When the first wooden mechanical models created by Ukrainian startup Ugears went on sale, they were an immediate hit with adult model-makers all over the world, while their “little helpers” could only watch.
But now kids from the age of five can take up the absorbing hobby of modeling, with a range of Ugears’ wooden models designed for kids now available.
The new products, called Ugears4kids, are aimed at the eco toys market niche, while the main product line remains in the 14+ age group.
To make the toys safer for children to assemble, Ugears4kids models don’t use toothpicks to hold parts together, as in the adult models. There are fewer parts too: while a model from the main line can have from 50 to 450 parts, the models for kids have from eight to 23 parts.
The line for kids has 20 different models so far, including a helicopter, a bear, a clock, and a windmill.
Even though the models for kids still teach the principles of mechanics, the main attention this time is given to painting the models.
“Children always paint life in bright colors,” Ugears co-founder Gennady Shestak told the Kyiv Post on March 22. “We wanted to emphasize this, and give our little fans the opportunity to decorate our models the way they want to.”
Along with the number of its models, the number of jobs at the startup is growing too, with around 120 people now on staff. Ugears is now getting orders from more than 80 countries. Online stores are available in Ukraine and U.S.
“The most promising markets for us for now are the United States and China, and the European market is developing at a tremendous pace. Australian and New Zealand distributors are showing a lot of interest in our products. And recently the number of requests from Africa has increased,” says Shestak.
Self-propelled mechanical models from the main product line in action
To get initial funding, Ugears went to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter on Nov. 24, 2015 and reached their $20,000 goal in one day of campaigning. Having won hearts and minds of 4,362 backers, the campaign hit the finish line with an amazing $406,805.
Ugears launched two more Kickstarter campaigns later, massively overshooting their funding targets both times.
As Ugears models are ideal Christmas presents, sales vary greatly depending on the season, peaking from October to the beginning of January.
Ugears’ engineering team says it has 100 ideas for future models, for model makers of all ages.
Kyiv Post social media editor Iryna Savchuk can be reached at [email protected].
