Toy Fair 2017: ONCE Kids Eco Bricks

[Hapori Tohu]

ONCE Kids Eco Bricks was one of a few toy lines at Toy Fair attempting to bill itself as an environmentally-friendly alternative to LEGO. We're apparently supposed to believe that wooden blocks are better because they can decompose and be easily painted/carved/otherwise modified, as compared to things that maintain their value and usefulness for generations and already have detailed features. We could cynically point out that we found an eco brick marked "made in China" after we heard their representatives talk about how these wooden bricks are made in the USA, but that doesn't matter. Setting aside things like nationalism, brand loyalty, and the need to take care of your toys, these bricks are a non-starter because they cost much more than LEGO and exhibit extreme variation in clutch power. These were still interesting to observe, and we appreciated the chance to get our hands on them to try them out - and yes, we've got a few pictures for you.

 

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[evil_jaga_genius]

I would be cynic too, but I have to imagine how these things smell.  Like, I can imagine opening a box of these and having that wonderful hardwood smell wafting out of the box.  That, and it'd be cool to replace all the elements that are supposed to be wood on a MOC with, you know, actual wood.  Like building a castle and having an actual wooden drawbridge and stuff.

[ToaTImeLord]

If they made technic pieces say for a toa of nature it be a cool integration of materials.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Rassilon (TTL)

[danny316p]

I would be cynic too, but I have to imagine how these things smell. Like, I can imagine opening a box of these and having that wonderful hardwood smell wafting out of the box. That, and it'd be cool to replace all the elements that are supposed to be wood on a MOC with, you know, actual wood. Like building a castle and having an actual wooden drawbridge and stuff.

I don't remember what these smelt like. We basically covered this brand because they happened to be at Toy Fair, but my understanding is that there are other brands that are made of specific woods. Those other brands tend to be geared towards adults, very expensive, and 2x4s only.

 

If they made technic pieces say for a toa of nature it be a cool integration of materials.

 

There is a parameterized CNC design for that...check out Bitbeam: https://bitbeam.org/

[ToaTImeLord]

Thanks Danny for the article.

That's was a interesting read.