Customer Reviews

Erector 50 Model set (Best of)

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

 

 

Parts are all very similar to what I had 30 years ago. Definitely some improvement, but also some 'mass-production' quality issues (The plastic parts) - But overall a great, quality toy. It enables me to spend some quality time with my 5 year old son. - Granted, there are too many tiny parts, complicated assembly diagrams, and conceptual steps for him to do alone, but that seems to be the reason we both enjoy it.

I only have one issue with the toy and that is with regards to packaging. Once you open the box there are no mini-boxes or compartments where you can store the hundreds of bolts and nuts seperately. We have to place everything in one big box and it takes too long to search for individual items when assembling the projects

Other than this the toy is of great value for the price and is teaching my boys a lot

My 17 year old LOVES this set. In the first week he made a working crane and then built a truck to set the crane on. He was able to follow the directions easily. Then he was able to quickly figure out ways to build his own creations. Well worth the money.

Let me start by saying that erector sets are great educational toys for kids and I loved mine as a kid. I even have collected some old sets from the 50's,60's and 70's. Comparing this set to the old sets was the cause of my disappointment. I wanted to buy the biggest and best kit for my grandson. The old sets came in a sturdy metal box, had a gearbox to enable easy gear reduction (and even clutching) and lots of beefy girders and flat stampings to enable you to create some big and powerful toys. This comes in a cardboard box with a few bags of small metal stampings, a bag of screws, a few plastic gears and pulleys and a small motor with a battery case that takes two or four AA batteries.

That said, the manual is beautifully done with nice CAD drawings for each suggested model. The 6 wheels come with good quality semi pneumatic tires. Gone are set collars to hold things on shafts - they include wire grommets, which have a lot of friction and can stall out the little motor if incorrectly used. In summary, I think it is a nice kit, but in reality there are only, maybe, ten dollars of Chinese parts here. Go to a Harbor Freight store and see what you can buy for an equivalent amount of money and you will see what I mean. And if you do buy it, go to the Dollar store and buy a couple of hobby boxes to hold all the little parts.

This is a great product for kids who like to build--plenty of models, illustrated instructions, durable pieces, and a working motor. Once in a while getting the nuts and bolts together in very tight spaces can be frustrating; it demands a little extra patience and ingenuity, even for adults. But generally my 9-year old can work through most of each model on his own.