Smithsonian Motor-Works Kit

My friend had one and I helped him put it together and it was extremely easy to put together. Besides that there were small parts a child of 3 years of age could have put it together. It was easy because: screws didn't strip screws went in easily no forcing very clear and detailed instructions worked easily was awsome after put together
 
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We started to put the engine together but found that the springs that were included absolutely could not be used as the directions indicated. They were the wrong size, were able to slip through the holes and, therefore, the engine would not work.
 
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I bought two of these. One for my grandsons to do with their father and one for my husband and son to do together. My son is 26. These two grown men had the best fun they'd had together in years. It has since sparked (pardon the pun) converstation re: the intricacies of the internal combustion engine simple enough for their wives to understand.
 
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good
 
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Working with my 8 year old grandson we had a ball getting this item built
 
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My sons enjoyed this once we put it together. The drawings in the manual are not clear enough for assembling the valve train. I had to sleep on it to figure out how to do it. And the valve springs are poorly wound.
 
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I purchased this for my 7-year-old son. He sat down with his Dad to assemble the product. Each time Dad had to get up, my son continued working through the pages of the book. He didn't want to stop until it was complete. He actually did a great deal of the assembly himself with Dad checking behind him. My son is still thrilled that he built an actual working model and shows it to anyone who comes over. It is well worth the money and is a great learning tool.
 
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I liked how the parts where referred to as regular engine parts .It really helped to explain the mechanical workings to a child.I enjoyed putting it together with my nephew
 
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So far, we can't get it to turnover. We may be doing something wrong or its not working properly. otherwise our grandson was very impressed by it when he first got it.
 
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The directions for this kit were very poor. My husband had to help our son through the entire building of this and the parts fit poorly together. Once it was finished, it did not run smooth, but it was neat to see it work.
 
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The packaging and contents were very well done and material strong with good instructions. We were pleased and quite satisfied with our order. Would order again from you if the need were to arise.
 
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I bought this for my 8 year old nephew and he loved it. Good learnng experience.
 
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a total hit - it got the big boys involved with the little guy and they all had fun
 
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I really liked the product. My son loves to put things together and this was a great learning experience. The directions were clearly written for a 10 year old!
 
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older children from 12 years and up will likely enjoy this more since there are many intricate parts to be put together. Once it was put together he has not touched it.
 
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My son loved this and put it together with his Dad and had the best time! He loves to do anything mechanical, so this was a great choice for him.
 
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My son got this for Christmas and we were a little disappointed with it. It really sounded neat in the discription, but didn't really do anything. Once he put it together, that was pretty much it. I wish we would have spent the money on something else.
 
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Instructions could have been clearer but we assembeled it pretty quickly
 
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We thought this was a great opportunity to learn about engines. had fun putting it together,did not run very well and the belts slip then broke,it was just not very durable, even with a gentle touch. Very Disapointing
 
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My 10 year old son loved the toy. It was cool to build it and watch how it works. The only problem I had was it was missing pieces.
 
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fun for dad and son
 
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This kit was very thrilling to my son. He spent a whole day putting it together. At the end it didn't work because he didn't have something aligned correctly. He started to take it appart and then his little brother lost some of the parts.
 
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dfgdfgdf
 
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This engine model kit was missing many major parts, and cannot be assembled. It was a birthday gift for my 15 year old son.
 
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I bought this for my 8 year old nephew to build with his father as a great project to do together.
 
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This is an excellent kit for anyone interested in the operation of internal combustion engines but it requires a level of patience and modeling skills that most pre-teens lack. The instructions are not clear in several important steps and glue should be used to help secure the valve/valve stem assembly, piston heads and connecting rod keepers. An intersting and educational model can be built if one works carefully and methodically.
 
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great source of pride in my 8 yr old -- shows everyone his model engine and explais it to them. much better than building a car or airplane model with him. priced right too. Best for 9-12 yr old.
 
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My 10 yr old loves to build and construct things. He loved this item. My mother bought it for his birthday and he spent hours immediately after his bday party putting it together and has it on his shelf in his bedroom. He is very proud of his work on it and enjoys showing it off. I highly recommend this to anyone that has a child that enjoys contructing and building things.
 
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Believe it will be good for him; he's age eight in December, and is mechanical & likes cars. Won't know how he receives it until after christmas.
 
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This was a birthday gift for my 10-year-old nephew. He loved it--it is a real winner for a mechanically-minded kid.
 
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You may need to work together on it, but the detail and fun when everything works is worth it.
 
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Great for the 12 - 15 age. Really lets the young minds see how things work.
 
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my boyfriend is an engineer in the automobile industry. I bought this for him, he loved it. he took it to work and now all of his co-workers want one for either themselves or their sons.
 
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My Grandson really enjoys watching the motor work; knowing that he put it all together and seeing how each part makes the other work. this was a good choice for him.
 
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Kelley really enjoyed putting this together. I think he learned more about the inner workings of the motor after I left at Christmas. He was very interested though in how the pistons go together and what turns what.
 
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I got the Motor-Works kit for my 12 year old son to give him a visual understanding of the innerworking of a 4-cycle engine. It was very educational and informative. It is a bit difficult for a child, but makes it perfect for a father son project. My biggest concern was that some of the pieces did not fit. Specifically, two of the intake valves could not be inserted because the holes in the cylinder head did not line up. One of them could be contorted to fit, but the friction would have rendered to engine unfunctional. A smaller concern is the amount of effort required to make each piece fit and perform properly. Be prepared to use a knife to cut away any rough edges as, llke a real engine, drag is bad. Overall, I really enjoyed the project. My son and I got a chance to do some fun and educational together. Now that it is put together I don't know what we will do with it. But like the say, getting there is half the journey.
 
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wonderful thinking toy for my boys. my 12 yr old loves it, makes things w/his 23 yr old brother as the 10 yr old watches !!
 
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My sister actually helped my nephew put it together as she is his mother. It took 3 1/2 hrs to assemble but everything works and he loves it.
 
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My grandson is still too young to help his Dad work on the family cars. This gives him an edge for when he's a little older, he'll know more than his Dad about what makes an engine tick.
 
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I ordered this for my 8 yr. old grandson. He couldn't put it together by himself, but it was a great project for him and his dad. They had a fun time building it together.
 
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Great for learning how motors work - my 8 year old and his uncle put it together Christmas morning!
 
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We bought this for my 11 year old brother and he and my engineer husband put it together one long evening. It definately requires adult supervision, which we loved because it gave them time together. He learned a lot about engines and how they work. Instructions were great too. Highly recommended for hands-on, fun, rewarding learning.
 
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The items ordered were gifts, delivered some 600 miles distant from me. In short I never saw any of them. The coments and feed back were all favorable.My comments are related to service,it happened when you said it would,in spite of one item being on back order.Above all and better than all what was received was actually whatI ordered.In my experience that seldom happens and I spend a lot of time solving a problem I had nothing to do with the creation of. "you done better than good"You may put me down in the satisfied coustomer file.
 
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The Smithsonian Motor-Works Kit did not meet my expectation of what I thought I was getting. Too many plastic parts, some were snapped off already and I thought it would have been made much better. Once it was put together, the engine part does not does not connect tight enough and makes the piston skip. Very disappointed in this item.
 
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My son requested this for Xmas. We purchased it, and I was very disappointed in the size and the construction. By looking at it online it looked a lot bigger, and the construction was very cheap. All plastic parts. Where is the metal? What do you do with when you finally get it together? It justs sits there useless.
 
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How cool is this toy!? Some kids are just drawn to this sort of thing and this is a great tool to encourage mechanical thinking. They loved it!
 
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I was expecting something a litte bigger then what it was, but my son really enjoyed building it with his father.
 
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Very challenging, my son loved putting something together that actually works like the real thing
 
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Our 9 year old thought it was really cool. It got the actual point across. It did at least showed him how a engine works. Not as advance as a real engine (like my husband was looking for.) But they enjoyed building it together over the holiday break. My son is going to take it to school for other kids can see how it works and show his science teacher. He is really into cars so he enjoyed this gift. I would reccommend it.
 
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My son was so excited to put this together! He has had little experience with this kind of thing, and couldn't get past the 1st step with out me. The directions were confusing and the two of us were not able to complete it ourselves and had to bring in engineer husband. He didn't have much trouble, but he did most of the work himself, not my 9 yr old.
 
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Needed help with it but was great for him and his grandpa to do it together and then he was so proud of it.
 
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