Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22621 in Home Improvement
• Color: white
• Brand: StuffJunction
• Model: 40004/99

Features

• Easy to build solar powered wind turbine kit
• Laser cut parts
• Extra large solar cell
• Works in bright daylight & desklight

Customer Reviews

Pretty good overall, but can't use at work
The kit went together fairly easily. It doesn't exactly snap together, but with the glue and some rubber bands to hold the pieces tightly in position, everything came out looking well and the blades could freely spin. You'll have to study the instructions closely to make sense of the pictures.

Under the product description, it states the turbine will also work under desk light, but I could not get the blades to turn until the solar chip was about 6 inches away from a bright incandescent light bulb. We don't have that kind of desk lighting at work, so I was a little disappointed that I will not be able to use the turbine at my desk as I had intended.

Model Wind Turbine Kit
We have purchased many of these small model wind turbines, many of which have run flawlessly for over 5 years. They are available in kit form that require you to assemble and glue, as with many models. We have had no trouble with our young children putting them together, although the glue is strong and proper ventilation is required. As with many models you need to trim the plastic pieces. Using twist ties helps hold the tower together during assembly. They can also be purchased completely assembled from some suppliers, if you are not a model builder. If they are not in direct sunlight, or if you push the propellers on too tightly they will not spin. The propeller hub will then need to be pulled out slightly to allow for free movement. They are great for model train setups and are a great introduction to wind and solar energy. Don't expect them to power your house; they are just models.

Decent
I bought this product thinking it would not really require gluing, and would easily snap together. This was not the case, however, and I ended up having to use a lot of the included tube of super glue to put it together. After the annoying construction, though, the windmill worked pretty well. It is more like a desk toy so I wouldn't really recommend it for $40. It is amusing, the windmill turns when the solar battery on the top of the structure is exposed to a light bulb, but $40 was a little much. I wouldn't buy this unless I needed it for some sort of experiment (the reason i bought it), or if i really needed a model of a modern windmill for some reason.