Editorial Review

This sprawling and expansive play set will likely delight any kid interested in transportation. There are 65 pieces in all including trains, forklifts, ships, tugboats, and trucks, along with big buildings, cranes, and bridges. Use the hand cranks to unload cargo from the vehicles with a winch that attaches to the cargo with magnets. We were impressed by the amount of track offered, allowing kids (and probably Mom or Dad too) to lay out endless varieties of configurations. And it's all pretty low-tech, which means fewer flashing lights and ornate special effects but also an endearing simplicity and a mercifully battery-free existence. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Fun for Parents and Daughter!!
Love this toy!! I don't know who has more fun with it, my daughter or my husband and I. Our six month old had just started crawling and sitting up by herself when we bought it, which was mostly because of the name. When we use the remote, she will race after it through the house. She also loves crawling after it when the remote is on the toy. We have gotten many giggles from this product!!

BEWARE OF GETTING CAUGHT IN HAIR
MY 5 MONTH OLD LOVES THIS TOY IT DIFFENTLY ENCOURAGED HIM TO CRAWL! HE LOVED HOW IT GIGGLED AND WE ENJOYED WATCHING HIM CHASE IT. HOWEVER MY 6 YEAR OLD WAS USING IT ONE DAY AND IT RAN OVER MY HAIR AS I WAS LYING ON THE FLOOR AND GOT TERRIBLY TANGLED I HAD TO CUT A HUGE CHUNK OF MY HAIR OUT AND EVEN THEN I COULD NOT GET THE HAIR OUT OF THE TOY I HAD TO THROW IT OUT.

A fantastic first remote-control toy
I bought this for my son's first birthday, and he absolutely loved it!
The toy has two remote-control stages. In the first, the remote control sits on the toy. Your child can make the goofy giggles move around and giggle by pushing any of the three buttons. My son was able to figure this out very quickly and was so proud of himself for making the toy move. At this stage it moves in a random pattern and my little boy thought it was hysterical if the vehicle seemed to be coming toward him (or even better, the cat!).
My son is now almost two and he uses the remote control separate from the car. He has had no problems using the buttons to control the vehicle.
We also have several different flooring types in our home (carpeting, tile, and hardwood) and the toy moves from one to the other with ease.

TERRIFYING TOY
Let me tell you the story when I purchased a new toy for my 17 month old son, (who has outgrown most of his infant toys). I was shopping for age-appropriate toys for him in the little Tykes Section and was intrigued by this cute little alien-like face. I thought he was too young and started to walk away when I realized it had a remote control. I thought it would be ideal to teach electronic awareness and motor development, and fun for him chasing the giggle-head.

My son smiled every time I showed it to him. He loved it and wanted to play with it while I was taking it out of the case and put the batteries in. With his disappointment of having to wait for Mommy to use the toy, he thought he was going to have a good time. To his shock the giggle car started to walk towards him. He was terrified! I tried to make the face turn around and roll away, but it was too late. He had developed a permanent fear of the toy. Putting it away for the night and giving it back to him the next day did not work.

The toy is so cute looking, and parents can have so much fun with it, but if a too young child plays with it during remote control, she/he may become very afraid. The toy deserves three stars for its appearance, but enjoyment can only come to those careful when they use the remote-control.

Better than I thought it would be....
My son was 7 months old when he received this as a gift and I thought it might be too much for him and annoying for me. But as it turns out it really is great. The movement of it keeps his attention and he tries to grab for it as it comes by him, encouraging him to crawl, even though it seems he only wants to try and walk. When it giggles it makes us all laugh and puts a big smile on my lil man's face. Precious. We use it a lot especially on the carpet in his room and it does great and doesn't ruin my carpeting. The wheels under it are like ones you would find on a vaccum. So big surprise for me, we all enjoy it, have a great time and it encourages him. He loves the easy to use remote, easy for me too. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like George. I just got him for Christmas.I got Sir Handel first, then I wanted Duke and George and I got them too! Now I can play stories like "Steamroller" and "By George". In my opinion, this is one of my favorite trains. You'll like it too! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A+
My son at 9 months old recieved this toy for Christmas. He loves this toy. He carries and pushes it by the handle, places his farm animal toys inside, makes vroom sounds when playing with it. He places it on couch and pushes it down to watch it tumble down. Let me just say it is durable because it has been put to the test by him. My daughter who is 4 years old also loves to play with it. She pretends she is a firefighter. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

No specification given.
There is no specification/description given on the site. The only specification you can find is from the picture that claims to be 720mAh. But when you recieve the battery, the actual mAh is 620 which is written on battery.

no worries
having this with 2 batteries is a life saver. i never have to worry about my 4 year old not having his truck or his robot at any given moment.

super money saver
The Nikko Rechargeable battery and adapter makes a good deal for money. It has slashed my battery bills to nothing. The set is light in weight and can be conveniently recharged in hours. A stronger casing would have helped but nonetheless the set is a right deal for someone who uses up lot of batteries. The charging capacity remains strong enough for long term use. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Hot Wheels Teaches Chemistry!
Outstanding toy! Great looking, bigger than I expected. Not really a need for more Nitrox2 as the whole purpose is to get kids to experiment with different common household spices and beverages (ie: cranberry juice and baking soda). The kids keep trying until they figure out what it IS that makes this car go! Really and truly, if you know chemistry at all it won't take long to help your child, but let them learn some scientific principles and have fun doing it!

Hot Wheels
This is so stupid toy that I ever buyed.DO NOT BUY THIS TOY!!!!!!
You only get 2-3 tablets and one little box of powder,but if you waste everything,later you don't have so much booster for car. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Time for Thomas the Tank Engine to head into the yard and pick up some freight at the Arlesdale Barrel Company. Shipments of corn, molasses, and flour wait to be loaded onto the 3.5-inch blue freight car--just pull the lever on the side of the 6-inch-long loading dock, and watch the little yellow wooden barrels roll into position. Made of high-quality hard wood, the Barrel Loader is a wonderful, interactive addition to the Thomas Wooden Railroad System. Includes three barrels, one freight car, and one length of Clickity-Clack track. --Marianne Painter ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Fun Toy
i have this toy and i think it's fun!. i Like the way the barrells roll there are corn flour and molasses barrells.

An great addition for the Thomas Fan
We bought the Barrel Loader for our 2-year-old son for Christmas and it has easily become a staple in our track creations. While he still has more fun just putting every single one of his engines together and racing them around the track, every once in a while he does like to stop and use the barrel loader. This piece is great because it is independent of the tracks and it has the added bonus of teaching a little bit about cause-and-effect (you push down on the read lever and the barrel rolls out).

Time For Thomas
The Thomas train sets are great modern versions of the classic indestructible wooden train sets. Simple enough to avoid the toddler age frustrations of getting the cars to run on the track yet complex enough to engage a wide range of ages (up to and including Grandpas). All the stories help with the imagination part....the books & videos provide an endless source of adventures that can be acted out, although most kids are perfectly capable of inventing their own episodes.

Here is my advice, if you are trying to work your way through the maze of start-up options:

First of all, you can spend a fortune on a huge set....even if you can afford it, I would start with something small and give the child the joy of receiving a chain of small but intriguing presents over a long period of time. It fosters the joy of giving/receiving and helps teach them to come back again and again to the same toy...watching it grow, asking for specific items from the stories they hear, etc.

I suggest the Figure 8 set (the most popular one) or if you want to spend a little bit more, the Conductors Figure 8 set. Both are complex enough to be interesting, but simple enough to give lots of room for growth. Almost immediately I would add a new present of one of the inexpensive engines (you can ask the child which story they like best and get that engine for them....or buy the engine to go with the video or book in the same gift)....these would be Percy The Small Engine, Bill The Yellow Engine, Treavor, (or a bit more $ for:) The Lady Engine, James The Red Engine, Gordon The Express Engine (he's one of the best stories, I think), or Henry The Green Engine.

Now for the good stuff! Give it a month or so, and then reward the child with something really cool like the Barrel Loader or Rusty the Construction 3 Car Set.

I honestly can't see the point in the huge multi hundred dollar system sets. If you want to impress the neighbors or something, go for it, but I'm telling you.....most kids will enjoy a large number of small thoughtful gifts, not a "keep-up-with-the-Jones" effort on your part.

Good behavior can be rewarded with a pick-your-own trip to the store (...)

By the way, the Thomas stories are based on a real restored engine that runs in England in southeast Kent around Canterbury.

Great Addition
We have owned the Thomas & Friends Barrel Loader for over two years. It has been a permanent part of every pretend scenario made by all five of our children. I was a little concerned we would lose one of the barrels, but that is not the case. All ages can operate the easy flip handle, and it can be moved to any part of the set-up with ease. It was definitely a great addition to our set!

More fun with Thomas
This is yet another toy to expand the imagination -- now how am I going to fit this on my child's track set? This one is easy though. The one track piece is not connected to the barrel loader so you can put it anywhere. Even better, you can take it to grandma's house and play with it without having to take any tracks. Definitely a perk. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

What a fun toy!
My 3 year old son received this for his birthday this weekend.He hasn't stopped playing with it since we opened it up.I agree with the previous reviewer that the track feels kind of flimsy, but so far my boys have twisted the track a few times and it doesn't seem any worse for the wear.My 3 year old has no problem reseting the springs by himself. Rolling up the track when he is finished has been "mom's job" though.I think my favotite thing about this toy is that 2 cars race side by side, so both my boys can play together and so far NO ARGUMENTS!!! A toy they can actually share! Man, I'd pay double just for that added perk! Another awesome feature is that the track rolls, up and the toy becomes incredibly compact with storage for 2 cars.Overall, a great toy for your little car fanatic and a good deal for the money.

Portable fun
We bought this for our almost 3 year-old son and he loves it. He's a big car fan, and since this item is so compact he can take it and his case of cars to grandma's house. The track is fairly cheap, but it has withstood a 3 year-old so we can't complain. The "set" is designed to work like a tape measure, able to be rolled up when not in use, the track lies flat, and the unit has storage for 2 cars (not included). There are 2 spring activated tabs that propell the cars, and these are too difficult for our son to reset himself (our 4 year-old daughter can do it with a bit of effort). ... Read more

Editorial Review

It's big. It's fast. And yes, with a few well-placed pieces of plywood and a little imagination, the Monster Truck could probably do some of those cool jumps you see at the truck shows. (You'll have to give it a hefty push and provide the sound effects, of course.) Made of heavy-duty plastic, it's safe for little ones but durable enough to handle the rough play older kids will dish out. The sleek design and bright colors (neon-green and purple) give it a sporty look that even older kids will find appealing. The Monster Truck is 9 inches tall (with its oversized wheels accounting for 4 of those inches) and 13 inches long. --Elisabeth Fredrickson ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Son's favorite toy
My son got this one last Christmas and slept with it the first week. This truck has managed to stay one my son's most favorite toys even with his ever-changing taste in toys and fascination of the newest things. This thing has stood up to rain, snow, sun, and three boys ages 3-7, getting played with on a daily basis and still looks like new -except for the poor little guy that came with it which my dog chewed up :'( - one of the few trucks we have for them that doesn't have it's wheels missing or an axel broken off. Highly recommend this one.

Great Truck - over 1 Million miles!
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.

Sturdy, solid, made to last!! Huge thumbs up!
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!!

Indestructible Truck!
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.

tough and fun
I'm a big fan of Little Tykes because their stuff never cracks or breaks, even with hard playing. This monster truck is a fun toy because it's big enough that my son can put his hands on either side and run with it. The bed in the back is big enough to hold some rocks or other toys, and because it's large we never lose it. It also has a hitch on the back that he uses to pull other toys. It gets played with both inside and out-of-doors. My son has had more expensive trucks that broke quickly, but all his Little Tykes stuff has lasted and lasted and gets played with every day. Thumbs up. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

VERY FUN
THIS TOY IS AWSOME THEY CANT GET NO BETTER. I HOPE IT DOES.THE PEPLE THAT MAKES CRASH DUMMIES KEEP MAKING THEM. I HAVE AT LEAST 18 FREINDS AND EACH ONE OF US HAS EVERY SINGLE I MEAN EVERY SINGLE CRASH DUMMIE THRE IS .EVEN FROEM 1993.PLESE DONT STOP MAKING THESE TOYS.AND I HAVE AN IDEA TRY MAKING A CAR TAT SMASHES ALL TH WAY BACK TO THE BACK WHELL.IN OTER WORDS LIKE A REAL CRASH TESTWHEN THE CAR FROUNT END SMASHES ALL THE WAY BACK.I LOVE CRASH DUMMIES I MEAN WE LOVE CRASH DUMMIES.

Hard To Put Together
It takes 5 seconds to crash it, but 1 to 5 minutes to put back together. After awhile it isn't much fun. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This bright green toy will bring a smile to any little train fan's face. Based on the award-winning PBS television series Shining Time Station by the Rev. W. Awdry, the Thomas the Tank train set is a perfect child's train set. Duck's job is setting cars in the yard and pulling small freight. Each wooden vehicle in the series has a different name, character, and face. Magnetic bumpers make linking up easy. Friendly characters engage kids in hours of imaginary play. Designed to encourage new motor and cognitive skills. --Sandy Hirsch ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A great addition to your set
This toy is really durable. My sister threw it down our stairs a buch of times and it didn't even get a scratch. This is well worth the money and a great addition to anyone's collection.

Duck the great
The learning curve Thomas sets are among the best toy train sets I've seen. The toys are especially durable and well-made. Duck is a unique engine who has some prominent roles in some of the earlier, original Thomas stories. The Duck engine toy is a good addition to an existing Thomas train set. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best toy truck....
My mpom brought this truck for my 10 month son to play with at her house. He loves it, even though he is still young and has no idea what a truck is, he can say dumptruck when we talk about trucks and stuff. He really loves this little truck and it is of great value for the money. I can see it being used in th sandbox this summer. Great truck!!

Durable - good value
Purchased this dump truck for my 3 year-old to use at the beach, and it passed with flying colors! Easy to handle for small hands, cleans up great (although make sure to drain the tires if it has been submerged - they sure hold a lot of water!) and managed to survive being dropped, thrown, stepped on and crushed under a pile of beach gear. Good value for only [item price]. ... Read more