Vehicle Reviews

Great truck! We purchased this truck for our son for his first christmas (he was 10 months). He began pushing this truck everywhere. Helped sturdy his balence for running. This truck can take the abuse - running into walls, chasing the dog, launching off the deck, even goes into the lake. Our son has pushed this truck over a million scale miles. 1-1/2 years later we are looking at purchasing a second one. We have lost our stickers, the color is dulled from being outside (plastic had not cracked) and we have had some wheeles fall off. It goes into the mechanic shop to get fixed and it runs off again. (To fix a wheel take a piece of a plastic shopping bag and wrap around the axle. Push the wheel back on the axle end. This has held on the wheels for 9 months.) There are many other trucks in our house, large and small, but this one gets played with the most.

We purchased this truck when my son was one year old and have had it for nearly a year. We have the entire Rugged Riggz line, and yet this green monster truck is his favorite of all! My little toy wrecker pushes his green machine all around the house, sits on it, tries to stand on it, jumps on it, crashes it into other objects, throws it, and every other imaginable toy abuse possible. This thing takes a beating and then asks for more :-) He can throw other toys inside of the bed, shove legos through the windows, chase the dog with it .... you get the picture. This thing is large enough and sturdy enough to support his weight while he push-walks it around our house. My only complaint is that it doesn't come in any other colors, I would like a few more of these (maybe one in purple for my daugher!). We have tried other brands of trucks and inevitably the wheels fall apart, the plastic cracks, or the thing is just not sturdy or FUN enough for my kids. This truck rocks!!! Yet another outstanding Little Tikes toy!!

Oh my goodness! This truck has saved my life. My son pushes this turck EVERYWHERE! He runs it off the steps from our deck and crashes it into the cement...he goes everywhere with it. This is the one toy that he leaves and plays with something for awhile, but always comes back to this truck.

I bought the backhoe, dump truck and the back loader and recently purchase the crane for him. He takes them everywhere he goes. His father takes him to see the real ones at work and he know what each one is called.

They are very durable. Great trucks.

I got this backhoe for my 3 year old last year and it has put up with more abuse than any toy should have to face -yet it still works well & looks fine. My son has had an enormous amount of fun playing with it, riding on it, attacking his sister with it, etc. and it keeps coming back for more. Don't bother with motorized plastic, this is the real thig!

My 3 yr old counts 2 of these (don't ask) amongst his collection of 17 (don't ask) Tonkas. These are, by far, his favorites. Crack of dawn finds him out in the sandbox digging away. The ability of these toys to take abuse is consistent with that of all Tonkas. It's very high. They get crashed, bashed, and knocked around; left out in the rain; left out in the sun; and live in the very abrasive conditions of our wet Seattle sandbox. The sole evidence these have of the rough life they lead is the fading of the stickers. The paint colors have held up great, but in one season of use the sticker colors have faded almost completely away. One other issue: largely for the better these toys haven't been dumbed down or made "safer" over the last few years. This means that the corners are somewhat sharp- fine for our 3 yrd old to handle, but our 18 month old daughter has more fun with the (equally durable) processed plastic Tonka Backhoe ... . It doesn't seem to hurt her hands a bit when she holds it hard against the attempts of her brother to add a third backhoe to his side of the sandbox.

My 19 month old grandson has become obsessed with JJ. He loved the TV, airport set, so I got him this 5 piece set. They are cute and look just like the cartoon figures.
We only just got the airport and the 5 piece set, so there has been no damage as yet. However, I have cautioned my daughter-in-law and son about the possibility of some of the pieces falling off, particulary Herky's blades.
My grandson just loves to play with them and that is good enough for me, with the caution mentioned.

My two and four year olds have played with these characters every day, they're so practical, they go in the car, everywhere in the house and don't seem to ever break. I had to get two sets - they love them that much! They provide so much entertainment, but they also spark their imagination, creativity, memory (they act out Jay Jay episodes as well as make up ones of their own) that I would recommend them for the sheer effect on their cognitive development. Great Great toys at a price that you can handle (at $10, if they break, you don't have to kick yourself).

My son loved it when we bought him the Jay Jay Jet Plane set for a Christmas grab bag. He played with it for a couple of weeks they Herky's wheels fell off then Tracy's. Eventually all of them started to break and it became unsafe since my son was putting the pieces in his mouth so we threw them out. I reccommend the wooden kind even if they are more expensive but worth it in the long run.

When I ordered the roundhouse I believed that the red 5-way switch track was also included, especially when it is pictured on the box, but was disappointed to find that it wasn't. As my 4 year old son believes, as I am sure most do, that this is a very necessary piece of the building he will have to wait until his birthday to receive it (...). A little upsetting.
Apart from this one thing the Roundhouse is a fantastic piece to have on any Thomas layout, my son loves it and plays with it for hours.

As an avid Thomas fan, my son (4) loves this roundhouse. For the unenlightened, this is the house where the trains "sleep." It is durable and easy to put together and immediately adds to the complexity and fun of any track combination. It allows my son to engage more easily into pretend play, as he can put differnt trains back to the roundhouse to take a rest while he plays with others. The only minus of this building is its size--it is quite big and cannot be put apart. But again, as all the Learning Curve Thomas series toys, it is durable (wood), fun, easy to put together and a long term favorite.

In the tradition of long hours of fun with Thomas toys, the roundhouse is a workhorse. The long track grooves inside the roundhouse allow your engineer to double stack up to ten engines inside as in the stories. The open back portion allows little engineers to see into the shed where their engines sleep. In addition to durable doors which are sized just right for little hands, the sturdy construction allows a pint-sized engineer to sit on the roundhouse while running at his/her feet below.

Some of the Thomas tracks don't stand up under my three-year old's impression of "Godzilla" but the roundhouse withstands the monster's fury every time!

It is unfortunate the Learning Curve did not see fit to market the red turntable as a part of the Roundhouse toy as it takes up less room on your island of Sodor than the other wood-colored turntable.

The roundhouse is a terrific anchor for any railway line. Happy Railroading!

We got this for my 4 year old brother for christmas and while my dad worked on another toy i got stuck building this thing. 3 hours of work on this tower and my brother decided to play with another toy. he has never used it for any longer than 15 min.waist of money but mostly your time.

My 4 year old son started with 2 rescue heroes over a year ago. He now has most of the collection & loves them all! Finally real heros he can look up to that dont encourage violence. The command center was a christmas gift this year & is one of his favorite toys! I thought it looked kind of boring but his imagination runs wild with this toy! It has a really cute recordable alarm system that's easy to work & he can put his own rescue hero messages on it! His friends love coming over to play with this one.

My 2 1/2 year old son is a Rescue Heroes fanatic. He received this command center for Christmas this year. He absolutely LOVES it... more than his "big gift" train set (we were surprised). The first thing he did is line up all the Rescue Hero figures next to the box and say "It's your house!". He has climbed on top of it, tipped it over, and carried it all over the house. It is surprisingly sturdy, and doesn't tip as easily as I expected (he weighs 30 lbs, and I've caught him climbing on it a few times). I know it says for ages 3 and up.. but he seems able to play with it just fine. It doesn't have small pieces to get lost. And he is able to record his voice on it and replay it for us over and over, and over...
My 4 year old nephew also got this toy for his birthday and LOVES it. Even my 7 year old niece love to record her voice on it. I highly recommend this for a Rescue Heroes fan.

(...)
Very good model of one of the Naval Fleet's largest Aircraft carriers. The USS Kittyhawk is memorable and filled with fun. The time it takes is at least 6 hours to build. It's not hard to make just hard trying to find the pieces for that step. You could also add it to a Abrams tank, Tactival Fighter, and a Destroyer to make your own army. Get a bucket of legos and build an enemy base to defeat. It provides days of fun for you and a few friends. Thank you for reading.
(...)

I bought this set for myself (I'm 30), as I've always loved block building sets, and also built many aircraft carrier models when I was younger. This set is pretty accurate with respect to the actual design of the Kittyhawk and carriers in general (although the decal instructions have the main "63" on the top deck turned 180 degrees the wrong way).

Structure is acceptably durable and the set is easy to build. You can pick the whole thing up and move it around without being too gentle with it. Pieces come in different bags by type so they're easy to find, and the instructions are extremely clear.

Pieces fit precisely and I didn't have any problems with fit or alignment. Color consistency is great. Kit was complete, and had some surplus bits, too. There are a couple of extra name decals in case you mess up the first ones. A few of the small pieces come on little plastic "trees" like plastic model kits, so you might want to help your child by using an Xacto knife to trim them.

It comes with 8 F-14 jet fighter planes that are also accurately designed. The elevator platforms on the ship even work and there is some internal space for storage!

And this kit is HUGE when it's finished; about 3 feet long. Really impressive ... a deal. Picture here doesn't do it justice. A LEGO set of the same size and volume would cost $125.00 easily, plus you'll have a bazillion light gray bricks when you're done. You won't be disappointed!

Hi. I'm an 11 year old kid who LOVES military action and science. I also love anything that you can build or DESTRUCT!!!! Mwa Ha Ha!!!!!! I got interested in it when I first saw it at my freind's house yesterday. Extremely accurate, this model consists of over 1,700 pieces. I've had larger models, but this one would take a probuilder about say....35-42 hours. Not very long. I have found LEGOs very interesting (I own several hard ones), but MEGA Blocks are just the same. But, they're more reliable.

I played with it for a while and found its structure very well done. Details ar magnificent, but lacks realism. It's too blocky on the sides. It is educational in a way of structuring, and it is very fun. It rolls on wheels so you don't have to worry about the bottom scraping the floor. Without that, the bottom would just tear up the floor, but also damaging the model badly.

OK, my son loves Thomas. He really, really loves this starter set. STARTER SET! I had tried to avoid the whole Thomas thing because it is kind of a money pit, but my husband said, "it's just a train, he won't need any more than this" - famous last words. Truth is - he loves it, he plays with it, he wants all of it, every accessory, every car - EVERYTHING!!! It is another in the long line of toys that require fifty additional purchases at 30 bucks a pop - but it is durable, fun and has alot of repeat play value - and collectibility. Someday we can sell it all on eBay! :)

This was bought this for my little boy at 18months and whilst he was fascinated he hadn't yet developed the patience to use it as probably intended. As such the pieces were often pulled apart or he got frustrated when pieces were knocked out of line. However, the train going under/over the bridge proved an enormous attraction.
Now, a year later it is coming into his own and he constantly plays with his 'Choo Choo truck'. He has learned how to move around the track and keep it in one piece, pretend to start and stop, make various noises and generally capture his attention for at least an hour at a time. He is also keen to get me to play with him at the same time.
So:
An excellent educational toy as evidenced by his use over the past year. It has encouraged hand/eye, patience, construction, imagination and sharing his track with others.
It is great fun to play with. There is a great variety of colours, actions, etc. etc. for my son.
Its only minor issue is durability, particularly when used by a very young child. The pieces do last, but become a little battered around the edges. If you have a table then this can be minimised, but if it's set up on the floor it inevitably gets taken apart and pieces go under sofas etc. etc
Nevertheless, I cannot rate this too highly as both a fun toy and an educational means. And, you can buy all the extra bits to make a truly great train set.

I brought this toy for my 3 year old daughter after, a little boy I knew liked Thomas. We went to his house and there was Thomas stuff everywhere. Well she fell in love it. And when ever we go to his house all she wants to do is play with his trains. So I got her her own.

We recieved this car as a gift in 2000 for my daughters 1st birthday. This car is still one of her favorite things in the world. We use it to take walks around the neighborhood, and now my 11 month old fights with my 4 year old daughter to see who gets to ride in it. It is very durable and has withstood the beating from my three kids!!!!! I would highly recommend this toy for anyone with children.

I bought this toy for my daughter's first birthday, and everyone in the family absolutely loves it. My daughter thinks that she is such a big girl driving around the neighborhood, and she prefers it to her stroller, hands down. It is sturdy, turns well, and looks cute. The removable handle is wonderful for trips as the car fits in our trunk beautifully. The handle is a godsend for parents since you will definitely be pushing this around many times for a long time. The storage compartment is really fantastic also - for all of those treasures that must go along. I think that it would be neat if the car made more realistic sounds, but my daughter doesn't mind in the least. She loves it. My only suggestion to Step2 would be to put little doors on the side so that children will not be tempted to drag their feet on the ground which my daughter occasionally does. However, parenting is not as much fun in the vehicular department without this toy. As my husband said, "this is one of the best toys that you have brought home!!!" Go get one today
and see for yourself.

I purchased the push around buggy for my grandson's first birthday. He loves it and we take it every where we go. It was easy to assemble and worth every penny. Complete satisfaction...

This Thomas the Train set is a huge hit with the 3 kids in our house: my girls, ages 2 and 4, and my husband! The interlocking track is easy enough for my youngest daughter to attach (and detach, which she prefers to do). The trains run on the track, on the floor, and even the carpet (slowly). The drawbridge works like a charm. My oldest loves the lever to stop one train (usually to cause a wreck with another oncoming train). The set comes with Thomas and cars Annie and Clarabel. Toys R Us had a sale, so we also bought a Percy, Gordon, and James. It's a good thing we did! Christmas Day my husband had trouble releasing the catch to install the batteries in Thomas and Percy. The instructions (graphics only, no words) were no help at all. Fortunately the batteries in Gordon and James are easily installed into their coal cars. We took the Thomas and Percy back to the store for help. We like this set so much we plan to buy additional track.

My 7-year old son still continues to play with this set and all the other related Thomas sets we have. We started collecting these pieces when he was 3 years old. He's been able to put this track together in so many different ways with little or no help from the start. He has a huge toybox full of this train set now. After 4 years, 2 of our 3 bridges broke after being stepped on. We have glued one back together and now it works just fine. None of the bridges have their sides anymore, but the trains work just fine and stay on the tracks very well. Only one piece of track has ever broken, which says a lot for it's durability. You have to be a little careful with the trains with the tenders, i.e. attached second car, like Gordon, Henry, etc. (Not included in this set). The batteries are placed in the tender and 2 wires connect the train front to the tender. If these wires get pulled roughly, the train will no longer work. As I said though, we've had this set for over 4 years and only lost a handful of trains. My son no longer watches Thomas videos or cares to spend a "Day out with Thomas", but he continues to play with this train set and ask for the newest pieces for Christmas and birthdays. We don't mind buying them either. It's a worthwhile gift to buy as it is durable and gets a lot of use.

This was my son's very first Thomas set from Tomica--or any other manufacturer. It was a gift from his aunt at Christmas. After watching him play with this set, I knew we had to purchase more like it. My wife thought we should invest in the wooden series of Thomas toys. But I said, "No way". The toys from Tomica look more like the engines from the Thomas television series, they are every bit as durable as the wooden ones (if not more so), and they are cheaper in the long run. The wooden trains look like only a 2-4 year old would ever play with them. But, Tomica toys are mature enough to please children beyond those ages and still hold up to the abuse of little engineers. We have since added numerous engines, track, and accessories to the set--most of which are available thru this Toys-R-Us website. Even my other son started out his railway with this set. It's a fine toy for any young Thomas fan.

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)