My daughter just bought this for herself with some gift cards and Christmas money. She is just about 5 years old.I actually encouraged her to get it as it was marked down to $45 at Target and there are so few building type toys marketed for girls that since she likes the show I figured that was close enough.
I cannot say that I feel this is a $100 toy.$50 is an acceptable amount of money to put out for it, but in my opinion it is really not worth much more than that.
The front of the box shows that you can "build and fix more than 20 projects", and shows that you insert the "blueprint" onto the worktable, then follow the instructions.On the back of the box it is mentioned that there are only 3 blueprints that actually insert into the table, the other projects are on a "blueprint poster" which is basically a piece of paper.Apparently during assembly my daughter stepped on this piece of paper because it already had a hole in it by the time we were ready to build. That is something that is not going to last.They could have at least made it a laminated poster.
Also, there really could have been more tools than just a screwdriver and hammer.I also think there could have been more building pieces, as you can pretty much only make one thing at a time.
The blueprint cards themselves could also have been bigger as this toy is for ages 3 and up, and it really would not have hurt to make them a little bigger so the drawings could be a little clearer.
As someone else mentioned, they could have done a little better with part storage.There is nowhere to store the screws, plates, tools and blueprint cards, not to mention the flimsy poster.There is a "shelf" under the work table, and had there been some type of enclosed storage on that shelf I would have definitely rated this 4 stars rather than three.And yes, storage does warrant knocking this down at least a star, because without the pieces, this becomes just another useless noise-making, space-taking, I-can't-throw-it-out-because-it-cost-me-a-hundred-bucks, dead dinosaur of a toy.
My daughter did enjoy playing with this and was able to put together a couple things with my help.I don't know how much long term use she is going to get out of it, as I will be chasing pieces around and there aren't any extras that we can afford to lose them.
Fate of this toy: Unknown
Would I buy again: May return back to comment in a few months (and remember, we got it for $45!)
Grandson loves the repair shop.Plays with all the time.Uses the tools. Recommend this for motivation and educational awareness. It holds his attention and for a 2 year old that's a feat in its self.
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I purchased this for my almost 5 daughter for Christmas. She loves it, and so does my almost 2 yr old son. I love how it comes with illustrated instruction sheets, and when you plug them in, Manny tells you what to do. Very cute idea! My daughter still needs a little help to get the projects put together, but they are fairly easy to do. The two reasons I give it 4 stars instead of 5 are this:
1. There are soooo many little pieces to these projects, and no practical storage to keep it all in. I'd like to see plastic bins underneath to hold the screws, nails, and "wood" pieces in. For right now, we keep it all in a Ziploc freezer storage bag.
2. This product comes with Pat (the hammer) and Turner (I thinkthe screw driver). My daughter was a little upset that it didn't come with all of the tools... I think for the price all the tools could be included.
All in all, it's a great toy, and both of my kids love it.
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The manufacture supplied images used here clearly show 7 tools (image #4) however the product contains only 2 (hammer and screwdriver)
It images are clearly misleading and there is no text in the product description to describe what is and isn't in the packaging.
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My 4 year old son has had this workbench for a year .. it was a Christmas gift last Christmas.He still plays with it almost every day and loves it.My 2 year old daughter participates in the play as well.Given how much they play with it and the fact that it has mostly lasted a year, I think it is worth paying full price if you have to.With that being said, I only gave 4 stars because the screws and nails are small and eaisly lost or misplaced.If you could purchase extra building parts or the set came with more building parts I feel it would be worth 5 stars.At this point we are missing so many parts he can only really build one or two items.
I was disappointed in the runner, I didn't realize it was paper. It would of cutier if it wasmade out of material.
