Maker Kit Craft Edition

Update on my review, I changed it from 4 stars to 5 stars. The product itself is amazing. So creative and something we will keep forever. I had to change it to 5 stars because the customer service is outstanding. The seller helped me with an issue I had with the crank. She was lightening fast to respond and was so personable and helpful. My 10 year old son asked for this for Christmas. The pros: This is very creative and when we got it right, it’s for sure something we will be keeping for a long time. He carried it on an errand and people kept looking at him curiously asking about it. Someone commented on it being nice seeing a kid not on a device. My son did need my help printing the cards and applying the still pictures on each card, once I showed him a few times he was able to do the remaining cards...they should be applied exactly so you get a smooth image. This was a nice project for us to do together. There are endless creative possibilities for this flip book, for a momento, to give as a romantic card, etc etc. I would for sure buy again, but there are a couple cons: My son would like the picture quality to be improved and I’m not sure if it’s our printer or the quality of the video the website allows through. He describes it as “glitchy”, our first video we printed was very blurred. Maybe because he was moving so fast?? MY SOLUTION FOR THIS in the future would be to do a test print on regular scratch paper to make sure the picture resolution is to my satisfaction. We did another video (I ordered an extra set of paper & cards) where he wasn’t moving as fast as the original video and that came out much better. You’re essentially doing 24 frames so anything too high speed will just be a blur.. So I basically wasted money on a whole set of cards which is a bummer because I think they’re $14.95 so my advice is follow the directions exactly and don’t print unless you’re sure you like the video. My son put pressure on the crank pulley (the handle to turn the pictures) and it snapped off the first day of use. He didn’t want me to apply for a return through amazon as he says it was him bending the handle instead of turning it that caused it to snap off and that it was his fault it broke. He glue gunned it back on like the handy man he is, so it’s working again but I wish the plastic was a bit more sturdy. Please note on the video I uploaded, the crank handle is on the incorrect side, this was the only side he could glue gun the handle back on.

I was an original backer of their Kickstarter and have continued to buy these over the years. Great quality, easy to assemble and just a really fun little art piece to have once it's finished. I have purchased for kids, teens, and even bought on 73 year old dad one . They all have loved them.

Assembly instructions aren't clear (that's the tech writer in me), but we worked through it and assembled the box. The main problem is printing - the instructions don't mention the required PDF settings, so the sizing was off and that wasted a few sheets. (For reference: set it to print "Actual Size" instead of "Size to fit page" - the latter adds a margin and the labels don't line up with the images.) The major problem is that the images didn't print - they would stop midway and that was another sheet wasted. It's not my printer because it handles hi-res image printing on photo paper all the time. I even ordered more sheets for another $17 per pack and still couldn't fix the problem. The whole project ended in frustration and disappointment. Some solid instructions and guidance about images and page sizes would solve most of these issues, I think. Giving up for now. Ugh.

easy to use thank you

The Flip book itself was easy enough to assemble. But the print did not line up (in know this could be a printer issue) and the picture lost some in the middle. This resulted in one of the grandchildren's faces being absent for Omom and Opop. It would be nice if the tool had a preview that showed you the zone that would be missing so you could crop/adjust as needed. This missing space also causes the picture to look really odd as the flip book cycles through. Maybe if in my particular case I wasn't missing a face I would have given 4 stars instead of 3. But it seems the online tool could use some love. It's missing maybe 1/8 inch or more in the middle.

So clever and fun. We received one at Christmas and I bought one to give as a gift!

Christmas present will rate later.

We supplement our children’s public schooling with home-based learning. A big part of our curriculum is hands-on arts and crafts , how-to and science kits . That’s included kits like this one in which you assemble 24 pre-printed black-and-white animation cards of a galloping horse with rider set on a spindle inside a small 6”x6” cardboard box. When rotated by an external crank, the pictures spin, creating a moving picture. My kids loved this project. The cards are scored, perforated and slotted to fit into holes on the spindle making assembly more a matter of patience than skill. No glue or tape is required with plastic rivets providing the structure and support to the movie/TV- screen-type box. No age was listed on the packaging, but I think any elementary-grade child could successfully work this kit with varying degrees of adult participation scaling on age. For a more challenging project, also try the Flipbookit DIY Kit where you illustrate the animation on the enclosed 24 cards. Each of these kits demonstrates techniques for making still pictures “move” – early versions of today’s motion pictures. Both kits offer fun and interesting action-packed learning.