Thomas the Tank Engine Toys - 3yo DS

[SpaghettiMeatballs]

DS is nearly 3. He has loads of Brio which he loves. His favourite is his rechargeable Brio train.

He adores Thomas the Tank and I'd really like to get him some Thomas toys for Christmas. I don't want anymore wooden railway items so I've been looking at Take n Play and Trackmaster.

I'm completely confused about what the difference is and which would be most suitable. I want DS to be able to use it himself so I was thinking Take n Play but he loves his motorised Brio train so much I'm wondering if he'd prefer Trackmaster.

Would appreciate advice from people with Thomas mad DCs.

We have both and I have to say the take and play wins hands down. There is less building with the take and play so they can be played with straight away - no bits of track to have to pack away and then forget how to put them back together again. Also my son enjoys pushing the trains around and making his own stories rather than just watching a train go round and round.

Thank you. That's really helpful.

The trackmaster trains fit on Brio track (although they may need a bit of help going up slopes). The take and play trains have a narrower gauge, so don't really work very well on the wooden track.

But the trackmaster tracks are a bit of a PITA to put together, harder than Brio for a 3yr old to put together, so needs more adult input and assistance. The trackmaster trains in our house tend to end up being used on the wooden Brio type track rather than the proper trackmaster track.

My 2 ds (now 4 and 6) absolutely love their wooden train tracks and they still get played with daily. Dd2 who is 2 also now enjoys it. We did have a load of take and play stuff, most of which I got 2nd hand as a bulk kit about 6 years ago, but it very rarely got played with as they always favoured the wooden stuff and I sold it a few months ago. Ds1 used to like lining up the trains and carrying them round when he was about 2 but they found the tracks didn't stay together too well. It depends how your ds plays with the trains I suppose, my dc love building complicated tracks more than actually playing with the trains on it (although they do this too), some dc are more keen on the playing than the building, so take n play would probably be good for that.
My ds tell me you can never have enough wooden track...

When I said I didn't want any more wooden railway items what I meant is I have already bought a series of tunnels and signals for the wooden set . Other than that he really does have so much because it was 'gift of choice' for everyone last year!

That's really interpreting that Trackmaster fit Brio. I believe you can buy the trains separately so I could get Thomas for his Brio.

I have read Trackmaster can be flimsy but it does look like fun. Wondering it it might click together better on a hard surface?

Yes, you can buy the trackmaster trains separately. They're not cheap though - you're typically looking at something like £15 - £20 per train IIRC.

The problem we have with the trackmaster track is as much about it staying together when kids are playing as putting it together in the first place. No noticeable difference in awkwardness between using it on a carpeted floor or a hard floor IME.

Completley agree with pp the Trackmaster is quite difficult to put together for me ( DH loves it ! ) so it only gets used at weekends when he can build it.

We have take n play and its good but overall my kids prefer the trackmaster . They also use the trains from it on the wooden track alot.

So we have some of each sets which takes up half the house and has cost a fortune .

Have a look on gumtree etc can work for good deals to see what your son enjoys before buying any big sets .

Track master is good but as pp have said it's a pain as particularly with the bigger sets (and once you have more than one) all the pieces get mixed up and you can never remember the correct order.
Take and play is great as it's all together and easy to carry around too. I've also got my son the minis racer set this year too as we have lots of minis. His favourite set is no longer made but you can get it on eBay second hand (I bought a set after seeing it a playgroup and he loved it, sometimes can get great deals too), it's called my first Thomas train set by golden bear.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272456938393

This one looks a good set and price, some are silly money so I'm considering it an investment and going to keep it for future grandchildren when my DS grows out of it (he's 4 and still loves it)

My DS is 5, we started off with take and play from when he was around 2 and have built up a collection over Christmases and Birthdays etc and he still loves it! He has recently gotten into trackmaster and loves to see the trains going along by themselves and plays with them every day but as PP have mentioned it takes up a LOT of room plus it costs a fortune in batteries!

We've only ever had trackmaster, so has my nephew, and it's been played with by my two for years and years both in the house and in the garden.

I've personally never had an issue building the tracks and it was one of my DS's favourite things to do when he was younger. He absolutely loved it!!!

Hands own for me it's trackmaster!

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If he loves his Brio why not just get him the Thomas brio trains? That's what I've got my 2.5yo nephew for Christmas!