Viewmaster Thomas The Tank Deluxe Gift Set

Comments

1. K. Cole says:

   Tuesday,December 15, 2009 at 1:22 AM

   My son got this for his 3rd birthday and quickly lost or chewed on and ruined most of the viewing discs that go with it. However, the couple that are left, he enjoys looking at. Doesn’t hold his interest for very long though. I think it might be better for a 4 or 5 year old when they are old enough to take better care of the discs. Of course, that all depends on how hard your child is on toys.
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. The Walkers says:

   Tuesday,December 15, 2009 at 4:07 AM

   my son loves Thomas and he got this for his 3rd birthday. He loves loves loves it. We have bought the extra reals and such and we loves playing with it.

   My only caution is that the reels are not durable so if they fall victim to a younger child they will not survive. My one year old loves breaking them into pieces.
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Lin says:

   Tuesday,December 15, 2009 at 5:58 AM

   My three year old son loves Thomas… I got him this viewmaster for Christmas and he did like it, but lost interest rather quickly I thought. It was not expensive so really it was worth the money but after the fist week, it just seems to sit in his toy box. Not sure if I would purchase again.
   Rating: 3 / 5
4. History_of_Art_Geek says:

   Tuesday,December 15, 2009 at 8:55 AM

   Last year William’s preschool teacher asked me what I thought might make a nice Christmas gift for my son. She knew we were about to embark on a long flight across the country to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa, and she offered the View-Master Thomas Gift Set as a suggestion. I jumped at the idea, as my son is a huge Thomas enthusiast. In addition, I thought it would make an excellent travel companion. Surprisingly, the toy didn’t make any impact on my son. In fact, it’s been the source of much frustration over the last 9-month. He completely ignored the toy on the plane ride to and from Indiana.

   Several months later, we flew to Connecticut, and thus I tried again. This time he gave it a bit more consideration, but it didn’t last more than 5-minutes. Thinking he needed more to capture his attention, I picked up some additional reel sets, and a storage case. The case that came with the set never closed properly, and I quickly recycled it when my son wasn’t looking. I know… I’m a terrible mother. Well anyway, I was disappointed, and William was frustrated. The reels bend easily, and at 4, my son doesn’t have the patience to glide the reels into place. They jam up on him making it even more difficult to flatten, and glide into the machine. Then, I learned a secret. If you clear the track first, by pulling the lever down, and then slide the reel into the machine, it seems to solve most of the jamming problems. Once I showed him this trick, he’s expressed more interest in the plaything.

   I’ve really debated about how to rate this toy. Now that we’ve worked out the kinks, William seems to enjoy it more. In fact, he’s requested more reel sets, which I’m inclined to oblige. At the price, it’s hardly a hardship. In addition, it’ll make a nice stocking stuffer. That said, I’m not sure Fisher-Price did themselves a service by overhauling the View-Master. The diminutiveness is great for small hands, but the overall feel is cheap. I will probably purchase more reel set, and who knows, maybe I’ll come back in a few months and change my rating. At this point, I consider the new and improved View-Master an average toy.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5
5. mommy of boys says:

   Tuesday,December 15, 2009 at 10:03 AM

   This is a toy I loved as a child, and I love seeing the same spark in my sons eyes. I had bought this a few days for our upcoming plane trip. Once we walked out of the store I opened the box, and my son wouldn’t put it down. It is quiet, and easy for a 2 year old to use once they get the hang of pushing the lever all the way down. I chose the Thomas set because when I was looking for reels I did not see a Thomas pack, but I did see Nemo, Batman, Wiggles, and Dora. Another reason we went with the traditional model, is because on this one the lever gets pushed down and the newer ones the lever needs to be pushed forward, which was too hard for my 2 year old to do. My 2 year old even knows how to change the reels with no problems.

   At this age there isn’t much educational value at this age, but for older kids they can make up stories and let their creativity soar or read the story on the reels (in the middle of the eye pieces). I had also seen a projector for the older kids to really make up their own story, and everyone can see.

   Our biggest problem…My son won’t remove this from his eyes, and he keeps walking into walls and furniture.

   I already bought the Nemo cartridge, and I can’t wait to buy more.
   Rating: 5 / 5