DOLLS BEARS TOYS

Review by Allison D:

This is by far the best deal I've seen on a Thomas set. The water tower retails alone for .00 and the bridge for ! My son is absolutely wild about Thomas and the water tower and bridge are the two things he plays with the most. I am thrilled that they have combined them into a set along with track, and plan to give this as a gift to my nephew.

The water tower contains liquid that appears to "drain" when you lower the spout (this alone is worth hours of entertainment for a toddler). The bridge has 3 parts and is very easy for young hands to assemble. It's reasonably stable, although the top piece is not held in place with anything other than gravity and can be knocked over accidentally. There is plenty of room underneath for trains and track. Some cheaper sets have bridges that are so low that the trains don't fit underneath.

Thomas brand track is excellent quality and features indented "ties," unlike less expensive versions. However, it's fully compatible with Brio, Imaginarium, and several generic brands on the market. This set also includes a Thomas train and cargo car to start your Thomas collection (Watch out! It's addicting). These would retail for about apiece if you bought them separately. If your child already has a Thomas train, don't worry. To a 2 or 3 year old, two identical trains are more fun than one.

A simple figure-8 track layout is best for young children who are being introduced to wooden train sets for the first time. You can also rearrange the pieces to make a loop or simple circle. I highly recommend this set as a first train set for any boy or girl age 2 and up! A great companion is Thomas Wacky Track, which allows for a wider range of curve diameters, and reduces the frustration level of beginning engineers.

Review by C. Hashimoto:

I purchased this set and the Figure 8 Expansion Set for my son for Christmas 2005. He is just over 2 years old, and he loves Thomas the Tank Engine in particular, and all things train related in general, so this was a very easy decision to make. The quality of Learning Curve's wooden track is very good; the pieces are made from hardwood, and are quite sturdy. While we have expanded using other generic tracks which are compatible with Brio/Thomas track, there is a noticeable difference in the quality.

I would offer one caveat. This set is very similar to the Conductor's Figure 8 Set, which is typically offered for the same price. While the water tower that comes with this set is a pretty neat accessory, I think that the Conductor's set offers a bit better value, as it comes with Thomas and two cars (Water Tower set only comes with one engine and one car), as well as an additional switch track and a conversion ramp. These offer a bit more flexibility in layout and play, especially since my son is not terribly interested in the water tower right now (though this may change when he gets older).

Review by :

This train will not teach my child quantum physics, advanced calculus, or how to share. It, and other members of the "Shining Time" line, are absolute favorites. Unlike similar train sets, the magnets stay put and the wheels stay on. Every surface is transformed into a rail line. It even stands the test of time from a teething baby brother (although not recommended as a chew toy). The price is reasonable enough to accumulate an entire set over a short amount of time, which leads to a happily cluttered bedroom, family room, and kitchen. It also helps teach the fine art of organization (parental).

Review by LANCE R LINDLEY:

Of course, there are a million versions of Thomas out there, and I think we own most of them, including the battery-powered, plastic Tomy sets that run on plastic tracks. But these little wooden trains by Learning Curve are just the ticket for young children to tote along with them to restaurants, banks, the paint store -- all those places we all hated to go as kids but as adults can't seem to stop dragging our own kids to.They're sturdy, detailed, accurate depictions of the famous British tank engine and his friends, and they are quiet and kid-powered, so they can be taken out and played with anywhere. They are small enough to fit in whatever your child uses as a tote. They have magnets on the front and back, too, so he or she can link several of them together to keep play interesting.I believe there is also a type of track that is designed for use with this toy, but we preferred to stick with the platic Tomy set for that activity and use these Learning Curve toys as the perfect travel mates.

Review by :

This 5-car pack rocks! It includes:

Toby

Oliver (Discontinued)

Fred (Rare/Discontinued/this set only)

Bertie

Henrietta (SUPER RARE/dicontinued/in this pack only!)

It's retail value .99! A Great deal:)

Review by Rowan:

If you want to expand your train set 5 cars at a time, this pack features Henrietta, who has been discontinued for a long time, and is now only available in this pack. If your child enjoys acting out the Thomas & Friends episodes, Henrietta is Toby's coach. Like Toby, she is old-fashioned and has seen better days. Not many passengers ride in her, but she doesn't mind. She's mainly only used for giving passengers tours of the Sodor farm.

If you missed Henrietta a long time ago, then this pack is a MUST HAVE! Don't forget, since Toby is included in this pack, he and Henrietta will make a great team!

Review by C. Hashimoto:

I purchased this expansion set, along with the Thomas and Friends Water Towr Figure 8 Set, for my 2 year old this past Christmas. The expansion set was an afterthought, prompted in no small part by the manufacturer's promotion running at the time (50% off this set with the purchase of a Figure 8 set).

With the conclusion of many initial hours of intense playtesting (an ongoing process, with no termination in sight), my son agrees that this is an essential choice for any but the most basic (read: boring) wooden railroad layout. This expansion pack comes with switch tracks, and allows little train engineers (and their dads) to reverse directions or explore different parts of the railway. In retrospect, I think that I would have been dissatisfied had I not purchased this set to complement the basic Figure 8 layout, promotional price or not.

As far as the quality, the Learning Curve wooden track is made from hardwood, and is more substantial than many other brands of compatible track (i.e. Maxim, First Learning, etc.). This is a consideration when your child insists on taking the track apart by him/herself to put away. We have already broken a couple of pieces of generic track this way, since the male end of the connectors is a bit weaker than the rest of the track.

Overall, we are quite satisfied with this set, and look forward to many more hours of enjoyment.

Review by Robyn Funkhouser:

Most Thomas sets are constructed in such a way that require you to buy additional dual ended pieces in order to be able to connect them to other sets and this expansion set was the only thing I found that included a couple of these extra linking pieces. Not only does my 3 year old son have endless hours of fun putting the tracks together, but my husband and I also really enjoy putting them together in a variety of ways. These tracks act like a puzzle that grows with your child as he develops. Our son started learning to connect them end to end, then he began connecting them in circles and ovals, and he is beginning to experiment with layering in figure eights and using bridges. I highly recommend this set to anyone who wishes to make Thomas track building easier while enhancing their child's ability to learn through building.

Review by Skredberry:

This set would be nice if it came with more risers. Immediately, I had to run out to purchase more risers to create the elevated levels. It is fine on a train table if you have enough curves and risers to keep it going. We also have the Nilo table that allows you to cantilever the track off the edge of the table, but being that my son is only 2 1/2, that's a concept better saved for next year. You probably need at least 4 additional risers b/c you need to have a riser at each track link for support. I ended up running out the same day for risers, which I could only find Brio, which are slightly shorter than the Thomas risers and creates some instability. You're only limited by your creativity and when you come up with a new idea, unfortunately, it also means purchasing more track parts.

Review by D. Jones-Mahoney:

We started with a basic generic wooden train set and have been adding accessories over time. This is one of the better ones we have bought. I was going to just get the stacking risers but this a a better value for your money. When building your layout though, I would start with this piece and build off from it to better incorporate it.

Review by :

The possibilities are endless. My three boys drive them on their tracts and all over the house. The magnets are used to hook to many things besides the other engines and cars. (they hang from grocery carts and to the side of our family car!)

Review by J. Marion:

This toy is great. My whole family has fun every evening playing with this train. The just can't get enough of it!Also, it's able to withstand lots of rough playing.This is a must!

Review by :

I noticed the numbers on all the engines so I bought this one so I could make it so my son could count the engines from 1-10. This is number 3. Only the coal cars are marked. This is a large engine. It's size makes it difficult to push around and it derails easily. My son is 16 moths old and has trouble with this engine I recommend it if for the 2+ crowd.

Review by John Smith:

Henry is a classic engine and part of the 8 core characters in Thomas and Friends. He is in almost every video and essential, unfortunately he is not combined with any video (that i know of) so you just have to look at the bargain bin like i do. At first I was not sure to get Henry because he originally had a very inaccurate looking tender in his old model. Now he is sleeker and much better looking. While pricey, it is a great train to get, as the last review says if you get Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, and Toby, (numbers 1-7) they are great for learning numbers. Also Henry's tender, combined with others, can be great freight cars for those who don't want to pay even more. Henry in general is a very quality train with more wood than plastic and he is a great asset to any fan.

Review by Emilia Palaveeva:

Gordon is one of the main engines in the stories about Thomas. And kids love these stories a lot. The wooden toy comes with a lifetime warranty, but it is so durable you probably will not need it. Our Gordon has survived a lot and is still intact. My son loves the face (a little too serious and solemn, but that how Gordon usually is depicted in the stories)--it facilitates pretend play. Gordon comes with a tender, which attaches to the engine with a magnet. A magnet on the front also allows kids to make long trains with their other Thomas characters.

Review by :

My son has become an absolute Thomas the Tank Engine Fanatic. He sleeps with his favorites and cannot get enough play time with them. He loves the computer game and also watches the videos. He has to have stories read to him from the complete Thomas book before he can go to sleep. And why not. The cars are durable, they teach motor skills and their fun for both of us.