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Customer reviews of by
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has been reviewed 14 times with an average rating of 3.93
As Expected
Posted 8/31/2006
Rating: 
Setting: Home
As I read in other reviews, this toy does take a long time to put together, and falls apart pretty easily. But when it is together, my son loves it. I wish it was more versatile. I had hoped for a product that would be easy to assemble in different configurations. This is not such a toy.
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10 of 11 customers found this review helpful.
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Techno Gears - Marble Mania Extreme
Posted 7/13/2006 by Viktoras A Prizgintas
Rating: 
I've read numerous reviews about products that require some careful preparation, detailed construction, and basic maintenance after completion. Often, these toys are criticized for being too difficult to build and keep functioning. Toys such as the TSX Trains, Thomas Big Loader, K'NEX, and Techno Gears - Marble Mania Extreme, my son's most recent project, are just a few examples. My son Alex is mildly autistic and the problems presented by these toys are part of his process towards learning about himself and the world he shares with others. Not everything works well at first, not everything is easy, and most things work better when faced together with others. Problem solving and success accomplished through a little perseverance are great life-lessons. I'm not an engineer by trade. In fact, I'm a musician with no technical training. Together, Alex and I learn about the importance of reading directions, taking inventory of parts, the slow process of building. Ultimately, we experience great pride in sharing our successes with others. We were on vacation when we completed the Techno Gears Marble Mania Extreme and he was able to bring other children to our cabin to show what we had built together. I cannot stress what a great accomplishment it was for him with his autism to make friends through the Techno Gears Marble Mania Extreme. He has strong cognitive skills but very poor social skills. My hope for Alex is that by building great things he will be able to learn the value in what he can do how it will draw others to himself. I can tell you that Techno Gears Marble Mania Extreme is a wonderful project that done properly will establish some amazing skills and bonds between you and your child. If you are looking for a toy that will baby-sit your child, you will be frustrated by both this product and your child.
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8 of 9 customers found this review helpful.
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Techno Gears-Marble Mania Extreme
Posted 1/9/2006 by Metta Gerber
Rating:
This looks like so much fun and I'm sure it will be when completely assembled, but it is very difficult (even for me as the grandmother). So far it is not holding together well, which will prove very frustrating if someone bumps it while playing. Perhaps the age appropriateness should be upped to 10 or 12.
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5 of 6 customers found this review helpful.
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Product review of
Posted 2/1/2007 by Patricia M. Miller
- GRANDPARENT
Rating:
Setting: Home
It's great! Fun and educational. My granddaughter helped me put it together, after we counted all the pieces to make sure that they were all there! It works great. I enjoy it myself.
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5 of 7 customers found this review helpful.
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Techno Gears - Marble Mania Extreme
Posted 10/8/2008 by JD
Rating: 
Setting: Home
This is a fun toy for the budding mechanical engineer in your family, but be preparred to help with the assembly. The box reads "Ages 8+.." but the instruction booklet for the 330+ pieces leaves much to be desired.
Once together, Techno Gears proves facinaiting to the Rube Goldberg in all of us.
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3 of 6 customers found this review helpful.
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Review of
Posted 1/9/2006 by Ed Morris
Rating: 
Boy, I sure didn't want to say; "we wouldn't recommend this product but, I have to do just that. If this product was voted "The Toy of The Year 2004", it had to be by the one who made it, and the one who sold it. Yes, we "All know how to put it together. We "All went over that with a fine tooth comb. The problem is, keeping it together. It viberates apart, Have to keep re-attaching it. Marbles run off the track 50% of the time, and you have to push the marbles along especially in the trough that has a dip in it. And if you try to tilt it more than what the diagram shows, the tower pulls apart. "Very Frustrating"!! One can't mess with it all day and be doing it wrong!!
I'm sorry but, our $50.00 could have been well spent for something else. We sure thought it to be an exciting toy, and were really looking forward to enjoying the product with our daughter but, as it turned out, It isn't what we expected, quality or dollar wise. (Note from Fat Brain Toys Customer Service: Customer was contacted and given a full refund.)
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1 of 2 customers found this review helpful.
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Product review of
Posted 1/4/2010 by MaryAnn Runyon
Rating:
My 8-yr old loves the gears and rolling marbles! Takes thought to set it up just the way he wants.
Information about
Posted 12/26/2009 by Teresa M Miller
Rating:
The toy itself was very difficult for my 8 year son to put together. His 19 year old brother had to help him. There are pages and pages of instructions. There were pieces missing. They had to make-shift sections as my son wanted to play with it. They also had to use duct tape to "adjust" a couple sections as the marbles kept shooting out of the toy or sticking in several places. (Note from Fat Brain Toys: We certainly believe in duct tape, just not on toys. We promptly sent our customer a replacement for the defective kit.)
Product review of
Posted 1/7/2006 by Robin Romain
Rating:
Toy is harder to put together than it looks with gears that are just for looks but it is very fun and we are looking forward to creating different confugurations.
A rating of
Posted 1/6/2006 by Monique Justice
Rating:
Very intertaining for my son and my husband! It is a small challenge and a bit time consuming to put together, however my son loves it!
Son loves this!
Posted 1/6/2006 by Dana LUcia
Rating:
We purchased this for our 5 year old son. He loves gears and marble runs. This product is a better quality than one he had received. He is a little young to do it by himself, but learning to put it together makes it a fun challenge. He loves the automatic feature of this one. Overall, a quality buy.
Review for
Posted 1/6/2006 by Anne Lonegan
Rating:
My son received this gift for Christmas and put it together with his dad. He loves it. He loved building it, and although there was some trouble, they worked it out and it works great! Thank you so much for a great product. Not only was it fun, but he used his problem-solving skills and bonded with his dad.
Information about
Posted 1/5/2006 by Peter Cangiano
Rating:
What a great toy. At first I thought an engineering degree was necessary. However, it wasn't long before my daughter and I were building away. Challenging but extremely rewarding.
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Elkhorn, Nebraska USA 68022