Building Sets Reviews

My 5-year-old son adores putting things together and taking them apart again. He's certainly more gifted in the latter skill, and I have the inoperable alarm clocks, dismantled scooter and non-working bicycle to prove it.

That said, I gave him this set for Christmas to foster his love of mechanical exploration. When I did, I had no idea that I'd be making a committment to playing with him every single time (Every. Single. Time.) he brought this set out.

There are too many pieces for children to sort before assembling -- so many, in fact, that younger kids may be overwhelmed and give up (and so might their parents). Assembling the pieces is not easy for small hands, which means a parent must help with that, too. In addition, putting the pieces together so they resemble the picture is a major task which means... yep, you guessed it: the parent is doing that as well.

Ultimately, to play with this toy a child must find a parent willing to spend 15-20 minutes assembling it while simultaneously trying to keep the child from wandering off to a more accessible, engaging toy in the meantime. Assuming you've got the patience, skills and time for that, your kid might enjoy playing with it once it's all ready to go. Of course, you'd better not stray too far because you'll have to put this thing back together over and over again when the pieces fall apart.

Frankly, my son got tired of it before I did and went off to figure out how to take apart the PS/2 console. Now the only one in the family interested in playing with it is our cat, and even he doesn't seem to be having much fun.

This set is as fun as it sounds. Great for my pre-school room and older children can make more challenging designs. Inventive and fun.

After reading the other reviews I decided this would still be a good birthday gift for my 5 year old. I was right. We put it together the first time and that's all it took. His mind started working and the very next time he saw the toy he immediately went to work creating his own set up. For my son, this was the perfect toy. I was very pleased with my selection.