REVIEW – I love building models. I’ve been doing so since I was a very young boy. I really enjoy models that aren’t just static, shelf-sitting decorations after completion. Models that move, or provide some sort of mechanical demonstration, are the best. I’ve reviewed a few mechanical model kits for The Gadgeteer (here and here) in the past. This time, the model is a mechanical kit from ROKR. The ROKR Manta Ray M106 Mechanical Species model kit. It was a quick build, with a lot of features.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $59.99
Where to buy: ROKR
What is it?
The ROKR Manta Ray MI06 model kit is a 108-piece mechanical 3D model kit that, after assembly, is a desktop replica of a manta ray with flapping pectoral fins and a swaying tail, and it includes LED light effects.
What’s included?
- Model kit (ABS plastic pieces, metal accents)
- Motor and wiring
- Hardware
- Stand
- Tools
- Instructions
- Detailed parts list
- Manta Ray graphic sheet
Tech specs
Name: Manta Ray
Model #: M106
Series: Mechanical Species
Motion: Cruise (slow), Burst (faster)
LEDs: Multi-color, flashing, and steady
Materials: ABS Plastic and Metal
Power: (3) AAA batteries (not included)
Dimensions (HxWxD): 5.6 x 7.6 x 8.1 in. (14.2 x 19.2 x 20.6 cm)
Weight (completed model with batteries): 8.5 oz (238 g)
Design and features
The ROKR Manta Ray MI06 model kit comes with everything you’ll need to build a mechanical Manta Ray that flaps its pectoral fins and undulates its tail. If you’ve ever seen Steampunk style machinery or fashion, the ROKR Manta Ray would fit right in.
The model kit comes with five frames of ABS plastic parts that are molded in the parts’ primary base color and then pre-painted with finer details. The five frames are labeled A through E, and all the parts are designated in the instructions according to the frame they come from (i.e., A1, D15, etc).
There are 5 very small bags of hardware. This includes screws of various sizes, pins, gears, etc. The screws are very tiny, and spares are included. I used some small condiment cups from my local Culver’s restaurant to hold each screw size. This helped me to keep them organized and separated.
There is one electronics board with the kit. This board controls the movement and lights of the completed model. It is pre-built and doesn’t require any electronics knowledge for assembly. It is just screwed into place, and a single plug is used to connect it to the motor.
The motor that drives the mechanical motion is inside a painted housing with a pre-attached wiring harness that connects to the base and the main electronics board mentioned above.
The kit comes with 2 tools, a screwdriver and a parts nipper, as well as a sandpaper stick. The screwdriver is small and magnetic. This was helpful is picking up the tiny screws when needed.
The nippers were used to snip the pieces from the parts frames. These were excellent. The attachment points for the parts were very small, and after removing each piece from its frame, they required little to no sanding before attaching to the other pieces. The instructions do point out when sanding of the pieces was critical for the smooth movement of the pieces in the completed model.
The instructions are very well laid out in logical progressive sections and very easy-to-follow steps. Each section begins with an illustration of the completed module, the frames (A-E) that you will need to cut the piece from, and the hardware you will need.
The completed Manta Ray sits on a metal support that connects to the base. The base has the on/off switch and holds the 3 AAA batteries (not included). It’s very stylish and a great piece for any office bookshelf or desktop.
Assembly
Assembling the kit is completed by screwing together parts or by friction fit. No glue or paint is required to complete the kit. The entire kit took me about 2 hours to build, and I had no issues whatsoever in assembling it.
As pointed out before, the screws, over 40 in the kit, are very small. Paying close attention to which screw type is needed for each step is critical. The instructions are very good in labeling each screw type and showing where in the kit they are used.
Here is a gallery of assembly pictures (click to see more detail) and a time-lapse video of the assembly process.
Final thoughts
The ROKR Manta Ray MI06 model kit was very fun and somewhat challenging, in a good way, to build. The finished desktop model is really cool to watch and see how all of the linkages work in unison to produce such fluid motion. I highly recommend this kit, and I will most likely be looking to buy the other kits in this series from ROKR.
What I like about the ROKR Manta Ray M106 model kit
- Well-made and all the parts fit together perfectly
- Nice kit to demonstrate gearing and linkages
- 2-speeds of movement
- Great lighting effects
What needs to be improved?
- A little noisy while it’s running
- If the kit were all metal, it would be even better
Price: $59.99
Where to buy: ROKR
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by ROKR. ROKR did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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