Customer Reviews

Quercetti Skyrail Marble Run Roller Coaster 250-pc. Set

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My five year old and I built the first designs together and since then he's been off and running, on his own when I'm not able to join him. He doesn't always build designs that work but that is actually a good thing, as now he's talking about how the marble didn't have enough momentum to make it through a dip in the track to the next high point. When I initially saw all of the smaller pieces, I worried that it would be too fragile for a 5-year old but the pieces are bendable and so fairly forgiving of structures falling over. I suppose eventually they'll accumulate damage, but I anticipate we'll get a lot of use before that happens.

My husband and I have both had a lot of fun with this toy too--it is easy and fun building really cool roller coasters with loops, spirals, crossing paths and lots of twists and turns.

My only complaint: I wish the blue, circular bases that support the track were heavier or designed so that they could be weighted with sand. As taller supports are built, they have a tendency to tilt and become unstable. We've solved this by using our wooden blocks to weigh them down.

This is a wonderful construction toy for a child who is tired of Knex and Lego. Designing the track so that the marble stays on is a good lesson in momentum and angles. Probably too difficult for any child under 9.

This toy is a lot of fun but it brakes easily. I wold suggest that if you are younger you should get someone older to help. But, other than that it is a lot of fun!

We've owned other marble runs before, but they didn't have the flexibilty that this kit offers. There are enough pieces that when it's set up, it takes up our whole living room! There are enough of each type of piece, too, so that our children can build linearly as well as vertically. There are detailed instructions that give you hints on how to build interesting features, like a loop-the-loop and various kinds of curves. And best of all, it collapses back down into the box for storage!

I also wrote a review for the Quercetti Marble Run 224-pc. Set, which I bought for my son last Christmas. This 'younger' set really sparked my son's interest in marble runs, so he asked for the Skyrail set this Christmas because it was more complicated and could do more loops. He loves this set even more than the first. He built his first coaster run, and upon watching the marble complete it's course, his 9 year old brother said, "That is the coolest thing I've ever seen." (and he is not easily impressed with anything).

If you are also buying this as a 'graduate' set, this is a different type of marble run than the other set. Whereas the other set is more gimicky in the ways that marbles can move through vortexes and spinners and is more forgiving of mistakes, this is a true roller coaster. You have the flexibility to make the loop as big or small as you want, but without the right amount of momentum you passenger (the marble) won't make it around the loop and it will fall to the bottom. You may have to explain these types of concepts to a younger child.

I love this set because there is an endless amount of configurations you can create with this set. The instruction book is helpful in giving ideas and getting kids started, but after a few of those, most children will be eager to build one on their own. In addition to the loops and curves you can build, you can also build various tower configurations for a very cool 'layered' effect. This set is definitely worth the money -- I would rather spend $100+ on something that will last and is worthwhile, than $50 on junk that they won't play with in 2 days.

The pieces are well made, but they are not indestructible. If you're giving this to a younger child, they need to be warned that the pieces will snap and break if they're not careful.

I agree with another reviewer that I wish the bases were made of a heavy diecast metal to make everything sturdy, although this would have tripled the price and make it expensive to ship. We've had to weigh down the bases with other household objects for help. If your marble run is not perfectly configured, the marble might droop across a long set of track. We've used old Duplo Lego's to help support tracks where it needed it. Even the instruction book shows how tracks are propped up with books.
Be aware you need a lot of floor space to set up these big coaster configurations. I've resigned myself to the fact that I pretty much gave up my living room until my son is tires of his roller coaster.

We already had a marble run ($2 at a yard sale) and I wasn't sure it was worth it to get another. But this is a totally different beast!

Our other marble run, which is still lots of fun, consists of plastic, pre-molded pieces that can be fit together in many different ways.

The Skyrail set consists of long, skinny straight track which can be formed into loops and hills and curves. (It's glow in the dark, too, but we haven't really made use of that yet).

The Skyrail set is easy to learn to manipulate-- my 6 year old son is now a champion at using the connector pieces. There are also towers, which must be put together (so can be used in an infinite number of ways) to hold the track off the floor.

It's true that some frustration ensues when my son builds a design and discovers the marbles go flying off it....but then he tweaks his design, finding a way to have the marbles build up speed without being launched off the track.

The diagram book which comes with the set is very helpful-- it shows not only how to fit the pieces together but gives design examples. So far, my son doesn't seem to be able to follow these (so I do), but I like that he can enjoy it now, and grow with it in time.

Our favorite way of using this toy involves draping it over the sofa to create hills, or over tables, etc. If you can tolerate a little mess, in other words, there's a lot of fun to be had with this. (And my 4 year old daughter is also starting to manipulate the pieces).

My 3 yr old son is very active, so finding an indoor toy that holds his attention is tough. This "roller coaster" requires Mom or Dad to sit on the floor and help him assemble it each time, but my son loves it! He likes to direct the action("Build the loop-de-loop" or "Make it go up-down-up-down." ). He can disassemble it easily. The concepts of physics are absorbable at an earlier age than many people think, and aside from losing the marbles, I don't see a reason to hold this toy back until the child is 5 or 6. My husband and I are both engineers, and it's a joy to see a challenging, safe toy available for kids -- especially one that isn't plastered with Disney characters or makes lots of noise.

Many of the red connector and green track pieces in our set broke, making it difficult to build most of the tracks.

We have played with this non-stop since Christmas morning!! More than any of the much more expensive presents. My 7 year old son started with the designs provided in the guide. Easy enough for him, intricate enough to keep Mom and Dad interested. He graduated to his "own" designs. I love this toy!! The small plastic pieces require adult supervision so as not to break them. Recommend the 250 pc over the 150!! We started with the smaller kit and immedialty had to order the larger one - OH what fun 400 pcs!!!

This is an awesome marble run! My twin daughters got this for Christmas. They were 6 years old at the time. They can easily put the pieces together themselves, and we have had no problems with pieces breaking. I do recommend the 250 piece set because then you have LOTS of pieces to work with. It is so versatile! It does take up our whole family room when almost all the pieces are used! My 2 year old LOVES to make the marbles go on the run once we get it built, so it is great for the whole family. Sometimes it does take an adult to help build a run that works, but parents should be spending time with their kids helping them learn. My girls can also assemble it themselves. The instruction booklet has lots of runs you can build or you can just experiment yourself to see what works and what doesn't. It takes some trial and error, which is a great learning experience for my daughters. My husband is an engineer, so he also loves playing with this with my daughters. It comes with two types of marbles -- some that are a bit heavier than the others. Any kind of marble will work on it, though. We had a marble set and used those marbles, which were even lighter (they worked better on the loop the loop). The recommended age is 8 and up, but I think any elementary age children can do this to some extent. Any younger, and they really won't know how to set it up, but they will love making the marbles go. One thing parents will really love is that you can take it all apart and it all fits back into the box for storage. One last thing -- it works better on carpet. We have wood floors, and the "towers" slide around too much on the wood, so we have to set it up on the rug in the family room. One last bonus is that is glows in the dark! How fun!