Learning Curve/Tomy International Dinosaur Train Sets and Figures

[gmat]

Has anyone gotten these for their kids? I have gotten The Dinosaur Train Motorized Playset - Biggest Dinosaur Set.

 

Tomy Page;

http://www.tomy.com/dinosaurtrain/train-sets?icid=ms_dino_header_menu%3AwebAct_dino_header_menu

 

Train Set at Toys R Us;

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13148277&prodFindSrc=rv

 

I've read about complaints about the cheap quality poor construction of the tracks and scenery and other complaints. Certainly the tracks have too much flex so that my train often derails. Harder and thicker plastic might have avoided this. Also, the tatami mat rooms make it harder to lay tracks flat without running over the edge of each mat. 

The dinosaurs are tough and should take a lot of abuse. Add ons include a dinosaur character with its own personalized car. They are supposed to ride in the car and a peg on the car and a hole in one foot to secure them in the car. They should have provided a flat base. If I can find some small rectangular plastic cards, I'll glue the dinosaurs to them. The scenery is made up of paper sheets but they won't last long and don't look very nice. I've thought about laminating them but have also considered gluing them to a thick sheet of styrofoam and trimming the excess. 

I also got one of the larger speaking dinosaurs. It's Buddy, the T-Rex step-brother.

 

You can get them in Australia but not in Japan, it seems.

 

Tomorrow I'll let my students play with them to see how they work.

 

My Aunt also sent some Fisher Price Take-N-Play  Thomas the Train and Friends locos. They are metal die cast. The most interesting ones are the talking locos and the pull and zoom trains. The latter are connected by a cord and when you pull them apart, the train will move as the cord is retracted. The tracks are joined permanently but the set is easy to unfold. 

 

http://www.fisher-price.com/en_Us/brands/thomasandfriends/products/index.html?cat=thomas_track#cat=thomas_takenplay&pageIndex=5

 

My student and her 2 year old sister seemed to enjoy playing with them. 

I think that something similar might be available here in Japan.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

 

[CaptOblivious]

My daughter has one of these sets, and we don't much like it :( The motor is too weak, and kills batteries quickly. The track uses weird geometries that don't quite work (and make recreating the dogbone layout they represent nearly impossible from memory!) Nor to the track pieces fit together very well. But you are right, the dinos themselves are tough as nails!

Edited March 15, 2013 by CaptOblivious

[gmat]

CaptOblivious,

I've also read that there are different versions of the Dinosaur Train loco. The purple colored one might be a better puller.

Look at 'Not So Bad,' by Aaron 'Aaron'

http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur.-Train-Motorized-Adventure-Colors/product-reviews/B003ET4GMW/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_2?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=2&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

 

Mine is the orange one but with black traction tires and it pulled six or so cars with no problem. It also had the orange tracks.

 

Will see how it runs with my students.

Grant

[gmat]

The older brother who originally wasn't interested in trains, but becomes interested for a short while whenever I bring a new set, liked the Dinosaur Train set. The younger brother, of course, liked it. I am making apple pies with my students this week but the two of them kept looking at the box with the Dinosaur Train set. As it takes a long time to make and cook the pies, I tried to get them to start the pies first. I said "What do you want to do, play with the trains or make the pie?" The older brother said, "Make the pie," but the younger one said, "Play with the trains." So I helped them set up the trains first. What was nice was after we had finished the pies and I was getting ready to leave for home, he came up and asked, "English time?" So, I stayed and played a card game with him. Then he went to playing with the train set with his brother. They are taking a Spring Break, so the next class won't be for three weeks. Will see how the trains have fared then. 

[gmat]

I've gotten a few more sets, including the Arctic Motorized Adventure Train Set, Time Tunnel Mountain Motorized Train Set and the Motorized Adventure Train Set as well as the Dinosaur Rocket Car With Lights and Sound. The Arctic train didn't work properly from the box. When you press the smokestack, the wheels turn but when you release it, the motor stops. I've read online that this may be a problem with the train itself (bad switch) and one customer who reported a problem got a different train as a replacement. If so, that's too bad as the traction wheels are sturdier than the ones on the Motorized Adventure Train Set. The latter traction wheels are narrower. Interestingly, the guts of those two trains, that I took apart, are not the same. I went to Akihabara to look for a replacement switch and the dealer said that he had momentary and on/off plunger type switches. The momentary switches could be very small, but the smallest on/off switches were much larger. It was about three times the height of the switch in the Arctic Dinosaur Train loco. I took the train apart and broke the two wires going to the motor due to frequent handling, but with a small hand power tool and a saw, have cut away enough plastic to fit the new switch, but it's still too tall. I'll have to cut a hole so that the switch can be positioned lower. The other problem is that the Rocket train, which doesn't come with the track sets, is not motorized. It just has a light and makes sounds.All of the separate locos are like this. Why not make all of the locos motorized, unless it it too cramped or too expensive to include the light and sound board plus the motor components. I have taken the Rocket Train apart and thought about motorizing it. I looked at swapping the motor and gears from the 100 yen Shinkansen trains, but the plastic gears in the motorized Dinosaur locos are much better. I've thought about a Pla-Rail loco but haven't looked inside one yet. Plus they aren't cheap. There used to be simple U-Build it kits, including one for a car on sale in hobby shops. I'm trying to track one down to see if I can use it. Aside from the non-motorized locos and the bad switch, the internal working of the locos are quite nice. Apparently to keep the price down, the train sets are a mixture of good quality but also cheap materials. One last complaint is that the sets are not designed to be expanded nor interconnected with other sets The ads emphasize the term 'collectable,' a sales gimmick that I think inhibits further potential for short term sales. You buy the figures with cars but don't play with them. So far, none of the other trains have broken. Best wishes, Grant

Edited April 15, 2013 by gmat

[Guest Closed Account 1]

A friend of mine has a Dinosaur train. Maybe inspired by Tomix.

 

His is Jurassic Park on flat cars. A big hit with the kids. Pulls it with two F3A units.