CaDA Bricks: Car Kits, CaDA Master Sets and Builds by Size

What CaDA bricks are

CaDA makes brick building sets, and in our data the brand is mostly about cars. Supercars for a display shelf, Formula 1 and endurance race cars, a few road cars, one motorcycle. Then a short list of other builds: a Japanese izakaya house, a flower set and an off-road truck called the HUUMVEE.

We track 21 CaDA sets on Amazon US. They sit in two of our types, brick sets and licensed sets, because many are models of real makes. The listing names the license, like Mercedes-AMG, Mazda or Lotus. We name it the same way and don't go further than that.

Every CaDA listing in our data carries a set number that starts with C, like C61042W or C64011W. That number is the cleanest way to tell two similar car kits apart. When you compare two CaDA cars, compare set numbers first. Names can repeat across lines. Numbers don't.

The table above shows all of them with the fields we have. The rest of this page is about what separates them.

CaDA bricks by piece count

Piece count is the big spread with CaDA. Every listing in our data states one, and they run from 199 to 5,466. Here's how they fall:

Pieces on the listing	Sets
Under 300	2
990 to 1,900	6
2,000 to 2,999	2
3,000 and up	11

So more than half the lineup is 3,000 pieces or more. That's the brand's center of gravity.

Math teacher aside: at a steady pace of one piece every 20 seconds, 3,000 pieces is a little under 17 hours. Nobody builds at a steady pace. Somebody always spends ten minutes looking for a piece that's already attached.

The small cars: under 300 pieces

Two sets sit at the bottom: the C55027W Audi R8 Coupe 2019 at 199 pieces and the C55040W Toyota GT-ONE at 272. Neither listing states an age.

These are the try-it sets. A small car tells you if someone enjoys following a CaDA booklet before you hand them a box with 4,000 pieces in it. They also suit a desk shelf, where a big display car doesn't fit.

The mid-size builds: 990 to 1,900 pieces

Six sets sit here:

• C59026W Flower Building Set, 990 pieces
• C64051W Suzuki Hayabusa, 1,043 pieces
• C66019W Yakitori Izakaya House, 1,195 pieces
• C63006W RUF GT, 1,665 pieces
• C63007W Mazda 787B, 1,797 pieces
• C64005W Alfa Romeo F1 C42, 1,868 pieces

This band has the most variety. A motorcycle, a building with lights, flowers, two race cars and a road car. If the person you're buying for doesn't care about cars, this is where to look.

The race cars: 2,000 to 2,999 pieces

Two Formula 1 cars sit in their own band: the C64012W BWT Alpine F1 Team A525 at 2,173 pieces, listed 14+, and the C64010W Kick Sauber F1 Team C44 at 2,553. Add the Alfa Romeo F1 C42 just below at 1,868 and you have three F1 builds from one brand.

The big display cars: 3,000 pieces and up

Eleven sets. Here they are from smallest to largest:

• C61042W Super Car, 3,187 pieces, 14+
• C61503W Mercedes-AMG ONE, 3,295 pieces
• C61502W Mazda RX-7, 3,305 pieces, 14+
• C61513W Assassin XR, 3,617 pieces
• C64011W Yangwang U9, 3,671 pieces, 14+
• C61511W Lotus Exige Cup 430, 3,730 pieces, 14+
• C64003W Apollo IE, 3,865 pieces
• C61036W HUUMVEE, 3,935 pieces
• C61515W RS6 Avant, 4,663 pieces
• C61505W LaFer Supercar, 4,739 pieces
• C64008W Mercedes-AMG GT3, 5,466 pieces

These are project builds. They need a table that can stay set up, a sorting plan and a shelf at the end. The finished car is the point, so measure the shelf before you order. Our data doesn't list finished dimensions for these, so check the listing photos and bullets.

The CaDA Master line

Eleven CaDA sets in our data carry the product line name "CaDA Master" on the listing: the C61042W, C61505W, C61036W, C64003W, C64011W, C66019W, C61502W, C61513W, C61511W, C64008W and C61515W. Ten of them are vehicles from the big band. The eleventh is the Yakitori Izakaya House at 1,195 pieces, the only building in the line.

I counted that list twice. A math teacher who miscounts a list of eleven in front of seventh graders hears about it until summer break.

What "Master" means is the maker's line name. We don't read more into it than the listings do. In our data, the line runs from 1,195 pieces up to 5,466, and four of its listings state 14+.

Licensed cars

Thirteen CaDA listings in our data name a license: a car maker or a racing team. Here's the list as the listings name them:

• Alfa Romeo
• Kick Sauber F1 Team
• BWT Alpine F1 Team
• Mercedes-AMG (two sets)
• Audi, Mazda (two sets), Lotus, RUF, Suzuki, Toyota, Yangwang

A licensed set is built to look like a specific real vehicle. That matters if the person you're buying for has a favorite car or team. It matters less if they just like building cars. Some of the unlicensed CaDA cars, like the Super Car and the Assassin XR, are in the same big-build band.

Buildings, flowers and lights

Three CaDA sets in our data aren't cars:

• C66019W Yakitori Izakaya House, 1,195 pieces, lighting listed
• C59026W Flower Building Set, 990 pieces
• C61036W HUUMVEE, 3,935 pieces, lighting listed (a truck, but not a race or road car)

If someone's shelf is already full of cars, these are the CaDA builds that change the subject. The izakaya and the HUUMVEE are the two sets in our data that list lighting. If lights are what sells the set, check the listing for what powers them.

How to pick a CaDA set

Here's my one opinion on this page, and it's about labels: the age on the box works in both directions. When a listing says 14+, the low number is about who can build it, so don't hand a 10-year-old a 14+ set. The other end matters too. Most CaDA listings in our data don't state an age at all. That isn't permission to buy one for a younger kid. It means the listing didn't say, and a 3,000-piece car is still a 3,000-piece car.

Then pick by these, in order:

1. Who's building? For a teen or adult, any band. For a younger builder, look at a stated age first, and if there isn't one, look elsewhere on the site.
2. First CaDA or tenth? A first set is a small car or a mid-size build. Save the 4,000-piece cars for someone who already finished one.
3. Car fan or builder? A fan wants the license. A builder wants the piece count.
4. Where does it go after? A 5,466-piece car needs a shelf that knows it's coming.

Lucho's take, after he gave up on the rebuildable engine: "A big kit is a rebuild without the grease. Keep the bags closed until the step calls for them, same as bolts on a bench." That's the best sorting advice on this page, and it came from Bay Three.

Planning a big CaDA build

A 3,000-piece car changes the house for a while. Here's what to plan before the box opens.

Space. Pick a surface that can stay covered for weeks. A dining table works until somebody needs to eat on it. The card table in Bay One holds the long builds in our garage, and dinner keeps its own table.

Light. Dark gray and black pieces look the same under a dim bulb. Many car kits are mostly dark pieces. A lamp you can aim saves more time than any sorting tray.

Sessions. Decide how much gets built per sitting, a bag or a few pages of the booklet. Stopping at a clean point means the next session starts with a finished step, not a puzzle about where you left off.

Spare pieces. If a few small pieces are left over at the end, keep them in a labeled bag with the booklet. The label is the part people skip, and then the bag joins every other unlabeled bag in the drawer.

The finish. Clear the shelf before the last bag. A finished display car with nowhere to go ends up on top of the refrigerator, and nobody looks up there.

CaDA compared with other brick brands

Two other brick brands in our data line up with CaDA in the big-build band. Mould King also lists big vehicle kits, with piece counts in the thousands. FUNWHOLE leans the other way, toward buildings with lights. LEGO makes cars too, along with almost everything else.

People search for "CaDA Technic". Technic is LEGO's name for its own line, which LEGO describes as sets with functioning gearboxes, wheels and axles. We don't claim any CaDA set fits LEGO Technic or any other system, because none of the CaDA listings in our data states compatibility. If you plan to mix pieces from different brands, read the listing first.

Small parts and lights

Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3.

A big brick set is thousands of small parts. Build on a tray or table that younger kids can't reach, and keep open bags put away between sessions.

For the two sets with lights, read the listing for the battery type. Button batteries can cause serious injury if swallowed. Keep spares locked away and check that battery covers are screwed shut.

Who should skip CaDA

Skip the big cars for a kid under the stated 14+, and skip them for anyone who wants to finish a build in one sitting. Eleven sets in our data are over 3,000 pieces.

Skip CaDA for a builder who wants a city to play in. These are display models, mostly cars. A play set with minifigures fits that builder better, and the building blocks page has those.

And skip a licensed car as a surprise unless you know the person cares about that make. A fan will notice. A builder may not.

Pick the size first. The license can ride along second.