When assembled, Ravensburger's Empire State Building is an amazing 20 inch tall model of the iconic 102-story landmark in New York City. The puzzle is comprised of 216 sturdy plastic pieces that are printed with the life-like image of the building's exterior (windows, masonry, etc.). The numbered pieces are assembled in stages that are periodically reinforced with clear plastic frames. The sturdy, completed tower is placed on an assembled base, complete with street-level traffic on 34th Street (though not to scale). Under the base is an LED light source that shines various colors through the frame pieces onto the building much like the floodlights that illuminate the top section of the actual Empire State Building. It looks really impressive in a dark room.

Called a puzzle and built with jigsaw puzzle-like pieces, this is really an impressive looking model suitable for display. We can't imagine anyone taking it apart and putting it back together again, though it is completely possible. It was fun to assemble but the hard plastic pieces did lead to sore fingertips, especially from bending the unique corner pieces. Our only true criticism of the toy is that the whole building has to be lifted to access the light switch under the base. Moving the switch to one side for easy access would be ideal.