Customer Reviews

Thomas & Friends Gold Mine Mountain Set

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am somewhat split on the value of Thomas and Friends, including the Gold Mine Mountain Set. There are 4 issues I have.

1) The Warranty on this product line has been reduced from LIFETIME down to 90 days. If you expect to buy this and hand it down through the generations, think again.

2) The WOODEN train line is NOT 100% wooden like the BRIO line. A large proportion of the set is manufactured with molded plastics. The problem with the use of plastics:
a) Plastic does not resist shock well. It may resist a 1 1/2 foot fall from a train table. I'm skeptical it would survive a "dinner table" fall on a hard surface.
b) The painted surfaces of plastic tend to rub away easily. After an hour or so of use, one engine, Lady, had her eyebrow rubbed off. Plastic just doesn't take paint well.

3) The price is grossly dis-proportionate to it's value. If you examine the product closely, it's nothing more than a plastic toy with a wooden block in the center.

4) I had the impression that the product was made in England, and this ties back into number 3. This product is made in China. The price of Chinese built toys ought to reflect the quality. In fact, I feel mis-led into thinking I was paying a premium for a high quality, long lasting toy.

For the 4 issues above, I have to ding Thomas and Friends 2 stars.

The set is adorable and quite durable... the problem is it doesn't come with enough tracks to actually connect them. Nothing worse than a happy, excited child being reduced to tears because he can't make the goldmine look like the box because Mom needs to drive 25 miles to buy some extra tracks.