Build: Gakken Mechamo Inchworm

Build: Gakken Mechamo Inchworm

My son and I built the Mechamo Inchworm kit – actually, he built most of it himself, I helped figure out a couple of parts issues and put together some tiny bits. This is a great kit for kids! He’s 14, but hasn’t built a lot of kits before, and it went really well. He learned a lot of little things from the build, like how to stabilize a nut while tightening a screw. It’s also a pretty forgiving design; twice he put something together backwards, but figured it out and was able to take it apart and put it back together correctly – a lot of kits won’t let you take things apart.

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I was impressed with how nicely it was packaged – the parts were well organized, and there was a parts list, and instructions in both Japanese and English – the English even made sense! It also comes with its own tools; the only thing we added were some containers to hold the tiny parts, and 6 AA batteries.

The directions were really clear and straightforward with lots of pictures. It took him about 4 hours total to build, and the payoff was fantastic! The Inchworm movement is kind of spider-y; it goes forward and backward and can turn 360 degrees. He noticed that you have to point the remote directly at the Inchworm, and that you can control it from quite a distance, maybe 15 feet. I highly recommend it as a kit for a teenager to do on their own, and I think a smart younger kid could build it with help from an adult.

Click “read more” to see the rest of the build.

In the Maker Shed:
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The Gakken Mechamo Inchworm kit is available through the Maker Shed.

More: Gakken Mechamo Crab build and mod

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In the Maker Shed:
Makershedsmall

The Gakken Mechamo Inchworm kit is available through the Maker Shed.

12 thoughts on “Build: Gakken Mechamo Inchworm

  1. Gareth Branwyn says:

    Wow. That movement and lazy-Susan turning are so cool! Nice work!

  2. Daniel Rutter says:

    I think the centipede’s better :-).

    ( http://www.dansdata.com/centipede.htm )

  3. Patti Schiendelman says:

    Yeah, the Inchworm was a better first Gakken build for a kid – Centipede is coming up, though!

  4. jezz says:

    hi,
    howloud is it? cos i heard the centipede was really loud.

  5. Patti Schiendelman says:

    @jezz – it’s noisy, but not deafening or anything. I think it sounds cool. :)

  6. Lightnin says:

    I hacked mine to make it crawl along a wire. Works quite well!

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Mechamo-Inchworm-hack-Crawl-along-a-string/

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