Thames & Kosmos Candy Claw Engineering STEM Experiment Maker Lab | Build Your Own Claw Machine | Learn Hydraulics & Engineering | Includes Lollipops | Toy of The Year Finalist | Difficulty: Advanced

This was not made to be a use able toy once finished. We thought we were getting a claw machine that our kids could use (like ones you see at game rooms, grocery stores, or restaurants). It took two of us all evening to figure out how to put it together. Water leaked everywhere, and we knew it wasn't actually going to work once we were finished. The pieces are all plastic and have to be cut off and then have to have any remaining plastic on the piece your working on either filed off or cut off with another tool (if your lucky to have one). Other sections fell apart as we worked on new sections, the ribbon that is supposed to pull the claw the lengthwise along the machine doesn't move it, and then the ribbon falls off the roll its on. The mechanism to move the claw from the front to the back of the machine is run by air- it does move the claw, but its jerky, and hard to turn. The water hydraulic system is used to move the claw up and down and to open/close the claw. The lever to move the claw up and down- that works good. Its probably the only piece that does. The lever that opens the claw on the other hand... all the water leaked out of the system and it didn't work. There was an easier way to "refill" that side if the water leaked out, but since it liked to fall apart randomly, we didn't chance it. The claw itself takes up over half the space between the top of the machine and the bottom (where the treats are). I'm sure as a "how do things work" science toy- this is great for older kids. But I don't think any kid 8-12 is going to have the patience to put it together.

Got the Thanes and Kosmos Candy Claw Machine for my grandchildren, and they were so excited about it that they opened it and started to put it together without any help. Well, it is pretty complicated and they really needed an adult, so they just skipped steps they didn't understand and scattered parts all over the place. Ultimately, I got involved and discovered a couple of key parts were nowhere to be found. The Customer Service department at Thames and Kosmos cheerfully sent replacements, and insisted on paying for the parts and the shipping (in spite of my offer to pay).I'm a customer for life for any company that actually believes in customer service and has good products to sell!

This is the worst toy ever!!!!!!!The toy is not well designed, and it doesn't work at all. It leaks, and not work as described. Also, it is too hard to assemble. It says for kids 8 years old with some help. But actually, it takes 2 adults a whole day to assemble, and turns out to be not working.It is totally an experience with frustration, to both kids and adults. Kids are so frustrated with it does't work, especially they have been expecting for a long time. People who assemble it also feel frustrated during the whole process.Spending a lot of money, and time of waiting, customers only get a bad experience and a frustrating day. It is really annoying!!!

UPDATE AS OF 8-23-23 - Despite the issues noted below, I wanted to share the fact that this company is excellent to deal with. As noted below, they were responsive in providing replacement parts in the hopes that the original toy would finally work as advertised. However, when this was not the case, they immediately replied to my follow-up email message about the situation with an offer to replace the toy with a different STEM project. The new toy arrived yesterday and, we hope, will be one that can be enjoyed by our granddaughter. In a time when many companies are hard to reach out to and, then, even harder to get service from, Thames & Kosmos is a stand-out in excellent customer service.I purchased this as a gift for our 9-year old granddaughter who is in love with claw machines at the arcade. Needless to say, she was very excited to see the gift - the image was great and the idea of a candy machine inviting - and, as well, for the opportunity to build it with me. Soon thereafter we got together to build the toy. Although the instructions indicate that it would have been age-appropriate for her, and that it would take 2-3 hours, it took longer and was much more complicated than presented. That, however, was the good part.After assembling the machine, we tried to prime the hydraulics with water. One of the two filled nearly completely - the second one barely so. Despite this, the hydraulics seemed to work - that is until one of the cylinders inside the unit started to drain the water. So, being a good sport, my granddaughter agreed that I should contact the company to get help and/or replacement parts.The company was very helpful: promptly replying to my email and subsequently sending replacement parts for the hydraulic sections of the toy. So, a week or so later we met again to make a second attempt to get the toy working.This time I was meticulously careful in executing the instructions. And, after charging the system with water, proceeded to have her run a test. First issue - the hydraulics did not have enough force on the claws to pick up any of the candy items. The second problem - after the 2nd or 3rd attempt at using the toy, the cylinder that opens/closes the claw began to leak. Slower this time than after our first attempt, but still was not watertight.Bottom line: It is a very attractive and well-designed STEM toy. However, since we could not get it to come even close to the stated operation after two attempts, it surely is not a toy for an 8-9 year-old and, as I was involved, not even for a handy adult.