Thames & KosmosThames & Kosmos TrainBots: 2-in-1 STEAM Maker Kit | Build 2 Steampunk Robots w/LED Lights | Explore Robots & Engineering | Includes Ultrasonic Atomizer | Ages 8+ with Help; 12+ for Independent Play

Bought it for my grandsons birthday. He loved putting it together with his dad.

Very fun for my ASD kiddo obsessed with trains

This seemed to be an excellent idea for my kids. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t work out. But here is the breakdown:It is extremely detailed. There are many, many pieces, which means hours of construction time, and a very detailed final product.The quality is excellent. It far exceeds the quality of many other stem crafts we’ve tried.The instructions are very detailed, step by step.The reason it didn’t work for us is because some pieces broke in the process. Not because the quality is cheap. But because it is quite difficult to cut the pieces out of the mold. You need a really strong and sharp cutter to get it right. For this reason, I would also say it’s more geared for older children and young teens.Again, this is a remarkable kit, but geared for children older than the stated age.

Our 12 year old worked diligently putting this together over 2 days. Required help just a couple of times but otherwise did a great job and felt so accomplished and proud when he finished and it worked as advertised! Meticulous but worth it! I can’t imagine an 8 year old doing this unless supervised for pretty much the whole process. I believe my son said there were 40 pages of instruction.

Waste of time hard to build. I do not recommend this.

Pieces do not fit together as they should. Adults have issues putting it together. Disappointing for Grandson.

My grandson loves building projects. The Train Bots project offered something new, with the steam--and also the whimsical look to the trains. He was so excited to show me his progress, and then all the features of the finished project. He is 11, and needed no assistance.

The packaging suggests that 8-12 year-olds can assemble this with adult help, and that 12 and up should be able to assemble it on their own. I think this is about right.My 9½-year-old grandson and I are having a great time working on this together. He's a real Lego whiz and has put other models together. This is the most challenging thing we've tried. There are quite a few really tiny parts in small plastic bags, so we're being extra careful to keep everything together.You have to be careful to file off the little nubs left over after cutting the various pieces out of their framing if you want things to snap together properly. It's suggested to use a cross-cut cutter to get the nubs down short, but we didn't have one available at his house so we're using wire cutters.We work on it for an hour or two at a time, and we're making progress. I think we'll have a couple more hours of work at least to get it fully assembled, so it's a great experience working together.I think it will be a good learning experience too, as we see how all the parts fit together and work. I'll plan to edit my review, with video, once the project is completed.This is a really neat project at a very reasonable price, considering the opportunity for time spent together on a project we both enjoy.