Tubelox 220 Piece Building Set for Children

I was very excited to get these for my children because I had a similar set when I was younger. Upon opening the box, they seem like great quality and sturdy. We started to build a helicopter and quickly became frustrated when lots of tubes did not line up to the holes on the connectors, therefore making it impossible to connect the safety clips. I would expect a few to be made uneven but to pay almost $300 and a good amount not work is very disappointing.

Not like the ones I used to have in the 80s. Difficult for a child to do alone; an adult must assemble. The predesigned construction ideas are almost useless because their count on how many and of what type of parts you need is completely wrong and the drawing is too small to see. It's good to use as a general guide for ideas but you'll be figuring out how to build it yourself. I'm an engineer and love the challenge, but for younger kids or parents that are not spacially/mechanically gifted, this would be a frustrating endeavor. On the plus side, these seem stronger than the ones I had as a kid. Overall I rated it a 3 because kids are not able to build it themselves and the instructions are poor.

We purchased this kit for our grandchildren as our kids had so much fun with a similar kit when they were young. Our son and the grand kids are having great fun making things. Every day we get a photo of them playing on something new they've made - car, slide, tent, soccer goal, table, etc. It's fun to see how they adapt the original designs and create their own objects. Right now everything is on wheels. I studied architecture in college and I know that most adults make little use of their spatial abilities. This is too bad. In the brain, if you don't use it, you lose it. Having the ability to visualize things in three dimensions is a critical problem solving tool throughout life. One of the reasons I like this kit so much is that unlike Legos, or blocks, they can make real life, useful objects. A different kind of learning experience is going on - literally bigger. It is important that we give our kids toys to develop their visual-spatial abilities early on - especially our girls! My only complaint is that it's so expensive that it's out of reach for too many young families.

UPDATE (almost two year later): We love this set! Not one piece has broken or cracked yet (but admittedly my kids are not as rough on their toys as others may be). I will likely order a second set in the next year.Original Post: These are indeed just like the Omagles set I loved for years as a kid.Pros: Set seems to be of quality that will last for years. However, I should note that we've only been using it for a week. I do remember with my prior Omagles set that a few of the plastic clips would snap/break over time. I will update this review if/when that happens with this set. It seems like there might be a few extra clips included in case this happens.Cons: - The Omagles set I had as a kid included light yellow plastic panels that could be used as walls: "Doodle Boards." TubeLox does not come with such panels. Instead, it provides ideas like throwing a sheet or blanket over a a frame. This is good for creativity I suppose. - Right now, the fittings are too tight for my four-year-old to be able to put together by herself, but she and my one-year-old are really enjoying the items we construct together. I'm guessing the fittings may loosen over time, too.

My husband found these as he was looking for a product he had and loved as a child. They don't make what he had anymore, but this is very similar. We purchased it for our 5 year-old and the whole family had fun building with it the first time we pulled it out. Looking forward to adding to it and letting imaginations run wild. I do wish the larger set came with a storage tub like the smaller one. It comes in a large bag which is just awkward for storage. I'll be purchasing a bin to they can be put away more easily.

I had these growing up with my four sisters. We absolutely loved them! I'm excited to play with my 8-year old daughter and build things from her imagination. The packaging could have been better. My box looked like someone had opened it and the tape used was not adhereing to the box. The items inside were loose and it didn't appear everything was there at first. The product was wonderful growing up. I am hopeful it's the same. Only the packaging was less than par so far.

performs as advertised. The pieces join together with a rather tight fit. Manageable for young hands but may need a bit of help. Stimulates creativity. More fun to "free lance" rather than assemble the suggested structures.

I bought for my grandaughter who has downs syndrome, and she loves it. Her friends that come to play are very happy with it also. They are strong, but not so much that they are hard to move around. They have kept the children very entertaiined.