Here's an unusual one: The Toy Shop is a set of computerized patterns for building your own mechanical models. You use the software to print out the pieces, then assemble them according to a set of instructions that come with the software. There are 20 different models, including trucks and cars with wheels that turn, a crane, an oil pump, a balloon-powered locomotive, a penny-powered clockwork bank, a helicopter powered by a rubber band, a sundial, a carousel, and the Spirit of St. Louis airplane with a working propeller. Designs can be printed on regular computer paper, then glued to card stock, cut out, and assembled.
