Customer Reviews

Deluxe Spirograph

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

My sister had this when we were little and remembering the fun she and I both had with it, I bought it for my son. I am very disappointed with it!! The template does not fit flush with the table surface and therefore does not securely hold the paper. In addition, the gears are too thin and keep slipping under the template, ruining the design. My son found this very frustrating as it ruined picture after picture and it is very difficult to move the gears and hold the template down at the same time. I gave the durability factor a poor rating as the material is just cheap plastic that will definitely not last long. This is definitely a case of where the old adage that says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" should have been followed!! The earlier design, though not perfect, was much better and much less frustrating! Save your money and buy something else!

This would be a nice toy if not for one serious design flaw.
The flaw is that the gears supplied are too thin and easily
slide under the main unit ruining a drawing. This happens if
you don't push down hard on the main unit or use a perfectly
flat, hard surface. The solution would
be simple for Hasbro to fix this. Simply make the gears that
mesh at the teeth the same thickness. This would require a flat
side and a side with a depression. This would still allow for
the pen to have a thin section to poke through. Alternately,
a tapered opening could be used for the pen tip and the gear
disk all the same thickness. But a gear that has the same
thickness as the main unit would prevent the gears from slipping
under the unit. This is a no brainer fix, but it's doubtful
that Hasbro will fix it. So don't buy any more until they do.

...this is nothing like the Spirograph I grew up playing with. As everyone else mentioned, the gears are much too thin and slip constantly. My 6 year old son was completely frustrated after wrestling with the design flaws. Don't waste your money!!

Bought this for my granddaughter's birthday and am very disappointed with it. Very difficult even for an adult to succesfully use so it is impossible for a child. The gears are too thin, the design is poor, and it is cheap-cheap-cheap (not in a good way). Twenty years ago when my daughter played with one it was a source of hours of satisfying play. Not anymore! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

I am so seriously disappointed with this version of Spirograph.
The old model had a squire and long Popsicle type disk along with several other drawing disks.
The problem with this model is the prongs do not hold the disks in place very well. This causes the disk to slide under the drawing stencil. Oh and you only have three different drawing stencils/outlines unlike the old model. When I was young my sister (who is 9 years older than me) and I loved this "toy" and we would draw for literally hours. It was cool for every age group! I was so excited to see this in the "deluxe" version. My son was frustrated with this model in about one minute so I tried it out and I gave up after a few tries as well. Honestly, I ( a 40 year old lady) bought it for myself and just pretended it was for my son. Although, this is not an expensive toy.... It is NOT worth your money ... it truly does not work well.... and I am really sad about that!

Remember Spirograph by Kenner you played with as a kid? This thing Hasbro sells under the same name is NOT that toy. It is obviously of cheap quality, parred down to a handful of "gears", and designed so poorly that it doesnt really work! Stick with the original, which means purchase it used on eBay, but do NOT buy Hasbro's Spirograph.

I am a 37-year-old artist and the mother of a 4-year-old. I, too, remember the original, truly classic Spirograph product--originally manufactured by Kenner (which is part of the problem with its current iteration, I suspect). To call this current model "Deluxe" is a cruel joke. I would recommend a Klutz product (a relatively new company with a sterling reputation for quality, by the way) instead. "The Spiral Draw Book" by Doug Stillinger (published by Klutz and available through Amazon.com)is not nearly as elaborate as the old spirograph, with all of its cool, gimmicky-shaped gears. And at $19.95, the Klutz product is certainly more expensive--but it works!!

Klutz says that it is "not intended for children under 8 years". My 4-year-old daughter does require sustained assistance with it, but she *loves* it. I do, too!! The marketing geniuses at Hasbro should pull their heads out of their collective rear end and tap into the HUGE market of nostalgia-tripping parents (and grandparents) made up of discriminating people like ourselves.

If you still have an insatiable jones for the late-60s Kenner original, go to eBay!! You'll need deep pockets for the first-edition or "mint-in-box" versions, but you can pick it up pretty cheap if all you want is something with the original parts that works.

What a HUGE disppointment this item is! Absoultly NOTHING like the original classic I had as a child some 25 years ago. Hasbro should be ashamed of themselves for turning out this junky, cut-rate, knockoff. I am sorry I did not read any reviews before my mother spent $10 on this for her grandsons. My 4-year old nephew first went to use it on Christmas Day and the ball in the pen was faulty so the pen did not work. The meger handful of only round gears are too thin and cheaply made to track correctly. The paper slides all around under the frame. I have nothing good to say about this product.

The idea is the same which is great; however, you have to literally hold the template down while your child is making the design. Otherwise, the gear keeps sliding under the template. My 6-year-old (who just got this) was getting extremely frustrated & was almost in tears saying she's not a baby while I held down the template. We finally just put it away for a bit & she's not showing any interest in trying again.

My son received this for his birthday today. I had already read enough reviews that influenced my decision NOT to get it for Christmas... and boy were those reviews right on target! This is cheaply made... the gears don't stay on, the paper slips, and it's almost impossible to make a nice drawing, even for a mom, nevermind my 5 & 7 year old. Hasbro MUST go back to the old construction on these! They were a fantastic toy back before Hasbro bought it out. Boo, I'm sad, and I will be sending Hasbro a letter telling them what I think too!