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l must admit in the early days of him receiving this wonderful Brio l couldn’t resist going to places where they supplied this wonderful stuff and getting all the extra stations, bridges, cranes, but with the cost of Brio l soon came to my senses.
The making of Brio started way ... Read review
Advantages: hours of fun Disadvantages: quite expensive
...of him receiving this wonderful Brio l couldn’t resist going to places where they supplied this wonderful stuff and getting all the extra stations, bridges, cranes, but with the cost of Brio l soon came to my senses.
The making of Brio started way back in 1884 when a man named Ivar Bengtson in Sweden started a business up with his 3 sons making high quality toys which they made out of Beechwood and Birch.
Knowing that ... ...
The most common Brio set that is sold is the starter kit, it does seem a bit expensive at £14.99. but has 18 pieces and is recommended for children 3 years and above.(l think they should have put in some small print that fathers were to have a partial role in helping sons put it together and then leaving it alone :o)
It forms a figure of eight and comes with one bright red engine, a green tipping wagon and a little engineer that can ... more
l am thinking of putting a beware sign out side my front door! Not because you are in danger of been eaten by our two wonderful dogs (they will only lick you to death) and the cat next door has taken to only ambushing the postman now. But since those cold winter days when Christmas was upon us, my once so called lounge has become a rail network that British Rail would be envious of.
For there snaking across the carpet are miles and miles of wooden track that mysteriously seem to be expanding every time l turn my back. My suspicions lay with my better half who seems to have taken great pride in his work of art. This track is equally admired by our son, who now seems to have a multitude of trains going in all different directions. l must admit in the early days of him receiving this wonderful Brio l couldn’t resist going to places where they supplied this wonderful stuff and getting all the extra stations, bridges, cranes, but with the cost of Brio l soon came to my senses.
The making of Brio started way back in 1884 when a man named Ivar Bengtson in Sweden started a business up with his 3 sons making high quality toys which they made out of Beechwood and Birch. Knowing that these are being sold to children the company ensures that the wood they use is free of insecticides and toxic chemicals. Which after what we see our children put in their mouths might not seem so important but as a company they still uphold that today.
The most common Brio set that is sold is the starter kit, it does seem a bit expensive at £14.99. but has 18 pieces and is recommended for children 3 years and above.(l think they should have put in some small print that fathers were to have a partial role in helping sons put it together and then leaving it alone :o) It forms a figure of eight and comes with one bright red engine, a green tipping wagon and a little engineer that can sit up front. The engine and wagon have magnetic couplings that any youngster will find easy to connect together and the track itself is chunky and the pieces fit together really well. Not only does Brio give hours of enjoyment it also provides children manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, constructive creativity and problem solving.
I personally found that my son found the figure of eight a bit boring after a while (or was that his father!) anyway you can then expand this figure of eight with one of the many expansion packs, on the side of the box they usually recommend an expansion kit and what it consists of. For example the “Train Engineer’s Freight” set, this one will have extra tracks, an extra wagon, a crane with a magnet, trees, and a tall rail building. It doesn’t get any cheaper and this can set you back around about £25. This is one option you can choose but what l did instead of an expansion pack a brought another Brio set which was the next one up, from the starter kit.
The Adventure Set, although also the figure of eight it also comes with a three part bridge, another engine and carriage, and if you have already bought the starter kit you no longer have to build just the figure eight, l have seen some wonderful creations on my floor, this was slightly more expensive than the starter kit at £19.99 but obviously cheaper than the expansion packs.
The trains that come with these kits are the ones that you just pull along but there is an option that you can buy the battery operated variety which are Thomas the Tank engine and friends. These range from £10 to £15, this sounds rather alot but they don’t just go rumbling forward. You have reverse, forward and a light for effect. They are also compatible with the kit trains and the magnet lets you attach as many wagons and carriages as you like. If you have loads of track and just want extra bits like cranes, waterwheels, bridges these are also sold separate and can range between £10 to £25. Of course for those who want it all at once there are kits costing up to £99. sounds alot? that doesn’t include the table that you can put it all on! So if you want to keep your children and your better half amused on rainy days Brio has the solution :o) And if you want to look at Brio without having to wonder around shops they do have a site at “www.Brio.co.uk
Advantages: Tactile, striking, appealing, useful, develop children's skills Disadvantages: A little pricey maybe
...Brio's most famous range...their trainsets. Brio also produce a whole range of other toys which are also available on their website and this review is for one of the products I particularly like.
BRIO 30156 Wooden Toys: 50 Coloured Blocks
Wooden blocks have to be the most enduring toy for young children. I have fond memories of my basic wooden building blocks which I used up until the age of 8 or 9, creating bridges, castles, houses, dragon’s lairs ... ...why.
*********The Company*****************
Brio is a well established (since 1884) Swedish producer of wooden toys. They have a reputation for durability, quality and expertise in making toys which help children’s development. Their website is Brio.net and I would heartily encourage you to visit and have a look at the rest of their range. It is well laid out and easy to use and will give you a list of retailers for their products in your area. ...
historywitch 18.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brio
Advantages: Durable, Collectable and Entertaining Disadvantages: Expensive
Brio trains have been a part of our family life for some considerable time now. It is a toy which stimulates imagination, creativity and problem solving (how do I get this track to link together!). As a mother of three little boys aged two, four and six years, Brio is a firm favourite in our daily routine. Giving hours of fun for the young and um, lets say once young! Over the years our collection has grown from a simple figure-of-eight set (currently ... ...around £19.99 each.
Brio is not a cheap toy, the deluxe set (the ultimate?) costs approx £399.99, but even though more affordable versions of the train-sets are often compatible few have the durability of the original beech-wood Brio sets. My advice would be to invest in one Brio engine rather than 3 or 4 budget engines. I have no doubt that the Brio trains will remain a firm favorite for generations to come. Our train-set is consistently the first ...
LouiseA 13.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brio
Advantages: Brilliant fun, attractive toys, encourage development of skills for play...etc. Disadvantages: The price, The cost, The amount required to be tendered.(no pun meant)
...and truck, and according to Brio it costs a reasonable £14.99, but I've never actually seen this set in the shops, so I can't confirm it. They have plenty of others on their site, though they don't have prices..hmm... They also say that it is suitable for ages 3 and above. Well, when we bought this for him, Thomas was only eighteen months old. However, we have bought him various things that are 'not allowed' for children his age. Are we evil parents? ... ...with Brio in Early Learning Centres and at friends' houses for long enough, and he can build the track together, place the engines on it and play with them perfectly well, so why not? I'm glad we did buy it though. We went down a different route to the normal one, as we couldn't find a starter set and aren't made of money, we bought a couple of straight bits of track and an engine. Of course, we couldn't buy any other engine but the Thomas the Tank ...
jehodgson 15.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brio
Advantages: Great fun and very safe Disadvantages: Very Expensive
...bought my little girl a brio train set and she absoulutly loves it. Whenever we go anywhere she is always wanting to play with the wooden marvels this has given me hours of pleasure as well and encourages parents to take a pro active role in their childs play. The trains are so simple yet so enjoyable all made of wood and very simple yet very effective in capturing the little ones imagination they also sell cars,buses,vans,fire trucks etc etc which ... ...used in conjunction with the actual train set. If you have house work to do or chores in any sense this will keep the little loves quite for ages I even managed to clean the whole house and have a cup of tea after before settling down and spending hours playing with her and really enjoying it. Its a bit on the expensive side about £15 for a couple of extra pieces of track and £6/7 a train but will last for years and is very safe because they don't ...
barrytoplis 01.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brio
Advantages: A contented child Disadvantages: Expensive accessories
My son got his first Brio train set when he was three. My friend was selling hers for £40, as her son wanted to buy a Hornby set with the money. The set had several trains and hundreds of miles of track! The trains are well made with all the intricate details etched on them. The track is wooden and sturdy and will withstand some rough play. I took it home for the night to see if he was interested in playing with the trains. Due to most of the trains ... ...your child does have a Brio train set or a Tesco version, which is also compatible, these are lovely extras for the track. Extremely realistic especially the tunnel as when the train enters it, it makes a noise of the train going right the way through it. My son has nearly all of the popular trains, I say nearly all as we all forgot to buy Edward and he has been putting us on a guilt trip ever since, with comments like. " It would really make my ...
Stick 02.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brio
Advantages: prices are good, can be ordered mail order too, good choice Disadvantages: limited maybe in smaller stores
, switching points, crossover points etc. They also have a lovely battery operated loco that stops and starts when it hits the various points. This would give Brio and Duplo a run for it's money.
The cars and vehicles that they sell are very reasonable too. They sell lots of bigger models too like AA Vans, Eddie Stobart etc.
They have some good games in too, and lots of girlie bits and pieces and sparkly things that they all love.
They have a lot of unisex baby toys too, and have major brand names too. ...
anjib 24.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tesco Toys
Advantages: Cheap. Good for buying presents. Disadvantages: Sell a lot of titles you've never heard of....
. I love the childrens books here - there are some really good 'fun' educational books, & it's always a great place to pick a few up as presents.
But there?s more to The Works than just books. They stock a good range of arts & crafts materials, from paints & canvasses to card-making paraphernalia. Both adults & kids are catered for with regards to arts & crafts.
There are also quite a few toys for children, mainly smaller cheap novelty items?for when you need a ?little something? to keep them quiet, without spending too much! They do also stock more expensive branded name toys which (as with all of the stock) vary each time you visit. On my last shopping trip to The Works, I picked up a Brio babies first train set at the bargain price of £9.99 (£31.99 on Amazon!), & a Dr Seuss floor puzzle for £4.99. It?s always worth a look as ...
sambam000 13.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Works
I was very surprised to find that Tesco stocks such a good range of chidlren's toys.
However the best thing is that the toys can be bought by mail order, ordered through the
catalogue or over the internet.
The best buy for us was the train and road track which was substantially cheaper than the
similar brio version. It is perhaps slightly less well made but for a two year old there was
really no difference. It is also compatible with brio and others.
On the whole I would say Tesco toys represent excellent value for money, ...
juliew 02.10.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tesco Toys
