Meccano-Erector – M.A.X Robotic Interactive Toy with Artificial Intelligence

Received this today and finished the build in about 7 hours (with a few short breaks). This is a fantastic robot. We are having a lot of fun with Max already. Really good voice recognition...a bit of a surprise how sophisticated he is in this price range. Here are some problems a lot of people are having that are not defects, but not understanding how to use the instruction booklet as well as some problems understanding the wiring. I see photos of wires too short , etc. Not so. First the criticism that manual is no help in assembly because of too many screws and no way to tell which goes where. On each page of the manual is a photo or illustration of the parts to be assembled and the screws used and where they are placed by size. If you notice in the illustrations there is a drawing of the screw to be used and it is 1 to 1 scale. Just measure each screw right on the drawing...can't go wrong. It helps to separate the screws when you start into groups that are alike (I used plastic throw away cups). Now as to the wiring...the servo for the 'claw' has 2 wires that come from it. You will only use the long one which connects to the head servo short wire. The other wire (short one) is not used. Also, the 2 motors used for the wheels ...both again have 2 wires. Only one of them uses both wires. Check the manual to make sure which one. It will plug into the other motor connector, while the extra wire (short) goes to nothing. Now as to the brain. Build the robot. Make sure and label your wires 1-4 to connect to the back 'brain' module. Makes it a lot easier later to reconnect. Go to the website and download the program for Mac or PC to you computer. Plug in the brain module to your computer via USB. When the program is downloaded, click on it to activate it (you will see a shortcut on your desktop). A screen will open to reveal a simple interface panel. Select the downloads you want on the right. To the center bottom is a down load button. Just push it and wait a couple of minutes as it downloads to the brain box. It shows progress and when completed. Just close the program and unplug Max's brain. Your ready to go.

This was a Christmas present for my 11yo grandson. Total assembly time was about 4 hours with my grandson primarily assembling while I was his shop hand. (Note: he does have experience using tools.) We both found the directions easy to follow. The illustrations are well done and it was easy to choose the correct side if two surfaces were available. I can only describe it as thrilling once the robot was completed and it began the learning process. I can’t wait to see how far he can take it. It has been a fun experience and I highly recommend the Meccano-Erector product. Ps - If you are comparing this to the “building brick” offering the Meccano-Erector is hands down the best choice. The bricks don’t stay together while this is very sturdy.

Difficult to put together, it took my husband and 10 year old son about 8 hours to assemble only to find the power charger did not charge in Australia! Beware of power adaptor if purchasing from overseas, as I purchased online from USA and reside in Australia and the power charger did not work, Doh! My fault, I Should have thought it through more. Amazon promptly credited $50 to put towards an adaptor for us. Great customer service from Amazon! however it took 2 weeks to get USA->AUS adaptor shipped over from USA. A long wait for my son to play with his Christmas gift. Meccano Erector MAX now works well and is a great addition to our family.

PROS: * Once assembled, the robot is an amazing value for the current cost of the kit (~$125 at the time of this review) * The assembled robot can: a) respond to specific verbal commands (a list of commands is provided in the manual) b) play games involving the color back-lit buttons on the robot (ex. a quiz game that is educational, a “pong”-like game involving the “display” on the robot’s head) c) dance to music d) tell jokes e) share “fun facts” f) ask questions about objects your child “shows” to the robot (by holding the object in front of the robot’s sensors) g) grip small objects with one of its two hands (only one hand is motorized - the robots arms need to be manipulated/positioned manually by your child) h) if you have a iOS or Android tablet, you can turn the robot in to a remote controlled device that your child can navigate around your home i) if you have an iOS or Android tablet, you can program the robot to follow a set of instructions j) tell your child’s “fortune” (we have not tried this, but it is listed as a command the robot will follow) * the software on the robot’s mini computer can be updated via PC/Windows or Mac/OS X software available at the Meccano website (you connect the mini computer via a supplied usb cable) - in theory, this could provide new capabilities to the device * Good quality build materials * Assembly tools provided CONS: * Instructions are unclear at times. The build instructions consist almost entirely of pictures, some of which are inaccurate (ex. the color of parts on pictures sometimes do not match the color of the actual parts -two parts in one picture are black in color, yet the actual parts are not) * there are a variety of screws of varying lengths and it was a challenge at times determining the screw length/type required (would be nice if the screws were color coded). Suggestion: When first opening the kit, take an inventory of the screws and organize them by size in separate piles/label them if needed - there is a parts list at the beginning of the manual to help with this inventory (the manual lists the quantity of each screw size and you will need to pay attention to screw lengths during the build process) * there are two black wire connectors (one in the robot’s hand and one in one of the robot’s motorized tires) that are NOT connected to any other wires. It is unclear why these connectors were included. These need to be “tucked” inside the hand and tire motor compartments during assembly (this is not clear from the instructions). The capabilities of this robot are amazing for the cost. While children under age 10 may enjoy the robot, this primarily is a robot for children ages 10 or older (one of the games your child can play with the robot is a trivia game with questions geared toward an older child). If you have the patience to get through a build that can require several hours, it’s a rewarding project that can captivate your child’s imagination. NOTE: There are videos on YouTube from dedicated builders that can show you how to assemble the robot. Final suggestion: As you begin the build, plug the rechargible battery in as it requires ~ 6 hours for the initial charge (or charge it fully the night before your build). This will allow you to test the robot immediately upon build completion.

So this kit was fun to assemble and easier to put together (fewer parts, less time) than the other, bigger sets. MAX's personality and the learning aspects of his programming show that the company is evolving an already great line of robot toys to be more interactive and fun for the kids it's designed for. A lot of of folks sound as if they are getting frustrated putting him together, and I admit sometimes it's easy to get screw lengths confused or parts stuck or broken. Here are a few tips: 1. Sort all the different screws and nuts in something like an empty egg carton. Each instruction has a scale picture of the screw you need, so go find out what sizes each screw is and write it down. This saves hunting the bag or a pile of parts spread on a table 2. I suggest this if you think your Max is broken (grinding noise and no movement): take out all the parts that have wires and hook them up like the diagram in blue section of the manual says to the brain. Max will do a self test and let you know if there are any electronic problems. If there are, do a memory wipe in the PC update software (it's a checkbox on the software page) and update again. If all the electronics work, double check your instructions (I bought a second, used set from Amazon, and it was partly assembled. The person had left the hub out of the wheels, so the wheels would freely spin and the motor would spin but not turn the wheel. I bet this happens a lot) 3. Before returning, there is a great forum you can find with your favorite search engine. Join the forum with Tapatalk and then post your question or do a search. They've sold a lot of this guy, and your problems have already happened and been solved for other folks in that forum. (But please remember these people don't work for the company, they're just helpful people like me. :) ) 4. Contact SpinMaster Tech support if you think you have something broken or are stuck. The people are friendly and will send parts if they are missing.

My 11 year old son loves robots. Meccano has been a great brand for us. He has also built the Meccano TRex. The TRex took him a few days to build, working a few hours each day. Meccano Max took less time, but he has spent countless hours programming Max and unlocking various levels of programming. He does all this himself, as I have no patience for the bolts and screws and certainly no patience with programming. My son has built a number of other Meccano toys, and has a fair amount of experience with tools and wiring. I would put him at a more advanced level. For beginners, I recommend the Meccano Micronoids. They are fun little robots. Anyway, we love meccano and recommend their products to families looking for something to build that will take some time, patience and finesse, but also looking for some introductory programming.

After my 11 year old son spent HOURS putting MAX together with the help of his (very handy) Dad, MAX did NOTHING but start to ask the introductory questions (What is your name? Are you a girl human or a boy human?) before it would say “My Servo is stuck!” and stop working. We did EVERYTHING we could to try and figure it out... nothing worked. 45 min waiting for a customer service rep ended in someone taking my phone number and telling me that they would call us later. My son is CRUSHED! I googled this issue, and it’s apparently not uncommon. I can’t imagine him trying to put this together again if they offered to send us a new one - HELL NO! What if it didn’t work AGAIN? Not worth it AT ALL!!! I feel awful for my son! *****EDIT: Waited for the return call the next day... no one called. I called the number back, and they claimed to have no record of my call the previous evening. So THAT was 45 minutes utterly wasted. The person I spoke with was nice, but asked ME "What part is not working?"...how the HECK am I supposed to know?I suppose the SERVO? They are sending us a new "servo"...which means taking apart the entire head. And even then, I was told, it may not actually be the servo, it may be his "brain". WHAT THE HECK? So, essentially, we will have to rebuild this robot again, only to possibly find out it still doesn't work. Again - customer service agent was very nice- but how is this an acceptable "Fix" for a BRAND NEW toy? DO NOT BUY THIS!!!

I guess if you start off with Lego builds this is complicated. Not complex, but unnecessarily complicated. I agree with reviewers that claim instructions need attention; perhaps it is part of the “challenge”. This toy needs adult cooperation unless your 6, 8, or 10 year is competent at building, tool use, and figuring out instructions with a few errors along the way. Bottom line: Excellent toy. Our 5 year old enjoyed the build process and outcome. In the end, it is about user experience and our child is thrilled with MAX. My hope is that many more positive reviews will fuel efforts to update MAX’s software and functionality. Happy Clam so Far

Mein Sohn hat viel Spaß mit in

Great kit, that challenges the minds of children and when completed provides an excellent and entertaining reward. Max has a great personality. A great way to introduce children to robotics.

Love this little bot! Excellent product and lots of fun for my 12 yo.

Simplemente increible, lo compre sin investigar demasiado sobre las características del robot. Me gustó el concepto en general y se lo regale a mi hija para una forma de tarea familiar. Lo fantástico fue cuando lo actualizamos y encendimos. La expresión de mi hija nunca se me olvidará. Totalmente recomendable.

Review of coding product it’s for 12+