Thames & Kosmos 620381 Remote Control Machines: Farm Science Experiment Kit

My two boys were so excited about these.. however they were horribly hard to put together because of the unclear and confusing directions. We powered through and finally got them put together just to find out the gears (which make the whole thing move) were sticking and it wouldn't drive correctly. My husband works on gears as a part of his job so it's not like they were done incorrectly. They plain just didnt work. My kids were so disappointed.. we returned them and purchased something different.

I highly recommend this Thames and Kosmos farm kit. The instructions are not the clearest in the world especially if one is used to LEGO instructions and some of the pieces my six year old boy girl twins needed help pushing in.We had to buy two as they wanted to play with each other. It was instructive even to me to see what some of the types of farm vehicles and how they worked. At the$25 price range that it was when I bought it, I think most kids in the family will be getting these as gifts.

some pieces were broken out of the box and didn't line up, the company did send a replacement which is why it gets 2 stars. but now with less than six months of use- multiple pieces are broken just from trying to take it apart and rebuild another machine. good idea- terrible execution

One of my sons got this for Christmas and all of his brothers are jealous. Lol. The pieces are a little difficult to snap together, which is the only reason I did not rate it as 5 star.

Great father son activities

First, I will confirm what some others have said. If a child is used to the instruction manuals from some of the other big-name construction sets on the market, this instruction manual will leave something to be desired. Although it might cause some frustration, it also requires some brain activity. So, potentially frustrating? Yes, but without that frustration, the constructor would have to think much less about how what they’re trying to build actually operates. Not that I think that this manual was put together with this goal in mind.As for the set itself, it’s pretty great. Each of the manual directed builds are fun, but the real winner in my book is that the piece count and variety is robust enough to build some neat things off-book.My wife was a little skeptical of the hyped-up educational value of this particular set. As hyped as it is both in the product listing and on the box, her cynicism is fair enough, but – as a childhood mechanical toy set tinkerer – I will say that while one interaction with a set like this might offer limited expansion in knowledge, repeated exposure does shape one’s understanding of the basic principles of engineering, mechanics and physics. This set is no different. It supplies the fuel to get a young mind working.The set does not come with batteries. You will need 8 AA batteries to get this up and running. I would highly recommend getting some rechargeable batteries for this if you don’t have some already. Otherwise, you might run the risk of shelling out more for batteries than for the set, depending on how frequently it’s used.

Pretty good STEM kit for kids, though initially mine were put off by the whole "farm" theme. They felt it was a little boring and uninteresting until they finally opened the box and dove in to see what al they could build. Little ones younger than six might have a harder time with building the machines as they may not have the hand/finger strength and coordination to get the parts together correctly. The age range on the box is six to ten years old, but I'd have to say that's more of a suggestion - go based on what you think your child is ready for and interested in.The actual building of the vehicles is best done when you and your kid(s) have a free afternoon as things don't exactly go all that quickly. Since the kits are geared toward younger kids, the directions are more pictures and arrows rather than written directions. The parts don't have little kid friendly labels that make attaching Tab A into Slot B. Pieces can be put on backwards and you not realize it until you are ready to power the model up. It's very important to take the time to ensure every piece is correctly attached. Once you get all the parts in the proper working order, these little machines are fun to watch.The best part is that when your child knows the basics on how to power a machine, they can take the parts and create their own. This is why I gave this kit four stars. The lack of detailed directions that take out the trial and error of building something is actually a good thing. Sure, it will take a lot longer for your child to build a working machine, but that's all part of the learning process. They discover what works and what doesn't, then apply that knowledge to creating additional working machines of their own design. Not enough toys let kids puzzle things out for themselves anymore, so it's great to see a line that doesn't take all the mental work out and does everything for the child except for the manual labor of assembly.

Good set but not clear instructions. Difficult job for kids. Still did not finish it even with adult’s help.