The Meccasaur is Meccano’s newest addition to it’s Maker System for ages 10 and up. You can record actions and sounds to play back, initiate charge or lunge attack mode, ask it yes or no questions with the 8-ball mode, and have the dinosaur guard your room but responding to lights being turned on or sound by roaring and charging forward. Find out more about the Meccasaur and get tips for Meccasaur assembly below!

We were sent a Meccasaur by Spin Master for review and found the assembly to be similar to the original Meccanoid with a few more challenging steps. My son, who is nine, and I tag teamed the assembly and it took us 8.5 hours to complete. It certainly helped to have an engineering background, but anyone who likes building intricate models and/or is successful following directions will find it fun.

Building this dinosaur is definitely one of the main attractions. There are 126 steps, each of which directs you to attach pieces with multiple screws. Although some might feel this is overwhelming, I found this to actually be a benefit; it’s not one of those toys that you put together in an hour or two and it’s over = more hours of enjoyment. However, the excitement of seeing the Meccasaur in action and not being able to for several days could be disappointing to some children.

Tips for Meccasaur Assembly

These tips will make the assembly more enjoyable and successful.

1

Put the pieces in white bowls and label them with masking tape. I specify white as the color so you will be able to see all of the pieces clearly.

2

Always measure the screws against the to-scale drawing of the screw you need to be using. There aren’t many extra screws, so you will come up short if you use the wrong ones.

3

In the hard to reach spots, put the nut on your fingertip, place it in the slot, then rotate the screw into the nut to attach it. A few times I put the screw in first and was not able to maneuver the nut onto it.

4

Most of the pieces have slots for the nuts, so once it fits into those spots the screws are easy to tighten with just the screwdriver. If the nut is not in the slot, the screw will not fully tighten and it is more difficult to assemble, so pay attention to placing the nuts. When the nut indentations are not available, using the wrench is a must.

5

Steps 23- 27 and 40-45: Do not fully tighten the screws before these steps for the feet are complete. There are a lot of pieces with slots in these steps and assembly is easier when there is play in those green pieces while you are attaching everything. Don’t forget to tighten all of the screws when you are done with that section.

 

Check out the video below to see our Meccasaur in action!

 

If you have not purchased the Meccasaur yet, you can find it on Amazon for $58.99 right now.