Self-Centering Steering Remote Control Car，STEM Projects for Kids Ages 8-12，Engineering kit, DIY rc car kit, STEM Kits for Kids Ages 8-12

We’ve gotten quite a few of these stem kit vehicle things and the quality varies. This one was a huge success. It is intricate and a little delicate to put together (my fifth grader did it in one sitting just fine but not sure he would have had the patience a few years ago) but they include lots of duplicate pieces (I mean lots!) in case any get lost or broken. And the final result is excellent - this thing steers, goes in reserve as well as forward over carpet and really is pretty fast! We’re very happy especially for the price.

This little car is all about the journey. So much to learn putting it together. It even has rack and pinion steering! My grandson was too young to be the builder, but it didn’t take so long that he lost interest. Lots of spare parts. Assembles precisely so that it actually drives and steers. Not an easy thing to maneuver, but building it is the fun. Not really a toy though it is speedy on a hard surface. Would buy another of this brand!

Kept my son entertained while his leg healed. Works very good. A simple answer easy build.

I had to tinker with the rubber bands used for the steering, because they were too loose the way the way the instructions said to loop it, but if I looped it twice, it was far too tight. Pretty fun little contraption aside from that

It’s great and easy to build for an 11 year old

Kids had a lot of fun decorating while we put it together. Has trouble with traction so we put some elastic bandages on the wheels and worked great. We were still playing with it after epiphany, so it got Mardi gras beads. Very good battery life, but it is somewhat fragile... Indoor only and must be treated with care. It is wood construction and they give you nearly enough wood to build another car... So between the glue and spares -- should be reliable enough. I would say most of the construction is suitable for 12-15 year olds, but some steps are difficult to understand (like how the front wheel knuckles mount and steering go together). Overall a big win for us over Christmas break. (8 and 10 year old girls + adults)

Instructions were great, 25 steps and well illustrated. Laser cut parts fit snugly. Plenty of extra screws and metal shafts were provided. The motor driven steering mechanism (non-proportional) works well enough considering the cost of the kit. I did have a problem with friction in the steering that was due to the center o the wooden steering arm touching the body in the car and causing friction. I shaved a little wood off of the center tab of the steering arm and then in moved freely, so that fixed the problem. Needs a hard smooth surface to drive on.

When I opened the box, my first thought was "$27 for this?" However, as I got into it, I started to appreciate it a lot more, for a few reasons. First, the instructions. Minimal, but well written (despite obviously not being written by a native English speaker) with only essential or useful information, and the graphics were well thought out and mostly clear. (There was only one diagram that I thought would have been better if enlarged somewhat.) Second, all the parts were there, including spares in case of loss or breakage. One extra wheel (which turned out to be good because one of the wheels was slightly deformed), an entire replacement set of all the wood parts in the kit, several spare screws, and a plethora of tiny orange plastic donuts that serve as spacers and retainers. The included tiny screwdriver proved adequate for the entire assembly process. Third, the laser cut wood parts were engineered to perfection. Everything that was supposed to be a press fit was tight, rectangular slot screw holes were perfectly positioned, and all the holes that were laser cut in the chassis were exactly the right diameter. Assembly from start to finish was less than an hour, at a very leisurely pace, for me. I expect it would take a few sessions for a typical pre-teen (with adult supervision) to complete. As I put parts together, I was impressed by the kit's attention to detail and economy of instruction. One caveat for assembly: many of the steps require a combination of grip (or finger) strength and dexterity beyond the ability of most younger children (and more than a few adults, even), and it would not be unexpected for small parts to go flying, especially when trying to press the orange plastic donuts onto short shafts or pins. The build process I would rate 4.5 to 5 stars, as it's evident the designers put a lot of care into the kit and instructions, with hardly any ambiguity or uncertainty. Some good engineering and mechanical principles demonstrated. I enjoyed it. Playability after the build is a different story, though. The electronic parts worked great, but the car performance was disappointing. On hard floor, the rear wheels can't get much traction because they're small diameter, and hard plastic. Since the speed control is a push button (one for forward, another for reverse) it was difficult to get the car moving. On smooth carpet it ran better, but the tiny drive motor doesn't have near enough torque for any sort of performance beyond "hey, look, it's moving." Steering is push button as well, so it's left, or right, or center, nothing in between. I got good at tapping the buttons to achieve the desired direction incrementally. A bigger drive motor and larger (or softer) tires would make this a much more enjoyable car to play with. Assembly is one-and-done, so replay value is a big factor in the overall rating. For this reason, as much as I liked the kit, I gave it three stars. Even if the price was lower, this rating would stay, but with better tires and motor, it would be a 4 or maybe even 5 stars.