Kmart 21 Piece Christmas Train

Flimsy - not for children – It says ages 3+ but let me tell you, the fine motor skills and dexterity needed to set this up is up there with performing heart surgery. There's no way a 3 year old can play with this, let alone an adult. The train and carriages need to be perfectly sitting atop the tracks, and the smallest nudge will send the whole thing toppling over. The… Read more

coupling clips between the carriages are so finnicky and flimsy, you spent most of your time trying to hook them up and again any slight accidental nudge will undo it. Its like threading a needle. If you somehow manage to get everything sitting on the tracks and attached perfectly, it will all come undone as soon as you turn the train on, as it jolts forward with such force that it detaches from the carriage or jumps of the rails completely. You need to apply tremendous downward pressure onto the train, almost breaking it, then switch it on, and then gently release the train so it gradually and smoothly gains speed. By this point your 3 year old kid is screaming. That's not all, because the noise this train makes is like opening the gates of hell. I don't know how they managed to squeeze that much power from 2xAA batteries, but the sound will drown out everything else in your life. Real trains aren't this loud. This is the type of thing you set up once, and never touch it again. The second your kid tries to play with it, you'll be back to square one because it basically cant be played with without falling apart. This thing belongs with other difficult puzzles like the Rubick's cube, sudoku books, and a 10,000 piece jigsaw. Forget this train and go buy Thomas the tank, and steer clear if you have children under 12, coz they have no hope of enjoying this train.