Thomas the Tank Engine Take-n-Play: Knapford Station Playset

My eldest Daughter is a total Thomas-a-holic, and so anything to do with the Number 1 Engine of Sodor is always greeted with a yelp of joy and becomes the latest thing to be carried around with at all times. At Christmas, many Thomas and Friends gifts came her way, and this was one of the ones that her main present from Mummy. We already had the Tidmouth Sheds playset, and thought this would be a nice addition to her collection. Here are my thoughts on this rather overpriced toy.

Thomas and Friends, yes we have all heard of them!

Most of us have grown up with or have had our children grow up with the little blue steam engine and his pals, chuffing around the fictional island of Sodor. Based off the The Railway Series of books written by father and son Reverend W. V. Awdry and Christopher Awdry, the TV series and subsequent merchandise follows the tales of a group of anthropomorphised vehicles, predominately steam trains. With the central character a small and cheeky tank engine named Thomas, The TV series continues to be made today since 1984, and is one of the longest running children's shows in the UK. The success of the brand has ultimately spawned a huge amount of merchandising, and train track sets are a big player in this. There are several types available, from wooden and Mega-Block versions, to this type, the small scaled die-cast models with plastic tracks and play-sets known as Take-n-Play, previously called Take Along.

These sets are a nice small size, can be stored easily and are of mostly high quality, the models of the engines themselves being particularly good. The track on the other hand is made out of the quite thin plastic and is limited in what you can do with it, but you still can build a flowing track that fun to play with for the children. The playsets, which are modelled off the locations in the show vary in their quality and design. This one I feel is one of the worse in many departments, considering the price you pay for it.

Cost and Packaging

For some reason, a lot of children's toys nowadays come packaged in boxes that are very tricky to open, and the toy itself is secured inside with a ridiculous amount of card, tape, fasteners, screws and twist ties. This set is no different, and takes about 20 minutes to have the toy out and ready for use. With layers of mounting card and numerous, and to be frank, unessential ties, it all a bit of overkill to package a simple plastic toy. That said, it's all presented very well and has all the usual labelling and warning printed clearly on the box, and all the materials are recyclable. Good thing too as there is a lot used without good reason.

Paying for a well known and popular brand is something that parents will always know will result in a high-priced toy, and at £24.99 from ELC, this was a touch pricey. I wouldn't be to upset about this normally, but would expect that the quality and in this case the functional design would be fine, so I'm quite disappointed.

Looks and Build Quality

Whilst the colours and overall design are in keeping with the product line, the appearance of this set is rather odd. It is supposed to be based off the Knapford Station seen in the shows, but for me it looks nothing like it apart from the trademark glass arches and the nicely placed Knapford Station sign on the front. I'm not sure why it has gates on the front though, that makes it look more like a shed, and of the three entrance the middle one doesn't go anywhere, and just tapers off to nothing. The textures of the surfaces or a nice touch, and it's total size is good too, it's just a shame it is not utilised better. It is very compatible with other Take-n-Play and Take Along products, and can be set up and folded up quickly. This unfortunately has side effects. The set doesn't stand up assembled very strongly, and can collapse in the middle were the track hinges are whist being played with. While it is folded, the plastic clip doesn't hold well and can unfold while it is being carried. All the metal securing pins and screws are well protected and are very unlikely to fall out and be hazardous to your children, and there are no sharp edges or pitching-places, so on a safety aspect all it well but the general built quality comes across as a little cheap.

Interaction and Durability

This is where there is a major design problem. Firstly, is it suppose to be a station, but the platforms are tiny and barely fit the size of a model engine, let alone any carriages. Also, with the raised loop part, there appears to be a waiting room with a picture of people inside, which vanish when a engine passes by, giving the illusion of collecting passengers. A nice idea, but the problem is that this part is not a platform, and the mechanism fails to work on a regular basis, and sometimes becoming jammed. This becomes frustrating for my daughter. The big issue I have with this toy however is the track layout, it is completely hopeless. It has three connections for track at the front, but they all direct the trains in the same route, and because of the positions of the connections, once an engine has entered the station, they cannot get out. This disrupts play and a degree of realism I feel is needed, because the Thomas track format is a useful learning tool for puzzles and simple logical problems. Other play sets haven't got these problems, and flow into any given track layout your child may build, but it's just too difficult to incorporate this station. It certainly seems like no thought has been put into layout, and just rushed out quickly for sale. Of the all the play sets my daughter has, Knapford Station rarely gets a look in because she just doesn't find it fun any more.

Unlike the die-cast model engines, this play set is almost entirely made of plastic, and some of these are pretty thin and of apparent low-quality. This is not unexpected, as the track pieces themselves are similar and they can bend very easily. Parts of the play set are like this, especially the looping part. Colour fade would be something to be aware of here too. It looks all rather sturdy on the whole, but parts feel weak and may break in time, but I doubt it would get played with enough the deteriorate.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very disappointed in this product. Having the Thomas branding I would expect something to be of a higher quality, and certainly better designed. I feel these faults highlighted and build quality certainly do not match the price tag, and as with a lot of branded toy you are simply paying for the name, whether the product is any good or not. Shame really, as if this play set had been designed better, it would have been a great addition for the Thomas collection my daughter has. Pity.

Thomas has hit the buffers with this one.

Thanks for Reading. © Novabug