price：$8.02
LEGO
Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Big addition to City collection; some limitations) 『Lego should probably not label this kit as being appropriate for age 5; our 9-year-old was able to build it mostly independently, but required help a couple of times. For instance, it is especially tricky to attach the "cable" (thread supplied with kit) to the take-up reel, thread it through the pulley, and anchor it on the crane arm. As with most Lego toys, it's important that every assembly point be pressed tightly together, and for little hands that can be tricky sometimes.
We've only had it assembled for a day so far, and although the pulley works as advertised to lift things, and the crawler treads do move as expected, the whole thing is not quite as solid as some other Lego toys. It's obvious that hand-cranking a pulley will put an unusually high amount of torque on the unit, and eventually the operator will end up with a handful of Lego pieces needing to be reassembled.
To some extent, that goes with the territory with Lego toys, of course. You have to decide whether you're more interested seeing a big complex thing come together out of many small parts, which is educational and fun; or in actually trying to play with it as a genuine building and construction toy. For the latter purpose, most kids are better off with prebuilt trucks, cranes, or whatever. For instance, we still have old "Bob the Builder" (non-Lego!) toys that work just fine despite being tossed around, kicked, stepped on, etc. Smaller kids might be better off with that kind of toy for everyday play.
Once it is completely built, the crawler crane is a pretty imposing size, larger than most of the other vehicles and toys in the "City" series. And when you're done playing for the day, where do you put it? Ha. We had bought a few small storage bins (similar in size to a typical Lego tub) to store other assembled Lego toys, and found that to be really valuable for a front-end loader, dump truck, etc.
Well, this crane is way bigger than that. We also got a bigger plastic box (intended for storing shirts) -- but discovered that the crane is bigger than that, too. Finally we figured out that one can take the big crane arm apart without undoing the cable or anything else, and carefully store it in the box next to the main body of the toy. Next time it is wanted, the arm will simply snap onto four little pegs and it'll be ready to go.
We haven't put this to the test of time of course, but in the first bit of play we noticed that the cab is fairly easy to knock off, for instance. Also, the crawler treads, being hard plastic, are slick and will not move if you're playing on any kind of slick surface -- and that includes the large Lego base plates which are also hard plastic. On a rug or towel or other rough surface, the treads can grip and will turn around their sprockets when you move the vehicle, just as they would on a real crawler crane. So, good design for those treads, but probably wasted in most play environments.
The top part swivels easily, so you can use the crane and pulley to lift an item from one spot, turn and drop it somewhere else. However, note that the crane arm itself can NOT be raised or lowered by any user control (unlike the pulley handle). The arm is mounted on parts that *look like* pneumatic lifts, but they aren't functional.
Still, overall it's a pretty neat toy, and if you want a somewhat complex assembly project without having to go to space (Star Wars) or some other esoteric setting, this fits the bill. Now that it's done, I think we're going to shift now to buying more sets of bricks and letting the kid invent stuff from scratch. As another reviewer noted, it'll be interesting to see if this crane gets modified with other parts by our young designer, after the initial exhilaration wears off.
We paid slightly less than the "list" price on the Lego website, and that is quite a bit less than it's selling for today here on Amazon. When I looked at the finished toy and thought about the cost out-of-pocket, I felt that it was a just barely acceptable deal at list price or less. Beyond that, I'd think twice.』
(Awesome Crane!) 『I was a little concerned when I purchased the Crawler Crane. Some of the Lego City stuff doesn't stay together that well. (i.e. tow truck)
The crane however is very well thought out. My 4 yr old loves is. We took ~3 hrs to put it together. So far it's stayed in it's intended form. Additionally it's a great tool to explain mechanical advantage, pulleys and how cranes work.
In a couple of weeks he will take it apart and invent new stuff.
Great product, I highly recommend it.』
(Maybe for older kids!) 『This Lego crane set is a complicated set¬ very durablele. My boys were 6&4 when they got this and Daddy did a lot of it to finish it. Then after it was together they wanted to play with it so they did and it took nothing for it to come apart. So if you are buying this for an older child who won't want to play with it just add to a Lego collection or something then I think it would be ok...maybe.』
(Fun Toy Crane for My Kids) 『My 2 boys (5 and 7) love it and play with it a lot. They have the whole construction set and I couldn't be more happier with the choice.』
(Awesome Crane) 『The LEGO Crawler crane is a must have for any LEGO fan. It has lots of realism, a crank to work the crane, and the tracks move like the real deal. Crane can also inspire young builders on how to build constuction tools and how to counter balance loads in the way they construct models. Was a fun build, not to easy but not frustrating, I woudl describe as challenging-but-rewarding for the appropriate age group.』 『No task is too big for this gigantic crawler crane! With its rugged tracks and massive rotating boom, this crane can go just about anywhere and can lift just about anything! Total height: 47 cm.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Lego doors, windows, and roof tiles) 『Great for kids who like legos and never have enough doors and windows. Will keep them busy for hours.』
(grandkids' Christmas stuff) 『Item was liked by the receivers. Item was as described and delivery was as expected, trouble free and required no additional input from me after placing order.』
(Good set for roof tiles) 『This has the more shallow sloped roof tile. There is another type that is steeper. They do connect, they are just not the same pitch. This is an excellent set to be able to get enough roof tiles to actually cover the roof of a house. It is a bit expensive, but it's not too easy to go about it any other way. The doors and windows are a very large scale. They're just fine, too, if you like this size. I'm not a fan, myself--I like the older style of doors and windows. But those are basically out of production. I would think most kids would be fine with them.』
(wrong sizes) 『I love legos, but his was a little disappointing. The roof tiles are wider than the "normal" lego tiles that come with other kits, so you can't combine the sets. The reason I got this set was to create bigger houses, but I still can't since the tiles don't match my other tiles. Not sure why. As for the windows and doors, they are great.』 『270 piece sets of doors windows, and shutters. Ages 4+』
price：$1.31
Melissa and Doug
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (24 piece basic cardboard blocks) 『These blocks are wonderful. My 2 yr old nephew loves these blocks, as do his cousins and his dad! They're very sturdy and well worth the money.』
(Back to Basics) 『As as a retired teacher I have seen toy fads come and go, but these blocks stand the test of time. The identical product has been used in preschool and primary classrooms for years. Children can stand on them as well as build structures to walk through. We purchased two sets for our grandchildren and they always return to them. We give them as gifts and the best part is that they need no batteries...just imagination.』
(Durable Fun) 『I was skeptical when I bought these blocks and thought they might be flimsy as they are made of cardboard. But I gave them a chance and I'm so glad I did. These blocks are WAY more durable than I expected- my son is super rough with them and they show almost no sign of wear six months of regular play later. He has repeatedly stepped/ stood/ sat on these blocks and they hold their shape amazingly well.
In addition to being durable, they are also lightweight so that if a tall tower falls, no one will get hurt.
I definitely recommend these to anyone who is looking for a durable yet safe toy to provide hours of great imaginative play.』
(Love the blocks!) 『These blocks are awesome! They were bigger than I expected. My daycare kids just love playing with them. They love to build their towers, only to knock them over..lol. The blocks are colorful (red, yellow,&blue) and come in 3 sizes (sm. med. lg). They're pretty sturdy&the only complaint I have is that the corners are quite sharp when you first put them together. My nephew scraped his belly a little when he knocked his tower over&fell on top of one of the red blocks. But he still continues to play with them almost everyday. Once the blocks get a little worn from play, the corners shouldn't be as sharp. I would still buy more of these, just to build up a bigger collection. I think they are a very educational&all around great toy to have for your own kids or for any daycare.』
(Make sure your child really enjoys this kind of toys) 『I bought it for my 6-yr old daughter who wanted it for her Christmas because she heard about it from her classmate. She never played once after this toy arrived. I guess its really only for younger children (toddlers) who enjoys this kind of toy. Apparently it's not for my daughter.』 『The Big Bad Wolf has nothing on these sturdy cardboard blocks. They're easy to assemble, and they're lightweight so even the youngest builders can construct their dream home. Bright colors mean endless combinations. Includes 24 blocks.』
price：$14.99
Mega Brands America Inc. - Megabloks - Montreal
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Not worth the money) 『These do not compare to legos at all in quality. My son only rates them as a fun value of 4 b/c he loves Halo not the blocks.』
(Great gift) 『I purchased several Halo Wars building sets. These sets are played with daily. I love that this can compete with all the electronic gadgets in his room.』
(Definately not Lego) 『We bought several of the Halo sets for our sons 8th birthday. This definately isn't Lego quality. The pieces are lower quality, don't fit together right and fall apart easily. The engineering behind the construction doesn't match Lego either - there is no reinforcement for support or durability - these sets fall apart easily which can be frustrating to kids that want to actually play with them. On the plus side the characters are a big hit with the playground crown - that they are one piece is a bonus.』
(Very good product.) 『Bought about a month ago; has stood up to play well. Blocks stick together most of the time and my son enjoys playing with it.』 『Halo Wars Covenant Ghost』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Happy Customer) 『Haven't been able to find this toy anywhere. My Son wanted it so bad for Christmas and I felt horrible that Santa couldn't leave it for him under the tree on Christmas morning. Once I found it on Amazon I ordered it and told my Son that Santa was sending something to him in the mail because he forgot to leave it for him. When it arrived my Son was so happy to have it.』
(Kids love SpongeBob) 『My youngest grandson absolutely LOVES SpongeBob and was so thrilled to get this for Christmas. Great product.』
(really small for the price!) 『I bought this toy for my 4 year old son for Christmas. It was at the top of his Christmas list. He was so excited on Christmas morning to open it up. However,my husband and I were not. Upon opening the box, we realized that the Spongebob bus was REALLY small. Our son loves it, but it is definitely not worth $49.99! Lego should be ashamed...had I known how small it actually was for the price, I never would have purchased it. I still gave it 4 stars because I think LEGO's are a great product overall.』
(SpongeBob Lego Express Bus) 『Gave this gift to nephew who is 9 for Christmas this year. He was not expecting it but likes Legos. His face was priceless when he opened it, he could not stop smiling and stated he wanted this for awhile. He even sent a picture of it put together within 48 hours of opening it. There were no reported issues with the toy parts or construction. Will certainly buy other sets for him.』
(Spongebob Bikini Bottom Express) 『The toy arrived quickly and my son loves it. We sat and carefully followed the directions and put it together. He loves it!』 『All aboard for new adventures with SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick, and the Bikini Bottom Express. The bus keeps leaving without SpongeBob and Patrick! Can they get their tickets from the machine before it speeds away again? Lift the roof off the bus to seat SpongeBob and Patrick inside. A propeller on the back of the bus really spins. Includes SpongeBob, Patrick and all-new bus driver minifigure, plus a ticket booth and bus stop. Bus measures 6" long. 210 pieces.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (We love this set!) 『I bought this set for my daughter as a gift when she was 2. She loved it, immediately started playing with it. She's about to turn 6, and still plays with it often. It goes well with her Thomas the Tank Engine and Brio train tracks and trains. Sometimes we get up in the morning to find she's pulled the town out, set it up, and is setting up animals and dinosaurs as the town's inhabitants.』
(Wooden Town Block Set) 『I bought this set for my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. We are both very happy with the set. It has many pieces, they are very nicely painted large wooden pieces. This set will last forever. I highly recommend it, it will be something a child will enjoy for many years.』
(Great building toy.) 『This is a great toy for kids of all ages. It gets played with very frequent in our child care facility. It is made very well, but some of the blocks will chip a little in time. Of course, this may not happen in a home environment. Would recommend it.』
(Super Set!) 『I received this today--in perfect condition, thank you Amazon shipping!--and am very pleased with it. The paint colors are bright and there are lots of pieces. Several buildings look like they could be arranged in different ways, thanks to the thick blocks that stack together and go alongside each other to form them.
I count 6 traffic signs, something I particularly wanted. The vehicles are as attractive as the buildings--very attractive. And it all fits in a nice wooden box with handles. I like it!』
(Restored faith) 『This company really surprised me: When, at first, I had a complaint about my order, they immediately responded and sent a replacement order without a return request for my previous order. Instead they asked that I donate the previous order to charity. I was pleased with the promptness of their response to my complaint, their immediate action to rectify the situation and their social responsibility in their request to donate the unwanted item to charity. They are an exemplary company in my book.』 『Set up your own city or town with building block facades. Made of hardwood and includes cars, traffic signs, trees and buildings. Stimulates role-playing for children. 48 pieces.』
price：$6.08
Uncle Milton
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Don't waste your money) 『There is a reason this went to clearance. My son got this for Christmas and it was really cool in the beginning, but it broke within a few hours of playing with it.』
(Darth Vader Arm) 『This product is terrible! It took me an almost an hour to put the thing together and then when I finally finished it did not work! I had to take it almost completely apart and put it back together. Then it worked one time and broke.There is some part that is malfunctioning. My son was so excited about this toy when he saw the box, I am very upset with the company who made this product. It was the wost money I have ever spent! I did not want to give this product any stars but Amazon's rating system would not allow me to do that.』
(Don't waste your money on this piece of junk!!!!) 『Star Wars Star Wars Science - Darth Vader Robotic Arm
This item was a waste of time. It was difficult to assemble and it did not function properly. The hand would not close as other mentioned. I was mislead in thinking this was a robotic item based by the name. It does not move by any motors. It is moved by 2 plastic levers that one twisted the arm and the other was supposed to open and close the hand which it did not. You pushed both levers to lower the arm. Don't waste your money on this item. It is on it's way back to Amazon.com as we speak. There is another robotic arm that looks better and is better reviewed on here for about the same money!』
(Too Bad, it is a waste of money) 『We thought this would be a really cool toy for my 7 year old son who loves Star Wars and science. Unfortunately, the fingers didn't work because they were not linking together correctly with the wrist. Although when we had the hand off of the arm, we could see how the fingers should be able to work, but there was no way to troubleshoot when the toy was all together. Also, the levers that control the arm would not stay in place- they would just pop off! The decorative parts would also pop off. This is a very flimsy toy.』
(Fun, though "robotic" is a stretch) 『Just a few notes:
- "Robotic" is a bit misleading. There aren't batteries or any sort of power involved. You move the hand.
- I don't have an 8-year-old, so I'm not sure whether one could follow the assembly instructions or not. I get the feeling that this is one of those toys where the combination of a child's small fingers and an adult brain make a good team.
- In the end, you still have a Vader arm on your desk, and that's pretty fun.』 『
Man or machine? Now you can build a robotic arm just like the one used by Darth Vader. Learn to operate the Darth Vader Robotic Arm, extending and turning the arm and even controlling the fingers.
price：$5.02
K'NEX
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Kid K'nex - Great for any age) 『I have kids ages 5 and 8, and although Kid K'nex are marketed as a pre-school toy, I think they are much broader than that. Certainly, their chunky size and easy-snap assembly makes them extremely pre-school friendly, but at my house, kids from 4 to 12 (and, truth be told, adults too) all seem to really like creating the friendly, goofy creatures with Kid K'nex. So I expect we will play with them for many more years, and I intend to add to our collection. This toy is not one we will outgrow soon.
This paritcular set has some cute animal body parts (ears, eyes, trunk) but it also contains a large number of lego-like (Duplo size) pieces, which caught me by surprise. Initially I was annoyed that I hadn't noticed that before buying the set since we have an abundance of Duplo and always have arguments over eyes-ears-feet. This Kid K'nex set, however, has become a nice bridge between the two types of building toys, and I see even more animal-construction creativity coming out of my kids now that they have the full range of Kid K'nex AND Duplos to incorporate into their designs.
I highly recommend this toy for kids who like to create. Even if your child hasn't shown a real aptitude for or interest in building toys, with the Kid K'nex the creatures are so cute and varied that they appeal to anyone - girls or boys, artistically inclined or not. It's a fun, educational, creativity-inspiring product.』
(Great concept, too few pieces) 『While the cover has many animals displayed and there is a window on the box showing it to be chock full of building blocks and such, there aren't that many pieces in the box. At most they fill up 1/4 of the box and can make one animal shown on the cover and maybe another smaller creature.
When you open the box you'll find a clear plastic box filled with pieces that is glued to the box's window. The rest of the box is pretty empty. While I wasn't expecting to be able to make all the animals, I was hoping there'd be enough pieces for my sons to create figures and explore designs without having to destroy the one thing they just made.
There are some very specific pieces (elephant ears, trunk, eyeballs) but most of the pieces are large and generic. This works well with smaller sets such as Lego but sometimes makes it hard to find the right piece for what you want. As an example, there seems to be no good way to make feet and there is a design for a giraffe that uses a connector for a face that just looks awful.
We also have the smaller K'nex pieces and there is no way to interface the two as one can do with other construction sets.
Overall, the lack of pieces and the assortment limit what can be done with this set and stifle creativity.』 『KID K'NEX Zoo Buddies Building SetBuild adorable zoo animals! Now with NEW KID K'NEX blocks plus lots of colorful, chunky KID K'NEX rods&connectors and personality pieces, like eyes, ears, even a trunk! Includes an idea sheet with over 20 building ideas to inspire your little one's creativity. Handy storage container for easy clean-up and take-along fun!』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Wonderful Toy That Uses Their Imaginations) 『Santa brought my son, age 5, this set of blocks and we love them. He and his sister, age 7, can play with them for literally hours. They built all the examples given on the directions and have created more on their own. They make schools, homes, hospitals and cars for their stuffed animals and Ben 10 action figures. They make up stories and really use their imaginations. I'm thinking in a few months we might buy the translucent ones to add on to this.』
(Must have toy) 『My 3 kids started to play with Magna Tiles in preschool. I have 2 girls and a boy. They all loved the toy so much we got 2 packages for home. This was always the first and last toy they played with. They could use it alone or with all 3 of them together. The creativity was endless and they never tired of it. When we traveled and brought toys, we only brought the magna tiles and then a baggie of misc. little animals and random objects. They spent hours creating little worlds. I've bought this as a gift for my nieces. I think this toy is a little expensive, but it it well worth it because of the endless hours of fun my kids have had with it. They started to play with magna tiles at 2 yrs. old and my oldest is now 8, and she still enjoys it. Overall, one of the best toys we've had that gets continued use, is creative and highly engaging.』
(pre school teachers love it!) 『As a seasoned preschool teacher, this has been hands-down the best toy in my classroom for many years. We have a few sets combined and it encompasses every skill you would want to develop in 4 year olds. The children play alone or in small groups to create terrific, complex structures. It encourages language development between children and cooperation. Imagination soars and each year, the different children create more amazing structures. Even at clean-up time, its a brain strenghtening activity as we have them sort them by shapes. The 4's have even learned to NAME the types of shapes they are putting away. Once in a while, I actually have to hide the magna-tiles so that the children will play with some other toys! we LOVE our magna-tiles!』
(Always great) 『This is the second set of Magna Tile I've purchased for my boys (ages 5&7). Yes, they're a little pricey, but both the boys love them and I've yet to see one of the tiles break. I think they're a great value.』
(magnetic blocks) 『My 4 year old granddaughter loves this toy as do her friends. She can play wit it for hours and has had it for over a year and still enjoys the toy. It is safe, helps dexterity and imagination. Fun for adults. Good for boys or girls. Many others have bought a set after seeing it.』 『4 years and up. Go from flat to 3-D in the snap of a magnet! Children will enjoy discovering the properties of magnets with this 48 piece set. Set includes solid colored pieces and unique pieces with holes, curves, magnetic door and a wheeled piece. Idea guide is provided.』
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