MECCANO-Erector - Meccanoid 2.0

This was the perfect gift for my 10 year old, lego-loving son. It seemed a little overwhelming to put together at first, but once he got used to the way the directions worked he caught on quickly and put most of it together himself. He has loved working with his robot, giving it different commands and programming it on his own. We haven't been real impressed with the app yet, but haven't spent a while lot of time on it. I would highly recommend this toy!

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my 9 year old daughter.PROS: Even though the product is listed for 10+, she was able to assemble the robot almost entirely on her own. The pieces were well made and the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. She really enjoyed being able to assemble the product on her own and loves the functionality that comes with the robot. We've also downloaded the app without problems and she's looking forward to doing her own programming.CONS: We did have to update the firmware before the robot would do anything, which was easy - but really shouldn't be necessary. I'm also concerned about the batteries. The unit has told us new batteries were low on charge, then not, then were... That could be the cheap batteries we're using though. The only other issue is one of the wheels doesn't seem to get traction on our hard flooring, so the motion doesn't always work as expected.Overall, I think this is worth the price and has been one of the most enjoyed gifts my daughter has received.

Here's some QA for people with problems...1) Why do my C batteries only last less than 30 minutes?!Because the system REQUIRES D BATTERIES that have almost 3 times the capacity of C batteries!2) This is so difficult to build for my 7 year old?!There are 497 parts in the box! And it says its for 10 years and above! My daughter and I spent about 5 hours assembling this, and she did almost all of the work. (I mainly double checked her work, was a spare set of hands and made sure things were oriented correctly where it was difficult to see in the instructions. We still re-did a couple parts with mistakes, but that's what this is about learning how to assemble something that is difficult for the first time and the success you feel when you complete it.)3) Was it easy?NO.4) Was it rewarding?YES! Just assembling this kit is a reward in itself. It takes time and patience and you have to learn assembly skills. And you and your child should both be commended!5) Does it need troubleshooting?YES! Like any electromechanical thing it may need troubleshooting. You may even get stuck and have to contact support. (good luck with that) Or find a knowledgeable IT person who plays with Arduino boards or Raspberry PI boards. (My understanding is that Arduino is the core of this brain but I haven't verified that yet.)6) Is the USB cable really only a foot long?Yes and No.... my USB cable is a WHOLE INCH LONGER than that! (And yes! That PISSES ME OFF THAT IT IS SOOO SHORT BECAUSE THE CONNECTION IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK AFTER ASSEMBLY! How exactly do you position that location within 12" of the USB port on the back of your computer?)7) Is the USB hookup picky?I can confirm that after hooking it up to 3 different USB ports on one system, and multiple USB ports on two laptops, trying 4 USB cables, and mumbling some choice words (that my daughter couldn't hear) that this is the PICKIEST USB interface I have ever worked with! And just an FYI I've been working on computers and microelectronics since before USB was invented. "111 Years ago when I was 10 years old..." (Dustin Hoffman, Little Big Man)8) What does the robot do?Not a thing! At least I haven't got it running yet. (She just built it yesterday.) I'm still working on the USB problem. I had it running once, but shut it down during startup so my daughter could see the startup sequence. Guess what! After that it kept complaining about its LEDs having a problem. I am trying to reset it to factory with the upgrade again. I will update after I get it going. And let anyone know the fixes I find for it.9) Tell me what you think of the plugs!Sure! They're fine, as long as you insert them completely! You will find that most of the plugs are a bit firm to press into their sockets. Also remember THE PLUGS ARE KEYED! This means there is a bit of plastic somewhere on the plug that prevents you from inserting them the wrong way. DON'T FORCE THEM!More to come...

We spent 3 days assembling the robot & this part was a lot of fun. The instructions are clear & my 6 year old daughter was able to do a lot of assembling by herself. The idea for this toy is amazing, especially for kids interested in building / engineering / coding / robotics etc. The robot is also gender neutral & both girls & boys enjoy it, which I like.However, that's where the good things about this product end. Since we finished building the robot & turned it on, it keeps reporting "low battery" & it shuts down within 1 minute, even though the batteries are brand new. After changing the batteries, I spent next 15 days emailing back & forth with the company's customer support. After asking me to again replace batteries, to try updating Meccano brain by downloading software on my laptop (which didn't work), and then asking me to try the same with a different computer & different operating system (as if we all have random computers with different operating systems, just sitting around the house). None of this worked. So the company finally admitted that the product is faulty, but they refuse to refund or replace the product. They say this is because I bought it on Amazon & because they are not manufacturing this particular robot anymore. They told me this after at least 10 emails of back and forth. So instead of replacing the robot or at least the faulty "brain" part, they offered me to send me another toy that costs only $42 (one quarter of the cost of the product I bought)?! In addition, due to over 15 days of back & forth emailing, my return window on Amazon closed. And now, we don't have a working robot, or a replacement, or a refund. This is a total disaster!As if this is not enough, the company consistently refers to my child as a boy in emails, even though I have a girl & I have never mentioned my child's gender. This shows that they don't even consider girls as their target market. Once I mentioned this in an email, I have never heard back from them again. I guess they assume girls couldn't be interested in a robot, because it requires some engineering & programing skills - very disappointing attitude for 2020.I would not recommend buying any products from this company, as they don't care about customer support at all & are also propagating questionable gender stereotypes.