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Gakken Sawmill

We have a new wave of construction from the Japanese Gakken set and similar sets. My son, 4.4 years old, makes a lot of things from the construction set – both the simplest things and complex ones. These diving mask, a watering can and a sawmill are the most recent examples. In this machine, the lighter blue part is moving along the dark blue one. It is pressing the material being cut to the sawing discs))))

Gakken are probably one of the most popular “waffle” blocks sets. The Gakken sets have many different forms and shapes of the blocks. There are arched blocks, blocks with different numbers of pegs on different sides, and figurines. There are also some pieces that can work like the rails for the Japanese Gakken set trains. That same pieces are just as thick as any other Gakken blosk, and you can use them in many ways, not just for building rails.

Gakken are Japanese sets, and Japanese Amazon have bigger choise of them. But the shipping may be long and expensive. In countries that are far from Japan, finding these sets can be more tricky, but there are plenty of sets that have pieces of the same shapes.

Original Gakken New Blocks were invented in Japan in 1960s. They original purpose was education and helping children develop imagination and fine motorics. Gakken quickly became popelar in Japan, and they are one of the oldest “waffle” blocks that are still around. There are many sets that try to repeat Gakken concept, but not all of them have this high quality. Another similar set brand is Danish Plus Plus, but in Plus Plus all the pieces have the same shape.

Gakken Sawmill
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K’NEX 35 Model Building Set – Butterfly

This 480-piece K’Nex 35 model set has big and small flake-like pieces. There are also mathing thick and thin rods, as well as some rods that can connect big and small flakes together. Not all K’Nex sets have these special pieces.

Another good thing about this kit is that comes with a storage box that is big enough to hold many proposed crafts inside. With this box, you can place the half-made toy inside and later continue to work on it.

Just like with any other K’Nex sets, this one has pieces that hold together securely. However, you can easily dismatle your crafts and create something else using the pieces. The regular K’Nex pieces have more robust connections, and crafts can survive even the most active play. Mini K’Nex crafts are slightly more fragile. K’NEX 35 model set has pieces of the both sizes

While the crafts themselves can be very big, the pieces, especially mini pieces, are very small. Because of this, K’Nex can be dangerous for small babies who can accidentaly swallow the pieces. These pieces can also be too tricky for smaller kids to assemble properly. Because of this, the recommended age for K’Nex sets is 7+ years.

K’NEX 35 Model Building Set - Butterfly
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Another craft from the same set.

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Septhope Macaron Building Gears

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.

Septhope Macaron Building Gears
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Fisher Price Baby Cubes Robin The Bobbin

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.

Fisher Price Baby Cubes Robin The Bobbin
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Excellerations Soft Rabbit Blocks

These Excellerations Soft Rabbit blocks are somewhat unique. It is an interesting version of the “waffle” blocks with the pieces that look like cartoonish rabbits. All the pieces also have rabbit faces on them, and usual “waffle” pegs are rabbit ears and limbs in this set. Excellerations Soft Rabbit blocks are made from soft plastic, and they have no sharp edges and corners, so they are safe for the small kids to play. The pieces are very big – impossible to swallow and easy to hold. The set also comes in a big storage box, where all the pieces fit neatly.

However, these pieces are not flexible enough to actually bend them for the construction. The pegs of these pieces are very thick, so the number of ways you can contact them to the other pieces is very limited. Also, all the rabbits are the same, which is also somewhat limiting. The number of the pieces – 36 – is very small, compared to many other “waffle” sets.

In general, this set is similar to Danish Plus Plus, which also has pieces of the exact same shape in it. But Plus Plus and similar waffle blocks can connect in more ways and form more complex crafts. Because of this and the size, the Rabbit blocks are better choice for toddlers than for older kids.

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Zoob Loch Ness Monster

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.

Zoob Loch Ness Monster
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K’NEX 35 Model Building Set – Excavator

Another moving and realistic model proposed by the manufacturer. This 480-piece K’Nex 35 models set has big and small flake-like pieces. There are also mathing thick and thin rods, as well as some rods that can connect big and small flakes together. Not all K’Nex sets have these special pieces.

Another good thing about this kit is that comes with a storage box that is big enough to hold many proposed crafts inside. With this box, you can place the half-made toy inside and later continue to work on it.

Just like with any other K’Nex sets, this one has pieces that hold together securely. However, you can easily dismatle your crafts and create something else using the pieces. The regular K’Nex pieces have more robust connections, and crafts can survive even the most active play. Mini K’Nex crafts are slightly more fragile. K’NEX 35 models set has pieces of the both sizes

While the crafts themselves can be very big, the pieces, especially mini pieces, are very small. Because of this, K’Nex can be dangerous for small babies who can accidentaly swallow the pieces. These pieces can also be too tricky for smaller kids to assemble properly. Because of this, the recommended age for K’Nex sets is 7+ years.

K’NEX 35 Model Building Set - Excavator
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Another craft from the same set.

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K’NEX Kid Education Classroom Collection Set

This is one of the educational K’Nex sets, made with daycare and classroom use in mind. It comes in a sturdy plastic box for later storage and contains usual Kid K’Nex pieces. But there are also building cards with ideas on how to use this set to explain important concepts to children. This set is also bigger than the most Kid K’Nex – it has 225 pieces.

K'NEX Kid Education Classroom Collection Set
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