Awesome Kits

This flat-pack wooden model from Robotime lets you build a tiny, working printing press. Inspired by classic movable type presses, the miniature imagines a print shop run by bears. After assembling the 303-piece kit, you can make prints with a pull of its handle. It’s basically a fancy rubber stamp kit, but we still dig it.

This fun DIY kit from Robotime’s ROKR line lets you build a hypnotic wood and plastic marble run. It includes a motorized elevator to bring balls to the top of the track, and lots of twists, turns, ramps, and a high-speed spiral. Bundle it with the Night City marble track for a even larger display.

Learn about circuits, soldering, and writing code with this duo of CircuitMess electronic music makers. The Synthia is a digital beat maker and sampler, while the Jay-D is a miniature DJ mixer with audio effects, built-in speakers, and a sweet LED light show. Grab the bundle for a special price in The Awesomer Shop.

This arcade game is as small as they come. It runs on an Arduino-compatible 32-bit processor and has a tiny full-color OLED screen, a D-Pad, two pushbuttons, plus a built-in speaker. It comes pre-loaded with three homebrew games, and can be expanded with more games via a MicroSD card. Takes about 10 minutes to assemble.

This kit from Teenage Engineering and designer/musician Yuri Suzuki lets you create your own low-fi vinyl records. Once assembled, connect an audio source to its 3.5mm jack, place a 5″ vinyl blank on the turntable, and start it spinning to record monophonic sounds. Records 4 minutes a side @ 33 RPM or 3 minutes @ 45 RPM.

The Mavis is a build-it-yourself analog synth kit that embodies the spirit of Moog. The compact instrument has a 24-point patch bay, an analog oscillator, a voltage-controlled filter, a 4-stage envelope generator, and a sample-and-hold circuit. It easily integrates with any Moog semi-modular or Eurorack system too.

Bandai Japan is showing offf this unique 1/12-scale plastic model of R2-D2. This clearly isn’t the droid you’re looking for because you can see right through its electric blue shell. The design was inspired by R2’s holographic projection of Princess Leia. Drops 10.2021.

Learn about electronics, soldering, coding, and more with this DIY DJ kit from CircuitMess. The mini DJ console can play and crossfade between tracks, control BPM, and apply equalization. It has a built-in Class D amp and two 5-watt speakers. Also available with a tool kit. Save 20% with code WELOVEDAD through 6.20.2021.

Dreipunkt’s flat-pack wood kit lets you build your own orbital model of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. As you move its lever, each astronomical body rotates relative to the others, as an arrow indicates the date on which they take up those positions. From Laserdeko, who has all kinds of nifty laser-cut stuff for sale.

Wood model makers Time for Machine have a new series of kits that let you assemble objects that move. Each plywood model features a splash of color in its wheels or spring-wound mechanism. Designs include a supercar, vintage car, hot rod, minibus, locomotive, and a lockbox.

Flat pack model maker Ugears 48-piece kit is one of their easier builds, yet it’s simply fascinating to watch. The mechanical contraption converts air pressure to movement, which in turn spins a pointer which acts as a sort of decision maker for the next task for you to work on.

Korg’s recently launched Nu:Tekt line will create DIY instruments, effects, and utilities for electronic musicians. First up is the NTS-1 a tiny, build-it-yourself polyphonic synthesizer with a digital oscillator inspired by the prologue and minilogue xd. Sound demo here.

Flat-pack model makers Ugears offers this very cool kit that lets you build a mechanical monowheel that actually drives. It has retractable training wheels, but can roll without them on smooth surfaces. With 300 parts, it looks like a challenging 3-hour build. No glue required.

A fun DIY kit for musicians, electronics hobbyists, and just about anyone who likes cool gadgets. The Rhythmo Beatbox lets you build a MIDI controller and drum machine in a cardboard box. It’s got arcade-style buttons, built-in sounds, a battery, and speakers. Its companion mobile app enables sound customization.

Known for their in-depth automotive repair manuals, Haynes is now making a series of kits which let you build your own rudimentary gadgets, including a retro LED handheld game, an analog synthesizer, a working amplifier, a film camera, an FM radio, and a Simon-esque memory game.

ROKR’s bass wood replica of a classic film projector is one of the coolest flat-pack model kits we’ve ever seen. Not only does it look awesome, it actually can project a short loop of film that’s included with the kit. The hand-cranked projector isn’t bright, but it requires no batteries to operate.