Bob The Builder - Can We Fix It? Yes We Can!
Written: Apr 03 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Educational, fun, entertaining, great for Bob The Builder fans.
Cons: Additional sets may be required.
The Bottom Line: Bob and the gang,
have so much fun.
Working together,
They get the job done
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Bob The Builder Bob Lofty and The Mice 3273 |
You’ve seen the show, you’ve heard the song, now get ready for the Duplo’s! I hadn’t planned on buying any of the Bob The Builder Duplo sets since my boys are a little too old for Duplo’s and shoot me the ‘evil look’ when I start singing the theme song. Hey, it’s the little things in life that you’ll look back on when you’re old, confined to a wheel chair and drinking all your meals through a straw. My nephew, Hampton, will be celebrating his fourth birthday soon so I decided to pick up all the Bob The Builder sets for him – which gives me ample opportunity to take the sets for a test drive. Since it would cost me an arm and a leg to send them to the U.K. in their original packaging, I flatten the boxes and put all the sets into plastic bags to save space. Who am I kidding? I just wanted to check out these sets for myself :]
Much like the Action Wheelers series, Bob The Builder is a Duplo set that goes beyond basic construction or generic bulk sets. This is a great set for kids that are just moving out of the basic sets, have learned stacking and building skills and love Bob The Builder. The entire Duplo line is amazing and is a great stepping-stone for the younger crowd. It teaches and reinforces size, shape, colors and structure – moreover from the educational attraction – this is a ‘toy’ that had unlimited replay value. Even more so when combined with other Duplo sets or generic mega packs.
Bob The Builder!
I was pretty amazed at the attention to detail with this set. From the rivets on Lofty’s wheels to the extension arm on the crane, this is a pretty cool set. Bob is the only actual Duplo figure included with this set. The mice are stenciled onto a green block for obvious safety reasons. Even so, fans of the television show will have a great time assembling this set and an even better time combining it with the other Duplo sets from this series. One note of caution, the crane does have a cord that operates the bucket. Please use extreme caution if smaller children will be sharing the same play area. The cord is very sturdy and could get wrapped around a small childs arm, leg or throat. If you need to cut the cord for any reason, I’ve found that butcher twine words as a suitable replacement. I had to do this with the Action Wheeler Helicopter Rescue when the cord accidentally got caught in Buzz Lightyear’s projectile grappling hook.
Lofty
The first thing you’ll notice about Lofty is the brilliant blue color – and of course the grill to grill grin :] Assembling Lofty is a breeze so let your child take a few tries at it before you step in and help. When my boys were younger I always thought “I better help them build this, they’ll never get it right”. I was oh so wrong. That’s what’s great about these sets, they are challenging but at the same time simple. You might want to go through the steps and ask them to help you find a certain piece – trust me – they will surprise you over and over again. Lofty has six chunky style wheels, a large open cabin that’s perfect for Bob to fit in, a telescoping arm / crane and a movable base that the crane arms is connected to. I’m glad I got to test this out when no one else was home or I might be writing this review from a rubber room – and yes – I even made the vroom vroom noises.
The Extras
What Bob The Builder scene would be complete without some background pieces? Included in this set are two separate pieces of fence, two tree tops that can also double as bushes, green stenciled block with the mice, green stenciled block with Bob’s lunchbox, thermos and apple and one red block that can be used in a variety of way – tree top stand, a piece for the crane to lift, a safe place for the mice to hang out etc.
The Bottom Line
This is a great introduction to the second level of Duplo blocks. This will be a huge hit with the little ones that love Bob The Builder and will help take their basic brick building to a new level. I highly suggest that if you plan on buying this set you also check out Scoop On The Road [3272] which will allow a little more creativity for under $10.00. If you don’t want to jump into getting the entire set you can purchase the basic Duplo blocks for added replay value.
The bricks are large enough for little hands to handle as well as being almost choke-proof. As with any building toy, parental supervision is highly recommended until the child understands the danger of putting the blocks in his or her mouth or until they’ve grown out of the “let me taste test everything” stage. Duplo recommends this set for children 2 and older, but you are the ultimate judge of your childs abilities so don’t let the numbers on a box dictate your purchasing decision.
Above all else, the Duplo line promotes education through imagination, entertainment and the ability to create new and wondrous things. This set is big enough for a child to be captivated for a few hours but to get the total experience; some other sets might be needed. I am sure that my nephew will get several duplicate sets from the Bob The Builder series and I know that without a doubt you won’t hear him complaining about it :]
The Stats
Set Name: Bob, Lofty and the Mice
Family Set: Bob The Builder
Lego Set: 3273
Number of Pieces: 19
Age Recommendation: 2 +
Ease Of Assembly: Simple
Time Of Assembly: 5 minutes total
Cost: $ 10.99
Current Prices
Amazon.com: $14.99 plus shipping
KBkids.com: $13.99 plus shipping
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $10.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Other
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