If you read any of my ops from now you will see they are not of a serious nature so don't worry abou...
If you read any of my ops from now you will see they are not of a serious nature so don't worry about the ratings.......because ciao is not to concerned about the payments ha ha ha ha ha
Member since:11.03.2001
Reviews:31
Members who trust:39
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
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good review (-: .....................................Darko
anjib 01.11.2001 15:41
Brio is great, but I won't buy it due to the high cost. We have the Tesco's own brand which is much much cheaper and has the same type of bits. It is compatible with Brio, they have some lovely little extras like turntables, engine sheds, people etc and will cost you about £4. Check it out for a few extra's. My nearly 5 year old son likes to build him set on the landing and into the bathroom if he gets up early in the morning. You wake up thinking you are in the middle of Grand Central Station!!
Sukey113 20.10.2001 17:56
Brilliant op - made me laugh. I hereby crown you ;0) sukey113
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)
jehodgson 15.10.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Brio
very helpful by (100%):
