I was extremely disappointed with this product. It was Completely impossible for the adults in my home to put together. My husband is an English principal and I'm a certified early childhood teacher. We returned the item and we are waiting for our refund. This was purchased for our 13 year old daughter who had a geography fair and needed a 3D model!!!
Took me about 2.5 hours to put together. Not too bad, one of the quicker builds I've done. I also put together the 703 piece version in about 7 hours. I would recommend the larger version to those that are more expert builders, but this would be a good challenge for beginner level builders.
Probably the most challenging aspect of this puzzle has to do with how most people assemble puzzles. Usually, people will begin with the corners and edges of the puzzle and work their way inward. This puzzle was nothing but corner and edge pieces, which made it a bit more interesting.