Customer Reviews

Tinkertoy Classic Construction Set: Junior Builder

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

These are just like the ones I had when I was a kid! As much fun for me now as they were then. I really enjoy playing along with my kids when they bring out this toy. One child can build lots of things with this set, but a larger set would be better if you have two children trying to build at the same time.

My son got this for his fourth birthday, and he LOVES it. He builds very simple shapes, but there are enough pieces that we can build together and make fancy structures. (Actually, I thought at first that we'd want more Tinkertoys than come in this set, but now that we've got them spread all over the house, I'm grateful there aren't more.) We've had a slight problem with pieces breaking, but I've just glued them back together. It's really refreshing to have a toy that requires thought and imagination--so many toys these days seem to do all the work for the child (sound effects, dialog, motion, etc.). Tinkertoys are a classic for a reason!

I bought my 4 1/2 year old this set for Christmas. I noticed that time after time he was getting very frustrated trying to build from the diagrams that came with the tinker toys (Junior set). He always came up a few parts short to build the Space Alien and just about all the rest of the examples. At first I thought he had managed to lose a part or two during the Christmas unwrapping, playing on Christmas day. I then took the canister and took an inventory of the parts shown on it and to my amazement all the parts were there. I then started counting the parts necessary to build each of the items on the example sheet and it became apparent that no one could build these examples (or at least most of them) as the examples were showing more parts than was provided by the Junior set. It has been a totally bad experience with this toy and I don't even try to get him to play with it anymore.

Oddz On and Hasbro should be ashamed of themselves for tricking these children into thinking they can build the examples. It is these two companies that are not playing with a full deck!

I just read the review saying that the diagrams included with the set couldn't be created because the set did not include all parts. Just to set the record straight, I have personally constructed EVERY one of the diagrams (including the space alien), and ALL parts were indeed included.

My only complaint would be that it is often difficult to see from the pictures which parts to use in where, but that is certainly not a complaint with the toy itself.

Anyway, it's a great toy, and again, it has all the pieces necessary to complete all of the various creations shown for this set.

These are just like the ones you remember. My kids and I enjoy playing tinkertoys together and I feel like they are really learning something. I do recommend that you buy a larger set. A 66 piece set is fine for an introduction, but if your kids are older or you have more than one you will get frustrated at it's limitations. After all, you can never have too many Tinkertoys.

I'm surprised by some of the poor reviews. We've had this set of Tinker Toys for 2 years now and it's always something my kids go back to. No issues with broken pieces and I can tell you my children are rough!

The thing I, as a parent, like best about this toy is that it allows the children to use their own minds to make whatever they want. My kids have made everything from "dog bones" to "microphones" to "eyeglasses", even the occasional "plate of food" and more. No instructions needed! If you are concerned that you cannot make the patterns on the box then you are micro-managing your children's play time and stifling their creativity.

"Classic" toys without batteries and noise are a rarity today but I seek them out. My 2 year and 4 year old love these Tinker Toys and think that all children should have a set.

I bought this set as a small gift for son at Christmas. He hasn't really been interested in using it all that much. It is a small set, not many things to really build with it. I should have bought the larger set that was available on the same day. But for a starter set, this is fine. The plastic pieces and hoses that come with the set, I find useless. Wish there were more wood pieces instead.

We bought two sets so they would have lots of options (we have two 3 yr old kids). My kids like playing with them but even after buying two sets, there are still many more pieces needed to actually build something. The worst part is that not all the pieces fit together & the round wooden pieces break easily.

I originally purchased this for my son who has a degenerative neuromuscular disease and has weak fine motor skills. He loves Lego's but can't deal with the "small" regular ones. He loves it. He can put the pieces together himself, it gives oppurtunity for him to use his hands plus his imagination. Most pieces are easy to put together making it not difficult for him to do so alone. So I usually allow him to pore them out on the carpet and play while I'm busy nearby to keep an eye on him. As there are a few small pieces they could choke on, and possibly get frustrated with because they couldn't put them together etc Even My older son can play with these; He has the same disorder but gets frustrated easily and doesn't consentrate "sit still" longer than a few seconds. But even in that short of time he can still put togehter three pieces and call it his "wheeles". My 12 year old daughter loves playing with them when my son goes to bed. TinkerToys are just like K'Nex it gives the child the oppurtunity to create using their own immagination but yet gives them time dealing with fine motor skills that us parents try and find ways of fitting into their play time without frustrations. This toy is a fun one for most any age family member. (My husband and I had them out when the children went to bed, reminising about growing up with them.) But now they have added some really neat items allowing you to make a railray train and other things.

My kids get super frustrated because the pegs fall out of the holes. This would be a great toy if they stayed together properly. My son especially wants to play with these, but every time he tries, he gets frustrated with them.