Customer Reviews

Rokenbok Conveyor Company Start Set

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

 

 

My almost five-year old son received this as a Christmas present and has had the greatest time with it. We were a little skeptical about whether it would be easy enough for him since it is very intricate, but he is so good with Legos and Knex that we tried it. Originally we were looking for something more interactive than Legos but less complicated than an Erector set. This fit the need exactly.

It really is fun. Even my husband likes it =) The dump truck works by remote, and it drives around, picks up the balls, and dumps them in the quarry. The quarry is automatically programmed to work the conveyor, which takes the balls up to the yellow slide, one by one, and sends them down the chute... either falling into the storage bins up top or into a big collecting bin on the bottom. The dump truck can then pick up the balls from the bin on the floor or the storage bins in the air, and start all over.

It is pretty neat. For my five-year old, who has never had a remote toy before, he can play with the truck for quite awhile. And a month later, he still brings it out every day. We just keep the apparatus assembled and all he needs to do is slip in the cartridge for the truck, turn on the unit, and it's ready to go.

It is a little more difficult to put together than Legos. Mostly because the pieces need a bit more force and carefulness to snap together. Also the directions are not as clear as Legos' are. It took a couple hours with granddad to assemble just right.

It took him a little while to master the remote... it is actually more like a video game controller, which he had never used, and is pretty sensitive. (Takes two hands, use of rolling thumb technique). It takes some fooling around with, even as an adult, to drive carefully and get the truck to back up just right. But even my two and three year olds can drive the truck straight down the hallway just by pressing the forward button. It is probably ideal for a six or seven year old, or a child experienced with video games already.

That said, it's not a toy for toddlers or hyper young children (at least, not without supervision). It takes some focus and respect. My own five year old once got a Lego light (tiny) stuck in the dump truck insides and we almost ruined it, taking it apart to get the light out. Yet for the most part, it's a very durable toy, and the pieces snap together strongly so you can pick up the apparatus and carry it without splitting apart. But don't let your toddler or pet fool around with the dump truck, sending unit, or cartridges. The little balls are obvious choking hazards (EXACTLY the right size of a baby or dog's throat). And if pieces come off the apparatus, it can be a little tricky to get them back on just right... they require a little more force and finesse than most little boys have.

That said, it's a great buy. Sending unit and remote are sold separately, so it's expensive. And it needs several Double As (6?) and one 9-volt battery. But matching Rokenbok sets can be added without buying extra accessories (unless you want another controller for a second child). So it's tempting to want to invest in your own RokenbokLand =)

I bought both "Conveyor Company Start Set" & "Power Chute Start Set" together for my 10 years old son for the Christmas. I had first seen the demo of Rokenbok in the store when my son was 3. He wasn't that interested then but earlier this year changed. He had both them setup in the Christmas Day and started to play. Quickly I have joined with him to modify and connected both sets into one. Now we need to buy more parts to build the factory even bigger. I don't recall how many "thanks Dad!" he has said since the day he opened the boxes.

Rokenbok is a very cool system that has romote control action with a construction twist! If you like romote control vehicles and easy controlling, this is a perfect toy for you. Conveyor Company has everything you need to get started like a RC Loader, a conveyor that carries little balls up and brings them down these shuts and puts them in this quarry, and a whole lot more, over 190 pieces in all! So I'll just sum in up Rokenbok is a wonderful toy! The price is a little pricy, but other than that it is a outstanding toy!

This product is great! I love how you build it, add details, and then play it. This is NOT one of those toys where building is 99% of the fun, but building is still very fun. From the looks of other start sets, I would say this one is defenetly in the Top 3 Best Rokenbok Start Sets.
I really like the chutes, the RC Loader, loading bins, and (especialy) the Automatic Conveyor. A sensor starts the Conveyor automaticly when Rok Balls are dumped into it. From there the Roks are carried up a belt and dumped into a chute system. (I love the chutes!)
Also, a few good additions I think you should add to it are: RC Power Sweeper, Power Rok Lift, Skip Track, RC Monorail, Monorail Track, Inventors Kit, Water Tower, EXTRA ROK BALLS, Decks II, more conveyors, and/or RC transgripper.
To see more about Rokenbok, [...].
From Ben (Marty's son)

First I believe I bought this way to young for my children. It came two years ago from Santa and we had a lot of problems. Things didn't work, it was very disappointing. My kids were not old enough to build it, however they are now. We called CS and they shipped us new products right away. They were very nice about it. We had to replace a couple of the machines and the brown ball mover thing (nice description right). The kids play with it all the time now, I think it was just a little old for them before.

My son played this at his friends house. They played with it for hours. I bought it for him and he put it together and hasn't stopped playing with it. Love it!