Category: GEARS – Gears!Gears!Gears! (USA), Quercetti (Italy), Unika (Ukraine), Fantasy (USSR)

This category focuses on construction and building kits that prioritize interlocking gears and cogs as the main components. In addition to the gears, these sets also include building blocks for assembling the cogs.

These toys are designed to help children learn about the movement of interlocking gears while promoting creative play, critical thinking, spatial thinking, problem-solving, fine motor skills, and cause-and-effect understanding.

Several companies produce such toys, such as building kits made by Unika (Ukraine), Gears! Gears! Gears! from Learning Resources (USA) and Kaleido Gears by Quercetti (Italy).

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Excellerations Natural Tones Building Wheels

Excellerations Building Wheels 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. There are few types of these building wheels by Excellerations brand, and this is a natural tones version. These pieces have calm and neutral tones uncommon for the kids building sets. Other types of building wheels are essentially the same, but have 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. 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.

Excellerations Natural Tones Building Wheels
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Fantasia Gears Set Manual

The other side of the Fantasia gears set has a manual of sorts depicting the possible crafts.

This vintage building set is similar to the Quercetti Gears sets. It also includes baseplates, poles, and, of course, the gears. The baseplates connect like the pieces of a puzzle, they are heavy and sturdy enough to hold the whole construction in place. There are also many small colorful pins to decorate the pieces.

While there are no poles like in Quercetti sets, you can connect and interlock the baseplates in 3D, making some of them stand upright. They can also hold together at the angle, so you can build all kinds of shapes from them. Overall, these plates themselves form a good building set.

After making something from the baseplates, you can attach the gears to the finished crafts and make the gears spin. All gears are the same size, they are almost as big as the baseplates, and you can also use them just to decorate the crafts. All pieces come in many different colors. Sadly, there are few pieces overall.

This set has an educational purpose – some schools used it to teach children about the gear transmissions. The description says that the set is for children aged 4-8 years.

Fantasia Gears Set Manual
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Excellerations Building Wheels

Excellerations Building Wheels 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. There are few types of these building wheels by Excellerations brand, and this is a rainbow version. Other types are essentially the same, but have 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. 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.

Excellerations Building Wheels
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Quercetti Georello Tech Set

This Georello Tech set by Quercetti has all the essential thing you’d desire in a gear system. Firstly, their construction quality is top-notch, and the pieces have robust and solid design. The set also has a seamless gear interface, so they interlock securely. With this reliable connections and sturdy pieces, the set allows you to build machines that can perform real work.

The set includes several base plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. Nearly half the time these are in use at our house, kids made colorful boxes from them. So, they’re not just basic pieces but are interesting decorations in their own. The second set of pieces has support structures, which are tubes and joints that interlock to create sturdy poles. These pieces come in a consistent size, without the frustration of dealing with components at slightly different heights, a problem we’ve encountered with other sets in the past. The support connects are sturdy, so that the structures stay intact once they’re built.

In addition to the gears, this set also comes with attachments like chains and rubber bands. You can use them to connect groups of gears that would otherwise be separate. Also, you can use them with other toys and building sets.

Quercetti Georello Tech Set
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Quercetti Isotta Discovery Car Top View

Another look at Isotta Discovery Car by Quercetti.

This is one of the simpler Quercetti gear sets. It has big and colorful pieces and allows you to build a mechanical toy car. The frame is transparent and shows all the mechanisms. This toy has 2 steering wheels, a 3-piston engine unit, a gearbox with 2 gears and a neutral setting, a differential unit, and a steering wheel. The fan on the car’s front end also rotates. Kids can see how all these mechanisms work.

This car shows how the wheels steer when you turn the steering wheel. You can see how the piston engine or gear transmissions work. Since the manufacturer recommends this set for 3+ years of age, all the tiny pieces are locked inside the bigger parts. This way, children can’t swallow or lose them. And, educational quality aside, it’s a good toy car to play with.

This is a building kit because you will need to assemble the pieces yourself. However, there are little to no different building options – the car consists of very few bulky pieces. The chassis is small, and there is only one way to place all the parts on it to connect them. Quercetti Isotta Discovery Car is a good educational toy, but it’s not very fit for creative building.

Quercetti Isotta Discovery Car Top View
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Quercetti Isotta Discovery Car

Isotta Discovery Car is one of the simpler Quercetti gear sets. It has big and colorful pieces and allows you to build a mechanical toy car. The frame is transparent and shows all the mechanisms. This toy has 2 steering wheels, a 3-piston engine unit, a gearbox with 2 gears and a neutral setting, a differential unit, and a steering wheel. The fan on the car’s front end also rotates. Kids can see how all these mechanisms work.

This car shows how the wheels steer when you turn the steering wheel. You can see how the piston engine or gear transmissions work. Since the manufacturer recommends this set for 3+ years of age, all the tiny pieces are locked inside the bigger parts. This way, children can’t swallow or lose them. And, educational quality aside, it’s a good toy car to play with.

This is a building kit because you will need to assemble the pieces yourself. However, there are little to no different building options – the car consists of very few bulky pieces. The chassis is small, and there is only one way to place all the parts on it to connect them. Isotta Discovery Car is a good educational toy, but it’s not very fit for creative building.

Quercetti Isotta Discovery Car
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Fantasia Gears Set

There is a Fantasia gears set, made in the USSR by the Spetsstanok factory.

This vintage building set is similar to the Quercetti Gears sets. It also includes baseplates, poles, and, of course, the gears. The baseplates connect like the pieces of a puzzle, they are heavy and sturdy enough to hold the whole construction in place. There are also many small colorful pins to decorate the pieces.

While there are no poles like in Quercetti sets, you can connect and interlock the baseplates in 3D, making some of them stand upright. They can also hold together at the angle, so you can build all kinds of shapes from them. Overall, these plates themselves form a good building set.

After making something from the baseplates, you can attach the gears to the finished crafts and make the gears spin. All gears are the same size, they are almost as big as the baseplates, and you can also use them just to decorate the crafts. All pieces come in many different colors. Sadly, there are few pieces overall.

This set has an educational purpose – some schools used it to teach children about the gear transmissions. The description says that the set is for children aged 4-8 years.

Fantasia Gears Set
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Rotating Gears

Daughter turns the handle and watches the rotating gears.

These gears by Quercetti has all the essential thing you’d desire in a gear system. Firstly, their construction quality is top-notch, and the pieces have robust and solid design. The set also has a seamless gear interface, so they interlock securely. With this reliable connections and sturdy pieces, the set allows you to build machines that can perform real work.

The set includes several base plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. Nearly half the time these are in use at our house, kids made colorful boxes from them. So, they’re not just basic pieces but are interesting decorations in their own. The second set of pieces has support structures, which are tubes and joints that interlock to create sturdy poles. These pieces come in a consistent size, without the frustration of dealing with components at slightly different heights, a problem we’ve encountered with other sets in the past. The support connects are sturdy, so that the structures stay intact once they’re built.

In addition to the gears, this set also comes with attachments like chains and rubber bands. You can use them to connect groups of gears that would otherwise be separate. Also, you can use them with other toys and building sets.

Rotating Gears
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Quercetti Kaleido Gears Crank

Kaleido Gears by Quercetti has no motor of any kind – you will need to turn this crank to make them rotate.

This Kaleido Gears set by Quercetti has all the essential things you’d desire in a gear system. Firstly, their construction quality is top-notch, and the pieces have a robust and solid design. The set also has a seamless gear interface, so they interlock securely. With these reliable connections and sturdy pieces, the set allows you to build machines that can perform real work.

The set includes several base plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. Sadly, this set has no poles or pillars, you make a basic construction from the puzzle pieces only. You can also build 3D structures with these pieces, like boxes or buildings. There are also no bands or chains, so this set has fewer building options than the other Quercetti gear sets.

The gears, however, are great – they have different sizes, colors, and ornaments, and they move! Together, they create very bright and flashy crafts, hence the set’s name. It also includes the axis pieces and a crank to move the gears. This set is great for explaining basic physics to the children – they will learn the basics of gear connections without any trouble. Since the kit mostly has big, colorful parts, the recommended age is 3-12 years.

Quercetti Kaleido Gears Crank
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Quercetti Kaleido Gears Piece Connection

This is how the pieces of Kaleido Gears by Quercetti connect to each other. The baseplates have small holes, and the small pieces, like the axis pieces, have the pins on them.

This Kaleido Gears set by Quercetti has all the essential things you’d desire in a gear system. Firstly, their construction quality is top-notch, and the pieces have a robust and solid design. The set also has a seamless gear interface, so they interlock securely. With these reliable connections and sturdy pieces, the set allows you to build machines that can perform real work.

The set includes several base plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. Sadly, this set has no poles or pillars, you make a basic construction from the puzzle pieces only. You can also build 3D structures with these pieces, like boxes or buildings. There are also no bands or chains, so this set has fewer building options than the other Quercetti gear sets.

The gears, however, are great – they have different sizes, colors, and ornaments, and they move! Together, they create very bright and flashy crafts, hence the set’s name. It also includes the axis pieces and a crank to move the gears. This set is great for explaining basic physics to the children – they will learn the basics of gear connections without any trouble. Since the kit mostly has big, colorful parts, the recommended age is 3-12 years.

Quercetti Kaleido Gears Piece Connection
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