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Tako Squares From Both Sides

A close-up of the Tako squares. You can see the rail on the edges of the squares.

Tako is another vintage building set. Its pieces are thin, open frames of different colors and sizes. All these frames have square shapes, and they connect to each other by the edges, forming all kinds of shapes. The manufacturer mostly proposed abstract geometric shapes as possible crafts, but these shapes look pretty, and you can use them to play along with some other toys.

Tako frames connect by the edges – they have tiny rails and empty spaces along the edges to put those rails in. As you can see, the edges are slightly asymmetrical, because the two sides of the square have the rails, and the other two have empty spaces. Sadly, the number of ways you can connect the pieces is limited. Many modern building sets offer more options. Of course, the pieces of the same size hold together the best. The pieces are beautiful but delicate and fragile – they can bend slightly, but they are also relatively easy to break accidentally.

Since all pieces are squares, the basic figure you can assemble is a cube, but it’s also possible to make prisms and other figures. They, however, are more tricky to assemble. The set has pieces of 4 different sizes and 6 colors.

Tako Squares From Both Sides
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MAGBLOCK Magnetic Wooden Blocks Set

This is wooden magnetic building set, containing birch blocks with magnets in them. The shape of the pieces is very similar to pieces of Tegu building sets. Just like Tegu, Magblocks has cubes, planks, columns and wheels, and they are also close in size. The main difference is the magnets – in Tegu, magnets are hidden inside the wood, but in Magblock, they are inside rotating plastic sockets on the blocks’ surface. Because of this, magnets in Magblocks may connect directly to each other, and already-connected blocks rotate more smoothly. However, in theory, Magblock magnets have bigger chances to detach from the pieces, which may be dangerous to children.

MAGBLOCK Magnetic Wooden Blocks Set
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GEOMAG

GEOMAG is a Swiss toy brand, specializing on magnetic building kits.

Most GEOMAG building kits contail magnetic rods and contacting balls, and often there are extra panels which can fill space between the rods in assembled structures. This way, toys made from GEOMAG pieces look not just like hollow shapes, but more like actual solid items. Some kits also contain special parts like wheels. Pro-L is a more advanced version of these kits, with big number of pieces and strong magnets.

Another type of GEOMAG building toys are sets with cubic blocks which can connect to each other in any direction. These sets are mostly intended for the younger children, so they have fewer, but bigger pieces.

There are also GEOMAG KOR series of toys, with blocks centered around magnetic core creating animal-like shapes. Children may reassemble those pieces in any way they like, creating new fantastic creatures.

GEOMAG
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Playmobil + Taikon

A Playmobil boy on a Taikon bar. These thick straws fit perfectly into a figurine’s hand.

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.

Playmobil + Taikon
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Magformers Light – Illuminated Magnetic Building

A radar in green tones…

Not so long ago Magformers with illumination appeared on the toy market. Usually they offer a set of 55 parts, which, in addition to triangles and squares, includes 6 white pyramids. But I unexpectedly came across a set of 48 transparent parts – triangles, high isosceles triangles, squares, small rectangles and diamonds. It is lighted by an LED enclosed under a matte case on a square magnetic piece – you can attach it to the craft any way you like. There are several lighting modes – first, the variable one, which changes color like a Christmas decoration in 2 modes, fast and slow. Then there are modes with only one color at a time – red, yellow, piercing yellow, greenish, blue, pink, and neutral white. The LED charges very quickly from a computer via a USB port. Full charge is enough for one busy construction evening.

The reaction of children to the backlight is difficult to describe – they liked it very much. I had to take take turns giving the LED piece to children. With it, crafts come to life, rockets and cars are illuminated, houses with luminous windows are very cozy.

Magformers Light - Illuminated Magnetic Building
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Tako Ladder

A small cute ladder we made from the Tako pieces.

Tako is another vintage building set. Its pieces are thin, open frames of different colors and sizes. All these frames have square shapes, and they connect to each other by the edges, forming all kinds of shapes. The manufacturer mostly proposed abstract geometric shapes as possible crafts, but these shapes look pretty, and you can use them to play along with some other toys.

Tako frames connect by the edges – they have tiny rails and empty spaces along the edges to put those rails in. As you can see, the edges are slightly asymmetrical, because the two sides of the square have the rails, and the other two have empty spaces. Sadly, the number of ways you can connect the pieces is limited. Many modern building sets offer more options. Of course, the pieces of the same size hold together the best. The pieces are beautiful but delicate and fragile – they can bend slightly, but they are also relatively easy to break accidentally.

Since all pieces are squares, the basic figure you can assemble is a cube, but it’s also possible to make prisms and other figures. They, however, are more tricky to assemble. The set has pieces of 4 different sizes and 6 colors.

Tako Ladder