K’NEX {Tinkertoy & Mario Kart} Review

ABOUT:

K’NEX is a brand whose goal is to inspire creativity, build self-confidence and encourage interaction among children and parents. Their products include building sets including Lincoln Logs, Sesame Street, Mario Kart Wii, Nascar, and Monster Jam!

MY THOUGHTS:

K’NEX is a brand that you may think is just building sets, but they are really so much more.  The sets include such a variety of products for younger kids through older kids (even my husband loves the bigger complex K’NEX sets!)  I got the chance to check out a few K’NEX products and as expected my kids loved them!

Tinkertoy Vehicle Set

The Tinkertoy® Vehicles Building Set is designed to encourage young builders to play and learn. Builders ages 3+ can create a truck, sailboat, helicopter and other familiar vehicles that move or let their imagination travel to create customary ones! The colorful guide provides a variety of ideas for all building skill levels.  The Tinkertoy® Vehicles set includes 78 durable, plastic pieces including spools, straight rods, bendable rods, wheel, propeller, a buildable figure and more! Comes in a durable box with lid for easy storage and portability. Suggested Retail Price:  $27.99

I loved Tinkertoys as a child and even though there are so many building sets out there, I always think about how much fun I had as a child with the simple Tinkertoys set I had.  It is amazing how Tinkertoys have evolved their product but still kept some of the traditional pieces in there.  Now in addition to the classic Tinkertoys pieces, there are bendable pieces, people, and wheels, which adds to the building possibilites.  My boys had a blast with this set mainly because of the wheels.  They thought it was the coolest thing in the world to build something and watch it go!  This set comes with a total of 78 pieces including 1 guy, 4 wheels and a bunch of connectors!  I will say I wish it included more wheels but my boys also need to learn to share!  The pieces stuck in good and when they were zooming the truck it seemed to hold up!  This is a cute set for any builder and the box is sturdy enough to store the pieces in.

Diddy Kong and Standard Kart Building Set

Includes a buildable Diddy Kong figure, a golden mushroom item, plus a pull-back motor and K’NEX pieces to build his standard kart, exactly like in the game. Collect them all and race your friends! The package can be re-used as a ramp for even more after-building fun. Building set includes 60+ parts. For ages 6+

Toad and Standard Kart Building Set

Includes a buildable Toad figure, a spiked blue shell item, plus a pull-back motor and K’NEX pieces to build his standard kart, exactly like in the game. Collect them all and race your friends! The package can be re-used as a ramp for even more after-building fun. Building set includes 60+ parts. For ages 6+

The two Building Sets from the Mario Kart K’NEX line are fun not only to build but then play with!  They are both 60 some pieces and include full color instructions to follow.  I will say though while the kits are for ages 6 and up, my husband did need to help build them, as their are a lot of pieces to build with.  The karts you build are a decent size and they hold together pretty good, but once apart it will definitely be impossible to put back together without instructions.  These kits do not require batteries but instead they have the pull-back motor and they do go pretty fast!  These kits are reasonably priced (less than $20 each) and perfect for any Mario fan (young or old.)  They can be used alone (you can even print out a free track panel from K’NEX to attach to box to use as a ramp) or you can add them to the other K’NEX Mario Kart building sets.

BUY IT: K’NEX products can be purchased directly through K’NEX or look for them wherever toys products are sold.

WIN IT:  (1) US winner will receive the Tinkertoy Vehicle Set

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Mom and More Disclosure: I was sent these products to review in exchange for my honest opinion. Please see my Disclosure Policy.