Slippers were also involved in the building process. They got cute ponytails and became “alive”. The diameter of the holes in plastic slippers just matched the Kid K”nex parts.
Obedient Slippers
Author: TatianaZh
Rainbow Toyfrog Interlocking Gears
These interlocking gears by Rainbow Toyfrog are a version of a popular type of building set. The gears in this one are not rotating on top of some structure – they are the basic building blocks of the set. The gears connect if you interlock the pins, or if you stack them. With these simple connections, you can build different shapes and mosaics. This set includes 100 pieces in 10 different colors.
All the gears have the same shape and size, the only difference is the color. However, there are still many possibilities to build, especially if you have many pieces. The gears can also interlock if you connect them at an angle. Sadly, the possibilities to build a moving toy are very limited, because the gears can’t really move once they connect. The only movement these gears are capable of after assembly is slight rotation, and it’s only possible if you connect them axis-to-axis. There are also no extra pieces or decorations, so the gears are the only things you have to work with.
The gears themselves are rather big, they are safe for the small children to play with. They also can hold together even in a very big craft without falling apart.
Geomag My Castle – Large Set – 163 Pieces
Geomag My Castle set – part of the box.
There Is A Connection!
Telephones are one of the most favorite building themes for children when we play outdoors.
Gakken Samurai
Samurai made from the Japanese waffle blocks (Gakken). Gakken brand has a set with tools: a screwdriver, a hammer, bolts, nuts and nails – Tool Set. Kids can use the tools together with the parts of the set. We liked this option; the children found several suitable bolts and nuts in the toy arsenal and attached them to crafts to make eyes and ears. It turned out, of course, not as nice as the original, which has larges caps and nice color (silver), but it was interesting all the same.
Unlike Plus Plus waffle blocks, Gakken blocks have pieces of many different shapes. They have round and curved pieces, long beams and H-like pieces. The empty spaces inside the blocks also can have different sizes and shapes, so you can stack inside different pieces in different positions. All this allows even more building possibilities than the waffle blocks sets with similar pieces. However, some pieces have less connection opgtions, because they don’t have pegs on the sides, or have only one hole.
Japanese waffle blocks (Gakken) appeared in Tokyo back in 1946 when it became an important component of Japan’s post-war efforts to rebuild the nation. Back then, it became incredible important to properly raise a new generation that will be able to create a better future.
The founder and educator, Hideto Furuoka, created first Gakken waffle buidling blocks. He later told that his inspiration was traditional Japanese wooden houses. There he saw an idea of flat blocks people can took apart and rebuild again when they need to. So he decided to create a toy which repeats this principle. Children can connect these Japanese waffle building blocks, stack them, lay them, plug, or tuck blocks in different orientations, for example, horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
Tegu Future Series – Circuit Racer – Complete Set
New Tegu series made in shades of natural and blue. There are 4 kits in total: Robo, Magbot, Circuit Racer, Magnetron. In addition to the color scheme, the sets are united by the theme of robotics.
Connect-a-Straws Bicycle
A bicycle from Connect-a-Straws building set.
Building straws, also known as building tubes, are a popular type of construction set with unique possibilities. They allow you to create silhouettes and contours of different objects and animals. All crafts from these sets can bend and move, so kids can actually play with their creations.
Instead of blocks, these sets have flexible plastic tubes, that look and act like soft cocktail straws. They can bend in any way and hold any position you want. The tubes usually attach to each other with special plastic connectors. The connectors can look and work differently in the different sets, but there are always many ways the straws can connect. The most common version is hard pins that go inside the straw’s hollow end, fixing it in place. Some connectors of this type have only one or two pins, some may have eight or ten. They also can have different forms, like sharp corners or straight rods. However, this connection type usually means that you can connect the straws only with their ends, and never with their middles.
These straws have great building potential, but, sadly, they can’t hold their shape under pressure (unlike, say, block towers that can hold something on their top). The straws’ building possibilities also depend on how long they are.
Geomag My Castle – Large Set – 163 Pieces
Geomag My Castle set – part of the box.
Genii Creation Playground – What You Can Build
We considered this set for a long time, but it was still out of reach for a number of reasons. It appeared in our house on New Year’s Eve, and during the winter holidays, the girls mostly built according to the proposed samples. During school days, the set rested. And looked from a shelf at the still unconscious junior builder of 1.5 years old, trying to gobble up a couple of beautiful pieces, and hide the rest somewhere. But now the junior builder and great lover of magnetic construction sets has grown up and matured, summer holidays are coming and we will finally be able to create a large magnetic town of Genii Creation together and with common efforts.
Wooden Mosaic By Djeco – Geocharacter
The mosaic is French, so it also has a French version of the name – Geo Personnages. Tablet in the form of a book 30×30 cm, 35 large bright wooden parts, 20 sample cards. The characters look very effective on a black background. Handicraft-savvy parents can easily make these backgrounds from colored cardboard.
