Customer Reviews

Life-Like Trains HO Scale Thundering Rails Electric Train Set

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I agree with Mr. Lute ~ this is a MODEL not a TOY (but you can still have loads of fun with it...we do!). The age recommendation (on the box) is 14+. I believe here on Amazon it's 9? Maybe 10. I'm not quite sure about that. However, as Mr. Lute states, you need to make sure your children are old enough, and fully aware, that you need to *play* with the train with care/caution. My husband and 9.5 year old son LOVE this train. We bought it for our son for Christmas. It's set up on my husband's piece of plywood, on a folding table, in our son's room. This set even let's us utilize the engine of my husband's train set when he was small! The track is a snap to put together and is very sturdy. The cars fit nicely, without all the struggle of "setting them in" just right in order for them to run. The knob is rather sensitive to speed until you get the hang of it ~ all of a couple of times using it! We are going to purchase more track to make curves and figure 8's. My son is thoroughly enjoying putting together the little model buildings that came with the train and has his eyes set on some bigger, more complicated models at a local hobby shop. This gets 5 stars in our book!

Even before the train arrived I taught our boys (ages 4, 6, & 8) that it's a MODEL and not a toy! Toys get played with and thrown into toy boxes. Models get set up on table tops and run with care.

We received our shipment within a couple days however the packing was horrible. The train was placed in the bottom of the shipper with some paper packing thrown on top of it. This was fine however the train had no packing to cushion it on the bottom! Despite this everything was intact except the caboose which had a set of wheels that apparently popped off. They were easily popped back on.

Setting up the train was simple. The track went together very easily. We broke in the loco as recommended and then hooked up the cars. The transformer isn't very sensitive so we ran the train too fast at first which resulted in some derailing however we quickly got the hang of it and had the train running for several hours without a single derailment! The tricky part was finding the right speed to get the train up the bridge without it straining but not too fast that it would derail coming down the bridge and around the turn. Once the right speed is found the train RUNS like a champ!

The fun of a model train is RUNNING them. You have to use judgment and exercise certain cautions. You can't expect to open up the loco full bore and NOT have it derail!

Two of our boys are autistic and they thoroughly enjoy the train. We all do! This was our first train and we've been bitten by the bug! We're going to build a nice layout and are sure to have MANY hours of fun RUNNING our MODEL train! Maybe Lionel is the favorite and classic brand but this train is OUR favorite and bound to be something we'll always remember and cherish. Thanks for the great train and incredible value!

Bought this for my grandson who is age 4 and his Mother was very happy with this train and my grandson loves the train and he plays with it every night.

The train and train cars are great. I really like the new style HO track, so much easier than my older style. The bridge is nice as well. The size of the track is not bad either, adding on soon as parts come in. The plastic cars are okay. The buildings were a little difficult to piece, glue, paint, and put together.(picture of buildings little deceiving. The signs dont come painted either. Luck, I had some old rail signs to use. Over all not bad for the price. Im about to purchase another Walther train set having a different engine, plus I need the extra track to replace the old style HO. So much smoother.

I really like the track for this train set because of the way it connects.
Apparently our train arrived with the engine damaged underneath and as a result the train will not stay on the track. My husband called the Walther company and had a horrible time getting someone on the phone. When he finally reached someone, they were extremely rude and said he should not have called even though the paper packaged with the train said to call Walther not the retailer for any defects. The cars reminded me of the old birthday toy favors...extremely cheap plastic. I should have known for the number of pieces that one gets at the price I paid... however it had one great review so I took a chance and ordered the set for my husband and son. Perhaps we were unlucky and received the one set that had issues. Good luck if you choose to order this item.

This set is great for older kids. Our 9 year old son absolutely loved getting this for Christmas. The set is not a toy, but a perfect project for an older kid that can appreciate the investment of time and effort to build something which is only limited by their imagination. My son and I have spent countless hours building all of the scenery around his train set and watching the train run around the track flawlessly. If anything, this set is nicer than the ones that I grew up with. The track snaps together with minimal effort and without the old couplers that never seemed to fit right. This started a hobby that my son is enjoying and learning about and he has already gotten to know the folks at our local hobby shop where he is spending his allowance periodically to upgrade his layout and collection. What a fun hobby; and it doesn't involve a TV or video game. Good clean fun with my boy and tangible results for his work. I can't ask for more.

track is very cheeply made compared to all others I have. small tabs on the ends will break extremely easily and I highly reccomend you buy extra to start with. The train itself is fair for the price.

too EZ for a 5 yo to break. should of paid more attention to the age suggestion. but was still fun to watch it go around the X mas tree.

I've never written a review before, but I have to warn other parents that this train set constantly derails and breaks. It's very hard to hook the cars to each other and the pieces are fragile.
Sad to say, but within ten minutes, the engine crashed into pieces.