Toysmith Cosmic Rocket Kit
by Toysmith
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Our Price: $6.54
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Category: Toy
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: ToysmithBrand: Toysmith
Model: 3433
Product features:
- Great gift idea for the whole family
- Assemble your own 6" rocket
- Fuel it with vinegar and baking soda and watch it blast off.
- Kit includes rocket components, graphics stickers, launch pad and instructions.
- Recommended age: 7 years and up
Toys and Games Reviews of Toysmith Cosmic Rocket Kit
Customer Review: Defective right out of the box. Problematic design.
Summary: 1 Stars
This thing hasn't worked once. It leaks pressure from the "O-ring". Bear in mind this was fresh out of the box too. For the adults out there, a leak in an O-ring caused the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
In this toy, a leaky seal won't cause an explosion, but instead it will prevent one - and your launch as well: the pressure can't build up enough in order to achieve a launch.
I don't know whether this is a manufacturing defect or not, but my guess is that these typically cheap (Made in China) plastic toys are fabricated to a very low standard of quality, and these standards do not easily lend themselves to achieving the kind of precision required in order to create an airtight seal capable of sustaining high pressures. I'd guess that even a perfect specimen would be pretty low quality. Another possible culprit seems to be the inadequate composition of the O-ring material; it is a soft gray rubber. When tightened the ring compresses to much to the point that it deforms and is literally squeezed out of its groove.
I'd skip this toy with its poor quality and/or design, and the potential disappointment of having it not work at all, even once, and instead go for one of the old-fashioned water rockets. They operate on water and compressed air and requires no mixing. I had many a water rocket as a kid and they provided hours of summertime entertainment. And you can even have fun building your own water rocket using an empty two liter bottle and parts available at any home improvement store. There are lots of sites with instructions and various designs.
A water rocket itself is just a two-liter bottle with fins on the bottom to stabilize it in flight. The nice thing about using a plain old soda bottle is that they are designed to hold pressure with no o-ring needed, since they have to keep a drink carbonated from production through shipping and until you have finished the bottle.
If you get really into building water rockets, there is a sizeable water rocket enthusiast community and a lot of products and kits sold to help you enjoy this as a hobby.
I think most kids would learn more about something from building a rocket themselves from inexpensive parts than just mixing baking soda and vinegar. Granted, it does illustrate the concept of gas expansion well, but you don't need a rocket to do that.
Description of Toysmith Cosmic Rocket Kit
Color and style may vary. Requires vinegar and baking soda (not included). Age 14+Science Toys
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