Editorial Review

Fully equipped for looting and plundering across the high seas, this pirate ship sports a massive wooden hull powered forward by six sails, three adorned with skulls and crossbones. Triple-firing cannons lay above and below deck, while a sword-wielding captain commands two crew members. A parrot can rest atop the captain's shoulder. There's also a working wench for hauling up all that misbegotten treasure and a removable dinghy for one-off raids. Other elements include a deployable anchor, a walking plank, and a yellow guard rail that circles the deck. The boat measures over 2 feet long once assembled, and can be put together in several ways, outlined in the accompanying booklet. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Editorial Review

This neon green and grape roller coaster is impressive in both size andscope. When fully built the coaster stretches 6 feet long and stands 3 feethigh. The directions are detailed and clear, and we had no trouble putting ittogether. It did take us a bit over five hours, though, and it's likely that anychild under 12 will need parental assistance. But assembling it is half the fun.When finished, the track careens so hazardously, it's hard to believe the carswill stay on, but they do! The plastic chain hauls the three cars up slowly,just like a real roller coaster, and the sound effects box re-creates the noiseso perfectly you'll squirm with anticipation. After reaching the top and passingthrough the serpent's mouth, the cars begin their dizzying descent past thesound effects box, which has now switched to emitting enthusiastic and terrifiedscreaming. Gravity and centrifugal force whip the little cars along the rest ofthe track until at last it reaches the beginning of the ride, only to be towedup for another round. If you don't have 6 feet of space, there are instructionsfor a smaller version, and you can turn the sound effects off if you prefer toplay quietly. Entirely worth the time and effort, this is ideal as a familyendeavor. --M. Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (112)

This is Awesome!!!
I'm 13 years old and thought this is the best toy ever. I got kind of bored with the set that it tells you to make so I built my own. I built the new boomerang ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain called "Deja Vu". I ran out of pieces, so I love it so much that I'm going to buy another one. I think that it should come with more pieces so you can build your own coaster, but that is the only flaw in it. I think it's the best toy ever especially to roller coaster enthusiasts like me.

Fun, but lots of work
I'd first like to say that I find the claims of other reviewers here that this toy can be assembled in 2-3 hours to be pretty unbelievable. My adult brother and I spent about 7 hours building this model, mostly working in parallel. This was our first KNEX model, but we are hardly novices at building complex toys.

I generally avoid Chinese-made toys due to their notoriously poor quality, and I was concerned about the not-completely-specified Chinese content of this model. Apparently, all of the standard KNEX parts are made in the US, and were of a very high quality plastic that snapped together nicely. It looked like only the electrical components (motor and sound box) and the train were made in China (and were of noticeably poorer quality plastic).

The actual construction process was a lot of fun. My only complaint here was that some parts of the manual dealing with the track support system were difficult to reproduce exactly, and failing to exactly reproduce this left us with a track fit problem. We finally had to fudge and use an unspecified part to make the track support work.

After construction, very little tweaking was required to get the model working as advertised. As other reviewers have noted, the model moves a lot when in use. This was resolved easily by building the model on a piece of pegboard and using a few strategic tie-wraps to hold it in place.

My major complaint: the motor assembly. It has a small, difficult to operate power switch. To make matters worse, it's apparently a generic KNEX motor module, and the power switch also has a "reverse" setting which, when accidentally activated while trying to turn the model on or off, can cause the model to jam (and possibly even cause damage).

Once the construction process is completed, this is not much of a "hands on" toy. There's really nothing you can "do" with it other than watch the train go round and round. The actual "ride" from the top of the lift to the bottom is only 2-3 seconds long.

This toy is awesome!!!
Its definately worth the 90.00 bucks that you spend on it cause it is VERY fun to build and even more fun to play with...The only thing is that you have to know and use your imagination to be able to build this thing cause it can be pretty hard in some spots...but never the less awesome!I'm 13 and built this in a Day in a half(took alot longer than most people)but I had fun doing it.If you do order this item TAKE YOUR TIME on it and don't rush it cause I did that and I had to start all over cause I couldn't figure out where I was at on building it.so I hope this review helped you and if you liked this try building the other knex theme park rides such as other rollercoasters and the ferris wheel.

The Screamin Serpent Rollor coaster rocks !!!
This toy is amazing and very entertaining. It is just a little complicated by with a little help it looks awsome. One of the best parts about it is that if you dont' like the the way the instructions tell you to build it you can build your own. You can have your own mini millenium force if you choose to in your own house. If I was to rate this out of five I would give it a four and a half. The only little flaw is that the instructions are a little hard to understand.

screamin serpant roller coaster
my son has one and it isnt extremly hard but slightly difficult to build. it has been almost a year and he still hasnt fixed all the bugs! some problems were bad design, track shortage and when the car goes through the loop sometimes it doesent go over the small hill or get a head start on the chain lift. I think that after awhile it gets boring and takes up too much room and money. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Tinker Toys have entertained kids for decades--ever since their 1913 invention by Charles Pajeau, who was inspired by children playing with pencils and empty spools of thread. This set features 102 versatile wooden spools, connectors, and brightly colored dowels packed in an easy-to-store keepsake canister. Simply add a child's imagination for hours of creative fun. --Jane Snyder ... Read more

Reviews (22)

discouraging
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 like this for my older kids :)
I bought this set when my girls were smaller (around 3), and they never played with it. It was hard for them to put the pieces together and just became another annoying toy with a thousand pieces. I was disappointed as I loved them as a kid. However, now that the older ones are 6 and 8, they are asking for them. I am sure now they will have lots of fun putting them together and will understand the concept and can clean up the toys themselves also. Just thought another review might help if you have younger children :)

An Old Toy for a New World
We love this toy. We wish we had more pieces, not because there aren't enough to follow the instructions, but because you're inspired to keep building when you're playing with it. My four- and eight-year-old kids are equally thrilled with it. In fact, the last thing we want to do is follow instructions! A great toy for the mad visionaries in your house.

Regarding Missing Parts
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.

This is a great toy.
We got my son this set last Christmas when he was 3 1/2y.o and he plays with this all the time still. It's great if your kid likes to build. This is the one toy of his that has sustained the test of time - it is constantly all over our family room. The only down side is that we are constantly cleaning them up. Kids seem to love to pour them all out. He can make more complicated things then we can now. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Classroom Teacher
This product has provided hours of entertainment to my Kindergarteners and my first graders in the last two years. I can't believe how rough they can be with the toy and nothing breaks.

Really neat...even fun for mom
I bought this set for my son when he turned 4. He didn't attempt to play with it by himself until one day I got it out, sat on the floor with him and started building really neat stuff. When he saw what I had done and watched all the colors of gears turning round and round that was it, he loved it. This set has so many options; you can build 1,000 different things. We will have this set for a long time.

Start with the Under Sea Adventure set, this as add on!
We received several gears, gears, gears sets at the same time, and found that the plain set ie Super set although initially fun looses excitement without some add ons. If I were to buy just one set I would start with the Under the Sea adventure set first, then add with the fantasy play park. The Undersea set has parts that move the gears in interesting ways from the standard set. It also comes with regular gears for building, although in limited number so the super set still helps extend the play.The motorized monstors sounded more intteresting than it was, but the parts when added to the Undersea adventure set was great fun! The gears are an interesting way of learning how things work. If your child is mechanically minded any of these sets will provide a wonderful new constructin opportunity. If your child hasn't been inclined towards let's say lego's etc.. This toy may provide some interest initially in being able to create a design that moves. However, construction with this set is more complicated than legos and for the less mechanically inclined child will still need paren'ts help beyond the age minimum's recommended.

Love! Love! Love! Gears! Gears! Gears!
My kids love their Gears! Gears! Gears! My sister bought them this set for Christmas and they are still enjoying it. The gears seem very durable and the colors are vibrant and look great in their playroom. There are so many things they can make, and the gears are a nice change from all the legos.

Kids feel like they've made a real "machine"
This set of "gears" is really neat. There are lots of pieces, very nice bright colors, and countless configurations. I really like that the set didn't include patterns to follow or directions--it just told you how to make flat gears, upright, etc. My oldest child is 3--his main fascination right now is how everything moves together. He yells at me to come see the "machine" he has made. I think it will stay interesting to him for several years. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Magnets spur imagination in this building set from leading arts and crafts maker RoseArt. Fun and sharply designed, the set contains a series of brightly colored bars equipped with opposite polarity magnets at the tips. Small steel balls enable you to lock the pieces tightly together and assemble them into nearly innumerable arrangements. (RoseArt promises more than 500 possibilities, and provides a booklet suggesting some, including a miniature Eiffel Tower.) The set has 150 pieces and offers wonderful creative opportunities for kids. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Editorial Review

Home to evil Lord Dragomont, this massive fortress sports a huge dragon's head centered above a set of swinging gates. Lights flash and alerts sound when the dragon's mouth opens. Turning a knob on the back makes "hot lava" flow to the right of the stone entryway steps. Further to the side rest two stone platforms, one above the other, equipped with a trap door that opens when a secret spot is hit. The toy's quality is decent but not mind-blowing. It comes with a 26-minute cartoon video, Fortress of the Dragon; also included are action figures of Lord Dragomont, a small red lizard, and a winged red dragon that shoots a missile out of its chest. (You just press a button above its tail.) Required are three AA batteries, sold separately. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Our favorite toy
My 2 year old son was first introduced to this toy at our Montessori class...he was hooked immediately!!! It was easy for him to figure out how to put the pieces together and attach the gears (he loved being able to do all of this himself as opposed to other gear toys where most of the building is already done for you) He sat and happily played with this fantastic toy for almost an hour before we had to leave. The learning possibilities of this toy are immmense as is the "fun value". With no "bells and whistles" this toy ranks very high on our list of toys due to the fact that our son has complete creative control...it's all up to him. All in all, it's a fantastic toy that we highly recomend.

Almost perfect...
My son received this toy for Christmas, and we gave one to our niece. The verdict is that it is almost, but not quite, perfect.

The toy is a set of interlocking squares of various colors that are perforated to hold a four-pronged hub that can support one of four sizes of gears. Everything is made of a durable plastic that has some flex to it. You can create systems of gears that spin around and even construct things like gearboxes. (The cover of the box--shown above--will give you a simple idea of what can be done.) There is a manual aimed at parents that helps them teach their child how gears work, too--a nice touch.

The quality of the toy is high: the colorful stickers for the gears are plastic coated, the injection-molded pieces are free from excess plastic, and the pieces fit together solidly. It's everything you would want from a European-made toy. (Quercetti, the manufacturer, is based in Italy and the toy is actually made there.)

It's a mesmerizing little toy and its variability is virtually endless. There are other kits in the Gear line that include such things as universal joints and 3-D parts, so it is highly expandable, even as your child ages.

My quibble? Our three year old niece adores the toy, but our three year old son only plays with it in fits. Truth be told, I play with it more than my son does. So as with anything, your mileage may vary.

It's nice that toys like this one are still being made. There's a lot of learning that can occur with it, too. Factor in the expandability and how can you go wrong?

Now if only I could get my son to join me more while I'm playing with it!

Bit tough for little hands to put together, but beautiful...
The base pieces of this toy are a bit stiff for my kids' little hands to put together. Also, the pegs that hold the gears onto the base are a bit tricky, but will build good fine motor skills if not discarded in frustration. I was just as entranced by this toy as they were as we played with it together for the first time. The brightly colored decals are trippy and fun. And learning that gears transfer energy they supply to move other gears of various sizes "on down the line" is... priceless. *grin*

we can go earlier
My daughter has always been drawn to visual spatial toys and loves playing with gears. She started getting independent with this around 3 years of age. I love the Discovery toy version as well.

Kaleido Gears Review
Originally purchased for our 5 year-old granddaughter, this toy is a little above her developmental stage, and apparently above her grandparents as well! She and we became frustrated in trying to fit the white gear connectors to the gear pieces, and then attaching the coupled piece onto the frame. Our 8 and 11 year-old granddaughters, however, love it and fight over playing with it! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

LA
It's fun when you have a big imagiation, but I like the toys with more action.

Perfect for little boys with imaginations.
We gave the Large King's Castle to our 4 year old grandson for Christmas - assembled of course! He LOVES it!!! But DO allow yourself plenty of DAYS to assemble it. It is not difficult to assemble but, I would suggest the packagers get a better system for packaging the parts rather than the helter skelter packaging. I suggest all the parts to STEP 1 be packaged together, STEP 2 parts together, etc. Half the challenge was finding the parts to each step. Also, assemble it on a large board of some sort - a train board or low table. This toy lends itself to a great deal of imagination and creativity. He also received the pirates ship. What fun - the pirates invaded the castle and put all the knights in the dungeons and, of course, made off with the treasure chest. Despite the time it took us to assemble it, it was worth it.

playmobil is GREAT
I bought this castle for my ten year old son when he was four. He still plays with it. We have the baron battle tower, the western fort, the big pirate ship, and countless other small accessory sets. Yes, it is a delicate toy, and has to be played with carefully, somewhat like Lego sets, but the important thing is that it is probably the only toys that you buy for Christmas or birthdays, that your child will still be playing with a year later! Every winter, all of the playmobil gets set up and played with all winter long. My fifteen year old son is a "builder" and loves to put together all of this stuff. We have bought countless hotwheels, action figures, which we still buy, but playmobil and lego top them all for maintaining a childs interest and creativity. The fun part for me has always been to set up these huge sets with my boys the day after Christmas after the company has gone. Believe me, the price is worth it when it is a favorite with your child. This year my ten year old wants all the Viking stuff. Merry Christmas!

Great Creative Play!!!!! We Love Playmobil!!!!
I bought this set along with others for my boys two years ago. My husband complained about how long it took him to put it together---but the kids loved it! Unfortunately, it stayed together for a short time and then it ended up in pieces in the block drawer. But I will tell you---even though it is not put together in its intended form, my boys have been building and rebuilding forts, castles and dungeons. It is by far their favorite thing to do! It was frustrating to me to see it taken apart--but I have come to appreciate the fact that they will spend literally hours at a time building. Their creations look much more authentic than their lego buildings and they are not only building/designing structures...but they are role-playing and acting out as knights and pirates!!!!! What fun! Lots of little pieces---but they are pieces worth having.

This is a Surefire Hit!
I first realized the potential for Playmobil toys when my husband and I bought our 4 year old son a single Playmobil pirate figure (the "Admiral"). We thought he would like it because he was very into pirates. We had no idea that he would spend literally hours playing with this pirate and the ten or so miniture accessories (sword, hat, feather pen, etc.) that came with it. So, we went out on a limb and paid the steep price... for this castle for our son for Christmas. I couldn't be more pleased. This castle and accessories have already given more hours of enjoyment than if we were to have spent the same amount buying several less expensive toys. I am now a HUGE playmobil fan. When you put this castle together you know that it is QUALITY workmanship and construction. Every piece snaps into place... He plays with this castle every day, and his imagination has no limits. One cautionary note, the accessories to the Playmobil toys are very small--this is for some reason very attractive to every child who comes over to play--and for this reason we have our castle and all the figures we have gotten on a "train table". This is very nice because it keeps everything in one place and it makes it very easy for my son to manuever around the castle. Another note, if you have a son who likes to really be destructive/rough with toys, you may be pulling your hair out. I find this out every time other kids come over and play with the castle. While it stays together very well, it is made so that you can pull it apart if you want to reconfigure it. (This is obviously too advanced for a younger child, so we don't do this.) That means that if the kids hit it or pull it hard it will come apart---not to shambles, but enough to give you a headache. Also, if you do want to give this gift assembled (eg Christmas morning) give yourself a good 3 hours to put it together. There are literally hundreds of pieces to the castle. I had a good time doing it but would not have had nearly as much fun if it had been 3am. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Magnets spur imagination in this building set from leading arts and crafts maker RoseArt. Fun and sharply designed, the set contains a series of brightly colored triangles, squares, and bars equipped with opposite polarity magnets at the tips. Small steel balls enable you to lock the pieces tightly together and assemble them into nearly innumerable arrangements. (RoseArt promises more than 500 possibilities, and provides a booklet suggesting some, including a miniature Eiffel Tower.) The set has 100 pieces and offers wonderful creative opportunities for kids. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Reviews (2)

the best
i really like it . durabilty is good.

Bring home a piece of Empire Strikes Back Hoth battle.
This is a cool set to have if you have some other star wars sets.The best set to buy is AT-AT.So you can recreate the Hoth battle.Lego has already made an older version of this set but its hard to find.If you are buying this to play with then get it.I would have to say the Original version is better for collectibility.I have both and the old one falls apart easiely.This new set comes with a grappling hook and different colored pieces.It is also more like the ship from the movie.I reccomend this to any lego or star wars fan. ... Read more