Mercedes-AMG GT3 CaDA Master Build Review

It took me three months from getting my hands on the CaDA Master Mercedes-AMG GT3 set to the moment I could enjoy the complete build, but I’m finally there. And I have to tell you, even if it’s been a long journey, it’s been worth every step of the way.
 

The new brick scale replica of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is the latest entry on the market of 1:8-scale models, and it’s made by a relatively young Chinese company called CaDA – a name giant LEGO will probably stumble upon quite a lot in the future.
 
The plastic replica of the German two-door sports car that’s regularly seen competing in the world’s fiercest competitions, like the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and the FIA GT World Cup, is, thus, a true giant. When fully assembled, it stands 23 inches (59 cm) long, 10 inches (25 cm) wide, and 7 inches (17 cm) tall, and it will occupy a significant portion of your living room.
 
Before getting there, though, you’ll have to go through no less than 1,735 individual steps, detailed in two instructions books totaling 827 pages, so that each of the 5,463 individual parts, including 103 3D-printed elements, fall into the exact place.
 
I’ve already gone through the unboxing of the CaDA Master Mercedes-AMG GT3, but, in case you missed that story, I’ll remind you the plastic car comes in a humongous box, measuring 26 inches (67 cm) long, 14.5 inches (37 cm) wide, and 7 inches (18 cm) tall, and weighing 20 pounds (9 kg). And once you get that lid off, it’s magic time.
 
Putting the AMG together requires you to start with the back, meaning with the car’s rear transaxle, its massive 6-speed sequential racing transmission, and all the other components the German carmaker fitted in there on the real car.
 
As you dive into it for the first time, the assembly process seems pretty straightforward. You’ve got the required elements neatly packed inside numbered plastic bags, a small mountain of connector pins of various shapes and sizes, and clear instructions showing what part goes where and in what fashion.
 

The simplicity of the assembly process is, however, a trap, at least as far as the transmission is concerned. There’s a good chance you’ll relax a bit after seeing how simple everything is, and relaxation is a petri dish that grows mistakes.
 
You see, the transmission of the CaDA Master Mercedes-AMG GT3 works, meaning that, when everything is put together, you can change gears. But that only works if you are very, very careful to follow the instructions to the letter when assembling it.
 
When it comes to my personal build, I thought I did exactly that, and the tranny worked like a charm throughout the process. For some reason, however, once all the other parts fell into place, it became inoperable – so I’ll have to find some time to get in there and figure out what went wrong.
 
Once the rear of the car is complete, you start moving to the opposite end. I didn’t encounter any major issues with neither the median part of the assembly, nor with the front end, but I did sweat a bit trying to get a bunch of pesky air tubes, which will be used later to lift the GT3, to fit into place.
 
A bunch of problems started to arise when I got to the car’s bodywork, which, more or less, comes next following the completion of the chassis. You see, unlike most of the other plastic elements used so far, many of the ones that go in the body are of the classic, LEGO-style variety, plates with protrusions sticking out of them.
 
That’s not bad in itself, but, as you probably know, these things can be true finger killers when handled improperly. On top of that, no matter how well they come together, they still remain frail, and when applied close to the GT3’s opening rear hood, front hood, or doors, they can still fall apart – just like they tend to do when you improperly handle the build.
 

The final major element of the GT3 you’ll be required to put together is the replica of the real car’s 6.3-liter V8 engine (and the hood that comes over it). This thing is a true plastic wonder, if you ask me, with the cylinders moving beautifully, in a manner you’d expect from a build of this caliber.
 
All in all, the build process for the CaDA Master Mercedes-AMG GT3 is not unlike what I was used to from the LEGO Technic range, meaning the same blend of sweat, joy, and hurting fingers. For the record, I spent around two hours a day for about two weeks or so to complete the build, and, if you ask me, that’s the way it should be done if you want to keep your sanity and still be able to enjoy the process.
 
The complete CaDA GT3 is not functional in the sense that I can move it remotely, but it does deliver a bunch of neat features. It’s highly detailed inside and out, mimicking GT3’s front and rear aprons, radiator grille, diffuser, and rear wing, and even the safety cell.
 
And it even has lights, a pneumatic lift to raise the car and simulate changing the AMG-design wheels (with a center-lock system and Michelin Pilot Sport tires replicas), and a functional workshop crane to lift the engine out of its place.
 
Now that I have it sitting in full, functional form on my living room floor (the thing is so huge I still haven’t found a more suitable place for it yet), I can also tell you the things I love and the things I hate about it.
 
In the green corner, the list of things that get my blood pumping opens with the incredible level of detail of the design. I’m not talking here solely about the bodywork, but also about the interior, which comes complete with an adjustable steering yoke column and adjustable pedals.
 

Also, a huge plus is the fact that the car comes with a working suspension system that can be manually adjusted by selecting different spring setups. Then, you can always remove the engine from the bay so you can have a look not only at the moving piston, but also at the working transmission. Finally, there is not a single sticker that goes on this thing, only printed stuff.
 
Another major plus would be the functional headlights and taillights, but they actually are one of the biggest letdowns of the GT3. Although they work, and they do so beautifully, they can only be brought to life by lifting the engine hood, pulling the wire hidden under the intake system, and plugging it into a USB cable.
 
A pretty complicated process that could have been avoided by using batteries, a more discreet cable that would have not required people to remove parts and lift the hood, or some other, more innovative means.
 
Remember how I mentioned the adjustable steering yoke column as a plus? Well, the steering yoke itself is not that great, a very flimsy collection of plastic bricks that has no chance in hell of turning the massive front wheels of the GT3. So, instead of using the yoke to turn the wheels, I can only use the wheels to turn the yoke.
 
I mentioned earlier that the hood can be lifted, and that’s made possible by using an innovative axle that simulates a piston, also allowing the hood to remain open on its own. The axle, however, is pretty tight, so moving it up and down is problematic, and at times endangers the integrity of the hood itself – I felt it almost snap under the strain more than once.
 
That being said, the CaDA Master Mercedes-AMG GT3 is the project I enjoyed the most over the past few years, not only because of its innate qualities, but also because it’s something new, a fresh breath of air in a world dominated by LEGO Technic. And it’s also a bit cheaper than some of the competition’s sets, going for $379 at the time of writing.