THOMAS & FRIENDS MINIS MOTORISED RACEWAY - REVIEW

Elliot has been a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine for as long as I can remember. Over the years we have amassed countless different tracks and engines and the collection got so large that we had to move it into the garage! Elliot has often looked at the Thomas MINIS collection in the toy shop and was very excited when we were sent the Thomas & Friends MINIS Motorised Raceway to test out.

As soon as the parcel arrived Elliot wanted to play with it straight away so we had to drop everything and get the track set up. Fortunately this was quite easy and the instruction booklet was simple to follow, and luckily we had spare batteries in the garage - phew! With a few clicks, the track was good to go and Elliot couldn't wait to get racing.

The track comes with two engines, Thomas and James but it is also compatible with the rest of the MINIS collection which is handy.

The Motorised Raceway is lots of fun. The mini engines are taken up the steep vertical slope by the lift and as soon as they reach the top, they are off! There are three different routes to follow and these can be easily changed by moving the lever at the top.

The first path takes the engines down the waterfall track with a thrilling 360 degree loop before reaching the tunnel and beginning the steep journey up again.

The next route whizzes down the track which appears to be broken but the engines have no trouble jumping the gap!

The third path looks like it's heading nowhere as the MINIS roll off the edge and down a gravity defying track.

Cranky the Crane swings his arm and uses his hook to help any stranded engines!

This is a great set and has already had hours of play since it arrived. It is fast paced and thrilling and I like the fact that there are three different options. This keeps play exciting and inspires imaginations. It's great that all the MINIS collection is compatible - Elliot has already asked me for some more engines so he can race them all at once on the track!

SO FAST!

The Thomas & Friends MINIS Motorised Raceway (RRP £44.99) would make an excellent present for children 3+ and can be found at Smyths Toys


*Disclaimer: We received this product in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own

Thomas & Friends TrackMaster Demolition at the Docks - Review

Thomas the Tank Engine is one of those beloved characters who we have all grown up with - I remember sitting down to watch it when I was at first school...we're talking almost 30 years ago ;)

It's amazing to think that the Thomas brand is still going strong and loved by boys and girls around the world. Elliot is typical of kids his age, train crazy and Thomas has been a constant in our lives since he was born!

We were recently sent the Thomas and Friends Trackmaster Demolition at the Docks set and Elliot couldn't wait to check it out...in fact dinner had to be put on hold while I set it up for him!

The set includes:
- Motorised Thomas (screwdriver and batteries needed!)
- Cranky the Crane
- Trackmaster track
- Dock warehouse

The track was very easy to put together, Elliot did need a bit of help initially to get the bits in the right order but the instructions were easy to follow. Once we'd popped some batteries in Thomas, it was time to go! Elliot made sure the warehouse was in it's correct spot and then he swung the cargo on Cranky's hook to knock it down - all whilst Thomas was making his way around the track, getting closer and closer to the wreckage. But not to worry, Thomas just speeds right on through!

What I love about the Trackmaster sets are that they can all be connected up so this would be a great addition to any little train buffs collection. However I do think children might get a little bored of the repetition of this on it's own. It's very quick for Thomas to get around the track and through the wreckage once Cranky has knocked over the warehouse so it may only hold their attention for a short while.

Elliot did enjoy playing with this though and he is looking forward to getting the rest of his Trackmaster sets out so we can connect it all up. He did bring some of his trains down so he had multiple engines running at once but new Thomas was much faster than his old Thomas ;)

The Thomas and Friends Trackmaster - Demolition at the Docks set (RRP £24.99) is suitable for age 3+ and can be purchased from Smyths Toys website

*Disclaimer: We received this product in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own