If you thought the Death Star was the biggest LEGO set in existence, then you’re still living in the 2010s, my friend. As of November 2020, the award for the biggest, baddest set in the Denmark-based toy company’s arsenal goes to the new 9,036-piece Roman Colosseum. Just ask LEGO designer Rok Kobe, who talks about…

We love well-designed toys here at SolidSmack but still, you may be thinking, “This is just a plastic turtle”. Well, believe it or not, this wee plastic turtle is a toy… and a bit of a dark, foreboding, guilt-laden memorial to all the marine life killed off by mindless waste disposal. But more than that,…

Contrary to popular belief, solving a Rubik’s Cube DOES NOT automatically make you a smart person; it just means you have the problem-solving skills and the fortune to not be color-blind to piece together a multi-colored cube. Still, it does help pass the time and draw the attention of passers-by as you flick between the…

With the Holidays just a few weeks away, it’s probably time to think about what gifts the young kids in your life might like. If they’re into robotics, perhaps Bellrobot’s Mabot Plug-and-Play Modular Robot is just what you’re looking for. Sure it’s a STEM-based learning kit, but it’s easy to put together and program in…

Only the most gullible of people would believe hypnosis works, but dang it anyways, it sure is alluring to see a bunch of swirls rotate in place. The Mezmoglobe is in no way a portable hypnosis apparatus. Composed of aerospace grade aluminum rods, these 54 mm spheres have stainless steel bearings inside them which allow…

Even though the game has been out for more than two years, Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch just keeps getting bigger and bigger. They’ve already made stop-motion videos and Nerf guns, so it was only a matter of time before the massive franchise moved on to everyone’s favorite building toy: LEGO. To complement the small-scale Bastion set,…

It would seem like an impossible endeavor to top NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson’s Super Soaker water gun, but a team of German engineers may have taken the water weapon crown with their Spyra One- a water rifle that fires ‘water bullets,’ meant to improve accuracy and distance. Whereas the Super Soaker requires you to fill…

Remember LEGO’s Bugatti Chiron model kit earlier this year? Well, apparently they thought 3,599 pieces wasn’t enough… so they made a life-sized version to go with the 1:8 scale replica. It isn’t for show either; this LEGO “supercar” consists of over 1,000,000 non-glued bricks and can hold two passengers while accelerating to over 20 km/h.…

Even in a world full of change, there are many constants in the universe: taxes, Disney’s ever-present plan to own everything your childhood holds dear, and LEGO Star Wars kits. LOTS of LEGO Star Wars kits. While it can’t house the gigantic 7,541-piece Millenium Falcon, this 2,812-piece LEGO recreation of The Empire Strikes Back’s Cloud…

We’ve seen some crazy Nerf builds this year – from Adam Savage’s modified blaster which fires 1,000 paintballs from its magazine to a 3D printed Nuka Cola zapper inspired by the hit video game franchise Fallout. Now there’s a new game franchise that’s been picked up by toy company Hasbro, and that franchise is the…

Sure, everybody and their grandma loves Pixar’s Toy Story, which came out a mind-boggling 23 years ago. Since then, two more sequels (and an upcoming fourth movie) have capitalized on the wonders of computer animation and the fear (or joy) of having your childhood toys come to life. YouTube creator Rihito Ue is no Pixar…

When it was released earlier this year, the Nintendo Labo platform — a modern cardboard construction set extension for the Nintendo Switch portable video game platform—made a bigger splash than anybody could have predicted. While the Nintendo Switch has proven to be popular with gamers of all ages, a modular cardboard construction set seemed like…

Not everybody knows how to play the game, but almost anyone can appreciate the quality of a good chess set. The smoothness of the pieces, the feel of the metal – it makes you wonder how some of the most expensive sports equipment is used on a tabletop “board” game. But not New York designer…

Lots of toys allow kids to get creative and build their own designs. If you can count the number of times LEGO blocks have furthered a young ones’ learning capabilities, you have way too many fingers on your hands. But what if your kids (or you) want to build something a bit bigger, more practical,…

From Hollywood movies to a plethora of apps, the appeal of STEM skills in the mainstream has never been greater. And when it comes to mainstream, few toys could ever top the semi-controversial Barbie doll—first introduced in 1959. While some argue that the blonde, plastic doll conveyed an unrealistic body image to girls, the latest…

Toy company Mattel and the portable camera savants at GoPro have really done it now: they’ve attached a camera to something you’ll never be able to ride or experience yourself. Dubbed the Zoom In, this toy car comes with a hollowed-out body and stand which allows adrenaline junkies to slap a GoPro Action Camera on…

Continuing the tradition of making miniatures of some of the world’s most remarkable automobile designs, LEGO and French car manufacturer Bugatti have teamed up to create one of the most complex block builds you’ll ever find: a 1:8 scale LEGO Bugatti Chiron. The stunning model measures 14cm high, 25cm wide, and is made up of…

Although humans have been throwing disc-shaped objects for centuries, it wasn’t until the 1930s when a couple was offered 25 cents for a cake pan they were throwing back and forth did the idea for the modern frisbee start to take shape. Today, the flexible polypropylene plastic disc is one of the most accessible and…

Even as more players eschew traditional board games in favor of smartphone app alternatives, there is still a significant population of diehard board game lovers who live for the real thing. Massdrop community designer Cassidy Williams is one such person; taking her love of Scrabble’s letter-engraved tiles into the world of computer keyboards. Waking up…

Tough, durable, long-lasting toys were almost nonexistent in my household when I was growing up. Transformers often lost their limbs after a month or so, G.I. Joes normally went to war without their weapons and “Have you seen the pieces to my new Lego set?” was a question routinely heard by my parents and siblings.…

When it comes to professionally-engineered LEGO builds, the end-goal is more often than not to recreate a real-world object as accurately as possible using square bricks. For some of the company’s most recent models, this dedication to modeling after true life has gone as far as having a build sequence modeled after the true-to-life factory…

When it comes to designing toys, it should come as little surprise that sometimes kids themselves are the best designers. After all, who else knows the target user the best? Which is why for their latest collection of stuffed toys, IKEA eschewed hiring a professional (boring adult) toy designer in favor of crowdsourcing designs from…

At age 80, fourth generation Japanese toymaker Masaaki Hiroi still cranks out classic wood toys from his workshop where he has spent a lifetime mastering his craft. While many might be worried about retirement and slowing down during their eighth decade, Hiroi continues to keep his mind and hands active doing what he loves to…

Depending on your stance (and age) towards technology (and whether you have kids or not), Pokémon GO is either a welcome new fixture in your home life or you’re doing everything you can to avoid it. Regardless, the augmented reality game has ushered in a new style of gameplay that adds a layer of interactivity…

Vehicles concepts fall into a category all of their own. They are different than other products in the sense that they are, in general, 95% styling and about 1% design, with 4% common sense/luck, in my opinion. Toy vehicles are usually some sort of a generalization of what a designer thinks a vehicle is and…

Back in April, the LEGO design team unveiled their latest 2,704–piece LEGO Technic model in the form of a life-like” replica of the iconic Porsche 911 GT3 RS with a build sequence modeled after the real-life vehicle’s assembly process. To keep the LEGO build process as close as possible to the same real-world assembly process…

As both a toy designer and educator in Brooklyn, Assaf Eshet has witnessed a unique perspective of how today’s kids are building their own toys and using modern tools to add new levels of interactivity to them. It was from this unique perspective – and over a decade working for major toy manufacturers – that…

Whether it’s a toy Lightsaber, a miniature city, a robot or even just a plain old box, few materials can fuel a child’s imagination like cardboard can. Not to mention, the environmentally-friendly material is easy to work with and is nearly free – depending on where you look. Aiming to make creating awesome cardboard toys easy…

With the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 18th, it’s safe to say that we’re gearing up for Star Wars marketing overload – and if you’ve ever had plans to launch a Star Wars-related Kickstarter project, now would be a great time to do it. Among other Star Wars-related items that…

After having been inspired to extend storytelling media beyond two-dimensional space and into the physical world with interactive components, industrial designer Eun Young Park quickly found that a category of construction set was missing from the arsenal of today’s STEM toys: one that teaches kinetic design. Created as a part of her MA thesis at…

With hundreds of officially licensed figures ranging from the Alien franchise to Mars Attacks!, Hong Kong-based Hot Toys Limited has been the go-to production house for ultra-detailed media property figures that fetch hundreds to thousands of dollars from loyal toy collectors. Established in 2000, the company began by producing high-detailed 1:6 scale U.S. military special…

While toy designs start out much like any other product design – with an idea and a sketch – they can quickly become a more involved modeling exercise that requires expert sculpting techniques using both digital tools – such as MODO or ZBrush – as well as traditional sculpting tools including clay or wax. While…

When it comes to staying innovative in an age where toys are being replaced by touchscreen devices and apps, leave it to NERF to keep churning out new ways of experiencing the same toy over and over again. Yesterday, the toy blaster brand that’s responsible for more than a handful of office warfare battles announced…

In the case that the onslaught of superhero-themed movies coming out over the next few years isn’t enough to keep comic book fans busy, publishers including Marvel and DC Comics are in the process of announcing literally truckloads of toys and action figures ranging from your run-of-the-mill $10 posable figures to more complex trophy case-worthy…

Does anyone not like LEGOs? After watching the trailer for the upcoming documentary on the iconic toy, it would appear that you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesn’t. The documentary, which is simply titled A LEGO Brickumentary, is the first of its kind in that it tracks literally everything LEGO – ranging from the…

It’s no secret that Quirky has had a significant impact on disrupting the way that things get made. Similar to Local Motors, their crowdsourced design business structure allows ideas to be tested within their community before being refined and sent into production – with royalties coming back to the original inventor. While many experienced designers…

Back in 2013, many of the world’s best architects and designers attended the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Among other concepts being presented for the first time, this was where “Blockitecture” was introduced to the world by James Paulius. Paulius, a product designer who…

For those who enjoy the brain activity of assembling thousand-plus part models in SolidWorks, this new ‘desk toy’ just might be right up your alley. Set to be unveiled at next month’s Toy Fair in NYC, the LEGO SHIELD Helicarrier is among one of the largest and most sci-fi builds to date with 2,996 elements…

For those that grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s, it’s likely that some of the best weekends-ever consisted of epic Nerf soft-dart Blaster fights and fort-building. Unlike LEGOs, the soft darts didn’t hurt if you stepped on one and the combination of building strategic forts for protection certainly led to at least some…

As far as animated movies go, The LEGO Movie ranks high on the list for not just simply having a great story, but also its impressive use of CG and the fact that everything – including water, explosions, smoke and landscapes – are actual LEGO bricks. Of course, creating a feature-length film of walking and…

Having been inspired by natural elements for their new collection of wooden toy designs, product design, graphic design and architecture studio Vrtíška Žák have reduced common and traditional wooden children’s toys into their most simple forms with the minimalist WOO toy collection. The collection, whose name is derived from both a play on the word…

With products such as GoldieBlocks, LEGO Mindstorms and Arduino making waves in the toy industry and media, it’s easy to forget some of the more simple products that provide the basic foundation for making things…such as construction sets. Aiming to fill this overlooked niche is Ingocraft, a new 3D printing-focused company that offers both a…

If you were one of the lucky few who was a kid back when the original Star Wars films were released (sadly, I wasn’t), chances are the official ‘Star Wars’ toys were a huge part of your childhood. While the original toys are primarily in the hands of eccentric collectors these days (and selling for…

Lately we’ve been seeing quite the interest from the general public when it comes to ‘what’s inside’ the many artifacts that make up our day-to-day lives. Perhaps the best examples of this trend are the recent videos of objects being ‘shaved away’ one millimeter at time. While there are a few of them floating around…

We’re always talking about the future of design, the future of technology, the future of MAKING. In a world where we can interact with empty space, a world where we can 3D print our own shower curtain rings and bionic ears, a world where we’ll be sending people to space for vacation, how do we…

These days I increasingly find myself asking “where was this when I was a kid?” when it comes to new toy designs ranging from electric inks to Arduino kits and iOS apps to the ability to ‘design your own shoes’ with NikeID. The latest comes in the form of an AMAZING Simpsons LEGO set that…

It could be argued that there are two different kinds of people in this world: those who can draw accurately on an Etch A Sketch and those who end up with what looks like a ball of hair coughed up by their neighbor’s cat. Okay, perhaps not…but regardless, the Etch A Sketch is as iconic…

File this under that ever-expanding ‘Why Didn’t I Think Of That?’ pile: Swedish travel and lifestyle photographer Jens Lennartsson was feeling like he wanted to get a little more attention from potential agency clients, so rather than going the traditional route and creating ‘the mother of all business cards’, he omitted the card altogether and…

If you’re a fan of the popular Automoblox toys, then this one’s for you. Architect Matteo Ragni organized a list of one-hundred designers and architects to design their own take on the wooden toy car as a part of his 100% ToBeUs initiative. The well-conceived initiative is focused on moving kids away from disposable toys…

It’s no secret that having fun, brightly-colored toys scattered across one’s desk can perk up anybody’s work environment. Perhaps nobody knows this better than one of the pioneers of designer toys and founder of Kidrobot, Paul Budnitz. Heck, even MoMA carries over a dozen of his designs in their permanent collection. So what’s his secret?…