Another dino-riding warrior, this one is by Playmobil. This dinosaur has cannons, spears and can fall stones from the basket on its back. As always with Playmobil, it is more fun to play with than to build.
Playmobil T-Rex
Author: MaryB
EDTOY Wooden Castle
Made by 5,5-years-old Willy from a wooden EDTOY kit.
Ball of Whacks Six Color
Another Ball of Whacks magnetic puzzle-ball. This one is big, with 30 pieces of different colors. All blocks have the same shape, and, unlike some other Ball of Whacks, this one has solid surface when assembled.
K’NEX Education – STEM Explorations: Swing Ride – Box
The box of the K’NEX Swing Ride kit, showing one of the possible crafts – a carousel.
Many K’Nex Education sets offer moving models, and can have gears and motors. This one also have one motor to power the movement of your crafts.
This set has relatively small pieces and an electric motor, so it will not be a good choice for the small children. Sometimes connecting pieces may also be though, so the best age for this K’NEX Swing Ride kit is 8-10 years old. Even if this set has no mini K’Nex pieces, you should be very careful about giving it to any child under the age of 7. You should also be careful around the moving gears – they are not metal, but having hair stuck in it is still very unpleasant.
Moving crafts can be a great add-on to any K’Nex collection. However, this set has a relatively small number of gears for so many regular pieces, so you have to be precise while using them. The set also offers a very limited number of the possible models. This, however, is not a big problem, since K’Nex crafts are easy to invent, and this set is more than enough to create many different things.
PLUS PLUS Lion Set
Another small set of 70 pieces in a tube. It has unusual brown and beige pieces. The basic model this set offers is, of course, a lion, but you can build anything else or mix this set with anu other Plus Plus.
Danish Plus Plus sets are among the most popular and well-known “waffle” building sets. Almost all pieces in these sets are exactly the same – except for the wheels and the baseplates. However, even with only the basic pieces, you can build almost anything.
All basic pieces have exactly the same shape and size – they look like two pluses joined together, hence the brand name. Each piece has two pegs on the long sides one peg on the short sides, and the matching empty spaces. The pieces are thick, so the pegs are as thick as they are long. Because of this, you can connect the pieces in any direction, they will hold well all the same. So you can build both 2D mosaics and all kinds of 3D shapes, connecting the pieces vertically, horizontally, or even with an angle. The Danish schools use Plus Plus kits as an educational tool. They help teach kids basic STEAM skills and help them develop fine motorics and creativity.
To add some difference and more variety to the crafts, the Plus Plus brand offers countless sets with different numbers and colors of the pieces. There are pieces of different colors and hues, glowing pieces, pieces with glitter, and so on. The sets also may include any number of the Plus Plus pieces. There are also both small traveling kits and big gift sets.
K’NEX Education – STEM Explorations: Swing Ride
This motorised K’NEX Swing Ride set proposes few moving models to build. It looks like K’Nex really likes carnival rides. This is one of the models from the set’s manual.
Many K’Nex Education sets offer moving models, and can have gears and motors. This one also have one motor to power the movement of your crafts.
This set has relatively small pieces and an electric motor, so it will not be a good choice for the small children. Sometimes connecting pieces may also be though, so the best age for this K’NEX Swing Ride set is 8-10 years old. Even if this set has no mini K’Nex pieces, you should be very careful about giving it to any child under the age of 7. You should also be careful around the moving gears – they are not metal, but having hair stuck in it is still very unpleasant.
Moving crafts can be a great add-on to any K’Nex collection. However, this set has a relatively small number of gears for so many regular pieces, so you have to be precise while using them. The set also offers a very limited number of the possible models. This, however, is not a big problem, since K’Nex crafts are easy to invent, and this set is more than enough to create many different things.
IYuePeng Building Blocks
IYuePeng building blocks set are very similar to Gakken blocks. This set has pices of different and unusual shapes and proportions.
The pieces of this set have unusual proportions compared to the different “waffle” blocks. They have slim, long pegs and big openings, and you can fit two pegs in one opening if you need to. There are also rod-like pieces most waffle block don’t have. These long and slim details can be very handy if you want to stack pieces instead of connecting them the usual way.
The set also includes wheels and specias axis details. So you can connect the wheels seamlessly to the rest of your craft. This is a major improvement compared to the older “waffle” sets where the wheels couldn’t actually rotate. Most “waffle” building sets also have sharp shapes with many corners, with Gakken being one of the exceptions. IYuePeng building blocks set has pieces with round ends, so the crafts look more smooth.
The size of the pieces is smaller that in the most “waffle” building blocks. All the pieces in this set are abot 1.5 inch long and less than an inch thick. They are safe for the older kids to use, but they still may be too tricky for children who are younger than 3 years old.
EDTOY Wooden Bull
Made by 5,5-years-old Willy from a wooden EDTOY kit.
EDTOY Wooden Robot
A robot with big eyes. Made by 5,5-years-old Willy from a wooden EDTOY kit.
EDTOY Wooden Pillar
A mysterious pillar or a temple of sorts. Made by 5,5-years-old Willy from a wooden EDTOY kit.
