Switchbotz

You say "tomato" and I say "Wedgits" ... the box says Switchbotz and I say "Hurrah!"

Longtime friends here know of my enduring affection for Wedgits - I've built with them on the beach, in the woods, in the hospital, in the dark. I like Wedgits.

Today, as I often do, I visited my favorite neighborhood toy store (Seattle's best toy store! I got Melvin there. But not to be confused with my favorite math toy store, also widely considered Seattle's best toy store), and I spotted on a shelf a long way from where Wedgits are usually stacked ... something that looked like ... must be ... yes! Mini-Wedgits! ... but under a different name?

The box said Switchbotz several places, but never a mention of Wedgits - but there was the name "Imagability," the folks behind Wedgits, and close examination of the sample models (in metallic gray & red & blue (not sure if the red or blue was metallic) with the familiar Wedgits logo embossed in each familiar piece. So as far as I was concerned these were my dear old friends under a new alias & in new colors.
 
New colors are sometimes all it takes. I brought a "Carbonite Series" set home, partly because I had just looked at the "Titanium Series" pieces in real life & seriously NEEDED to see the other new colors in real life, partly because they seemed like "Fall colors" & today was a wonderful Seattle early Fall day, and partly because sometimes some of with Autism Spectrum Disorders need mellower colors.

I am delighted. They are great. Now what would be really fun is if someone would go to my BlockPlay Store, and buy some Switchbotz - except as I write this, Amazon doesn't have any, so neither does my store. But at some point, I am sure Amazon will have some for sale, and then the links in this paragraph will let you buy Switchbots or Wedgits or anything else Amazon has, including gift cards.

I may not make a lot of money off the BlockPlay Store, and if you count the construction sets I buy as a "business cost," then the "business" probably spends at least ten times what it makes. But I enjoy seeing what readers here click on & sometimes buy (I have no way of knowing who is clicking or buying so I don't feel guilty about snooping), and I enjoy seeing if there are enough purchases by the end of the month to bump up the commission rate, or if the cumulative earnings by the end of the month will get me an Amazon credit the next month. And yes, I actually do enjoy getting $10 or $15 or sometimes even $40 to spend on Amazon.com. In fact, I do a little dance and go "Woo hoo! Big bucks!"

But too much on that. Mostly, I wanted you to know that I had fun today, and hope you will have fun from the stuff I blog about.

Oh - and Imagability has a  Switchbotz web page, and a Switchbotz Facebook page - not much on either one as I write, but surely there will be more soon. Maybe we should tell them we want glow-in-the-dark Ghost Wedgits?

Switchbotz or Ghost Wedgits, we have good block play.

Ghost Wedgits

I like ghost Wedgits.

This particular iteration is my white Wedgits from the Class-Pak illuminated only by ultra-violet flashlights.

Fun.

Good block play.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! ... with more Ghost Wedgits from my Wedgits-10 project.

I know this is repetitive, but how could I resist on Halloween itself?

We'll be back to blocks & stones & such very soon, but with a lingering gratitude to Wedgits for their help in getting me through my cataract surgeries (with a root canal thrown in).

I am looking forward to interesting times ahead, re-exploring some semi-forgotten favorites and some never-forgotten and never-to-be-forgotten.

Good Block Play.

Toadstools

We have a nice crop of toadstools coming along for Halloween.

There seems to be a Ghost Wedgits construction lurking in there as well - part of my 10-piece project.

Ghost Wedgits

The strong primary colors of standard Wedgits can be a bit of a challenge for adult block builders to accept, even without the sensory issues some of us have.

One must see past the toddler colors to get the most from Wedgits - they more are about shape, abstraction, tactile feedback. See naef and nova68 for the same shapes in designer colors and natural woods, The naef Diamant creates a much more mature design esthetic.

My budget doesn't spring to $350 for a single set of a more vulnerable Wedgits counterpart, just for the aesthetic benefits - especially since all the naef constructions I have seen seem to be pure gravity designs: no wedging in sight. Whether that is due to production tolerance, surface finish, or basic durability, I don't know.

There is a partial solution in the Wedgits Class-Pak, which allows one to work in single colors at least.

I wish I could get another white set separately - I love how the white photographs, and would like to build pure white Deluxe Set designs. The jumbo rhombus in white would be a nice bonus too, allowing Starter Set designs.

Yesterday at Math'n'Stuff, they showed me a packing list that indicated Mini Wedgits Class Paks, but that could have been an error, with the standard Class Pak actually intended. I don't recall whether they were on backorder or in their partially unpacked shipment, but I should have clarification soon.

Now wouldn't an all white set of Mini Wedgits be great for outdoor photography? Much easier to haul up a mountain trail, both in weight and day-pack space. Though the larger set might be fun for a more distant structure, not immediately obvious in a mountain meadow or beach-side sand dune, but still visible without having to already know it was there.

Ghost Wedgits?

A real kick would be a full glow-in-the-dark set (with a merged Starter Set/Junior Set Wedgit mix for building from both design sets?). A fair approximation of the white set by day, and a special kick by night - illuminate with ultraviolet flashlights for nifty photography.

Ghost Wedgits!

Present or possible, still good Block Play.