631 Air Power Racer Kit, Recommended Ages 10+, Fun and Easy to Build, Safety Valve Will Open and Bleed The Air Automatically if The User Keeps Pumping While The Tank is Full

The media could not be loaded.  I don’t leave a lot of reviews but I thought this toy was worthy of one. First off, I want to say it’s a great toy for the price and I highly suggest it. But let me let you know what you’re getting into.We bought it for our son for Christmas, he’s 8. I knew the toy said for 10+ but I figured with my help we’d easily get it put together. My plan was to allow him to build it with some help from me along the way, that didn’t happen. This isn’t a “some assembly required” type of toy, this is all assembly required. It comes in a box and looks like a model airplane kit. I had read reviews of people complaining how it didn’t work and my guess was they rushed it. Don’t plan on putting it together in one 15-minute sitting. It took me about 4hrs working on it over a couple of days. Know it will take some time, and don’t rush it.I did have issues with it leaking air from the pump piston. As a prior Air Force aircraft maintainer, I knew I could place the piston in water and find the leak and was able to fix it, but not being mechanical and not knowing things like this could become frustrating. I think a few of parts could have come pre-assembled this would make it much easier and enjoyable. The O-rings that have to be put on are VERY tiny, and hard to work with. Also, there’s a step to add three O-rings to the wheel pistons it’s a pain, but feasible. I’ve read other reviews that said their 14-yr. old had a hard time with it and needed a lot of parental help and could imagine. I don’t see any 10-yr. old sitting down by themselves and putting this thing together. I’d say maybe 15-16+. I also read reviews saying the directions were hard to understand, I only had one or two hiccups with them, overall I thought they were adequate.Again, once it was done I was super impressed with it and thought it was an amazing toy for the price. It does a great job of showing how fluid mechanics work. Yes, it runs on air, but works in the same way a steam engine or hydraulic actuators do. When it was done I was able to explain how it was all moving to my son because the mechanics are all clear and visible. I would definitely buy this toy again.

This was purchased for a 10 tear old. He was able to assemble the racer with very little help. The racer provided a valuable learning experience as to how motors, pumps, and gauges work.The only problem encountered was the tiny o-rings that operate as piston rings on the one cylinder of the air motor cylinders were leaky. It was necessary to orient that piston at one end of it's stroke where air could not leak out the intake or discharge ports in order to pump up air pressure. Clearer instructions on the sequence of installation of the three o-rings to always put the first o-ring in the groove most distant from the piston may have avoided this problem.Other than that, the racer operated as it should.

This is an awesome quality kit. The design is spot on, and the quality and precision of the plastic parts if impressive. Technologies demonstrated include piston drives (like steam trains used), the related pressure steering valves, and even a piston/ spring technology based mechanical pressure gauge. I'm an aerospace sensor engineer with 30+ years of experience with air measurement and control technologies and that experience was useful as I built this kit in about 4 hours. It worked perfectly, but I can see how most 10 to 14 year old persons would lack the experience to watch for all that can go wrong with assembling such small, delicate and lint contamination sensitive o-ring seals. Look for the YouTube video that shows the actual parts at each assembly step laying over the related instruction booklet page.

Difficult to put together due to small parts, o-rings are very hard to install, and does not work. The tank held air during the pressure check stage but the gauge needle did not move, nevertheless I continued assembly. Once the car was finished was ready to pump it up and see how it works. It went nowhere. Leaked at the seals meant to move the car even though the seals looked good based on a visual inspection, however, tested it in water to find the leak and determine that it was the issue. Only way to potentially fix the issue is to dissemble and reassemble the toy, wish this check was in place prior to final assembly. Great idea but poorly executed toys (bought the solar powered one last year) by the manufacture. Save your money.

Not quite as easy for a youngster; the most difficult part is hose connection. Since I was 71 years old and my granddaughter was 7 you need a little force and "nose" grease. Since she is young she does not have the force nor the "nose" grease. Read the instructions twice and note the length of the hose length and add the total. Measure the long hose you will see that its a little longer. If it is allow each hose to be a little longer. We did not have any problems but would like each his be a few mm's longer. She was surprised at the pressure test we had no leaks and when we pulled the hose that was clamped she was startled with the release of air. She thoroughly enjoys it!

Spent a lot of time helping my 10 year old son assemble this, which is always time well spent. Everything was done correctly and gone over several times but it will not pressure up. Update; my son's better eyes found a small seal that had a slight twist. He fixed it and it's working fine now.

We got this for our “advanced” 8 year old grandson (typical grandparents). Turns out it was way beyond his abilities. I found it however to be a really well-built and well thought out little project. The plastics, etc., are first rate and the instructions, while clear, must be carefully followed. In this age of fast food, fast this and fast that, it may prove frustrating to some, but if you have 6 to 8 hours to spare, and enjoy assembling things that actually work, then you will find this to be a fun and educational project.

Grand son loves it, but be aware that some parts are pretty fragile...

Una actividad para realizar con tus peques, mi pequeña de 4 años se divirtió muchísimo armándolo, la potencia finalmente no es tan contundente, depende mucho del terreno y en ocasiones se fuga el aire hay que estar ajustandolo un poco.. pero como experimento esta divertidísimo y los niños que no conociamos en el parque se volvieron locos todos corriendo y retando al carrito. Todo embona perfecto y las instrucciones aunque complejas, están muy bien desarrolladas.