When I first saw Trio blocks, I thought they were just another Lego wannabe. But this is something new. It has blocks, sticks, and panels. The blocks have holes in them that fit pegs on the sticks and panels. That allows the child to rapidly build up high or build airplane wings, etc.--anything that needs distance but not thickness. The blocks are also able to connect to other blocks like traditional building toys where the top of one fits into the bottom of the next row. We've had Trio blocks (this and another set) in the house for 3 months now and in regular use, and no parts have broken yet.
The Hot Wheels Super Stunt Builder set combines a car track with a building toy and you can use it for either one or both at any time. The set contains a building base, racing car, launcher ramp for the car, and blocks to build a structure to support the ramp. It has some specialized pieces but it's mostly versatile pieces and it was clearly meant for plenty of creative experimentation. That is, it doesn't follow the trend in "building" toys to be just snap-together play sets, it really is intended to be taken apart and turned into other things on a regular basis.
There are directions for some basic ramp possibilities with it and I'd call them about medium in clarity--sometimes it wasn't clear when an action was to be repeated and I sometimes had to think (not that there's anything wrong with that) about how a section I was building would connect to the rest of it. On the positive side, the pictures in the directions look like what you're supposed to actually build and they include two major layouts and one variation layout.
The main layout is a high slide that the car rolls down when you lift the launcher by one of its handles. Cleverly, it has no springs or mechanism to cock first, so it's not easily broken and it is easy to understand. On flat surfaces the launcher returns to the start position on its own by gravity. The car hits a flipping "gong" sort of thing as it goes by and you can set up the included barrels past that for added mayhem. The launcher and track work just fine with other wheeled toys, and it can be fun to line them up and see who can go furthest.
A tip: It's very likely that at some point your child will first destroy the elaborate version of the track and then ask you to make it work for cars again right away. No need to refuse. The panels make it easy to build high in a hurry if you need to. Just build a tower with four panels and layers of bricks between them and put the launcher on top and hook the track to it--time permitting, maybe build a 1-panel high support about halfway down the track. No flags, no shed on top, no elaborate railing, no walls, no gong--but the cars will still go down the track just fine.
Pro: 1) More blocks for the money than an average Trio set. 2) High repeat-play value. 3) You can play too, an adult won't get bored easily 4) Works with other Trio sets 5) No broken parts in 3 months.
Con: 1) Trio racing car driver doesn't fit anything else in the Trio world that I can find--neither the sticks nor the bricks connect to his feet, only a socket inside the car. 2) I'm still not sure whether or not the sticks part could be dangerous though they aren't sharp and nothing has happened so far. 3) The car is heavy--that's good because it really launches, but keep bare feet out of the way.
Bottom line: I plan to buy more Trio sets in the future.
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Product information
| Product Dimensions | 24 x 16 x 20 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 5 pounds |
| ASIN | B004ORWVQG |
| Item model number | V9539 |
| Manufacturer recommended age | 36 months - 7 years |
| Customer Reviews |
3.8 out of 5 stars |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Release date | June 1, 2011 |
| Manufacturer | Fisher-Price |
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