Customer Reviews

Lego Crazy Action Contraptions

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy building Lego with my kids and, frankly, we probably have all of the included parts already (if we were willing to take a few things apart). I was wary of the product because we aren't klutzes when it comes to things mechanical. But this has proved a great rainy-day toy that we can do together. We build a contraption, play with it for a week or two, and then take it apart and build the next one. Not all of the plans are terribly inspired, but it works for us. I should say that we are dealing with little kids (down to 4 years old) and that I'm not sure how well this set would work for older kids. A ten or twelve year old would probably tear through the designs in an hour and then want more parts to build something else. What I like best about the set is that it naturally encourages building and rebuilding different designs rather than one particular thing. So, it's a great toy if this sounds like something you'd enjoy sharing with your kids. Also, you should be able to find this toy on Amazon at below MSRP.

Wow, what a great set of Legos. We used these with our Jr. FIRST Lego League team (consisting of 3rd and 4th graders) to give the kids something hands-on to do at every meeting. 16 great projects, 14 of which have moving parts to teach the kids about Simple Machines with, and many of which allow some teamwork/competition with the final item. All the projects can be built between 10-40 minutes each with minimal help from parents. The most complex ones were challenging for the 4th graders to build. Great illustrations and step-by-step instructions. The parts are thoughtfully colored so, for example, when you are stacking bricks together you can tell where the 1x8 brick goes (which is red) compared to the 1x6 brick (which is black). The coloring also allows quick checking by parents to diagnose assembly problems when something doesn't work.

There is a lot of background/support information, such as how to pull small, sticky parts apart, how to thread the rubber bands easily, a Lego geometry tutorial, troubleshooting steps for each project, etc. While nice to have, I couldn't get the kids to read any of it -- all they wanted to do was build.

The "includes every brick, gear & axle" should be taken with a small grain of salt. While it is true that every Lego piece you need is included, the Tennessee Time-Killer requires a piece of dental floss (or similar thin string), and the Zipline Runners require a string to run on. Minor, but I think should be mentioned.

Complaints/improvements: 1) larger storage area to put the pieces back in when done would be nice as they were packed in pretty good; 2) extra rubber bands, as we broke a number when the kids wound things up too tight (e.g., racing the Supercharged Speedsters).

My 7-yr-old son has been playing with the most intricate of lego pieces since he was 3-4. He loves this set because it has very unusual pieces allowing him to make new creations never seen before! Although we have tons of the specific lego sets, his favorites are by far those sets that allow for the imagination to go wild with endless building opportunities. While you can make many contraptions from the only the pieces and instructions included, this set also enhances building fun by adding them to your existing sets. Excellent value and well worth every penny!

It was an o.k. price for the parts and such, and was nice to have everything together. I get the impression you're paying for the ideas in the book, though.
The biggest draw-back is the deception in the 16 models. Once I saw that one of them was tick-tack-toe, I thought "you've got to be kidding me!" Did I really need a book to tell me that? Three models are of this type-not really contraptions at all. Three more are all zip-line pulleys-another artificial inflation of the touted 16. I was hoping for more mechanical insight, but everything seems pretty straight forward--it's typical devices powered by rubber bands. The brick launcher is all about technique. In fact most of the models make me roll my eyes when I see the plans, and say "it that all it is..." The Tennessee Time waster is impressive, and to be fair, I have not yet built every model suggested. I wish I would have been able to look through the book. I may still have bought it for three good ideas, but 16 is a gross exaggeration, so this did not meet expectations.

I got this for my 8 year old for x-mas. Of all the Lego toys we have ever gotten him, I think this one is the most amazing and imaginative one. He first started following the instructions to build the ones that are shown in the book, which, btw are really cool, but now he is taking it to all new levels. Best $$$ I have spent for a toy in a long time. Love it....

I teach engineering classes in an elementary school so I thought this kit looked interesting. After several people building the designs(and much troubleshooting) we had to come to the conclusion that some of the models just don't work correctly. The "Supercharged Speedster" is very slow. The "Top Spinner" does not release the Top correctly so that it will hit the table spinning. But their first kit was great.

Lots of great projects with this set. The book makes a great starter for ideas. This is what Lego is really about. Not like the kits that just allow you to build one thing. It's amazing what you can build with the few parts there are. It would be nice to have a deluxe version that had 3X the number of pieces at twice the price. I will probably ordering more of these for gifts.

This has been one of the "best buys" of the summer. My daughter who loves Legos can take this anywhere and build fun contraptions. The directions seem to be very easy for a 9 yr old to follow, but not too easy that the contraptions would be simple. This is the first Lego set she seems willing to take something apart and build the next contraption. She's equally excited about each new creation.
Finally a Klutz book for someone who doesn't feel the need to do "arts and crafts". I've bought several of these for gifts and we look forward to sharing the fun with other boys and girls.

We bought this book for my son's 7th birthday. He's a huge Lego fan. The second we got home from his party he opened this and started building. We were not disappointed. He was able to build many of the contraptions and (using the parts provided) even made up a few unique designs on his own. This is a great buy for your Lego fan!!!!

It is pretty neat product for early teen years and there are some contraptions that adults can relate to. It is also a good product for elementary kids to get their creative part of brain up and running!!