Do you love engines? Are you fascinated by all the pistons and gears moving around? Wouldn’t it be nice having a cool model engine in your living room, garage, office, or shop? An engine you built by yourself? The easy to read manual and assembly instructions are easy to follow. Some bits can be fiddley to assemble and require patience, but it is fun to put together and the screws used are all the same size so no putting the wrong one in the wrong place. It doesn’t operate as an actual engine of course - it can’t burn fuel or produce power, but when you provide it with 4 x AA batteries and turn it on, it springs into life. The crankshaft spins, the pistons go up and down and the whole valvetrain moves as it should. Having already built it you’ll know how these parts mesh together, but with power running through it you can see how they all interact. It even pipes through some authentic V8 sounds recorded from a real engine, although these are somewhat drowned out by the sound of the plastics parts themselves. Secondly, the parts. There are more than 250 parts and whilst at first can seem quite a daunting task, the manual has a complete parts list and isn’t as daunting as it seems (as long as you don’t just put everything into one big pile). Overall, the Machine Works Haynes V8 Model Engine Kit an excellent bonding experience for any parent/child or grandparent/grandchild. It requires several hours of your time to assemble but is great fun and the interactive app adds to the fun and is very educational. It is a perfect STEM product for car enthusiasts and model builders with curious minds.

If you want a challenge and something really cool to show off, then this is the kit for you. Most suitable for adults, but also for kids with technical interests and good patience. Whilst it is perfect STEM product for model builders and curious minds, it would also make an excellent gift for sharing and bonding. It would be perfect for dads/mums and sons/daughters, grandads/grandmas and grandsons/granddaughters… and the younger members of the family (boys and girls aged 10+) to build as a project together, giving the gift of quality time, a special bonding experience and guarantees a whole lot of fun whilst learning something new! It also helps develop patience, hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity skills, problem solving, reading and following instructions. You can’t use it to power your house or even your lawnmower, but this model will show you how a V8 works

This kit has nearly everything you need to build your own model V8 engine (you just need to supply the batteries and a smartphone or tablet if you want to use the augmented reality and digital content), see how it works and learn about the different components and their functions within an engine. Aimed at children aged 10 or over, the kit is a simplified version of a real engine but is not based on the unit from a particular car. Open the box and what you see bears a strong resemblance to an Airfix model, with sheets of plastic parts that need to be cut off their “sprues”. Unlike an Airfix model, it has moving parts and special effects (sounds and lights). All in, it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete our model (that’s Christmas morning sorted, then). It turned over as promised, though the nature of the plastic pieces made it far from smooth when it ran — this is no Mercedes-AMG V8. Some extra time spent on fine-tuning might have helped. The Machine Works Haynes V8 Model Engine Kit is an educational model building kit of a functional, motorised model V8 internal combustion engine that car and engine loving adults/parents will just loving helping the kids assemble and then learn more about how an engine works.

The stars and their cars Giorgetto Giugiaro, legendary car designer Gran Turismo star on fatal Nurburgring crash Duke of Richmond Q&A: 75 years of Goodwood › More here... Like a Haynes manual brought to minature life, this is a model of the classic V8 configuration engine, similar to ones you’ll find in everything from 1930s Fords to modern Ferraris and McLarens. Rather than being just a static model however, once properly constructed, this V8 actually works – or at least moves with a little help.

IF YOU have a son or daughter who is interested in tinkering with engines, don’t let them loose under the bonnet of your Ford Mondeo this Christmas. Consider instead the Build Your Own V8 Engine kit from Haynes, a publisher best known for its car maintenance manuals. Get under the skin of cars over months rather than days Extended test: Honda HR-V 2023 review Extended test: Skoda Kamiq 1.0 TSI Extended test: Dacia Jogger review › More here... This 357 pcs, four-cylinder engine is a true masterpiece. When we first saw this model, we were blown away by its level of detail. This kit will keep you occupied for hours. Extremely well made with high-precision parts in stainless steel and aluminum alloy.