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The box has a parts count and an image of the contained model.
The carton held a single polybag of parts:
The polybag held the instruction sheet and the parts, here sorted by type.
A close-up of the bricks:
As you can see, they have rounded edges, central holes along the brick and an ‘X’ shaped stud. The plastic is a decent quality and they can combine well with Lego bricks. However they aren’t as shiny or bright as fresh from the bag Lego.
A shot of the instructions:
I found these instructions to be very unforgiving. They were quite hard to follow and some details were near indecipherable, especially the placement of the pegs and pins. While Lego would have an exploded view of a fiddly step, or a sub-step for a section that needed assembly, these K’nex ones do not. To complete a 45 part set it only has 5 steps! Maybe I found it hard because I am a novice with K’nex, having never really built with them, but then again an impulse set like this should be a bit more accessible for beginners considering it is likely to be the sort of set they would pick up.
Here is the completed model. It’s pretty cool, the propellers at the ends of the wings spin really well and the whole thing looks good. One minor issue is how “extra” the bricks look in comparison to the framework of the wings and tail. It gives the impression that the bricks were forced into the construction somewhere to cash in on the popularity of brick based construction toys. Sadly this might be the case.
Here is the plane with a brave pilot from Lego Town, stepping in from his day-job as a road sweeper to bravely venture out in this odd little plane. The minifig sat and gripped onto the studs as well as any Lego brick but he looks even more tracked on that the bricks themselves.
There were two other sets in this carton based collection, a car and a smaller plane. The car had a 44 piece count and the even smaller plane 15! All had the same price. There were also some slightly larger sets priced at just under £4. These were packaged in plastic wheels in cardboard sleeves and were a collection of go-karts that combine to make a larger truck.
I have to say this set is quite unimpressive. Although the plane looks good, the bricks just detract from the smoothness of the construction and are certainly out of place. On my rating scale I would give it a 4 out of 10: Interesting construction but low aesthetical value.
I am still open to other sets as it is an interesting method of combining the struts and clips framework of K’nex with the bricks of Lego. The two together adds many possibilities for construction of non-traditional shapes and frameworks that Lego doesn’t have the capability for (a Rollercoaster for example).
Well, I hope you found this review informative . I hope to be objective with these non-Lego construction brick reviews and avoid bias based purely upon my love of Lego (even if I do compare the two). I apologise for the photos being taken with the parts on my Laptop, my building area in the loft is far too hot today.
End Post.
I've seen a lot of these in stores and call me a closed-minded fanboy if you want, but they look horrid. K'nex really should stick to what they do well...
I really respected them, once, but this is just pathetic.
I used to love K'nex. They were a construction brand that had their own designs and style. They were really fun to build with, too. I'm not sure I like the mix of the two pieces; they just don't fit in.
