| Here, before reading the rest of the review, just take a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOv0AkphLhE&feature=player_embedded
If you didn't find that interesting or curious then you can probably just go.
Anyway.
Brand Breakdown
There are four main brands of this product, though they all sell the same thing(collections of 5mm nickel coated rare earth magnetic beads with an N rating of 38). The main brands (BuckyBall, Zen, Neocube and Cyber Cube) all sell their wares in 216 bead collections, with several of the manufacturers offering larger bulk buys of up to 1728 magnets. First, lets take a quick look at the price per magnetic bead, as listed below.
cybercube = $.11
zen magnets = $.09
buckyball = $.13
neocube = $.08
So, as we can see, there is a few cents difference between each manufacturer, which may not seem like a lot, but let's extrapolate that out to a large group of magnets, lets say 3000, which is the amount I own.
cybercube = $.11 =$330
zen magnets = $.09 = $270
buckyball = $.13 = $390
neocube = $.08 = $240
As you can see, the difference of a few cents can make over a $100 worth of difference in the long run. That said, the cheapest brand, the neocube, is said to make their products with inferior quality magnets and at sizes closer to 4.7mm rather then 5mm. In the end, what I've found is that Zen Magnets seem to be the cheapest and most reliable of the 4 brands. It should also be noted that Zen Magnets regularly hosts Ebay auctions which usually end at a price 20 to 30 dollars lower then the one quoted on the site. I got my magnets from them for $130 for 1728, bringing the price down closer to seven cents, an even greater savings then the shady neocube.
the product
The product is basically just collections of magnets, albeit small and strong magnets. However it is not really the product which sells but what you can do with the product. As the above video shows, there's a great variety of things you can build and do with the magnets.
However, saying that you're only limited by you're imagination is a lie, though a pretty lie. There are many inherent limitations you'll be working under. First is that you're usually limited by the number of magnets, unless you want to invest a bit to get yourself a big old chuck of magnets like me. Secondly, the magnets themselves only like aligning in certain ways. For instance, triangles made of 9 beads hold together very well, as do hexagons and other simple shapes. These simple shapes can be made into larger geometric shapes and still stay surprisingly stable. However, as you begin to make denser designs, such as the cube
You'll start to notice that the magnets play off each other and make perfect alignments nearly impossible. It's not a huge problem, but it can be mildly annoying. Your last limitations are those of time and space. Working with a large amount of magnets requires a good amount of room and plenty of time, otherwise you'll just end up getting frustrated as pieces you want to keep separate leap together and mess up a half hour's worth of work.
Basically though, as long as you're patient and have the time and space required to truly play around these little magnets are pretty much a strange mix of lego and silly putty. For me, they were definitely worth the price of admission (though mine were bought over a period of time) and I still continue to fool with them even now. I'd recommend buying a 216 piece set, playing with it a bit and then, if it's your cup of tea, collecting some more. However, in my experience, I have never seen anyone who was completely uninterested in these. Put a chunk of them out on a coffee table and people will constantly fiddle with them. They are and always probably will be, a curious little toy of simple design but grand possibility. |
| Heh, fun review. Love these things |
| I used to love those things.
Too bad they're so fucking expensive here |
Here, before reading the rest of the review, just take a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOv0AkphLhE&feature=player_embedded
If you didn't find that interesting or curious then you can probably just go.
Anyway.
Brand Breakdown
There are four main brands of this product, though they all sell the same thing(collections of 5mm nickel coated rare earth magnetic beads with an N rating of 38). The main brands (BuckyBall, Zen, Neocube and Cyber Cube) all sell their wares in 216 bead collections, with several of the manufacturers offering larger bulk buys of up to 1728 magnets. First, lets take a quick look at the price per magnetic bead, as listed below.
cybercube = $.11
zen magnets = $.09
buckyball = $.13
neocube = $.08
So, as we can see, there is a few cents difference between each manufacturer, which may not seem like a lot, but let's extrapolate that out to a large group of magnets, lets say 3000, which is the amount I own.
cybercube = $.11 =$330
zen magnets = $.09 = $270
buckyball = $.13 = $390
neocube = $.08 = $240
As you can see, the difference of a few cents can make over a $100 worth of difference in the long run. That said, the cheapest brand, the neocube, is said to make their products with inferior quality magnets and at sizes closer to 4.7mm rather then 5mm. In the end, what I've found is that Zen Magnets seem to be the cheapest and most reliable of the 4 brands. It should also be noted that Zen Magnets regularly hosts Ebay auctions which usually end at a price 20 to 30 dollars lower then the one quoted on the site. I got my magnets from them for $130 for 1728, bringing the price down closer to seven cents, an even greater savings then the shady neocube.
the product
The product is basically just collections of magnets, albeit small and strong magnets. However it is not really the product which sells but what you can do with the product. As the above video shows, there's a great variety of things you can build and do with the magnets.
However, saying that you're only limited by you're imagination is a lie, though a pretty lie. There are many inherent limitations you'll be working under. First is that you're usually limited by the number of magnets, unless you want to invest a bit to get yourself a big old chuck of magnets like me. Secondly, the magnets themselves only like aligning in certain ways. For instance, triangles made of 9 beads hold together very well, as do hexagons and other simple shapes. These simple shapes can be made into larger geometric shapes and still stay surprisingly stable. However, as you begin to make denser designs, such as the cube
You'll start to notice that the magnets play off each other and make perfect alignments nearly impossible. It's not a huge problem, but it can be mildly annoying. Your last limitations are those of time and space. Working with a large amount of magnets requires a good amount of room and plenty of time, otherwise you'll just end up getting frustrated as pieces you want to keep separate leap together and mess up a half hour's worth of work.
Basically though, as long as you're patient and have the time and space required to truly play around these little magnets are pretty much a strange mix of lego and silly putty. For me, they were definitely worth the price of admission (though mine were bought over a period of time) and I still continue to fool with them even now. I'd recommend buying a 216 piece set, playing with it a bit and then, if it's your cup of tea, collecting some more. However, in my experience, I have never seen anyone who was completely uninterested in these. Put a chunk of them out on a coffee table and people will constantly fiddle with them. They are and always probably will be, a curious little toy of simple design but grand possibility.