Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Playset: Were Colorforms Always This Tiny?
Written: Mar 27 '05
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Pros: It was a cute idea.
Cons: Tall, narrow playboard not conducive to trains; lack of stick
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is that, no matter how hard you try, you really can't relive your past.
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| pippadaisy's Full Review: Thomas and Friends Island of Sodor Colorforms Play... |
My son's birthday theme this year was Thomas the Tank Engine, and as a result, he got a whole slew of new Thomas toys and games, which couldn't have made him happier. When he opened one present to find the Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Playset, I'm sure that my excitement was contagious, because my kids really don't have many Colorforms (other than The Wiggles Floor Puzzle) and I remember them being one of my favorite pastimes as a child.
::: Sodor In Vinyl :::
The Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Playset set comes, as I believe most Colorforms sets do, with a glossy cardboard insert that fits right into the box for playtime, and 27 reusable Colorforms shapes. The cardboard insert shows a view of Sodor, with a bridge and section of track in the foreground, and a stream, the ocean surrounding Sodor, and some hills, roads, and track in the background. I should add that my daughter also spotted a tiny Toby on the tracks in the background, although I don't know how she even saw him, much less identified him.
Also included are the 27 Colorforms pieces my children have identified as: Gordon, Edward, Harold, Cranky, Percy, James, Oliver, three small flags, Bertie the Bus, a suitcase, front views of Percy and James, a signal, The Conductor, Sir Topham Hatt, Mavis, a box for Cranky to lift, two of the "Troublesome Trucks," Harvey, a large Thomas, a small Thomas, Annie & Clarabelle, Elizabeth (we think), and Salty.
The Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Playset is recommended for ages 3 to 8, and the only directions are to periodically wipe the playboard and backs of the pieces with a damp cloth to keep them clean and "sticky."
::: Nostalgia Only Goes So Far :::
My children really wanted to like this set, especially after they saw how excited I was about it. However, I'm not sure if my problem is that they really aren't what I remember them to be, or that Colorforms have gone downhill since I was a child. I had both the "original" Colorforms that were just shapes, as well as some of the themed sets, and I don't remember any of them being, well, as boring as this set!
For starters, I think that the orientation of the background image is all wrong. We are dealing with trains here, which are LONG and NOT VERY TALL. Printing the background images vertically on the playboard instead of horizontally leaves all this mostly-wasted space in the background, and very little space in the foreground to place the characters. Sure, they give you some smaller pieces, like Elizabeth, but young kids really don't have a handle on perspective, and Buster just gets upset that there aren't a lot of places where Gordon, his current favorite, can fit on the playboard.
The image is also very busy, without there being a lot of play value. For instance, the majority of the trains aren't on tracks unless you put them on the bridge. Boring! The trains almost exclusively have to be placed on the bridge, with the exception of the two front-view trains, which can go on the track section in front. What's more, the Roundhouse is nowhere to be seen! To a three-year-old boy, Sodor isn't Sodor without a place for the trains to sleep.
My last complaint is that the Colorforms don't seem to stick as well as they did in my memory. Oh, I'm sure back then they were made out of some combination of asbestos and saccharin that will be blamed for all of us getting fingertip cancer when we are 60, but it's frustrating to lay down a piece, run your fingers over it to make it attach, and have it bubble up as soon as you are done. This happened even when the set was brand-new, so I can't imagine the pieces sticking after a year of use.
Overall, the Colorforms Thomas & Friends - Island of Sodor Playset was a huge dud. My kids will attempt to play with it, but get bored after about two minutes and then leave the baby alone with it, who then proceeds to try to stick all the trains in his hair (which probably isn't so great for the sticking ability either). It's cute, but it was a disappointment to us all.
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More Thomas-related stuff:
Briarpatch Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Number Game • Chinese Dragon • Dazy Sure Track • Ivo Hugh with Zoo Cars • Lifting Bridge • Mavis • Nilo FlexaTrack • Nilo Multi-Use Storage Bench • Nilo Multi-Use Train Table • Schylling Thomas & Friends Tin Drum • Sir Topham Hatt & Lady Topham Hatt • Spencer
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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pippadaisy
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About Me:
Divorce seriously cuts into the amount of time for reviewing.
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