dual-motor system, once batteries are inserted, sets the balls rolling continuously along predetermined tracks (including rotating/vertical ascending routes and horizontal dual tracks), with other movable parts also in action, recreating the bustling scenes of vintage steam-era factory. Boldly incorporating designs from ancient times adds an innovative and dreamy atmosphere to the entire setting.

You’ll find this to be a uniquely creative idea. Unlike other marble runs, they boast the richest details and unique scenery!

PS: It’s not just your ordinary toy! Assembling it requires a great deal of patience, hands-on skills, and critical thinking. If you can tackle this challenge, you’ll certainly enjoy the immersive joy of building and feel proud of your accomplishment! Alternatively, you can use it as a means to cultivate patience and concentration, experiencing your own progress along the way.

The Steampunk Marble Run 70003 features a diverse range of tracks and is ingeniously designed as a cyclic closed-loop, powered by motor operation, which drives the rotation of gears within the mechanism, thus propelling the entire apparatus. Internal tracks interconnect all components, allowing the balls to roll in a closed loop, resulting in a visually stunning effect.

The components that operate in sync with the motor include:
1. Elevators that lift the balls to the highest point to start a new cycle.
2. The T-Rex’s mouth flame that moves up and down, randomly setting the balls’ paths.
3. The dinosaur bone stairways that go up and down, taking the balls forward.
4. The pterosaur that rotates along with a connected column.

There are two manuals, A and B. To assemble this Marble Run with ease, you must follow the 

steps outlined in the manuals precisely.

On the first page of Manual A, you’ll see that constructing this Marble Run involves seven major

steps, corresponding to the numbered parts packages. For instance, the parts for the first major step  are labeled 1XX, the parts for the second major step are labeled 2-XX, and so on, up to the seventh major step with parts labeled 7-XX.

At the end of Manual B, there are additional instructions that we highly recommend reading 

before you start building.Furthermore, we’ve created a tutorial video and an article that explain 

in detail the various challenges you might encounter during building.

If you come across any issues we haven’t addressed, feel free to contact us at vip@jmbricklayer.com,  and we’ll ensure your building process goes smoothly!

Lava Tunnel
When high-temperature lava, ranging from 650°C to 1400°C, cools and forms lava tunnels on the surface, the inner rock walls are mostly orange. The 70003 cleverly incorporates transparent orange bricks, allowing observers to see the ball rolling along the steps of the tunnel from the outside.

Cranes
When you turn the gears beneath the cranes, you can control the ropes for lifting operations and also perform a 360-degree rotation – faithfully replicating the real working principle of cranes!

Chemical Tank & Dinosaur Bones
The dinosaur bones swing up and down with the movement of the gray stairways, accentuated by the green transparent chemical tank, resembling a real chemical experiment in action!

Flamethrower
After phosphine is produced, it emerges into the air through cracks or holes underground and burns, emitting a blue light (also known as will-o’-the-wisp). Inspired by this, we designed this green flamethrower. Additionally, we crafted a unique design for its support pillars, ensuring stability while enabling a 360-degree rotation. Inside the desolate ancient factory, flickering will-o’-the-wisps burn unpredictably…

Storage Tank
No one knows what’s inside the energy storage tank. Be cautious and avoid casually rotating the yellow disc and handles to prevent unknown hazards.

Reactor
Also, refrain from touching any buttons on the control panel at will. The warning from the red indicator light is significant. It could awaken ancient dinosaurs or result in uncontrolled dangerous chemicals from those large tanks – both scenarios could potentially destroy the entire factory!

T-Rex
In reality, the T-Rex in this set is much larger than depicted in the pictures. The massive T-Rex spans the upper and lower tracks of the marble run, with small balls rolling in through the upper track on its back and then out through the lower track from its belly. Perhaps due to its captivity by humans, the T-Rex is highly agitated, its gaping maw spewing out angry flames – serving as a diversion point for the ball’s path, where it can either continue rolling forward along the original route or drop into a funnel for a downward journey. Gears adorn the shoulders and legs of the T-Rex, while its neck features three spring-like connectors, reminiscent of early industrial mechanical aesthetics.

Pterosaur
Apart from the towering watchtower, the most conspicuous sight is the enslaved, freedom-deprived pterosaur, firmly tethered to a massive pillar by a heavy iron chain, destined to oversee the entire factory from the highest. When the motor activates, it springs to life, rotating 360 degrees, overseeing the entire factory.

Rotating Lift
In the rotating lift, we use a silver ribbed tube that wraps around a black pillar. When the motor turns, it drives the silver ribbed tube to rotate as well. As the lift moves, the small ball at the bottom follows the path of the silver ribbed tube and the adjacent yellow baffle, smoothly reaching the top of the lift through the rotation. This initiates a new cycle of track movement.

Vertical Lift
To ensure both tracks at the top of the lift receive balls simultaneously, we designed the vertical lift accordingly. First, at the bottom of the lift, there is a sloped diverter, this design randomly directs the balls to the left or right side before they enter the lift. A space for a ball is reserved in the middle of the yellow belt. As the motor turns and lifts the yellow belt, it simultaneously drives the balls on both sides to rise along the adjacent green pillars. This way, the balls on both sides of the lift can enter the tracks simultaneously!

We designed a sloped mechanism for both stairways, which is connected to gears. When the motors are activated, they cause the stairways to oscillate up and down sequentially. As a ball enters the stairways and they lift, the ball moves forward along the slope, sliding step by step into the next track.

We’ve implemented Random Routes in the T-Rex section:

1. In the image, we can see that the T-Rex’s body is tightly connected to our tracks. As the ball rolls along the track on the T-Rex’s back and enters its body, there is a diverter slope inside the T-Rex that randomly directs the ball to either the left or right track.

2. You can also see a red flame at the T-Rex’s mouth. This is not just a decoration; it plays an intriguing role in influencing the ball’s direction. We’ve connected this flame to the device’s gears. When the motor operates, it moves the flame up and down. When the flame is up, the ball will continue along the original track into the pathway with dinosaur bones. When the flame is down, the ball is blocked by the flame and falls into the black and green funnel below.

3. The funnel has a sloped design with a small hole in the middle. After passing through the hole, the ball encounters another diverter slope, randomly directing it to one of two different tracks.

We’ve adjusted the motor’s rotation frequency to ensure the ball’s movement speed perfectly matches the contraption. Once you connect the wires and install the battery, the entire setup will start operating—it’s that simple!

Review by Polo from Planet GBC

Polo is the founder of planet-gbc.com website, which became over time the #1 hub worldwide for Great Ball Contraption.
He is an absolute brick enthusiast, well-known by French AFOLs for his participation in several TV shows in France (“France’s Got Talent”) and his articles/interviews in several magazines.
He is also the founder of bricksbiz.com, a brand-new website featuring training courses to learn how to create building instructions, sell and promote mocs.

Planet GBC is the number 1 reference website worldwide for Great Ball Contraption. It proposes building instructions, ready-to-build kits, tutorials, videos, and more about the best GBC from around the globe.
No matter if you are a perfect beginner in GBC or already building sophisticated marble run machines, you’ll find everything you need about GBC on www.planet-gbc.com.

Review by Jamie from @thebrickeducator

Check out Jamie, aka The Brick Educator’s review of the brand new JMBricklayer Steampunk Marble Run! Jamie is a Gadget and Toy Influencer building and reviewing Construction Brick, Wooden and Metal kits from all over the world! To see what he is creating now, find him on TikTok and Instagram @thebrickeducator.

Review by Harry From Itsnotlego

Itsnotlego is a blogger known for reviews and discussions about LEGO alternative sets and building block brands. The content, which has been ongoing since 2012, often includes detailed set analyses, build experiences, and comparisons, catering to fans of construction toys. The blog, appropriately named its-not-lego.blogspot.com has over 1.4 million views and features photographs and personal insights, appealing to both casual builders and dedicated enthusiasts. Itsnotlego social media accounts include Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. Click here to view Harry’s unboxing article, review article (Part 1, Part 2,  Tips and Tricks)

Shipping Time: October 2024

We offer free shipping to the following regions.

Free Shipping Countries/Regions: 
United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, Croatia, Japan, Taiwan and Macao.

(We offer free shipping to all 27 EU member countries. To accommodate more of our friends, we have added the following countries/regions that do not qualify for free shipping. Friends from these countries/regions can view the required shipping fees after clicking “Back this project.” If your countries/regions is still not included or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.)

Non-free Shipping Countries/Regions

Panama, Israel, Switzerland, India,Turkey, Australia, Chile

Hey, are your family and friends also up for new challenges like you? If so, that’s awesome!
We’ve teamed up with Kickbooster. If your family and friends pledge to our Marble Run project using your Kickbooster referral link, you’ll earn 15% of the contribution amount.
Please click here to register on Kickbooster. You’ll receive a personal link to share the Kickstarter project for our Marble Run on any platform. Once someone back the project through your link, you’ll earn a 15% commission!

In addition to continually developing new products and enhancing product quality and performance, we are also committed to providing personalized customer service. Your satisfaction is our greatest source of motivation! Offering free replacements for missing or broken brick pieces is our consistent after-sales principle. We strive to ensure that every customer readily accepts the solutions we provide. Currently, our rating on Trustpilot is 4.6.

JMBricklayer is a rapidly growing brand with over 160K Facebook followers and an active global group boasting more than 13K members. We hope to continue expanding our community and reaching more people who can discover and appreciate our products.

Innovation is at the core of our brand ethos. At JMBricklayer, we apply the spirit of innovation not only to our products but also to our interactions with followers. Our #brickithappen event aims to turn followers’ ideas into reality, bringing them joy and surprises from JMBricklayer.

Click here for the Building Tutorial