Customer Reviews

Capsela 1000 - Max-Out

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have had a horrible experience with this toy. The email that I sent to the company, which follows, explains it well. Because it is a long email I will sum it up (for those who don't have the time to read such a lengthy review) by saying that the quality of this product is amongst the lowest I have ever encountered with any consumer product. Many pieces do not fit well together, other are too tight, one piece does not work, and another piece was intentionally made to not operate correctly. I had enjoyed Capsela as a child, which was a wonderful and high quality toy back then, but now I have been utterly disheartened by the garbage that is now manufactured as Capsela.

Dear Educational Insights:

There are moments in my childhood that will remain forever blissful. The reminiscence of playing with Capsela ranks as one of my all time favorites. I played with and enjoyed Capsela for many years as a child starting with the 500 set. Later on, I got the 5000 set, and then I finally got the 1000 set.

I do not know what happened to my 500 or 5000 sets, but I still had the 1000 set when I got older. About five years ago, I accidentally left it behind when I moved. I have a daughter who is now eight-years-old, and I decided to purchase the 1000 set so that she and I can enjoy a wonderful way for her to learn about science: through the timeless play of Capsela.

I am appalled at what sits in front of me. I am so disappointed that I actually feel nauseous. The quality of this toy is utterly horrific. This horrible experience started with the motor capsule. The connection to the output of the motor is unbelievable loose; the toy falls apart during operation. It is so loose that the lightest piece, a coupler, connected with an Octagonal Connector will fall right off the motor capsule. I thought that perhaps this was a fluke, and I was originally going to contact you to see if I could exchange this poor part with a better one. Upon playing with more of the parts, it was obvious that this was no fluke; almost all the piece were spectacularly bad. I played with about half of the parts, and here is a list of problems that I found:

--There are connections which are so loose amongst many of the capsules and other connecting parts that the capsules and parts disconnect during normal play.

--There are connections which are so tight on some capsules and other connecting parts that it would be impossible for an eight-year-child to disassemble. (I hurt my fingers disconnecting some of these tight parts myself.)

--There was an Octagonal Connector connecting two Transmission Capsules together, an Octagonal Connector connecting two Capsules (empty) together, and an Octagonal Connector connected to a single Capsule. I actually remember my first 1000 set having these connections when I first opened it. I surmise that this is done during packaging so that these capsules, which can be separated into two halves, stay assembled during storage. The problem is that the Octagonal Connector on the single Capsule cannot be removed. I did not try to use any tools to remove it because I suppose it is possible that union is intentionally permanent. It should not be a permanent connection, and the Octagonal Connector should be able to be removed.

--One of the Crown Wheel Capsules does not work: the gears do not mesh properly. The reason for this has to do with the next problem.

--The Speed Reduction Capsule, the Worm Gear Capsule, the Crown Wheel Capsules, the Internal Gear Capsule, and the Clutch Capsule all have an internal piece that supports some of the gear shafts. These support pieces are loosely fitted in each capsule which causes a lot of vibration (the gear shafts are not stable because of it) and an excess amount of noise. The problems of vibration and noise are very bad in the Worm Gear Capsule; it is so bad that the noise is almost intolerable.

--Some of the Chain pieces do not connect tightly. As a result, these loose pieces disconnect during operation, and the chain falls off the Gear Wheels. (The Chain and Gear Wheels used to be my favorite part of this toy.)

--The Capsules (empty) can be separated into two halves. These two halves fit together, but not so well. When only one side of these capsules is connected, the opposite end is slightly ajar due to imperfect alignment. This really is not an operational problem as much as it is an aesthetic problem. There are a few projects where a Capsule has only one connection, and the ajar end makes it look ugly.

--There has been a design change in the wires and the way that they connect to the parts which receive these connections. At first glance, it did seem like an improvement. The connecting ends of the wires are now shrouded. These plastic shrouds have a tooth which fits into a notch in either the Motor Capsule, the Rotary Switch Capsule, or the Switch Box. The teeth on the shrouds of the red wires are not big enough, and as such, the teeth do not fit into the notches which means the wires do not have to line up when making the connections. This is not a problem since the wire does not actually need to be connected a certain way, but it is another low quality attribute of this experience.

--Although not a problem, I disapprove that the battery cases are now fastened with screws. This does not make for easy exchange of the batteries (as infrequent as it may be).

--It may be trivial, but the cardboard separators inside the box are flimsy, and do a lousy job at organizing the pieces. The original foam packaging was much better.

--This final problem is the one which prompted me to actually contact you about all of these problems. The Rotary Switch Capsule does not work. The reason it does not work is not because of some horrible manufacturing. It does not work because there is a wire inside the capsule that connects the electrical connectors on both ends of the capsule together! This is unbelievable! This totally defeats the purpose of the Rotary Switch Capsule. Even to a person who has not had any sort of analog electronics experience can plainly see through this transparent capsule that this wire provides an uninterrupted current. The whole point of this capsule IS to interrupt the current as it spins so as to create a blinking light. Why, OMG, please answer me why, is there a wire on the inside of this capsule that allows the current to pass right along? I have had a course in analog electronics, and this connection makes no sense. You have totally ruined this capsule with this connection. Why have you done this?

I know that Educational Insights was not the original owner of Capsela. It is apparent that your purchase of the Capsela name was only for monetary gain. You do not care about the quality of the product you brand nor the scientific, learning experience which this toy can provide. You have grossly ruined a wonderful toy. Now instead of my daughter learning about science through educational play, she gains "educational insights" into the substandard commercialism caused by the corporate world of greed.

This is a well-thought out product that is very poorly made. I purchased it with high hopes. But the quality of the product is so low as to make it unusable. The more lengthy one-star review summarizes the problems very well. I have returned this, and have a very disappointed 8-year old boy, who asks "why do people sell things that don't work?"

I used to have this as a kid. And I loved it. The quality of the product was MUCH MUCH better at that time. I still have most of the pieces of my old one back at my parents house. Now it is complete garbage. I'm so mad.

One of the most important gears came broken. The internal struts and bearings are loose and the gears disengage under even the slightest load rendering it useless.

The hexagonal connectors are so tight that you can't disconnect them without almost damaging the capsules.

The blue wheel axle threads are poorly made - one came stripped - hard to make anything cool when you're one wheel short.

One of the wire jacks fits so loosely in socket that any slight motion and it becomes intermittent.

This is just a classic example of a great toy gone bad as the pig manufacturer cut every corner possible to make as much money as possible. I really hate those swine businessmen who make garbage and sell it. I'm packing it back up and returning it.

I purchased this product for my 9 year old son for Christmas. I really liked the hands on approach to putting these models together. For your information, my son has taken it to another level. He has gotten creative and built some pretty unique models. The product has done well with my son and I because it has sparked some creative imagination with using your hands to build something with. Max-Out (Capsela # 1000) The other thing is that it is so much fun to work with.

I had this toy as a child. One reviewer mentions certain problems with the toy. Some of these problems are pretty bad (I never remember any of the components within the capsules being loose... the motors and mechanical units seemed very solid). But I do remember that some of the octagonal connectors got stuck and could not be pried off, and you had to make sure everything was really well seated and stuck together before setting the creation loose. I remember the yellow pieces also kept popping off when they hit something because they angle out a bit. This did not diminish my enjoyment of Capsela...

Because I was a girl, I really wasn't interested in Capsela until I saw my brother making it swim in the bathtub or scoot across the floor (it can be propelled by wheels, propeller, treads, etc.). The color-coding made it easy to figure it out where to put the wires, and the pieces lived up to quite a bit of use and abuse. I can remember some of the cells falling apart, but I think we got them back together after finding the exact alignment. It is unfortunate that all of the pieces aren't as sturdy as they once were. But even in the "good ol days", I don't remember this toy being perfect. It was quirky, but better than a lot of the toys on the market that gave less range for creativity...

I think that this is a toy that requires a bit of patience. This is probably better for a kid with focused curiosity who likes to make things than for the kid who needs the goal-oriented structure and constant excitment of videogame-like entertainment. The excitement here is that something you made comes to life... but not all kids will probably find this entertaining enough to keep playing.

I am teaching a class in robotics. This is a wonderful introduction to mechanics, gears, motion, electronics. The kids love it. They actually teach themselves as I just watch!

This is one toy I remember from my childhood (I was nine). I was so intruiged by this toy, and proud of my ability to create something so sophisticated! The toy consists of wheels, rubber tires, wires to connect (color coded, if I remember correctly), and other interesting components. The only reason I noted four stars for durability is that you do need to be careful with the wires and connections. Highly recommended.

I had this exact capsela set about 20 years ago. I can't begin to describe how many things you can do with it. You create the ideas in the book they provide or make your own creations. Promotes conceptualism and problem solving. This was one of my all-time favorite toys.

I loved this as a kid and will definitely be buying it for my son when he is old enough. It's great fun and a good learning experience.