Building Set Reviews

Although the age range is for 5 and up, I actually bought this for my 2-year old after she played with it at the home a friend's daughter, aged 6. (There are certainly many small pieces, but we only play this together -- i.e. she is never unsupervised). My 4-year son also plays with this quite a bit.

I find that this set is a very good value in comparison to the larger Ello sets -- you get fewer pieces in this set (especially the larger "plates") but you still get enough to make four people, and good selection of assorted pieces to put together a wide variety shapes and scenarios.

With a little help here and there, my 2-year old daughter is quite able to put most of the components of an Ello person together herself. (However, we've had Lego around since she was born, and for her age she's unusually good at building with those as well. If you're considering Ello for a younger child, your mileage may vary).

And I'm quite impressed with the durability, in that the sticks that you use to string the people together do not seem to break -- my daughter's inadvertently bent several of them virtually at a right-angle, and they're still intact. Again, though, I recognize that this is not designed for her age group, so the fact that she can still use it is a big plus.

Basically, this is very good starter set, especially in comparison to the larger set which is double the price but (I seem to recall) not quite double the pieces. This starter set doesn't have the reusable stickers, but we haven't really had need for them.

Overall, I'd say this is a good way to give the Ello line a "trial run" if you're unsure of whether your kid will like it. But based on the play value my kids have had so far, I think it's a keeper at our home.

My seven year old sister just got this set for christmas and my whole family has been playing with it! It's so fun how you can create anything including jewlery. We can't wait to get the bigger set.

My 10 yr. old daughter loves these! Keeps her brain & hands busy making creative little works of art.

I bought this toy based on the reviews and the quality of past lego toy purchases. Even though it was expensive, it was definitely worth every penny! The photos do not do this lego set justice! The dolls and accessories are larger than they appear and perfect for little hands. My 2 year old daughter loves this toy and plays with it everyday. I just wish there was a Lego doll house to accompany this set! I also purchased this set online and received with it the Garden Party Set free (which is the medium set without the dolls!). I love all the textiles that come with this toy..the comforter, pillow, mattress, rugs, and tablecloth... plus the clothes that the dolls change into are wonderful... as always, lego has a great attention to realistic detail. My daughter loves the velcro closures, as do I. She turns the oven dials on and off, can interchange the lids on the teapot and sauce pot... and the dolls can actually hold the large teacups as well as push the stroller and hold their 'baby dolls' hands. It is a wonderful toy, one that is very durable, and one that we look forward to playing with for years to come.

This is the best toy! I purchsed this for my 2 year old daughter for Christmas based on the reviews I'd read. It is wonderful. The dolls are very easy to use and dress and very durable. My daughter loves playing with it. It seemed like a lot to spend on a toy, but for the amount of time she spends with it, it was well worth it.

Great product, worth every penny. This is reallly a set designed for preschool playrooms. It is hard to find anything like this in the stores, this is not your normal Lego toy set. Very high quality, very good looking, nice size and fun to play with. Note that it ships in a plain brown box as this is not sold in stores.

Fun, but hard! I had to rebuild some parts at times. A really big set and a steal (...)

I received this set as an early Christmas gift and as an adult lego collector I love it. It took about 6 1/2 to 7 hours to put together, including the time to correct a mistake at step 33 (which I did not catch until I was done). I am a little disappointed in the mounting method for the chin an nose, but overall it is a great set. If you own the Yoda set you will see what I mean. Sorting the parts before starting might cut the time down a bit, but I won't try that for a while. Look over each step before going on to the next one, because trying to split it back apart is not fun. If you have been thinking about buying this set, stop putting it off. It is well worth the price.

The Darth Maul bust is a great LEGO set. I assembled it over the course of three evenings, so I probably spent 12 hours or so putting it together. I found that the stand was not as sturdy as I would have liked, but as the bust is not really a plaything, it doesn't seem to matter.

Unfortunately, the end result is a very creepy, yellow-eyed devil-head. After I had the eyes on it I didn't much care to have it facing me when I wasn't working on it (Mr Maul spent the nights staring at the corner.)

Overall, this was a fun set to build, if a little pricey.

i got this because i earned it and it's a blast. the main reason is because i have a kittyhawk and i would need something to protect it. it is very nice and from a top veiw it looks exellent and it's lighter/easier to carry.

This destroyer is one of my favorite models that I have ever built. It is really cool when it is finished and it was fun to build. I highly reccomend it to anyone of any age to try it. It was worth it!

Our 7 year old son just loved it. took several 2-3 hour sessions to complete, even with parental help. detailed and involved. not for a kid without a lot of patience. instructions were adequate, but slightly clearer color differences in the instructions would have really helped (all grey pieces and instructions were taxing on concentration). very satisfying finished product, sturdy and realistic. he had been trying to build a battleship with lego on his own, virtually an impossible task without a kit of lots of grey/black.

This dollhouse has shown that a lot of imagination and thought went into this piece. The only draw back is that it is VERY labor-intensive, but worth the effort. Older children MAY be able to put it together, but I would recommend they have adult assistance. One adult could put it together in one day - maybe a day and a half. The base and first level alone have around 100 parts so patience would be the best thing to have plenty of.

my 12Year old daughter started with Playmobil 8 years ago,are playmate she had whom was a boy introduced her to it.Thru the years we have bought so many pieces that I lost track,the doll house and all the funuture,the castle and all the funiture,the adventure set,that was her first,and is no longer being made,the cabins the animals,the pirate ship,yes a girl wanted the pirate ship,and the lagoon.Playmobil is one toy she always went back to playing with.She will play for hours on hours role playing.I thought we were done with toys,she is at the age of boys and makeup.So I went in and separted and put all the pieces back toghter,2 days of work and found out that I like it too.I really enjoyed all the craftmanship that goes into each piece.We have a room full of Playmobil,and I am going to keep buying it,because it somehting,a hobbie that my daughter and I can do together.Playmobil is a good learning tool to let kids use thier minds insted of watching tv,or playing the video games,and computer.
LET YOUR CHILD IMAGINE.And you might learn too.

Santa Claus brought this for my 2.5 year old daughter. She was too little! She did love to play with it, but the parts were too small (we never installed half of them) and hard for little fingers to manipulate. We thought it would "grow with her," but it really would have been better to wait! She is 4 now, and we may get it out again. If you are looking for a dollhouse for a younger child, try something simple like the Fisher-Price one, and but this one for a later birthday or Christmas.

My daughters, age 2 and 3, have both sets of this Lego/Duplo - given to them last Christmas by friends.

The dolls are so cute. They are a large size - about 15cm high so easy to hold and play with. They have molded hair and moveable arms and legs (think other Lego figures - quite stiff-like but you are able to make them sit). Their clothes (underwear is part of the molded plastic body) are easily removed and put on again by toddlers without my help. They can stand alone and their "shoes" will also build onto a Duplo baseplate or blocks (sometimes our dolls become part of a tower creation).

Each doll comes with it's own "baby" but is like a normal small Duplo figure (arms and legs don't move, the clothes are painted on) and depending on which set you get, the babies have a bed, highchair or pram. The baby is perfectly sized for the mother to carry, push the pram or feed the baby in the highchair. All the "babies" and other accesories (cups, saucers, prams, washtubs etc etc) can be gripped in the dolls hands by pushing the Duplo pieces together. This is really easy to do - my toddlers don't need my help.

My girls love the dolls - they love to use them as dolls ... having teaparties and wash days and making dinner and going to bed. Other times they use the dolls, babies and accessories as part of their building structures. There is no end to the possibilities for play.

The set is in the usually bright Lego colours - green, red, yellow, blue etc. As with all Lego products it's extremely durable. We've had our sets over a year now and there is no way that the doll can be broken ... arms, legs or heads cannot come off no matter how hard you try. Everything can be cleaned when the need arises with warm soapy water.

Lego/Duplo is one of the few toys that I kept from my childhood and I had Lego passed down to me from older relatives. Some of the Lego in our house is almost 40 years old. It may be more expensive than other building blocks but it's a toy you'll be keeping for your grandchildren.

Highly recommended.

This was a gift to my grandaughter. Her older brother has Legos that he has gotten as gifts as well as a huge collection handed down to him from his Dad and Uncles. It is so fun for Hannah to finally have her own Legos to play with. It was one of the best gifts she received. I was impressed with the creative possibilities and durability of the set. I hope to build on the set so someday she can pass them on to her little girl. Legos are definitely a family tradition.

my daughters love it they are 2 and 3 years old, they enjoy pretending too wash the dolls clothes and bathing the baby.

This mech is awesome, it can pack a punch, and take the abuse. If you want a 'quick buid' model, but if you want a model to keep you buisy get this one, the Shadow cat, and Mad cat. Also kudos to knex, for they have the idea to have instructions to build 2 mechs.

P.S. I don,t like the owens at all. Bad weapons decent speed and worse armor make it a quick kill (not a quick killer, a quick kill)

The Cauldron Born is not as good looking as the Owens.

It's really cool and the kids love, it although it's not that educational.

Hi,

We have resisted buying these because they seemed so cheap...also the usual question we parents always ask ourselves..."What are they going to do with them?"

Our nine year old received on with his birthday present. Now my husband and I have our tails between our legs. Our son loves it. He had the best time building it and an even better time playing with it.

Now we will be purchasing more for Christmas.

Please do not make the same mistake that my husband and I made and misjudge these toys. You will be denying your child a great experience.

Although the manufacturer suggests ages 7 and up, I do not feel a child younger than 8 or 9 would be able to indendently put this toy together. That is the point of Lego's, to construct and play. The primary benefit, in my opinion, is the satisfaction of "doing it" yourself!

A definate A+ for our 9 year old!
Rosemary

I love this toy because the lever swings the staff of power. The staff can turn rock into rubble, never lock him in a castle cause it will shatter. He other power finds a weak spot of a toa.
the education of the toy, I rate it 2 stars for getting better at LEGO's, buy it and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

I RECENTLY PURCHASED THESE GUYS FOR MY 6 YR OLD GRANDSON! HE HAS HAD SO MUCH FUN BUILDING THESE BY HIMSELF! THE DURABILITY OF THIS PRODUCT IS EXCELLENT! HE HAS SO MUCH FUN PLAYING WITH THEM AFTERWARDS, AND PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HE BUILT THEM HIMSELF! EVEN WITH ALL THE ROUGH PLAY THE PIECES STAY TOGHETHER! WAY TO GO LEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not really into the Stikfas toys. The only appeal they have for me are their limbs as these are great for custom projects and are the right size for making Pinky:st figures with movable joints.

Other then complete mutilation for these toys for custom projects, I don't see much in them. I mean you can only pose these things so long before they get tedious and you throw them aside.

Although I found Stikfas' idea of assembling and customizing your own action figures from provided components you assemble yourself to be a novel concept, I didn't pay all that much attention to them until recently, when I had a chance to check a few out first-hand. At first glance it's generic appearance along with ridiculously large feet, somewhat steep price, and durability concerns put me off buying one until I put a few shop display pieces through the paces. Now I've got a couple of these goofy things hangin' around my geekin' toy nook, probably spouting lewd propositions at my Counselor Troi action figure during those times when I'm away from home...

The large feet turned out to not be all that bad; they provide the standard "alpha male" toy with a very stable base to do some pretty amazing stances and poses that'd cause most other action figures to fall flat without proper hand support. The ball-jointed articulation gives the figure a much wider range of poseability than most ready-made action figures, which adds a good touch of play value to the whole affair. And I was surprised by how well the thing held together after I'd assembled it-- all the joints fit together snugly. Also, I've yet to experience parts pooping off during normal play.

As for my "too generic-looking" gripe... well, this bugger is marketed towards folks who like to paint and customize models & stuff. Which is somethin' I'm pretty poor at, and would explain why I've made few efforts to add any details to my own Stikfas. 'Bout the only customizing I've done with this particular toy is put a firearm in each hand, place the police cap accessory from the "K-9 Unit" set on its head, and voila-- instant disgruntled postal worker! Or I'll hand him the chainsaw and ax from my "Firefighter" set for those days when he feels like engaging in close-range mail room mayhem! Heh-- chop, chop...

'Late

I bought one of these just the other day and am having a blast setting it up in various goofy poses. These things are so much fun, it makes me wish they had some kind of purpose.

My 4-year-old has enjoyed these so much. He has the Roving Rollers and the Building Buddies sets. He can look at the pictures in the "building book" and make many of them all by himself. He has created his own "mosquito" and "cartwheel man" with help from his big sister, who is almost seven, and loves these toys, too. This is the kind of toy that will not end up in the bottom of the closet!!!

Legos, Duplos, Ello.. they don't hold a candle to the Kid Knex in the series. Unbelieveable how much our 6 year old daughter plays with these and our 3 YO son too. These have a good feel for kids too. Bright. Easy to use. We have all in set now. BRING ON SOME MORE!

Comes with great "directions" - a booklet simply depicting many ways to build creatures (by just showing pictures of completed creatures). Our son could easily replicates these creatures and is really into it! Considering the many toys he has, this is a unique one which he plays with again and again! :)