Every year the toy industry develops, offering the consumer more and more new products to replace the old ones. The metal constructor, which was the secret dream of every Soviet boy, seemed to have lost ground to more colorful plastic Lego sets. However, one should not think that the old Soviet invention has sunk into oblivion, it is still in demand and continues to be produced.
Today's manufacturers have begun to produce it in a wider range, and now it looks like a much more competitive product than before.
Advantages
The popularity of the plastic constructor seems obvious: such a material is brighter, more comfortable, lighter, and non-toxic, and it is much more difficult to inflict injury with it than with a metal part. However, it is a metal set that develops a child much better, and versatile.
- Plastic parts of the designer are usually characterized by a very high attraction for kids, because they imitate what they should imitate in a particular assembly, but because of this they cannot be used in any other way.
- Iron sets are made up of universal parts, allowing children's imagination to run wild and create something original, also thanks to the compilation of parts from two different sets. At the same time, instructions that allow you to quickly assemble something specific are also present.
- The parts of the iron constructor do not have grooves that are simply inserted into each other, so each part has to be screwed to the other with screws, nuts and wrench Everything you need is included, of course. It turns out that the assembly process becomes much more complex, and therefore the developing effect is more expressive.
- The iron designer was not created for boys alone, girls can also use it. Perhaps it will be a little more difficult for a girl to come up with unusual idea for an interesting build, but still possible.
- Today, companies produce the widest range of iron construction kits, so finding something appropriate for a child of any age (from preschooler to teenager) is not difficult.
Flaws
Unfortunately, there are no such products that would not have flaws at all, and everyone's favorite metal designers, of course, also have certain features that may raise doubts as to whether it is worth choosing such a gift at all. The children's iron constructor has a number of disadvantages that you need to know about even before buying.
- Gifts of this kind are only suitable for older preschoolers, because children under 6 years of age the purchase of this toy is actually contraindicated. Even if the details of the designer are made in fairly large sizes, the set still contains nuts and screws with washers, which are very easy to swallow. Consequently, such a set is often perceived as a school set, while the very relationship with the school and responsibilities can reduce the baby's interest in designing.
- The iron designer allows you to make the most unexpected crafts on your own, however, this statement is more true in relation to adults, while for kids the task can be quite boring. A child from 10 years old and older will understand complex instructions, and even then - only if you have your own formed interest, and there can be no talk of independent design of a new toy at an early age. Consequently, children perceive working with such a constructor within the school walls, rather, as a duty than as an interesting and exciting game, because of which the main value of the set is lost.
- The crazy popularity of plastic designers for children is largely due to their brightness, according to this indicator, they are significantly ahead of any competitors. Today, manufacturers are trying to paint even metal sets, however it is unrealistic for them to compete with the brightness of plastic competitors. As a result, the child perceives school construction as a not very successful imitation of the game, instead of learning at ease.
- Due to its strength, metal parts have an increased degree of injury. It is clear that in a high-quality set there should not be points or poorly processed surfaces, but at least one child can throw a large part at another, and the blow can be quite strong. Children, alas, do not understand the dangers of such games and fights, and therefore, without hesitation, they can injure their peers with the help of game details.
Kinds
There are quite a few varieties of metal constructors - they can be small or large, designed for children. different ages, universal or narrowly focused, to facilitate the assembly of models from a particular industry. If the purchase is made not for a class or circle, but for one child, all these details must be taken into account.
It should be understood that the age recommendations are indicated on the box for a reason. Although a child may be ahead of or slightly behind his peers in development, in general, such indications are very valuable, allowing you to understand whether the baby will be interested and whether he can cope with the task.
At the same time, the task must still be quite difficult if parents want to get a clear effect on the development of the child's mental abilities.
And so that he does not get bored, you will have to choose a set with a certain plot that is close to the child. It should be recognized that such products are more focused on boys, no matter how hard manufacturers try to expand the range, all the same, the kits mainly concern the assembly of equipment. But even here everything is not so simple, so it’s worth once again taking an interest in the sets offered in our time.
- The theme of the future has always been popular among children, so a set that makes a beautiful transformer robot will be a great gift for a baby. As a rule, such sets do not imply a large number of assembled models. However, the very fact of the transformer implies the presence of at least two variations of the finished model, dissimilar to each other.
- Children are also very interested in the topic of flights, and although the days of Gagarin's rampant popularity are long gone, a plane or helicopter of one's own design will still be considered a very intelligent toy. Many boys dream of taking to the air, and even to have the right to say that you yourself have assembled aircraft, albeit a toy one, is a very weighty argument for respect among friends.
- Typical male interests are manifested in boys as early as childhood, therefore a young mechanic will surely be delighted with the opportunity to assemble various wheeled vehicles. A good all-round kit gives you great opportunities for this: you can assemble a tractor or a tank, a truck or even a simple motorcycle.
Such a 3D model can even be played if desired, although to a greater extent it is still a sign of the boy's engineering genius and a reason for his immeasurable pride.
Do not ignore the fact that now manufacturers have moved away from the canon, according to which a metal constructor should be a banal set of nuts and washers. Now, even a metal set often includes parts from other materials, most often, of course, it means plastic that can imitate vehicle tires, transparent glasses, and much more.
Another popular material for the manufacture of individual parts is rubber, which also allows you to achieve greater plausibility of the assembled models than the classic versions of the iron constructor usually do. However, the classic screw constructor with an electric motor is a revolutionary development.
On the one hand, there is nothing incredible in such a decision, on the other hand, the Soviet developers for some reason did not guess to provide for such an option. By adding a simple mechanical motor, similar to those used in toy plastic cars, the assembled models can move on their own!
Naturally, the parts are processed in such a way as to match the motor mounts as much as possible, however, the young engineer's self-esteem after working with such a gift just rolls over: he literally assembled a self-propelled mechanism! After such a childhood, the choice in favor of any technical or design profession should no longer surprise anyone, but such a path in our country is still considered honorable and profitable.
Features of choice
A wide variety of models on the market can confuse an inexperienced buyer, because It is worth paying attention to important details that contribute to the correct choice:
- quality certification is the first sign that the product is worthy of purchase, especially since you can see it without even unpacking the product;
- the age limit on the packaging is indicated for a reason: you should not buy a 4-year-old child a constructor designed for 9-year-olds, and vice versa;
- Poorly machined metal parts can cause injury and should be inspected for sharp edges or nicks.
- great attention should be paid to the quality of fasteners, which should not have problems with cuts and threads, otherwise the whole set will be useless;
- when buying a constructor for children under 5 years old, the problem of swallowing small parts still remains relevant, therefore, the set should not contain fragments smaller than 50 mm in size;
- although, in general, metal is much safer than the same plastic in terms of environmental friendliness, the resulting rust or low-quality dye used can be dangerous, therefore, if there is a strange smell, it is better not to take the product;
A good constructor involves assembling numerous different models from one set, but in their focus they should at least partially affect the sphere of interests of a particular child.
Manufacturers
In certain situations, you should simply trust the manufacturer, who has proven himself thanks to quality products. The majority of consumers do not choose one brand or another in vain: in the age of information technology, any serious flaw would quickly become public knowledge, so well-known manufacturers simply do not allow themselves to do their job badly.
Among the Russian brands, it is worth highlighting the Tenth Kingdom, which focuses mainly on products designed for school labor lessons. It is impossible not to pay attention to the products of the Samodelkin brand, which took its name in honor of the Soviet cartoon character, assembled from parts of a similar designer. Russian designers are distinguished by good quality and a fairly affordable price.
Imported kits also deserve respect. Although Western toys are traditionally perceived as something bright and beautiful, and, let's be honest, superior to domestic counterparts, even the Americans have variations on the theme of our iron designer. Another thing is that such products look much more beautiful, for example, the perforation made for screwing in the bolts may not be visible from the outside.
On the other hand, such a designer is usually less versatile, since it is a kind of Lego, only made of metal. A good example of such a product can be called sets manufactured by the American company Meccano. Such a toy would take its rightful place in the nursery. However, it would be fair to assume that imported products will cost parents much more than Russian ones.
But for Chinese products, the quality is often as low as the price. It is not necessary to argue that absolutely all Chinese metal constructors are harmful, fragile or poorly processed, but such complaints are not so a rare occurrence. Worthy samples come across, but the big problem is that the average Russian consumer does not remember Chinese brand names, which is why a product from China is always an abstraction for him.
Such metal construction kits have become increasingly popular in Russia in recent years, thanks in part to various delivery services for purchases directly from China at literally bargain prices.
At the same time, it should be remembered that such an acquisition is always a risk of spending money, albeit small, on a product that did not deserve consumer attention at all.
An overview of the metal constructor No. 7 (production of the Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod), see the following video.
Hello friends. For a very long time I did not do reviews of handicrafts of creative personalities. Everyone could not find time for this, conducting his master classes, traveling around IT exhibitions () and starting his mini-journey and the changes that he wrote about in the blog.
I will send descriptions to the pictures and the works themselves, and the author will announce himself in the comments, if he wants.
The first sets began to be made already in 1901 in England.
Initially, the idea was to create working layouts to demonstrate projects, such as bridges.
But the material from which the layouts were assembled must be universal. This is how the idea of using perforated strips was born. Therefore, their models are unique in terms of the complexity of mechanical solutions and design beauty.
Motor:
Elevator control unit (stacker):
It's like a Tiger tank.
AN-2. It seems like it.
Mini model. The idea is taken from foreigners, but all the details are ours.
Cubism. Angular sides of large and small cubes. The big one is assembled from the standard corners of the designer, and in a small cube I put my parts to connect the sides. The gap is minimal.
I took a retro car from Meccano (red) assembled from our parts except for wheels, headlights and a cover on the hood.
I made templates for the manufacture of cover sheets from different companies. So far, only from the Yunost 4 set converted to a millimeter standard. And sheets from the GDR Construction 100 set. There are some duplicate drawings, this is to fill in the sheet. Some parts are reminiscent of the Mercur set.
Drawn in Word. It seems that it turned out not bad, but it is better to make templates on graph paper. It will be more accurate.
I will take the material from the covers of accounting folders. There are folders with normal thickness. I would like more, but what we have, then we will use it ..
I punch holes with a set of punches for punching holes in rubber. It is not expensive, it costs about 300 rubles.
This is how the retro truck turned out from memory. There are homemade parts, these are hinges on the doors, wheels and many other reworked parts from our kits. A trial version of making impromptu headlights from ketchup caps. In principle, LEDs can be installed in these caps and power the headlights. It is possible to add this model with hinges on the body and a lifting mechanism for the body. Though lifting mechanism this is for a different type of truck. Or make a roof on the body or put an awning. I think from Lego, add colored parking lights. You can paint the wheels with black paint, it’s like highlighting the outer shoe, as if the model has rubber wheels.
What do people think, can manufacturers be recommended to create such a set?
How do I make loops.
Yes, the occupation is long, dreary and thankless. A little distracted and that's it ... a loop to release.
And so, we take a panel 5x5 or 5x10, better 5x10 where the metal is thinner and easier to bend. We unfold the turns on the panel on the anvil and outline the future blanks for the loops. Everything is visible in the photo.
Well, then it’s a matter of technology ... mode, bend, saw, nails mode, and drive the loops to each other.
Trying to make gear sets.
It turned out such an impromptu ... not a known model of the aircraft ... Objections and comments are accepted. 🙂
I decided to continue the collection of old tanks from the war. This time it is an English tank Cromvell Mk 4 (A27M). This is the first version of the model so far. I will clarify some small details, maybe I will add some small details on the tower. I won't install tracks yet. Perhaps I will put them on after disassembling the KV-1. You need to loosen up the wheels a bit more. The tank gun was made from a telescopic antenna.
Where two tanks are together, you can clearly see how the iron coating oxidizes in air. Becomes pale, dull, then begins to darken. Iron on the second tank lay all this time in the package. Designers were bought almost simultaneously. Conclusion: our coatings have poor carcass, although not all manufacturers of designers. Still shame!
Trying to make big wheels 3 and 4 option
Part of my instrument.
Here is the continuation of the retro series. This is a Parisian taxi from the beginning of the last century. This is not a complete analogue of any model. In those days there were a lot of models of this type, and the series of cars were very insignificant.
Mekano has worthy models to rebuild, our material and technical base very small and depends on the amateur's wallet. Not everyone wants to spend several thousand rubles on 3-4 dozen parts.
In short, the model is not yet the final version. I need to do the front bumper and the rear too. Might be worth putting a spare in the back. On the roof, make railings for suitcases.
In short, take another model for assembly from domestic parts for criticism. I tried to paint the wheels from a conventional aerosol can with alkyd enamel for interior and exterior work, it turned out not bad, in my opinion.
In Soviet times, children's metal constructors were very popular - sets of strips and plates. different sizes, with holes and fixing screws. Although the expression "iron toys" at one time was pronounced with derision, but as life has shown, plastic toys are much worse. Especially if it's cheap toxic material from China. It is not surprising that many parents prefer eco-friendly wooden or iron ones. Therefore, silumin models of cars are 2-3 times more expensive than plastic ones. But back to the designer from this review. In the photo below, half of the elements are no longer there (let's go), but the essence is clear.
He was bought by friends through an online store, for only 600 rubles, as a gift to his son. The set is called "Super wagon", and believe me - it fully justifies its prefix "super-"! Moreover, such a thing is, as it were, preparatory stage mastering electronics for kids, showing how complex designs are obtained from individual simple parts.
In a convenient plastic box, there are a lot of all sorts of details, and not just cadmium ones, and painted in various colors with durable powder paint. The developers even provided for such useful little things as a crane hook, nylon rope, rollers and several types of wheels.
Complete set of the designer
- 1. Plank - 36 pcs.
- 2. Corner - 10 pcs.
- 3. Plate - 25 pcs.
- 4. Hood - 1 pc.
- 5. Stove - 3 pcs.
- 6. Fork - 5 pcs.
- 7. Bracket - 11 pcs.
- 8. Disc - 2 pcs.
- 9. Roller - 7 pcs.
- 10. Large wheel - 4 pcs.
- 11. Small wheel - 2 pcs.
- 12. Wheel - 4 pcs.
- 13. Tire - 4 pcs.
- 14. Hairpin - 5 pcs.
- 15. Axle - 4 pcs.
- 16. Cord - 2m.
- 17. Pen - 2 pcs.
- 18. Screw - 74 pcs.
- 19. Nut - 96 pcs.
- 20. Key - 3 pcs.
- 21. Screwdriver - 1 pc.
- 21. Instruction
The instructions have a dozen samples of what can be assembled from such a set, but it is clear that by connecting a minimal fantasy, the number of possible designs is unlimited. Here is just a small part of what I managed to photograph in the process:
Photo of crafts from an iron constructor
Machine
Helicopter
Airplane
self-propelled gun
Tank
Lantern with lamps
Motorcycle
Tractor
Sofa
Crane
In general, at such a ridiculous price, we get not one kind of car or tank, but a whole bunch of all sorts of toys. Tired of one - dismantled and folded a new one, and so at least every day. And most importantly - they do not break, unlike delicate plastic ones. Unless you can bend, but this is fixable :)
Discuss the article CHILDREN'S IRON CONSTRUCTION
This is how I remember my childhood. Easy, including because of the abundance of interesting equipment and iron around. Parents, especially dad, from small nails surrounded me with very interesting things - the engine from the Cossack to kitchen table, then a color tube TV disassembled for repair, then Mriya's portable radiogram, which could play gramophone records in the air. But most importantly, my parents sometimes bought me various interesting designers. And the set "Electrical engineering in 200 experiments" was the most memorable for me.
Photo from the Virtual Museum and Directory - Domestic Radio Engineering of the 20th century
Now, unfortunately, they do not do such things, including abroad. I constantly look at the shelves of stores with toys both in our country and when I travel around Europe. There is nothing like it. And this constructor was good because it combined a lot of different parts and components from which it was possible to assemble both toys and conduct entertaining physical and electrical experiments. For example, it was possible to assemble a telegraph.
Photo from Made in Leningrad community
Or an electric motor-fan, or a home-made galvanic battery, in general, the designer corresponded to the name - you could collect two hundred unique crafts, not counting your own ones.
And now, when my son is growing up, I also want to surround him with interesting technical things. And one of them is such a constructor. I don’t want to buy incomplete used ones 30 years ago, because incomplete sets are a tragedy :) Yes, and it’s almost impossible to find it at flea markets. But it is quite possible to assemble something similar from the available parts, and without much effort.
First, the base, the usual inexpensive metal construction kits that you can still buy in toy stores.
And secondly, what will enliven this constructor, will add movement. These are motors, wires and batteries. Where to take them? Ha, I'm sure if you have children, you know what Chinese toys are. They are certainly bought as a gift to children by both parents and grandmothers, acquaintances, guests of parents. All these flying dogs, jumping cars, barking planes - all this breaks down in an hour (day, week) and flies into the trash. But in my case they fly into the trash only after extracting the main treasure from them :)
DC motors. Taking into account the fact that I have four children growing up, this wealth has accumulated a lot. How can these motors help? But what. Somehow a couple of years ago, my son and I were tinkering with my tools and I suddenly suggested to him, let's assemble a car from a stick. Who wouldn't agree to this? We took a piece of some kind of bar, a motor, nails, a AAA battery and bungled it in 30 minutes.
From nails and sticks, literally, an unsightly self-propelled toy turned out. The child did not let go of her hands all evening, and then showed to all the guests - "Look, what a limousine we made with dad!" That's when I decided it's time to do things like this on a more serious level. First we put together a windmill, a memorable object from our last trip to Europe.
It turned out so cool that there was only one thing left, to stock up on parts for such crafts in sufficient, industrial quantities :) In the market, I bought all sorts of switches, battery holders, rubber bands. Grandmothers and acquaintances were told that now our best gift- metal constructor. And after a while, my son and I became the owners of the coolest set possible. You could start creating.
Our next craft is an airplane. Twin engine fighter.
Where there is a plane, there is a helicopter. The son built two additional floors on the rotor, so it seemed to him better.
With this helicopter toy, the child played the longest, because the main rotor was easily used as Circular Saw grinders - a lot of things in the house were cut down by a helicopter - to the delight of my mother :)
Now she walks reluctantly, it is necessary to adjust the mechanism.
But immediately after the manufacture of the stepping machine, as her son called her, everyone was very amused with a cheerful tread :)
And the latest of our crafts. To make it, I bought a radio control kit on Aliexpress, a remote control with a receiver, a motor with a gearbox and wheels, a steering servo drive and a motor control scarf. All these things are available on Ali in a shaft of various sizes, capacities, and capabilities. We made a radio-controlled tricycle with full control - gas, brake, steering.
There are so many fools in this frenzied tricycle that it is difficult to start without slipping. But it is easy to make a police U-turn.
Below is a video of an unequal battle between a mad car and a caterpillar. My son and I collected the caterpillar for an exhibition in kindergarten, there needed a craft from natural material, well, here we have built a real slow caterpillar from coconuts, chestnuts and constructor elements. Due to the slowness of the caterpillar, the video is slightly delayed.
Such wonderful things can be made from an ordinary metal constructor, fragments of old toys and a certain number of purchased parts. The only necessary skill for parents is to be able to solder a little, without it it will be difficult with all these wires, switches and batteries. And, of course, fantasy, but usually children have even more of it than adults, so involve the child, he will tell you what to do.
There is, of course, another way. For example, ready-made Lego sets. Lego has a windmill.
There are all sorts of racing cars and trucks.
In general, Lego has everything, including robots and kits for setting up and programming them.
But personally, I don’t have a soul for Lego. And my son has problems with Lego, once he dropped the toy, and it was shattered into small cubes, it’s very insulting to collect everything again. And Lego costs a lot, especially interactive robotic kits with motors or limited editions of all kinds of starships from Star Wars. Our metal will be more budgetary, even taking into account the purchase of remotes on Ali.
There is also the original metal constructor, Meccano. But again, it is very expensive and it is not easy to get it in our area. Therefore, here is the final photo of our wealth.
