Ferris Wheels

Last week I did a fischertechnik ferris wheel from a 1990s set, a few days later I wanted to build with Engino, and ended up building another ferris wheel, partly for comparison, partly because I needed to work from instructions, and there aren't that many options yet.

The representation of the two models shouldn't be too directly compared, since the fischertechnik is a single-model kit, while the Engino is one of many models which can be built from its set. Usually, I would score that heavily in advantage of the multiple-model set, but there are only standard-mix parts in the fischertechnik set, no special or oddball pieces ala Lego. The main stretch is the inclusion of twelve of the 60 degree curved sections, which are created by using a curved side section to form a straight beam to a curve. FT's multi-model sets, like the Universal II, usually only include a couple of these. I do wish that FT had included twelve straight side sections as well, so the beams could also be used more conventionally.

I already knew that fischertechnik was head and shoulders above Engino in quality, but this exercise really emphasized that. Piece by piece, connection by connection, instruction by instruction, the quality difference stood out. It's not that Engino isn't satisfactory - part quality ranges from adequate to very good and there are only a few slips in the instructions that drop below adequate. But fischertechnik may well be the best quality toy available, and surprisingly enough there isn't that much of a price premium, if any.

For some purposes, I recommend the Engino 60 set over fischertechnik - there is less learning curve and the "fiddly bits" (small pieces) are neither as small nor as numerous. But for anyone wanting to make a long term commitment and get the maximum benefit in return, fischertechnik is the way to go.

Most importantly, both are good block play.

Dinobot?

This is one of the four Engino designs with full instruction requiring all four Mini-Packs or the Engino 60 set. I am usually not tempted to build dinosaurs (or is it a dinosaur-robot?) with technical sets, but I have been curious about the usefulness of Engino's adjustable components, and this obviously made use of them.

All in all, I would have to say that this model went together somewhat badly. The instructions were unclear, and in at least one area, a substructure simply will not fit in the manner the computer-generated instruction images depicted. For the final step of connecting the major subassemblies into the final beast, I had to study the diagram with a magnifying glass to work out where to connect what. I probably would have been happier if I had started using the magnifier earlier.

And once it is together, it turns out that when you raise the tail, the mouth closes.

The adjustable components? Not quite adjustable enough to avoid needing to warp some assemblies to make them fit. I had wondered how adjustability could be so valuable in over-nine-unit lengths, but unneeded in smaller lengths (where the percentage difference becomes much greater), and of course that turned out not to be the case: in several smaller assemblies, a half-unit adjustment would have been quite handy, perhaps even a quarter-unit.

Half unit length steps can be achieved with existing parts by using round red hub/pulley element as a beam extender, though a new part with square cross section to match the beams would be welcome. (Why does Engino call the common yellow structural elements rods? It is technically incorrect and tends to suggest a K'nex inspiration for development of the Engino system. They are more like box girders. I'll stick to calling them beams.)

The quarter-unit adjustability of the expandable component could be achieved more elegantly with a 3/4 unit beam, if it is actually necessary at all (it would violate the educationally sound length-doubling sequence of the other parts - which of course the adjustable component already does). There is enough clearance in the single unit beam to allow a shortened version, though providing enough flex for easy connecting and separation might require some creative modification of the slot - perhaps a lollipop shape?

Of course half-length and three-quarter-length pieces might more elegantly solve the engineering need, but they wouldn't look nearly so fun for marketing. The "expandable rods" may be gratuitous gimmicks from the versatility point of view, but they are cute and clever, and to be fair, they make great-looking simulations of hydraulic actuators. aLl in all, they may not live up to the hype, but they don't do much harm: Engino is still an attractive system.

And for all the shortcomings in this "dinobot," Engino is still good block play.

Engino 60

I surely made little happy noises when I first saw the Engino 60, while browsing the Internet. A construction set showing lots of different models is special. It was de rigueur in the classic era, but is rare now.

Most manufacturers now seem to want you to build just one or two models, then buy a new set from their line. Though it may actually be that the variety sets just don't sell well in the mass market. Fortunately there are exceptions available, like fischertechnik, K'nex, even Lego, at their low-end, though sadly not in Lego Technic.

The smaller Dual Mini-Packs from Engino each include instructions that show how to build two models from that set, plus a different large model by combining all four sets. The Engino 60 includes the part packages and instruction booklets from all four Duals combined in one box, in a sort of "buy three, get one free" deal.

That gives twelve step-by-step instructions total, plus 48 additional models shown assembled, to give the 60 model total. Confusingly, these are shown only on the box, and with a different color scheme for the parts. We must hope that the promised downloads from Engino Toy Systems will soon be available, with correct colors and clearer detail.

No parts lists are included. To tell whether I had the right parts, I kept the four bags of parts separate until I built models from each. You can compare your contents against my parts list. My totals differ from the prescribed counts only in one extra for the Arachnid, but my parts selection and count there seems correct, and that makes the total of Engino 60 come out correct at 221.

The parts image here is in roughly the same order as my list, top to bottom, left to right. The "beam8" is duplicated to show the two different socket faces; the sides have no sockets.

The parts go together well, with most connections form, robust, yet readily parted for disassembly. Some combinations between specific different types of connector are a little wobbly, and removing the pivot from a socket can be difficult - connecting or reconnecting the variable angle piece will aide in separation. For other difficult separations, a beam can be used as a tool, using the end socket since it is a side-slide connection, not a push-in.

Most connectors have an eight-point star shape to the base of the shaft, with a similar shape in the throat of the socket. This maintains alignment in 45 degree intervals, either solidly if the connector is connected in the flat face of a beam, or as a rotatable detent, for most other connections. The omission of the star on one side of the hubs allows wheels to rotate smoothly.

The connector head is 5 mm, halfway between fischertechnik's 4 mm and K'nex' 6 mm, and of similar shape, and indeed there are other similarities to those systems as well, though without seeming that Engino is a copy of either.

The models can be big, for a reasonably compact set - the scorpion is 31" long, and the robot is 13" high. This bridge, from a picture on the box, is 27". It was a bit challenging, since the image was small, in the wrong colors, and had some parts wrong, so that I had to do quite a bit of puzzling out. But I think it looks great.

All-in-all, I'd say Engino is good Block Play.