ArTec Blocks: Red Fighters Review

Toto Kidogo have kindly sent us an ArTec Blocks: Red Fighters which they are going to stock on their website soon. ArTec Block is a cube with square holes on each face, and a single, connecting stud located off-centre. ArTec Blocks are ideal for helping young minds grasp difficult arithmetic and geometric concepts. They are also great at developing a sense of colour in young artists with 20 assorted colours. It can be used to create stunning realism to 3D models by using the horizontal, vertical and diagonal connections. It is suitable for making experimental instruments for various fields of science like Biology DNA structure, Chemistry Atomic Model and Physics Balance Scale.

In this Red Fighters 10 in 1 set, it come with 100 pieces with instructions included. The 100 pieces are made up with:

• Basic Cube -　red × 30, yellow × 4, light grey × 6, black × 6, clear × 4
• Basic Half A　- red × 4, light grey × 4
• Basic Half B　- red × 2, light grey × 2
• Basic Triangle – red × 10, yellow × 4, light grey × 4, clear × 2
• Mini cube　- yellow × 2, black × 2
• Beam white × 6
• Axle × 4
• Wheel × 4

This is suitable for aged 5 years old and above. It is definitely suitable but requires plenty of help from parents for younger children. It is quite complicated and Mr K needed my help with following the instructions. To build one fighter will require at least an hour. One wrong connection might mean that latter pieces are unable to connect. It is important to get all right. The instructions are very clearly shown step by step.

There are 10 different fighters to build: car, truck, helicopter, fire engine, robot, aeroplane, air fighter, ship, boat, and dog. So far, we have built a car, truck, aeroplane and robot.  They are great for display but not for play as the wheels or other parts do come off quite easily. It can sometimes be quite difficult to disassemble the pieces as they stick together really tightly. For a few of them, I resorted to using two chopsticks inserted into the opposing blocks to pull them apart.

My son loves it but felt that he is not ready to build it himself yet. He would prefer to watch me build it for him and let him display the end product next to his bed. This can be quite complicated but it is very challenging. I believe that this will help their sensory and building skills. It is a great gift for young people who love a challenge.

Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.