Thomas & Friends Lifting Bridge: A Little Bridge for a Lot of Money
Written: Apr 30 '04
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Pros: it's Thomas and it's probably in a video or two
Cons: expensive, sloppy detail work, did I mention overpriced?
The Bottom Line: Like most Thomas-branded merchandise, this is WAY overpriced for what you get.
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| pippadaisy's Full Review: Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends: Lifting Bridge... |
My poor children. They are huge friends of Thomas the Tank Engine wooden trains and actually have a wide variety of tracks and trains. However, unbeknownst to them, aside from their trains, the only actual piece of Learning Curve Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends train accessories that they have in their shared possessions is the Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Lifting Bridge. All the rest are off-brand bridges and track.
~&~ The Basics ~&~
The Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Lifting Bridge is a solid wood structure measuring about 9" long by 4" wide by 4" high. There is a wood base, with the bridge supports covered by a glued-on brick facade, complete with illustrated bushes, grass, and ivy. There is also a brick "control tower" where you can see The Engineer happily waiting to life the bridge.
On the side opposite the control tower is a red wooden crank. Turn it three times to lift the wooden bridge with its green plastic guardrails to allow a brain to pass underneath. The bridge itself has one male and one female connector, and the area under the bridge has two female connectors to attach track to run underneath the bridge.
Also included are two plastic stop signs that fit into holes at either end of the bridge, Two pieces of ascending track to help your trains get on and off the bridge, and a green wooden "roof" piece for the control tower.
~&~ Parents Perspective ~&~
The Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Lifting Bridge was a gift my daughter received for her second birthday. I can assure you that if she had not received it as a gift, I would not have purchased it.
From a quick glance online, this set retails for about $40. Yes, that's right; $40 for a bridge, two little plastic signs, a roof block, and two pieces of wooden track. And people wonder why I bought the cheap track at Target instead of sticking with Learning Curve pieces.
I suppose I could have justified the cost with licensing, etc. if it hadn't been for an up-close inspection of the laminate on the bridge. The brick patterns never line up at the corners, and, in fact, in one place, the brick actually goes at an angle. The wood pieces are put together well, but it isn't as if this is a complicated project; any junior high student in woodshop could have done that much. The lack of attention to detail for such an expensive item really makes me glad that I haven't succumbed to more Learning Curve Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends structures.
~&~ Kid Value ~&~
To be honest, my kids really don't know the difference between the items that are made by Learning Curve and the ones that I purchase at Target. As long as the trains have the same faces that their friends' and cousins' trains have, it's all the same to them.
That being said, the Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends Lifting Bridge really doesn't get a whole lot of play. They have another bridge that is made of wood and metal that is a two-lane bridge, and the underpass on that bridge is a great deal easier for little hands to put together. As a result, the $40 Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Lifting Bridge doesn't get as much play time as the $10 bridge.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: Other
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pippadaisy
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Divorce seriously cuts into the amount of time for reviewing.
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