Ultimate LEGO Building Set Reviews

• OK Place to Start, but You'll Want More

  
  By A5ZUCLRHA3VEY on 2007-10-11
  I bought this for my children and to relive my days of playing with Legos in the 1970s. The kids really enjoy playing with them. I like this generic collection of mult-purpose bricks better than the sets that are designed to build one unique item. For the price (normally around twenty five dollars), you get a reasonable amount of stuff. On the down side, there are a lot of the smaller bricks (1 x 2 and 1 x 1). After playing with this for a few days I found that my kids wanted plates, bricks (2 x 4 and 2 X 8), and wheels (my son loves to make cars). I went to lego dot com where I was able to buy these specific things separately. Also, if you want to find some odd parts from old sets (even going back to the 1970s) try bricklink dot com. It takes awhile to navigate the site, but you can buy whatever individual pieces you want used.
  
  In summary, buy this set first from Amazon and then go to lego dot com or bricklink dot com to buy wheels, bricks and plates.
  
  

• Big box is deceiving...

  
  By A20U9P9ED8EP99 on 2007-09-03
  This big "ultimate" lego box looks so big but once you open it and the bags they are in, it ends up being about 1/4 full which is disappointing. It is a good starter set but I think you need at least 2-3 of these boxes to make anything interesting over a few inches.
  
  Update: My daughter likes these legos but has gone back to her trusty duplos since they offer more variety, height and ease of use. I will try and get a bulk set to add to these but legos are very expensive for what you get. Within the 405 pieces, many are only one tiny square big or half the depth as a basic lego - meaning you have to stack 2 on top of each other to get a basic lego height. They seem very hard to put together too. Overall I am very disappointed in the purchase.
  
  

• Lack of building base plate makes set almost useless out of box.

  
  By A11ED8O95W2103 on 2008-01-13
  So, with all these hundreds of pieces you get one green base plate of about six sqare inches, which is almost useless, and a few even smaller base plate type pieces, which are indeed useless.
  
  There's plenty of room for a decent size base plate or two, or three or four, but nooooooooooo. If I want a base plate that can actually be used, like one that's ten or fifteen inches on a side, I need to go out and pay extreme amounts of money for them to buy them seperately (extreme considering they are single pieces of injection molde plastic).
  
  So, open your wallet, get out that credit card, and welcome to the wonderful world of legos!
  
  

• Toy dollars well spent

  
  By A3AAQJ4STYB1W3 on 2008-03-25
  No they are not cheap. No the box isn't full to even half capacity. But these toys are still around for a reason: they rock. More specifically, they are indestructible, offer immense replay value, encourage creative quiet and thoughtful play, promote fine motor skill development, and they are just plain fun.
  
  Think about the countless cheap $3.99 and $4.99 soft plastic throw away toys you've bought over the years: invariably imported and with unknown lead content, cost pennies to make, including the polly pockets, fairies, mermaids, bratz, little ponies, strawberry shortcakes, littlest petz, etc. All of those toys are very restrictive in the type of play they permit, fall apart, and lose your child's interest after a few days.. until you buy another worthless set for their next "fix."
  
  In the case of legos i would argue that if you just refrain from buying those cheap blister packed toys for a few months you will have saved more than enough to get this or another "flexible" set of legos. I don't care for the elaborate lego sets that have you follow intricate instructions to build a pirate ship, or harry potters house, or a star wars backdrop,etc. Those are just as restrictive and inflexible in their play.
  
  So get this set or something similar as soon as you are sure your kid won't choke on a brick. It is something they will play with now and in the future. You'll beat inflation, you'll have it for future kids you might have, or those who might visit, and it will always have excellent resale value on e_bay.
  
  As for the merits and value of this particular set, i think it is fairly reasonable relative to prices for used, bulk collections you might get on an auction website, or compared to the more expensive, larger, thematic sets - such as the "townhouse", lunar lander, or whatever. It has 4 wheels, 2 axles, 1 figure (a mechanic dude), a set of mini tools for the figure, 1 door, 2 windows, some clear pieces for windshields or windows, a propellor/windmill piece, a radiator grille, a cute mini steering wheel, and assorted bricks including some long ones. The base unfortunately isn't even standard height, but sort of a cheap 1/5 or 1/4 height. So that's a little lame. So it isn't perfect but i can't find a better variety pack for the price. Although the Lego 4+ Basic Bulk Set might be a good second set to consider.
  
  We got this set to augment the pink little girls set with the jump rope on the box. Together they are a reasonable set but its still a small collection. I would contend that similar to the defense department maintaining an army that can fight a war in 2 theatres at once, you should have enough legos to build 2 houses at once. That is unless you have more than 2 kids...
  
  

• favorite childhood past-time

  
  By A2EK6OILFD41UY on 2007-09-12
  When I was younger, I remember maticulously building my houses and vehicles. Now with this, I can retrace my steps. My only real dissapointment is that there aren't more pieces in the set. It does come with one set of wheels, two windows and a door, and the "theme" revolves around a vehicle mechanic lego man, so you get a little wrench and oil can etc that the lego man can hold.
  
  
  As for craftmanship, I noted that some of the legos wouldn't join without a bit of force, but I'm sure they'll be easier to assemble after they've been broken in.
  
  
• Fabulous set, need a few of them!
  By A1Z54EM24Y40LL on 2008-04-18
  This is such a fabulous starter set for Legos. It has all the right "boy" parts in it including airplane propellers, race car steering wheels, etc. This set is very well loved in this house and has built everything from race tracks to helicopters. Great, great fun and provides HOURS of entertainment. If you are getting these for a true Lego afficionado, be sure to pick up a couple of them. It has quite a few pieces but to truly build a bunch of stuff, you'll need more. Wait for a sale, however, Easter and Christmas usually provides a great sale at the giant toystore with an r in the name. Watch Amazon too - they knock ten bucks off the price every now and then! Highly, highly recommend!
  
  
• Big Box, Little Legos
  By A2BFVZFACHIL0B on 2007-09-15
  I have been searching for a nice box of good old fashioned legos for my 6 year old. To our disappointment, there are very few pieces in this roomy box. Kids can only really build one or two things at a time as there are not enough peices to do more. I would recommend buying a few other sets of legos to add to this kit...
  
  
• mom
  By A1CWK2KKXO6BVY on 2008-01-07
  Where are the lego????The nice bin came but 400 pieces only fill up the bin 1/4 full. My children asked where are the rest of the pieces? I am questioning lego strategy with marketing. I see lego as a creative tool I shopped for ever and finially went on line to find a box of plain lego from which my children can decide what to create. Buying online from Canada ment roughly $55 in shipping and duty for a 1/4 full box. Not happy.
  
  
• We love it
  By A2J2LD2N54IK64 on 2008-02-11
  We love this kit. My 4 year old plays with it for hours and makes all sorts of interesting vehicles and machines. We honestly never have noticed a lack of base plates as some reviewers noted. The other complaint was the lack of fullness for the box. I admit we felt the same for about 5 minutes until we realized we finally had a great place to store all the other small sets of lego we had accumulated. I think Lego was smart to allow extra space. Anyway, people should lighten up and let the kids just play. I know we all loved lego growing up, but are the kids disappointed, or just the parents?
  
  
• Awesome basic set
  By A1TUXMQPBDL957 on 2008-01-14
  I was surprised that so many things can be built with these legos. I didn't expect it to be so versatile. I loved legos as a kid, and this is the first set I've bought for my children, ages 7, 4, and 1. I like that the container is BIG and sturdy, so clean up is easy and we'll be able to add to the collection.
  
  
• Legos! Yay!
  By A3OKJ3SMXF44PM on 2008-03-20
  I wish these people would stop complaining, yes, Legos are getting expsensive, but it is what it is people...
  
  Kit came delivered as advertised, and on time I add.
  
  Me and my son had a BLAST!!! Yes, we will be buying more. The box is HUGE and would EASILY hold 5 of these kits.
  
  My son is happy, thus, I am happy.
  Lego quality is impecable.
  This is such a no-brainer buy, yeah it costs a lil more than you expected, so what, your kid(s) will love it.
  
  Its LEGO's, what else do I say??? LOL... but yea, this is the big kit, enjoy!
  
  
• Not so Ultimate
  By A19JI41UO0ATSG on 2008-01-04
  As the previous reviewer indicated, when you actually open the package its not as impressive as the size of the container would indicate. Sure its legos and they are fun but come on, if you are going to brand it as the 'Ultimate' give it a good amount. I also noticed the seller has it listed at 79.99. Give me a break it cost less than $25 at Target. What a ripoff!
  
  
• Great Set for Diverse Building
  By A3DRNALPZ5PO3K on 2008-09-19
  We bought this set for my 4 year old son for his birthday and it was/is an immediate hit with him and his 7 year old sister. As other reviewers have mentioned, it is more of a starter set than an ultimate set, but if you read the product review you will see that at 400 pieces it is not the largest (or most expensive) set. The tub is terrific for storage and is big enough to hold constructed pieces between building sessions.
  
  We'll be adding more sets with specialized pieces, building plates, etc. But this kit does have lots of options for building houses, cars, helicopters, airplanes animals etc. Given that and compared to some of the other sets, this is actually a pretty good bargain for $25.
  
  
• LEGOs - Still a Great Toy but Not Much For The $$$$
  By A3LJDRMR3WMI0O on 2008-01-26
  Instead of "Ultimate Building Set" it would be more appropriately called "Nice Starter Set".
  The set was as described but the box size and name makes it look like there are many more blocks than you actually get.
  There are enough blocks in this set to keep a 9 year old interested for 5 or 6 play sessions. I will probably need to buy at least 2 more sets if I want to have enough to keep a kid interested.
  I do reccomend this set over the pre-designed sets that push you to make a certain structure. The mixed blocks give the freedom to be creative. LEGOs are great; just be aware that if you really want to have fun you need more than what comes in this box.
  
  
• Good starter set, but not all pictured creations can be built from this set
  By A1BFW3WI89ZKKP on 2008-04-15
  My 4 year old loved the duplo set he's had since he was one. He loves to build things based upon the pictures provided. We got him this set to see if he'd still like the smaller ones too. He does.
  
  This set has a lot of instructions and sample pictures for him to build. Herein lies the problem. Not all of the sample pictures can be built with the pieces provided in this set. Some pictures show parts that aren't in this set or they show the picture using more of the same part than what this set provides. This has proven to be a bit frustrating for my son who loves making it look just like the picture.
  
  That being said he still loves his Lego set. With a younger 2 year old brother we've had to restrict its use to when his brother is sleeping as there a LOT of small 1x1 parts in this set. It can be challenging for a 4 year old to find such small parts in the big pile.
  
  Also it wouldn't hurt to provide another set of wheels or two as my son loves making the vehicles and you can only make one at a time.
  
  

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