Customer Reviews

Elenco Hydrazoid Kit

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

 

 

.*:*¨¨*:*.SUPER.*:*¨¨*:*.10*STAR.*:*¨¨*:*.*:*¨¨*:*.
I purchased hydrazoid for a music video project and was surprised to find it was clear purple,I ordered one that was black w/ clear hood.Also antennas only light at the tip,and walking seemed a struggle.But I like this droid and loved the assembly from the well made parts to the informative manual.Manual gives much insight to the creation process.Great for big and little creative people who need a robot to command by sound. It will walk for 15 seconds!(If modified,read on)


Robot has 4 legs,the back legs have rubber tips,the front legs are plastic and will go nowhere.As I mentioned earlier,this is for creative people.Once you apply something that will grip in front,off she goes!Simply attach light rubber tips to front feet and it will walk nicely on carpet or flat surface.
Here's what I used:

Blank Cds sold in bulk of 25 to 100 have a packing ring on top that holds Cds in the case.
This is usually a white ring of foam rubber.Just cut it in half and cut a small slit w/ exacto in middle of outer side of each ring,then attach to make zoid feet.Anything like this will work and you surely have something lying around your house that will do.
Yes,I know,it should work as advertised,but thinking of a simple solution is too easy and worth getting this robot.

On top are 2 AA.To hide batteries,I placed a cut out photo of a persons face under the hood for a cool effect.
Get this spacespider,you'll love it! Very creepy movement,goes over 2 1/2 feet in 15 seconds..*:*¨¨*:*..*:*¨¨*:*..*:*¨¨*:*..*:*¨¨*:*.ø¤º°º¤ø

This was a gift for my highly capable 10 yr old. The assembly kept him busy for the better part of a day, largely because he was not careful to make sure all parts had been put together correctly, and at some point, something wouldn't fit. Smart kid that he is, he figured out immediately what was wrong, took it almost completely apart and reassembled.

I have no idea how good the instructions are, since my boy built it entirely on his own. He was completely engaged and really enjoyed putting the thing together. This seemed to be a bit more of a challenge then the big box Bionicle kit he got; he had to think about what he was doing and not just snap together the correct parts.

Thanks to Capt. Ed's feet tip: the robot didn't look like it was going right, but it's just slipping. I'll let my son engineer his own solution. I can also foresee that, at some point, he will reassemble this into his own creation. Until then, he's having fun troubleshooting and figuring out how to improve performance. A great project for a creative kid.

The product did not fit together properly when assembled. It was good for the kids to see the gears inside and how they worked, but disappointing that it did not work as expected.

If you have high expectations for the Hydrazoid robot you will need to lower them to get any enjoyment out of it. It's not all bad, but it is disappointing. On the positive side, the directions are clearly written, the parts fit together nicely, and it can be completed in less than two hours with no frustration. The build process and design alone makes it better than many other kits.

There are too many issues to make this product worth the cost. For example, the motor - a standard small electric motor - is too weak to adequately power the robot. It will move the legs, but it strains to do so. The simple three gear assembly is easy to put together, but it is a single purpose assembly and is too basic even for a 7-year old. The robot itself once assembled is somewhat impressive until it is turned on. At that point, there will be sighs: the Hydrazoid does one thing: you make a noise, it walks for 15 seconds and stops. You have to make another noise to make it go again. Those with even excellent attention spans will become quite bored with this toy after about 10 minutes.

Using the Hydrazoid's marketing literature, here's an evaluation guide:

+ Hydrazoid is a cool alien creature robot that is fun to build. *It was fun to build and it is somewhat cool - 3 Stars Out of 5*
+ It moves in a spellbinding way in response to sound. *It is not spellbinding at all. It moves in a very predictable way. *1 Star out of 5*
+ To build this educational robot requires only basic hand tools. *True - 4 Stars out of 5 - more instruction on how much to torque the nuts would be helpful*
+ Kit contains detailed instructions and educational background information on each component used and why. *Somewhat true. There is a section in the instruction book that shows some educational background on the technology. It is not exciting, but it is there. 3 Stars out of 5*
+ The kit will teach the fundamentals of sensor technology and show you how it all goes together. *Not really. Only the most basic technology is described. 2 Stars out of 5*

The best thing to do with the Hydrazoid might be to wait for rev 2 or 3.