Customer Reviews

Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Set - 150-Piece Set

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We purchased this award-winning set for our preschool-aged son who really enjoys toys like Marble Run, Legos, and Brio. We thought it a good fit for his mechanical engineering interests. The set itself is fairly durable and small hands can easily manipulate the chunky pieces which fit together snugly. The handled storage container is an added convenience. However, soon after purchase I noticed (like other reviewers) that my son was not motivated to play with this set on his own. Often, it would go undisturbed for months. One day, his preschool teacher said they were interested in purchasing this set for the classroom. Because of my own experience I cautioned her on the purchase and offered our set to the class for a "test drive." To my surprise, for the week it was on loan it was the most played with toy in the room. My son seemed to love the kit at school, but not at home. I realized that this toy is at it's best with a group of children because they can so easily work and create together. In a group setting the toy became fun, cooperative play. Because this set offers a generous number of four-sided building pieces, chilren can add-on and build from all sides. I can understand why in a previous review a Kingergarten teacher gave this toy five stars...because that is the environment this toy was made for it seems. It would be best for families with multiple children of similar age, play groups, and classroom learning. As a parent, I love this quality toy and the creativity and cooperation it inspires but now, we keep the bucket at Grandma's house. When all of the Grandkids are there they spill out the parts and go to work.

We received several gears, gears, gears sets at the same time, and found that the plain set ie Super set although initially fun looses excitement without some add ons. If I were to buy just one set I would start with the Under the Sea adventure set first, then add with the fantasy play park. The Undersea set has parts that move the gears in interesting ways from the standard set. It also comes with regular gears for building, although in limited number so the super set still helps extend the play.The motorized monstors sounded more intteresting than it was, but the parts when added to the Undersea adventure set was great fun! The gears are an interesting way of learning how things work. If your child is mechanically minded any of these sets will provide a wonderful new constructin opportunity. If your child hasn't been inclined towards let's say lego's etc.. This toy may provide some interest initially in being able to create a design that moves. However, construction with this set is more complicated than legos and for the less mechanically inclined child will still need paren'ts help beyond the age minimum's recommended.

This set of "gears" is really neat. There are lots of pieces, very nice bright colors, and countless configurations. I really like that the set didn't include patterns to follow or directions--it just told you how to make flat gears, upright, etc. My oldest child is 3--his main fascination right now is how everything moves together. He yells at me to come see the "machine" he has made. I think it will stay interesting to him for several years.

I bought this set for my son when he turned 4. He didn't attempt to play with it by himself until one day I got it out, sat on the floor with him and started building really neat stuff. When he saw what I had done and watched all the colors of gears turning round and round that was it, he loved it. This set has so many options; you can build 1,000 different things. We will have this set for a long time.

This product has provided hours of entertainment to my Kindergarteners and my first graders in the last two years. I can't believe how rough they can be with the toy and nothing breaks.

My kids love their Gears! Gears! Gears! My sister bought them this set for Christmas and they are still enjoying it. The gears seem very durable and the colors are vibrant and look great in their playroom. There are so many things they can make, and the gears are a nice change from all the legos.

I originally purchased this toy about 5 years ago when my sons were 5 and 3(now they're 10 and 8) and it was seldom played with.They we're more interested in Knex and Legos.Recently though I dug them out of storage for my 2.5 year old daughter and she LOVES them.She has built some amazing gear creations all by herself(she's very proud of herself too).Well needless to say my older ones can't let her have all the fun ,and have started playing with them too.It's a great toy they can all play with at the same time with total cooperation.
As an add on I did purchase additional Gears and Bases of different sizes to go along with this set.I feel the additional pieces make the toy MUCH more interesting and challenging to build with.

Our very creative and mechanical-minded 5-year-old grandson finds this BORING. It's supposed to be the super set, but it has only one size gears, and there really isn't much you can do with it. I know they make different size gears, and fully expected them to be part of this "Super Set". Maybe we're now expected to buy something more, but after this experience I don't trust them.

Gears are a great toy, and my child loves to construct things daily. I really, really think Gears are a wonderful toy. Don't get me wrong.

After about a year, however, I can report that there *are* durability issues with the blue connectors. On the connectors, the little plastic prongs to which gears snap on/attach are weak, and you can see the stress points forming as white lines. The prong loses its shape and strength, then the gears start to fall off. I mean, fall off ALL the time. This has led to much frustration. Some of the prongs broke off long ago. I have to replace our whole bucket now because the gears won't stay on the connectors.

I also have to say that the gears have chipped as well.

I bought this set for my 4 and 2 year old grandchildren knowing that it contained only one size gear. I had also purchased the Gizmos set that has only 82 pieces, so I thought this would expand it nicely.

Well, kids are kids and we (and I do mean we, the three of us) wound up playing with this set by itself.

What great fun! The 2 year old took to it like a duck to water and was happily building gear layouts that did nothing but turn. But she love it. Turn the crank and all the gears clattered along, amusing her no end.

The 4 year old, who has experience with these at school, was more ambitious. It turned into a race between grandson and grandpa to see who could expand our creation in the most adventurous way. By the end, we had constructed quite a machine that clattered and whirred and used up most of the pieces in the bucket.

The verdict: this set by itself is massively fun and entertaining for a 4 year old, a 2 year old and their substantially older grandfather. Having just one size of gear is not a drawback. And this set does work well with the expansion sets.

Gears! Gears! Gears! is a great concept and I can see that I will be happily expanding our collection over the months to come. I hope the kids interest in it will be as ardent as mine.

Jerry