This was the first in a long line of Hot Wheels products I have bought for my son. I bought it because, to be honest, it looked like something I'd want to play with. At this age (almost 6), my son wants me to play with him most of the time, and I'll be jiggered (thanks to Mark Twain for that word!) if I'm going to spend tons of time playing with a toy I don't enjoy!

Set-up
The directions for all the Hot Wheels products are pictorial. I wouldn't have a problem with this, except that the 3-D nature of the drawings is at times difficult to interpret. I am a visual person, but unfortunately, the artists change drawing angles at will, with no indication as to which way is up. Of all the Hot Wheels products we have thus far, though, the Tune-Up Shop is the least complicated to assemble- took about 15 minutes, not including the time it takes to place the decals on their respective pieces.

What does it DO?
The Tune-Up Shop is a tri-level activity. The car slides up a huge, steep ramp and proceeds down a short, curved ramp to the first level- a chassis lube, complete with a oil drum. Our oil drum doesn't have "disappearing oil" as the ad claims, just a small orange drum.

After oiling the chassis, your small mechanic then turns a knob, pushing the car forward onto a small ramp that drops the car to the next level- I don't know what this level is actually supposed to be doing, since I have never seen anyone welding on a car. There is a tiny little figure of a man that sits on a small post (he is removable, and would be a choking hazard for small children). This has one of my favorite features- a lever that makes noise and sparks within a plastic casing. Maybe there is an instance when a car needs to be welded, but I don't know what that would be (at a body shop, but this is a Tune-Up Shop), especially since there is fuel around! My noticing details like this is a source of endless frustration to my husband, who sometimes refers to me as "geek".

Anyway, the last activity is the engine tester- rev the engine and let 'er go. There is another small lever to press that makes almost the same sound as the "welding" lever, but this time it's supposed to be "realistic engine sounds"- whatever!

Did we like this toy?
Yes and no- when all the pieces are together and functioning properly, it is a fairly decent toy. But there's the problem- our Tune-Up Shop has pieces that don't quite fit together- they are only off by a millimeter or so, but that's enough to hamper the entire set. The first tall ramp doesn't quite fit into the bottom slot nor does it fit into the connecting piece above it. After having to reassemble this toy several times, the joints and connections are a little loose, and the pieces fall apart as well.

My son likes to play with this toy, though, and I try not to stand in his way. It is good for developing the imagination, as it doesn't do everything FOR your child- they still have to make up a story, or play will get boring very quickly.

I think my son likes this set more than I do, because he doesn't know that Hot Wheels (and Fisher Price as well, come to think of it) used to produce the highest quality toys with sturdy plastic pieces that wouldn't fall apart. To him, this is Hot Wheels. I don't think I'll let him in on how much better the same toys were when I was a child- it would just depress him!



Recommended: No