The LEGO Power Functions Idea Book, Vol. 2: Car and Contraptions (Lego Power Functions Idea Bk 2)

We were looking to get a big lego set for our 4.5 year old, who is a huge Lego fan. We wanted something that would have a lot of replay-ability and would extend his skills. We narrowed down our choice to the Lego Boost Robot set, the Lego Technic Mobile Crane 42108, or this book with some motors. We felt the Boost Robot was too dependent on tablets and screen time, and the mobile crane wouldn't have much replayability. As you can guess, we went for this book, and I am really pleased with our choice....as is our 4 year old!The book has over 130 ideas for Lego technic builds; there is a lot of variety and the builds are really fun. There are very few words; each idea has a visual parts list, and then a set of pictures from different angles. It is easier to get it right if you assemble the pieces before you begin.There is an excellent parts list available (you can get it from the publisher's website, 'No Starch'), and we used this to order about £20 of extra technics pieces which cropped up frequently. We also bought two motors, a battery box and a remote.This is my son's first experience of Lego motors, and he absolutely loves it. The things he has made are amazing - I attach a short video of an Inchworm. Today he made a gear transmission model, which can vary between two different speeds. The fun thing about these projects is that you immediately want to find a way to incorporate them into something bigger...a car or a robot or something. It really does extend your Lego skillset.As a guide, my son has been doing Lego Technic for about a year, and can do an age 9+ set independently with no problems. If your child hasn't used technic before, I would recommend starting with something simpler like the Klutz Gadgets and Contraptions sets, and seeing how they get on. I think this book would also be suitable for a much older child or teenager - the models are cool and not cutesy, and they could easily be incorporated into something much bigger.We also have one of Isogawa's 'Technic Ideas' books, and I much prefer this one. The Technic Ideas book mostly comprises lots of basic building blocks in Lego construction. It's useful....but this one is useful and REALLY FUN!!!As an aside, I cannot understand why Lego aren't producing this sort of thing themselves. As far as I can tell, their education range is obscenely overpriced, and frankly dull. I get that they make a lot of money from selling specific sets, but I do think there is a huge gap in their offering in terms of sets that develop technical skills, rather than spoon feeding, but that do it in a fun way.

Fantastic book! The build ideas are very clearly presented and easy to follow for anyone. You will find that some use more than just what comes in a single "Power Functions" set, but still interesting to create should you instead want to employ a manual approach. The book itself is of excellent quality. Pretty heavy, about 1kg (confirmed by author), but given the fantastic quality of paper and print, that's more than expected. I bough volume 1 as well (alongside a Power Function set), but that's just because I love Yoshihito's Lego books, and felt it's better to have them both, not because you'd need to.

By my 11 year old son: great book as it has few words and clear pictures which show how to make moving Lego mobiles in an easy way. It is also very good because it gives new ideas which I hadn't thought off such as different steering mechanisms.

Lots of great ideas in this book. Perfect for Christmas.

It's a book about building Lego. How was it not going to be good

Okay, could do with part numbers

My son loves it. Colourfull book with great ideas for power function creations. Excellent quality with many pages. Every day he creates something different and sometimes he combined 2 or 3 creations to build something bigger and more complicated. After bought that book my son stopped watching TV or playing with i-pad.

This authors books are brilliant full of colour plates for ease to follow, thats easy enough for my very young grandson to follow. This is a 5 out of 5 from us and I thoroughly recomend all his books.

Aunque el libro sea en Inglés, la parte importante (y eso es el libro casi completo) no viene escrita. Son imágenes claras, y poco liosas, de como conseguir los distintos diseños que combinan piezas de la serie Technic con los motores Lego.Modelos y vehículos sencillos, tampoco espectaculares, pero que cumplen su objetivo: mantener a los pequeños constructores entretenidos, y abrirles mente cuando se atrancan o se aburren.

Este es un muy libro enfocado a todas las funciones que se le pueden dar a los aditamentos de Lego power functions (motores, sensor infrarrojom, etc) esta muy enfocado a piezas que se utilizan en Lego Technic asi que preparense con un buen stock de piezas ya que hay algunos modelos que hacen uso de piezas que solo vienen en ciertos sets.Este volumen estan enfocado a versiones de ensambles rodantes con una gran varieda de diseños haciendo mucho uso de ruedas y orugas.Se recomienda.

Very detailed pictures and techniques. It's really good to set basics of using motors in lego

Das Buch liefert ein Fundgrube von Ideen, die sich recht einfach nachbauen und modifizieren lassen. Die Fotografien sind einsame Spitze. Im Buch zu stöbern und danach die Legokiste nicht aufzusuchen ist fast unmöglich. Für mich ein absolutes Gute-Laune-Buch.

My sons received a bin of LEGO technic bits from an older boy down the street, but as there were few complete sets and even fewer instructions they were often not sure what to do. We borrowed this book from our local library and then bought a copy to keep. The easier builds were manageable by my 7 year old and the 9 year old was able to tackle some of the more difficult ones and even modify them. The photographs are clear, there is a list of pieces needed for each model, and once you understand the concept of the vehicle it is fun to modify. Worth it for us as it helps the kids use what we have to build new things.