Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Set
by Melissa & Doug
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List Price: Our Price: $73.44 You Save: $56.55 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $69.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Set
Customer Review: Great add on to Thomas Set; Lots of track
Summary: 4 Stars
Its not Thomas or Brio. The difference between a sturdy little Honda and a BMW.
Cons: Thomas track feels smoother in hand. The melissa and doug crane is dinky compared to my used ebay Brio one which is pleasant to pull the string for the cargo. The roundhouse is particle board like. The alternative track layouts are a bit ridiculous (stacking two risers on top of each other! how would that stay up??) and won't fit the train table. You can see the amount of thought that goes into a Thomas set - they are very well planned to fit on the train table and also to be "steady" layouts.
Pros:
AMAZING amount of "unusual track" in addition to the basics - I purchased to get the 3" MMF/FFM switches, the T switch, the mini ramps, the end stop ramps, 4 ascending track, tons of risers, tons of 6" straight track and short ~3" curved track for those tight layouts and of course, you get the roundhouse, all for the price of one roundhouse and maybe one expansion pack from Thomas. Its a great combo of cool accessories and cool track.
Conclusion:
I am happy for what it is - a cheaper way to get the "unusual track" to allow me to make cool Thomas layouts which you just can't get in such profusion from any Thomas or Brio set. So I love this set plus my ebay Thomas set (cool accessories) and my ebay Brio bridge/tunnel accessories (really well made!), my Brio trains(smooth ride) plus 2 boxes of sure track to ensure no risers disappoint me (ahem, my son). If you're not as train crazy as me, however, its a great way to start your train play.
Customer Review: My son loves it, but consider age when purchasing
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this set after reviewing quite a few different ones. It does come with an ample amount of track, not filled up with trees & stop signs (stuff you don't care about). With reading the reviews, I also purchased the suretrack clips to hold the track pieces together on the elevated areas, since several reviewers mentioned the toddler meltdowns that ensued when the pieces came apart. I purchased 2 sets of the suretrack and we had 2 clips left over after setup. I found that even if you do not have a toddler, the clips are a must. My husband was initially trying to put the set together without using the clips & once you moved something that was already in place (an elevated piece), it would fall down. So I think that the clips are really neccessary for any age. The only bad thing about the suretrack is that on corners, the trains tend to hit the clips & sometimes derail, causing a meltdown!
This set is also nice because it does comes with a few different layout ideas. The wood is good quality, although some of the angled pieces do not sit 100% on the track. There is a tiny bit of warp to them. But not every piece, just a couple. The only complaint I have about the trains is that one of the trains is a truck & it is alittle long and doesn't handle the tight turns very well. It derails almost everytime. Of course, that is the one my son likes best, so I had to hide it because he wants to use that one, and cannot understand why it keeps derailing.
Overall, I think that it is a good train set for the money.
Customer Review: Nice set but some small issues
Summary: 4 Stars
We purchased this set for our 4-year old daughter, also looking towards future shared use with our son (who is almost 1 year now). Right from the bat, when opening the box, we were impressed with the quality of the train set. Everything is packed very well, and the pieces look very durable and well made.
We immediately set up a small layout (since our daughter of course couldn't wait to try it out), and we chose our coffee table as the ideal surface. Our youngest son promptly pulled the tracks down of course. No problem - the pieces are really well made and we went through a bunch of cycles like this.
However... when we tried to build one of the included layouts, we found that the layouts are impossible to build. Although it looks right on the picture, tracks simply cannot go where the picture indicates they should go. The pieces in the picture must not be of consistent scale, making it very difficult to do, even for an adult. In the end, I gave up trying to make it work, and I created a layout similar to the picture. Luckily we had some wooden train pieces from a Thomas the Tank Engine set (compatible with this set), because any attempt to make it work required more than the Melissa & Doug set provided.
Overall, the set is a lot of fun, but it is very disappointing that such a silly mistake was made. It makes the set less interesting because a child really wants to see the layouts from the instructions in action. And that is simply not possible.
Customer Review: A Wonderful First Train-Set for Toddlers!
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I gave this train-set to our 22-month-old for Christmas after researching several train sets and we made the right choice: my son can't stop playing with it...and, actually, neither can my husband! The first thing my son does when he comes downstairs in the morning is head straight for the train set. The tracks are easy to put together (my son doesn't yet have full dexterity to do it by himself -- he's young -- so we help him) and my son has no problem getting the train cars onto the tracks once we've assembled the tracks for him. The set is made from very nice wood that does not have any splinters, and the train colors are vibrant. The wheels on the trains appear to be connected quite well, so I am not worried about them popping off and becoming a choking hazard: in other words, this set is completely appropriate for a 2+-year-old. Although we haven't purchased any additional trains, it says it is compatible with both the Thomas and Brio (popular in Europe) sets. On the advice of several other parents, we also purchased the Melissa and Doug Activity Table so that my son doesn't have to sit on the floor all the time to move the train around the track. However, we haven't assembled it yet, and so far my son doesn't seem to mind playing with it on the floor. Overall, this is a solid investment for a toddler who likes trains.Customer Review: Choo-Choo!
Summary: 5 Stars
Our son has been fascinated with trains ("choo-choos") since 18 months. And it is the first toy he runs to play with at our locally owned toy store. When his 2nd birthday approached my husband and I purchased it from amazon. And we are so glad we did!. The shipping was fast and FREE. And The toy is the delight of his little life. We also purchased the Melissa and Doug train table. DH put it together the night before his birthday and set it up in our office, then shut the door. The next day we brought him downstairs and let him unwrap two small presents as decoys. He was appreciative but not very excited. So, we took him to the office and opened the door and there was HIS train set. He broke into cheers of "Choo-Choo! Choo-choo! Choo-choo!" He was so excited about the train set his little hands shook as he gathered them up and held them all to his chest. It is the ONLY toy he wants to play with. Not always on the track (often on other furniture) but the trains are wonderful and work interchangeably with other wooden sets (Thomas and Brio.)It is a toy that we like to play with him too. It makes all the grown-ups feel like kids again. My only disappointment was that it was made in China. I wrongly assumed all Melissa and Doug toys were made in the US. But that aside it is a perfect toy for any kid that loves trains.