5 comments about LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.

1. This was a very nice item, it has very complete information in it and the mini-figure that comes with it is super rare. I think that this is an exceptionaly good item



2. This is a really nice book for your young Lego Star Wars fan. My boys spent hours poring over it and soaking in every detail. They use the pictures to try to build the sets they don't already have from the parts they have. Probably for 7-8 yrs. and up. Amazon was the best place I found for this book. It also includes a special Lego mini figure with the book.



3. My 5 year old loves Legos, but he loves anything Star Wars even more. This book has some amazing Lego creations. If you like to build with Legos, and you are a Star Wars fan, you will be challenged and inspired by this book.



4. A realy great reference of the world of LEGO star wars.
   An essential book for all fans of LEGO and all fans of LEGO and Star Wars.
   Unfortunately, my son eats, plays, sleeps, lives with it. Unable to borrow and read it quietly! :)



5. My son really enjoys this book. He carries it with him everywhere. He loves the detailed photos and the mini fugure that was included. Nice book for the price.

5 comments about The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book: A Beginner's Guide to Building and Programming Robots.

1. I had just purchased my first NXT (2.0) and several people recommended this book. I can see why! it is a step-by-step introduction to the NXT, set up in exercises as if for a class, but totally usable by the individual user like me. I have been having a blast acheiving each step.
   This book is fun, and very clear.
   I am really enjoying my NXT more with it than I would have without!



2. This is a fantastic book if you are into LEGO Mindstorms, it has great step by step instructions for a number of fantastic models and if you are not sure about programming the NXT this book helps you with that
   Thank You Laurens for creating a fantastic book.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Mindstorms and has or is thinking a bout getting the Lego NXT



3. Legos have gone far in the past few decades. "The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book: A Beginner's Guide to Building and Programming Robots" is a guide to the programs and technological pursuits of Lego's newest Mindstorms toys that have been provoking the creativity of young builders. These tools have limitless potential and provide many challenges, and Laurens Valk gives plenty of tips on using the programs to its fullest. "The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book" is a valuable resource sure to entertain and inform hobbyists.



4. From his infectious enthusiasm for the Mindstorms NXT System it might be easy to guess that Laurens Valk was introduced to Lego Robotics at age 13 just five short years ago. But, from the careful logical pedagogy of this book and his interesting approach mixing successively more advanced robots intermixed with a clearly arranged taxonomy of parts, programming tools and motor/drive train and sensor categorization, I would have imagined that this book was written by an excellent teacher with many years of experience bringing engineering concepts to youthful learners. Not only does the book offer a clear top-down beginning to end approach to both the NXT Parts Architecture and NXT-G Programming Language while combining this end-to-end approach with interesting projects of increasing difficulty, but he stimulates the reader with building and programming challenges to increase their skill at independent thought in robot building and programming. Just how far and how thoughtfully Laurens' teaching approach goes is indicated by by his unique system of flowcharting/state diagrams which both provides the logical decisions involved in programming this system with a graphical correspondence to the NXT-G Programming language.
   
   I cannot recommend this book highly enough as an aid to using the Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 robotics system, and bringing a
   new generation of roboticists and engineers to a deep and intuitive understanding these sciences. This handbook should be included in every Mindstorms NXT Set to insure that the recipient will learn, absorb and extend the concepts which this powerful educational system can teach.
   
   --Ira Laefsky
   MSE/MBA I.T. Consultant and Former Senior Staff Member Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation



5. The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book: a beginner's guide to building and programming robots! is the missing manual to the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. It is an excellent step-by-step guide to using the new kit. I has lot of diagrams and pictures which makes the book easy to use. So whether you are a novice or an experienced NXTer, you will find this book a wonderful resource guide to the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit with some rather interesting new robot building ideas.

5 comments about The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide.

1. These is less about instructions (although there are a few) and more about the theory of Lego building.
   
   It covers a lot of topics, from super mini models up to giant Lego blocks made of smaller Lego blocks. The downside to this approach is there is a lot of discussion of topics that not everyone is going to be interested in. I for one have no desire to build over-sized Lego blocks.
   
   Still there's lots of good tidbits of information, and it reminds me as I introduce my daughter to Legos that not everything about building with Legos is self-evident.
   
   I especially like the instructions for the train station which can be modified in lots of ways to make all sorts of buildings (My daughter and I made a pizza restaurant). I do wish there had been more of that.



2. My 10 year old nephew is big into Legos, so I wanted to get him the perfect book. Seeing the index and pages on Amazon, I could tell that this book would give him the basics and move him toward engineering incredible structures. He was very happy to get it.



3. this was a nice book that my son does not look at
   i continue to point him back to the book as it appears
   useful in making your own plans.



4. This is a back to the basics or what some call the tricks of the trade type book. I really enjoyed looking through it and learning new stuff. Great guide to all the pieces and naming conventions.



5. I've been building with Lego bricks for over 30 years. I bought this book to add to my collection not expecting to "learn" much but have something to share and refer to from now and again. I was very happily surprised after reading and learning a few new building techniques. While this book isn't exhaustive of every single SNOT or other advanced building technique (btw, there isn't one) this is a great single volume that is a happy addition to every LEGO enthusiast's library. I have also recommended this book for persons just starting or getting back into building. It's a great overview and introduction. I look forward to future volumes from the author!

5 comments about Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series).

1. My grandson requested some da Vinci readings and I found this project book that went through some of the inventions that were buildable. He was delighted!



2. We received this book within five days, and before the sun set that afternoon, my nine-year-old grandson had constructed three sizes of the trebuchet by following the instructions.



3. I purchased this book after I saw the "Leonardo di Vinci" exhibit at my local museum. This particular exhibt showcased his inventions, not his artwork. There were many full size replicas of machines that he thought of that were actually built for this exhibit. I was intrigued by the bridge that could be built with just a few stick and got stronger the more weight you put on it. After putting the dowel sized replica together at the exhibit, I had to have one for myself to build. That's the primary reason I purchased this book. Now that I have it in my hands, I've been going over the different activities I can do with my baby siblings, and I'm so excited I have this book in hand. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in "how things work" and science in general.



4. I purchased this book as a cross curricular lesson. Although I teach science there is history, strategies, art, and exposure to building simple machines. I am using the book to make shoe box activities for me students and update myself on the wonders of Leonardo.



5. We are homeschoolers using this book in part of a unit on Inventors. My eight year old is able to read and enjoy the history behind the different inventions. I thought it would just be a "how to" book, but we are both really enjoying the well written historical information in this book. It really makes Leonardo and the world he lived in come alive. I like to just browse through the book and look at all of Leonardo's sketches as well.
   
   The pictures and instructions are fairly easy to follow. The inventions do use common items, but we don't always have the right "common" items at the right times. We have modified most of the directions to use what we actually have in our house. Today we wanted to make the camera obscura, but we just threw out our last empty Pringles can... guess we'll be eating lots of chips in the next week :)

5 comments about Forbidden Lego: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!.

1. My son LOVES Legos. Is a wiz at the kits and really enjoys making his own stuff. He was so happy when we gave him this book.



2. This book has piece by piece directions for building different objects. You use household items with the legos to make things work.



3. Forbidden Lego has some innovative and fun designs, and the description of the process Lego uses to design, approve and produce models is especially interesting.
   
   The models in this book would not pass this rigorous approval process, and the authors tell you exactly why - they might fire projectiles too fast or too quickly or require the alteration of an approved Lego piece. But the building instructions would also not pass Lego's quality control process, either. Some illustrations are missing the box that shows the pieces needed for that step, leaving the builder to search the diagram to find what has been added and where (Step 14 for the Candy Catapult, for example).
   
   The instructions are definitely for experienced builders, as they do not always show the intermediate building steps - you may have to partially insert an axle piece before placing an assembly on the main model, for example, and fully insert it after the assembly is in place. This shouldn't give experienced builders any trouble, but might be frustrating for younger builders.
   
   These models call for some parts that are uncommon, but the best thing about Lego pieces is their adaptability. It is possible to modify the models to accomplish the same function with other more common pieces. Advanced builders will enjoy this challenge, but it may frustrate those who want ready-to-build models. A similar challenge faces those of us who don't want to alter our Lego pieces to find a way to do the same thing with whole pieces.
   
   If you are considering this book for yourself, you'll know if you're the kind of builder who enjoys this kind of challenge. The completed models are worth the effort. If you are considering this as a gift for a young builder, you'll want to be sure they have an advanced builder around to help them out. If not, you might consider a book like Lego Crazy Action Contraptions: A LEGO Inventions Book (Klutz) which is not only geared toward younger builders, but also includes all the pieces needed to build the models.



4. I can't wait to send this stuffed inside my son's stocking for Xmas ... I'll include the requisite parts so he and his fellow airmen can have a blast



5. I was excited to get this book for my 12-year-old budding engineer. He was too, until he looked through it and saw that he would need to have a Lego robotics kit to make a good number of the creations. Since the kit is $250, that ain't happening, so back it goes.
   
   And as other reviewers mentioned, they show pictures of the pieces you need, but they don't label them with names or part numbers. It would be EXTREMELY hard to find the parts you need to build most of these projects. It's amazing to me that the authors would create such great projects but then provide such incomplete info, rendering their book virtually useless to most users. What a waste of the return postage!

5 comments about The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide.

1. My son loves this book, too. Again, he has had it for almost 2 years and still loves it. He has sucessfully created several of the robots without trouble. He was 8 yrs old when I bought it and is now 10. He sneaks and reads it under his covers at night as well.



2. This book does a good job by starting out with an introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics, introducing to the pieces and letting the users know about the potential of the kit and what to expect.
   
   Building the robot essentials are also very well laid out and tell you how to make strong and useable robot designs, Author also has attempted to use high quality drawings which are used to help illustrate its uniquely intuitive layouts, but I feel that it could have been even better if the drawings were in full color for kids to know their pieces and put them together faster by looking at the drawings alone.
   
   The chapters in the book are partitioned into four areas, the first three parts comprises the first half of the book. The Parts one through three focuses on an introduction, building and programming. It is actually part four of the book that provides the reader a chance to exercise the knowledge gained in previous chapters with extensive, quality project guides. A total of six different robots namely Zippy-bot, Bumper-bot, Claw-bot, Tag-bot, Guard-bot, Golf-bot with detailed building and programming instructions are presented.
   
   And for those who aren't so sure why building a robot is a worthy pastime, Check out my another favorite Author Jim Kelly who offers excellent Adventure based robot design books like LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: The Mayan Adventure (Technology in Action) and the sequel LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0: The King's Treasure (Technology in Action)
   
   If you have recently purchased a LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) the book is *must have* to go with the kit, This book definitely has excellent value! - Buy one!



3. The book provides a great overview of NXT platform and teaches how to build more complex robots using several projects. The first sections provides an introduction to what is in the kit before going into how to build common components. The middle sections contain several robot projects that teach how to build more complex robots, both with the bricks and sensors and how to create programs for them. I found it very useful quickly learning how to build complex robots and understanding how the graphical programming language works.



4. Very good book, helps getting started with Mindstorms. Easy to use for my 11 year old.



5. Even though I have been working with the NXT as a teacher since it came out, I learned things about how to better build or program the NXT. Since I teach mostly introductory robotics using the NXT, I explored some additional concepts using this book.
   
   If you are new to the NXT, this is for sure a great first book to read. It begins with explainations of the LEGO pieces used in the NXT kit and then explores all of the basic programming blocks.
   
   For someone who has used the NXT, but just jumped into it without any previous Mindstorms experience or training, this book will help you fill in the gaps you probably have with the NXT. Some more advanced concepts are also covered for someone wanting to reach a little further in their NXT knowledge.

No comments about Aircraft Modelling (Modelling Masterclass).

5 comments about Miniature Food Masterclass: Materials and Techniques for Model-Makers.

1. This is a wonderful book for beginners in the miniature food making craft. It gives practical tips and how to on ways to make very realistic looking food.



2. Exactly what I needed! Tons of great tips for making your miniature food appear extremely realistic. I've been struggling with making strawberry canes but my very first successful cane was created after following the directions in this book. Very pleased!



3. I love the detail pictures demonstrated how to in the book. It's so easy to follow. the projects are great and look very real. I will recomand the book for all skill.



4. Angie Scarr is an inspirational artesian who is passionate about modeling culinary art with polymer clay techniques in miniature. Her book is definatley a must have for any serious miniaturist who wants to add that special touch.



5. I can't wait to get stuck in and make some of these tiny treats. It all looks so easy to make - I am impressed by the simple but detailed instructions.

No comments about The LEGO Technic Idea Book: Simple Machines.

5 comments about Model Making: A Basic Guide.

1. I was excited when I came across this book on Amazon. I'm a third year architecture student and was hoping to increase my model-making speed/technique. I thought I could find a few pointers in this book but I am honestly sorry to say that it was not a help at all. VERY basic techniques are presented in this book and unless you have never made a model in your life, I don't think you would get much out of this one. I will say that the book looks nice. So, if you're a complete beginner it might help you out but if you've been building models for some time I would not get it.
   
   Anyone have any suggestions for some more advanced books?
   
   J



2. This book is certainly worth the 10 or 12 bucks you pay for it. If you are creative or talented, it is pretty useful. It lacks helpful hints, and has no real step by step stuff, just alot of vague stuff to get you started. Like I said, it is worht the 10 or 12 bucks though.



3. Good book for what it is, but it really is very basic and the techniques are not for anything complex.



4. A very well illustrated introduction to the art of architectural modeling. Good discussion of materials and methods, as well a some introduction to the aesthetics of the business. Excellent for beginners.



5. The book was not detailed enough, but it had some very insightful tips. All the pictures were hand drawn. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners. If you are causal beginner, you might try something SIMILAR to a Warhammer Terrain how-to book (table top games would be too specific). Something like that would have more step by step photographs and detailed instructions for making models.