The Ultimate Kit Guide

Kit Complexity: 4

(1=Easy, 5=Difficult) Is the kit easy, moderate, or challenging to build for its most likely target audience? Kits clearly aimed at children would, for example, be rated differently from microcontroller kits.

MakerBot

MakerBot Thing-O-Matic

Make Kit Reviews

MakerBot Thing-O-Matic

$1,299

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Reviewed: November 14th, 2011

If you want to get into 3D printing but don’t know where to start, the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic Kit is the way to go. It’s a complete kit, so you need no additional parts, and a large user community can back you up if problems pop up (not to mention Thingiverse, where you can find awesome […]

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RoadTech H3 Toolkit

RoadTech H3 Toolkit

Make Kit Reviews

RoadTech H3 Toolkit

$83

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Reviewed: November 13th, 2011

Most hobbyists neglect to get the good basic pieces you need to work on everyday machinery like counterfeit printing presses, getaway cars, and the trap doors on elevator ceilings. Instead, they get the $20 all-in-one checkout-line kit featuring tools made from an alloy of sawdust, soda cans, and rat droppings. RoadTech H3 tools absolutely don’t […]

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Zen Toolworks CNC 12×12 Complete Package

Zen Toolworks CNC 12×12 Complete Package

Make Kit Reviews

Zen Toolworks CNC 12×12 Complete Package

$1,082

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Reviewed: November 12th, 2011

This awesome three-axis CNC kit is a must-have for small projects such as circuit boards, engraving, or machining various small parts out of plastic or wood. Everything you need is included, except for a few hand tools, a vise, and a computer with a parallel port for running the software. The documentation contains clearly described steps […]

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Pee-Wee Herman Paint By Number

Pee-Wee Herman Paint By Number

Make Kit Reviews

Pee-Wee Herman Paint By Number

$35

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Reviewed: November 2nd, 2011

Without ever painting a portrait before in my life, I re-created the likeness of Pee-wee Herman with this PopParty Paint by Number Kit. Choose from the Golden Girls, Pee-wee, or my personal favorite, Lindsay Lohan’s mug shot. Better yet, order a custom kit from your own photo for $125, with up to 16 acrylic paint […]

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Freescale Tower Microcontroller System

Freescale Tower

Make Kit Reviews

Freescale Tower

$99

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Reviewed: October 25th, 2011

Got a project to prototype? Freescale’s Tower system with its Real Time Communications Suite (RTCS) offers greater processing power and more programming resources than Arduino, although it takes longer to learn. The basic kit consists of the 32-bit microcontroller board with USB and RS-232 interfaces, accelerometer, four display LEDs, switches, and a potentiometer. Additional modules […]

Electronics and Controllers Microcontrollers: ,

Ultimate Microcontroller Pack

Ultimate Microcontroller Pack

Make Kit Reviews

Ultimate Microcontroller Pack

$120

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You can find an endless number of cool microcontroller projects and tutorials online these days. The tricky part is finding one that matches the components you already have or sourcing what you need to tackle that awesome project you’re dying to sink your teeth into. So the MAKE staff designed this pack with everything they wanted […]

Electronics and Controllers Microcontrollers: , ,