Matchbox Hero City Ice Mountain Playset

by Mattel

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
• ASIN: B000099ZA0
• Item model number: B000099ZA0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,166 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)

Product Description

Editorial Review

As kids move their Matchbox cars along this circular snowy mountain road, the cars hit the hazards along the way. This playset lets your child control the rescue mission. Easy-to-work knobs operate the motorized lift, which rescues cars that have crashed or sunken into the pool of thin ice in the center of Ice Mountain. An included rescue vehicle assists cars that have been buried under the avalanche on the lower level of the roadway. Kids can use this set on its own or combine it with other Hero City vehicles and play centers to create a bigger city. This set requires three C batteries (not included) to operate. --Cristina Vaamonde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This toy is a winner, November 29, 2003

By 

"coulsb" (Santa Barbara, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Matchbox Hero City Ice Mountain Playset (Toy)

My son received this toy for his 5th birthday. He plays with it alot and it is also enjoyed by his 2 year old sister and our 8 year old neighbor. It makes lots of fun sounds and has great action with the ice breaking, the rotating icy road and the vehicle lifter. Most Matchbox vehicles work well on this toy. Some of the taller trucks get stuck on the lower road and some vehicles work better than others on the vehicle lift, however the kids seem to enjoy helping some of the vehicle on and off of the lift. Our heavier Hot Wheels cars don't work very well on this toy nor do the very cheap lightweight off brand vehicles. But we're a Matchbox family so we have plenty of cars to use on this toy. Even though there is plenty of battery operated action, there is still lots of hands on fun - my kids can't seem to resist pushing the cars onto the ice and bypassing the lift to send a pile up of cars onto the icy rotating road. It's also a very sturdy well made toy. My only complaint might be that the assembly instructions are hard to follow. In order to activate the motion and sound the pieces must be very securely assembled. If it doesn't work the first time, take it apart and try putting it together again (I had to do this). If you buy this toy and the breaking ice doesn't completely come together, then pull off that section and make sure you've got the piece from the lower road in the correct slot that activates the breaking ice located on the underside of the rotating road. However, once put together properly it's a very fun and sturdy toy. Highly recommended!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I must have gotten the only one that works!, January 26, 2004

By 

The Lady in Redd (Westbury, NY USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Matchbox Hero City Ice Mountain Playset (Toy)

I didn't read the reviews before I ordered this toy and I'm glad I didn't or I would never have ordered it. My 5 year old son wanted this toy so badly that I just went online and ordered it for Christmas. He/we have played with it consistently and constantly since Christmas. Usually, he rotates his new toys in and uses them all periodically with no one toy constantly...until now that is. He plays with this toy at least 5 times a week. It wasn't until I decided to write a review about it that I read the reviews that were already sent in. We have never had a problem with it at all whether it be related to the motor, the parts or the assembly or the durability. My son can be very rough on toys and this is one of the only two Christmas toys that hasn't broken down yet. He forces things in the wrong direction sometimes and I hear this grinding sound and then he corrects what it was he did wrong and still everything works. He plays with this toy for at least an hour at a time. This is a complete first for him. And when he asks me to play with him and suggest Ice Mountain, I'm so glad because all I have to do is sit there and operate one of the passage way levers. It's easy play for me and interesting play for him while he decides which routes the cars will take and which will fall into the ice and which will be rescued. We really love this toy. I'm sorry so many other people had such problems with it. How disappointing for the children that must have been.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute blast, but you MUST assemble it with some force!, January 21, 2004

By 

Adriana G. (Long Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Matchbox Hero City Ice Mountain Playset (Toy)

Ice Mountain was one the top of my 4-year-old son's Christmas list. He was so excited when he unwrapped it Christmas morning and could not wait to put it together. His dad, who can assemble, build, and solve just about any mechanical/electrical problem was in charge of assembly. But, alas, no matter what we did the motor and sounds did not work. My son really didn't care about it "not working" because he didn't realize what the thing was supposed to do. That said, Ice Mountain was still hands-down his favorite Christmas gift outside of his Nintendo Game Cube. However, I was disappointed and since then had been trying to find a replacement for our apparent "dud" Ice Mountain -- with no success. Then, when I saw the reviews here at toysrus.com and read the comments of others that seemed to have had similar "duds" and then got them to work, I decided to give it one more try. At last, there was success!!! When I finally got the thing to work, I came to the conclusion that it's tricky assembly, and not faulty electronics, that seems to be the problem. You must really press the pieces together firmly until they "lock" into place. In fact, you need to use a lot more force pushing the pieces together than you're probably used to with most children's toys. The part to pay special attention to is where the underside of the round portion of the track that surrounds the "spinning ice" connects to the base where the crane/lift is located. There is a "semi-circular" shaped orange piece right at the critical point on the base. Push down HARD until that connection snaps and locks into place. For some reason, the motor will not work unless that is done correctly. Now, our Ice Mountain works great and my son is so excited he doesn't know what to do with himself. Now that it's working, it's actually really cool and a ton of fun! (Even my 6-year-old daughter thinks so!) In addition, the kids can learn a lot about cause and effect, as there are many things they can manipulate to alter the outcome of their play. That should help keep them interested, too, because they can keep things changing by just the move of a directional paddle, the push of a button, or by using a different type of vehicle. MY KIDS LOVE IT!!!