Popular Mechanics for Kids Motor-works

This was a gift from a friend, their intentions were good but the gift turned out to be a big disappointment. My son had no trouble following the instructions, but from the beginning it was clear that this toy was made from very poor plastic castings and was not likely to run smoothly. In spite of multiple efforts to fix the poorly made parts and make them work properly, the motor still jammed every time it went around and after only a few turns the electric motor started to overheat and burn out. I build electrical and mechanical components for scientific research equipment and feel confident that it was not for lack of skill or understanding that we had trouble with this toy. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Bought this for my 11 yr old nephew for christmas... he says he loved building it and seeing what he did wrong and being able to fix it.

Built this with my 7 year old son last year. We display it in the living room and he has learned a considerable amount about an internal combustion engine from the model. Being battery powered, the crankshaft turns pumping the pistions, valves, etc. with the spark plugs lighting up at the proper timing sequence. It is similar to the visible V-8 engine but as a 4 cylinder.The visible V-8 is a wonderful learning tool also, but I have noticed it has changed from years past in the fact that it does not have an electric motor anymore that powers the engine and you have to manually crank it to make the engine revolve.