Customer Reviews

Skillcraft Visible Man 16" Anatomy Model

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

 

 

to all the one and two star reviewers, and prospective buyers, THIS IS A MODEL. you need model glue and paint, tiny brushes, paint thinner, an x-acto knife, a well ventilated workspace, good lighting and eyesight. If you are over 35 you probably put models together when you were a kid. and kind of liked it. The Visible man was a fun 2- day project for my 5 year old daughter and me. She detached the pieces from the plastic and handed me the correct pieces, I did all the assembly but she worked hard Identifying all the body parts from the diagrams. This plastic model kit is not easy or quick, but none of them are, why would you expect it to be?

Absolutely horrid. One of the worst purchases I've ever made. I bought this piece of garbage (literally, as I've just thrown it out) at the Body Worlds exhibit and it is HORRIBLE. The pieces are poorly made and do not fit together. The instructions are terrible. The quality of the plastic is cheap, and the pieces all have to be sanded in order to take off LOTS of extra plastic. The pieces, once again DO NOT FIT TOGETHER. What a terrible, tedious, unusable piece of garbage. Worthless. DO NOT BUY.

I got this for my 13 yr old son who is really into anatomy. It has been one load of frustration. It says it's for 10 and up, but neither him, my 15 yr old or I have had much luck putting it together. The parts don't fit well where they're supposed to snap together and the holes where "pins" are put in are so large the pins fall through. The directions for the skeleton were OK, but when it came to putting the organs inside the directions weren't as clear as they should be. We finally scrapped the whole thing, although the book about anatomy that came with it is interesting. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who's not extremely patient putting things together.

Don't listen to the naysayers about this Visible Man model- this is a classic, the model every kid who isn't too overly busy with soccer and baseball practice should build. Okay, so some of the parts are a little rough to fit together, but hey, that's part of learning to build models, shaping the pieces, trimming here and there, painting, etc. Some things take a little effort, and this one is a great model and a great leaning tool. If kids could sit still long enough to build a model, we wouldn't think so many have ADD!

Love it! My dad had one when he was young so he bought it for my 8 year old son. He very interested in the human body. I painted, glued and assembled before he received it - too difficult for my son. It was not easy - like any model it has many parts and difficult directions but the finished product is awesome. I learned a lot about where everything is in the body :) You do need glue and 8 different colored paints.

I received this as a gift around age 11 or 12. Back in the day (mid-1960's) I had already assembled model airplanes, and knew how to use small cutting tools to separate and trim the plastic pieces. I had a set of enamel paints, brushes, paint thinner, etc. I painted the organs according to the instruction manual, but not the arteries and veins (too much trouble).

In those days children's toys and model sets were much more hazardous and less P.C. (and I won't even try to describe all the toxic items in my old "chemistry set").

Anyhow: After I painted the organs, my brother and I had great fun assembling and disassembling our "Visible Man" model. We did stuff like putting the bladder in the skull and the brain in the abdominal cavity, with gleeful laughter along the way. It was tricky to get all the abdominal organs placed correctly, but we learned how everything connects down there -- digestive system, urinary tract, etc. The thoracic organs were also instructive (even the heart comes in two parts to show the interior). Little did I know that I was learning basic human anatomy along the way.

Also, the entire skeleton can be assembled apart from the clear plastic "skin" frame, if you can get all the joints right (using the tiny holes and metal staples). Of course, you can also attach the femurs to the scapulae, or the humeri to the pelvis, or other crazy stuff like that, for more macabre fun!

Forty-five years later, I still have most parts of my Visible Man (some of the bones were lost). I kept it throughout my teen years, early adulthood, moving, marriage, kids, and now middle age -- for the memories. Incidentally, I ended up working in the medical field for many years.

It might take a child with certain skills and "proclivities" to fully appreciate such a gift, but it could provide great rewards in the future.

I receivecd one of these as a child and remember it being very informative. I recently pruchased one for my children and it has not changed. Still very educational and a great parent/child team project.

I got this product for my 6-year old grandson. I believe it will be useful for him to understand anatomy. However, you will need glue and several colors of paint to complete the contruction of this item. The plastic parts will need some cleaning of thin strip of plastic overflow in the molds. They parts, thus, do not seem high quality. The body does not go together well, especially the chest plate. Useful product, but definitely not high quality. Some assembly is definitely required.

I completely agree with other reviewers, this is absolutely unusable. Parts don't fit together, no paint or glue included, and instructions don't make sense. At the end, I couldn't figure out how to assemble it, so it is still in a box sitting on my shelf. Good thing I bought this at a yard sale for $1.
Total trash!

This product is cheap and worthless. I've put together plenty of models, have taught science, have published science curriculum--so I think I speak from a fairly educated viewpoint on science products for students.

This is product is frustrating and the only thing my child learned is that models are worthless--which was not what the intended goal with this purchase.

Don't waste your time or your money.