The fire burns inside this wooden cabin, and the blue smoke sips through the chimney. This cabin is just another mosaic we made from Unika gears. The pieces hold together surprisingly well.
These gears 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.
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. 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.
The orange sun rises over the sea, a palm tree bathes in its golden rays on a small island with a sandy beach. A scene made from Unika gears.
These gears 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.
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. There are also no extra pieces or decorations, so the gears are the only things you have to work with.
The Unika 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.
Japanese sets somehow quietly, but very quickly made their way to Amazon and became more accessible… Among them is Gakken aka New Block Gakken. And now, forgotten 3 years ago, the dream of a waffle building set + tools set began to hover again in our house. Probably 2 potential owners of this set have grown up during this time. The set has 80 parts of 22 types – basic “waffle” parts. There are also screws and nuts, and also tools, including a saw, a screwdriver, a wrench, and a hammer.
You can use the tools in constructions along with other parts. Each tool has a special protrusion for connection with parts. A screwdriver, for example, can be the nose of a spaceship, and a saw can propel a quite nice flying machine nose. Naturally, you can, and should, use the tools for their intended purpose – unscrewing, tightening, sawing, hammering. Knowing the quality of the Japanese Gakken construction set, I expect the set to be very useful and entertaining. It comes in a box with a lid that serves as a base for construction. You can attach the crafts to the special slots on its surface.
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.
Gakken brand 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.
Japanese brand New Block Gakken added gears to their sets. You can spin and spin again and again, which is actually reflected in the name. Well done, what more can I say!
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.
Gakken brand 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 New Block Gakken. 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.
A friend from the Chinese building set Straw Art Kit (manufacturer 4M). This girl is uncomplicated and simple. But she played and danced with her sisters for a long time and even went crazy with them at the sports complex.
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.
This one is a Japanese Bulldozer from a Gakken Gears set.
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.
Gakken brand 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.
Japan has been inextricably linked with the Shinkansen for half a century. So this theme is also reflected in children’s construction sets. This is Gakken New Block Shinkansen set.
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.
Gakken brand 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.
Macaron building gears by Septhope 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 120 pieces in light, gentle colors – hence the set’s name.
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.
You can use Fisher Price Baby Cubes together with Clipo. However, it is not possible to combine the cubes straight, but it is possible at an angle of 45 degrees. The blue and yellow platforms at the bottom are also Fisher-Price. These cubes have even more building possibilities that normal Peek-A-Blocks.
Robin the Bobbin, the big-bellied Ben, He eat more meat than fourscore men; He eat a cow, he eat a calf, He eat a butcher and a half; He eat a church, he eat a steeple, He eat the priest and all the people!
A cow and a calf, An ox and a half, A church and a steeple, And all the good people, And yet he complain’d that his stomach wasn’t full.
Peek-A-Blocks are baby cubes for kids by Fisher Price brand. A side of the cube is 2 inches. Our middle daughter got these cubes first at a respectable age of 2 years old. We bought her cubes with different sounds – rattles, bells and other noisemakers. And then we got other options. There are cubes of different themes – animals, vehicles, the alphabet. Cubes are usually transparent, for example, you can see insides of cube with an animal from 5 sides.
A Loch Ness living fossil that visited us. Made from small Zoob parts.
Back in 1997, inventor Michael Grey introduced Zoob, a toy inspired by the science of motion and organism development. Zoob represents an acronym for Zoology, Ontology, Ontogeny, and Botany. Each set has rod-like pieces with joint balls and sockets on their ends. Each of these balls has small bumps on its surface, so the joints can both move and stay in a certain position if you need them to.
This innovative toy features a ball and socket connection system, mimicking the natural movement and design found in people, animals, and machines. With just five basic shapes, Zoob offers 20 different ways to connect them together.
Zoob building sets have won awards because they’re different from regular building blocks. They use plastic pieces that snap together, like gears and joints, to build all kinds of objects. The possibilities limited only by your imagination. After you build something with Zoob, you can actually play with it – the pieces were designed to move after being assembled, so you can have fun with the toys you create.
Zoobs are great for helping children improve their fine motor skills. The pieces are small enough to easily manipulate and put them together. But they’re not too tiny like some other toys, so it’s easier for kids who find small objects tricky.
