The LEGO Power Functions Idea Book, Vol. 2: Cars and Contraptions

Yoshihito Isogawa has some great ideas in these books. Some of them are so complex that it baffles me how they were created. I'm no LEGO MOC (my own creation) designer, so perhaps it becomes second nature when you do it enough. That said, the execution of this and his other books are fantastic. The creations are fun, silly at times, and extremely useful if you're looking for solutions to your own MOCs! I really liked that not all sections of the book were catered to showing full builds, but rather ways to handle things like the battery and motor placements, as well as solid structures to support the weight that both could add to a build. My only slight critique, and I made this in my other reviews, was that I wish it had numbered indications for the Technic holes and LEGO studs so I could tell, at a glance, the size of lift arms or plates I'd need to collect to do a build. Not a deal breaker by any means but something that LEGO instructions and sites like Rebrickable do that can really cut down on the time it takes to collect the parts for a build. Also, I agree with other reviewers that mention the need for a vast collection of LEGO/Technic pieces to perform some of the builds. Never fear, however, as there are off-brand Technic and LEGO parts available that will do the job nearly as perfect as LEGO, themselves!

My kids cant get enough of this is lego book. They use it all the time to make amazing lego creations. It helps spark ideas for building. Not only the models in the book but it helps kids or adults create their own versions.

Great for people looking for inspiration in lego

I think this book is better than his Simple Machines and Power Functions (Vol 1) books. Gets into some reasonably interesting (but still reasonably "simple") designs. As with Vol 1, you have to be rather visually/spatially oriented to reproduce his designs, since he just gives a few views of the designs--no stepwise building instructions. Second favorite of my 6 Lego-style books. Favorite is "The Unofficial Lego Technic Builder's Guide," which is essentially a detailed textbook on Lego Technic construction concepts.

Excellent book for the younger (and older) Lego Technic fans who are looking to start building their own non-Lego builds. The use of motors really helps as it is a large part of why my seven year old son finds this book interesting. Minimal to no words, but the pictures are detailed enough to build it (much like a Lego instruction book). The pictures are in color and it's clear that the author chose Lego pieces in contrasting colors when there might be difficulties understanding the pictures. My one criticism of this book and all the others by this author relating to Lego Technic is that it is next to impossible to obtain a "kit" with all the Lego pieces necessary to build ALL the models illustrated in the set. Even a Rebrickable.com listing would be a happy substitute if one was willing to pick up all the parts in your own, but that doesn't exist either (and I know the author uses rebrickable.com because he has a custom model on the site). So knowing that there is no companion "set" that is prepackaged or easily obtained, I would say that despite my high recommendation of this book, it is only for the kid, family or AFOL who already has a good collection of LARGE (1,000+ pieces) models. I'm an AFOL (adult fan of Lego) and have 23 sets so far... but ALL of the small to medium sets you can buy do NOT have Lego PF pieces (motors specifically) or don't provide enough gears and other pieces to provide a good inventory. The larger sets DO. So five stars for quality and usefulness BUT only if you have some large sets already in your inventory (and are willing to take them apart). Last note that is somewhat of a saving grace to the enterprising parent/AFOL. The book DOES list the parts needed in detail for both Lego PF Ideas Books, but you'all have to go thru a third party site (rebrickable.com) and create your own list which isn't fun and is time consuming BUT do-able.

Kind of useless unless you go buy a couple of hundred dollars worth of the lego technics you'll need. I did find a couple of projects my son could build after buying motors and servo and both a built up differential and steering from a bidding marketplace.

Excelente libro. Está muy bien documentado con fotografías y autor es un verdadero genio.-

This book is well made. Lots of ideas Worth the money

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.