Construction and Blocks Reviews

This toy was bought for my 10 month old son and he LOVES this toy! My 4 year old son, 12 year old Daughter, and my 30 something husband also LOVE this toy as well as the cool blocks that come with it and the others that you can get separately. We also have the Giraff and will be getting the wagon too! This is one cool toy! I see lots of fun years ahead with these toys! It's great for ALL ages!

This is by far my son's favorite toy. He has had this since he was six months old. At first, he just enjoyed shaking and mouthing the blocks. Now that he is 8 months old, he loves pushing it around and listening to the music. He hasn't gotten the hang of putting the blocks into the wheels or filling and dumping the truck yet, but we look forward to seeing the progress. I'm sure we'll get many more months out of this toy.

My son received this when he was about 9 months old and loved it. It was the one toy that he played with constantly! He loves putting the blocks in the back and dumping them out and every time the truck rolls, it plays music. Really cute!

My almost 2 year old daughter received this for Christmas this year (1 month ago).

She loves to play with it as a train - she lets her stuffed animals ride it and even tries to ride it herself.

As a puzzle, she has mastered the 'take it apart' aspect, and is learning to put it back together. It is a well designed puzzle that will be challenging for younger toddlers - some of the reasons that you'd choose block X over block Y are subtle - but it is still a serviceable train most ways you can put it together, although it might look odd.

It is very durable and safe. My daughter has sat upon it, stood on it, and dropped it on a wooden floor. So far it is still completely intact. Nothing has chipped or come loose.

This is another great Melissa and Doug product that will be enjoyed for many years, provided we can avoid losing the pieces. Toddlers can play with it on a simple level - it is a train - or a more complex level as a puzzle.

At first, I wondered if the Stacking Train was ever going to entertain my son. You see the cars slide off the linking dowels, if pushed down too hard. Well, at least when traveling on carpet, which is the main playing surface in our home. What's more, the order in which the blocks stack onto the cars is essential for movement. The blocks don't have to stack in perfect order, but certain blocks must be stacked in the appropriate places, otherwise the wheels cannot rotate. My husband and I noticed how aggravated Will became when he first started playing with the Stacking Train; thus, we intervened as the toy frustrated him so. Once he became familiar with the puzzle, (2 weeks later) he began to enjoy playing with it. The Stacking Train soon became a favorite, and now, 7-months later, it still amuses him for 30 minutes or more a day.

I have found that sometimes the age recommendation on toys is not always accurate. This plaything is appropriately labeled for 2 and up, and will probably continue to entertain my son for another 6 months or more. As a side note, the stacking order is quite complex for little minds. Although this does not take away from the fun-factor, it can add to the level of frustration. This mommy had to go on-line to see the stacking sequence so she could teach her son.

The Stacking Train is a well-built puzzle! It has been tossed around, stepped on, and even chewed upon, yet keeps on rolling. There are NO sharp edges on this toy, but we have had a few minor mishaps when my son, who plays rough, has pulled the dowels off the cars. We glued them back with wood glue, and the following day this choo choo is back to rolling around on the floor. Recently, my son lost one of the blue dowels, which links the cars together. I called the customer service number, found on the bottom of the toy, and the company replaced the entire train for nothing. Now that's excellent customer service! Overall, I recommend the Stacking Train as it's engaged my son for hours on end, plus the educational values are significant.

Other Points of Interest:
· No batteries required
· There are NO safety concerns with this plaything, i.e. strangling, smothering, cutting, or swallowing
· Gender neutral plaything
· No assembly
· Lifetime guarantee

Happy Playing,
Mary

My child loves this wooden train set.
She started playing with this at 21 months
and still loves it at 24 months.
Great job guys!!!

This is the best shape sorter out there. The "shapes" are 3-D, so they can be inserted in many different directions, not just 2 directions like the usual toy of this kind. This means that even 1 year olds can really work out the problem on their own. The door and key are equally fascinating, as others have noted: open the door, close the door, take out shape, put in shape, etc for long periods of time. One of the best and most fun toys my son owns, AND its educational in an open-ended way, unlike all of these electronic "learning" toys.

I bought this toy for my son when he was 9 months old and at 1 year he still loves to play with it. He plays with it in a lot of ways -- he likes to clap the blocks and balls together, walk around holding them, roll the yellow balls around and chase them, put the blocks in and out of the little door. This is even before he got to the point where now he tries to sort the shapes. I think part of the reason he likes it so much is that the blocks (the square, the ball, and the pyramid) are brightly colored, and just the right size for his hands. The toy seems very thoughtfully designed and well made.

My daughter got this for her 1st birthday and almost 3 months later she still plays with it like it is new toy. She got the hang of it right away. The shapes are very easy for her to put in the box. It is also her secret safe where she puts other toys too. =)

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.

I got these blocks for my son at 20 mos.He plays with them 5 times a day at minimum. He stacks them up and sideways. He is now 2yrs old and counts them 1-10 as he stacks them. They have the numbers in spanish too and he can count to 10 in Spanish as well. They are a great way to interact with your child and teach him how to count. Of course he likes to point to Dora and Boots too. I have a 6 month old, and when I need to focus on her I say "go get your Dora blocks" and it occupies him long enough for me to feed the baby. These blocks are a must have! Since they stack inside he likes to clean them up too. They are very sturdy but made of cardboard that you can clean with a paper towel. I recommend these blocks for every toddler. They are on my gift giving list.

I got these blocks as a gift when my daughter was born, it was her first toy!
she loves to stack the blocks, and loves to knock them down, and tries to nest them with decent results. I found these blocks to be somewhat durable, I dont have this exact toy, but a similar one. however, I recently purchased a full set of wooden blocks because my daughter got frustrated when she tried to build, and the blocks "nested".
Im glad I have both toys though!

I have 3 girls ages 3 1/2 and my twins are 2 1/2. They all love these blocks. I almost didn't order them because I wondered if my girls were too old for them, but they love building the tower then knocking it down or naming the characters on each block and counting them.

They are made of cardboard and in everyday use someone fell on one of them and that block is broken. I taped it back together, but I wish they were a little more sturdy. If nobody fell on it they would be fine.

My daughther is 4 years old and loves to play with the castle.
I have not much to add to what previous reviewers said -I mostly concurr. However I wanted to share my experience with putting the castle together: It took 3 adults 2 hours to put it together. The instructions are done well - it is just a lot of work (a lot of small parts: connectors and decorations). Plan ahead if you're buying it. It is a great toy!.

I grew up with the Playmobil Victorian dollhouse, and only recently did I start collecting other Playmobil sets. I bought this Fairy Tale Castle about a month ago and had the greatest time putting it together. The assembly directions include another building variation that seems to be a little more spacious, if you're planning to fit all the furniture sets in. Unlike the victorian dollhouse, this one is totally sturdy. I've moved it several times with no problem. And the accesory sets are incredible.

I recommend getting this item from Amazon.com while they have free shipping in the States. I have had problems finding toys by this company in every toy store I've been to, and having it shipped directly from Europe is extremely pricey!!

Playmobils are the best toys, they are sturdy, creative, and keep my girls busy for hours. The Fairy Tale Castle is beautiful, pinks and purple, graceful arches, and stunning cutwork windows. It looks like a castle from the Arabian Knights. The people have delicate decorations on their clothes. The furniture is very realistic and fancy, fit for a castle. We have all the room sets, and a few extras from the other castle, a fairy tale castle needs a Dragon and a Unicorn!

Santa brought this for our daughter when she was 1 year old and today at 6 she still builds with it practically everyday. She has moved from making towers, to sorting by color and size to now building "Princess" castles or a new house for "Mommy".

I am about to purchase this for my neice for her 2nd birthday and hope she gets as much fun and education out of it as my own daughter did.

On another note, the box is sturdy, we had a baby friend over this weekend and he was pulling himself up on the box. We love our Legos in this house :)

You can't go wrong with Legos. I bought this tub for my 1 year old. Right now she's interested in taking the blocks out and taking the creations I build apart. Even though she doesn't understand the idea of building, the box of blocks keeps her interest. Even if it's just for the noise of searching through the tub. I only wish that they had more windows, eyes, and fun blocks. Maybe one more car wheel block would be nice as well.

Our tub of starter legos has lasted through both my children, and is still a favorite toy. My son has built lemonade stands, robots and any number of imaginative buildings. My two year old just likes to stack them on top of eachother. :) Terrific toy for creative play, and a sanity saver for mom since all the pieces go back into a nice neat container when play time is over!

It's fun when you have a big imagiation, but I like the toys with more action.

We gave the Large King's Castle to our 4 year old grandson for Christmas - assembled of course! He LOVES it!!! But DO allow yourself plenty of DAYS to assemble it. It is not difficult to assemble but, I would suggest the packagers get a better system for packaging the parts rather than the helter skelter packaging. I suggest all the parts to STEP 1 be packaged together, STEP 2 parts together, etc. Half the challenge was finding the parts to each step. Also, assemble it on a large board of some sort - a train board or low table. This toy lends itself to a great deal of imagination and creativity. He also received the pirates ship. What fun - the pirates invaded the castle and put all the knights in the dungeons and, of course, made off with the treasure chest. Despite the time it took us to assemble it, it was worth it.

I bought this castle for my ten year old son when he was four. He still plays with it. We have the baron battle tower, the western fort, the big pirate ship, and countless other small accessory sets. Yes, it is a delicate toy, and has to be played with carefully, somewhat like Lego sets, but the important thing is that it is probably the only toys that you buy for Christmas or birthdays, that your child will still be playing with a year later! Every winter, all of the playmobil gets set up and played with all winter long. My fifteen year old son is a "builder" and loves to put together all of this stuff. We have bought countless hotwheels, action figures, which we still buy, but playmobil and lego top them all for maintaining a childs interest and creativity. The fun part for me has always been to set up these huge sets with my boys the day after Christmas after the company has gone. Believe me, the price is worth it when it is a favorite with your child. This year my ten year old wants all the Viking stuff. Merry Christmas!

I purchased all of the peek-a-block toy sets before my son was born. All of them have been a great hit. My son is now 8 months old and this is his favorite of all of the peek-a-block toys. At 6 months old I brought it out for him to play with and he instantly loved it, at 7 months old he had figured out that if he pushed the front of the train it would play music and move and he loves to crawl after it. He also discovered that if he pushed the spinning piece in the center it would play music and he instantly starts to move as if he is trying to dance. At 8 months he has discovered that at the bottom of the blocks there is a place to spin what ever object is inside and when he finally gets his little finger to turn the object inside he laughs, then places the block on the train. Also, my 3 year old nephew instantly runs to this toy when ever he comes over, so I know that this toy will be a big hit for some time.

My 8mth old loves this toy it encourages him to crawl after it and to play with the blocks. he also try's to put them back on the train. when you push the trains smoke stack it starts playing music and starts moving he starts to laugh and crawl.This toy is great!

I have not yet purchased this item, just thought about it.
But after reading these great reviews from other parents I am going to buy it tomorrow for my little girls 1st birthday.
I showed her the picture of the train on the screen, and she was trying to grab it while nearly freaking out in joy.
It sounds like a great toy, and I know she will just love it.
Thank you parents for rating this toy.

My son recieved these as a christmas gift. I loved them and thought that they were great. He was used to his own blocks though and didn't play with these much. They are a great educational toy and very fun to play with.

I got my son the blocks and he loves them so much. He will be 1 in a few day's and he likes to try to make the animal sounds. I think that the blocks have helped him so much.

My daughter is only 9 months as of this writing and we own many of the peek-a-block sets. They haven't yet taken an interest for her as anything but another object to hold, mouth and bang together. I'm sure as she gets older stacking and etc will become more interesting, but I wanted to write this review to highlight that of all the peek-a-blocks a young baby will like the touch and feel the best, since they are the easiest to grab (they have rubber and indents in the sides, whereas the others are just slick plastic) and hold the most interest for my 9 mo (she has had them since 5 or 6 months)