LEGO Duplo Building Set-71 pieces (5506)

I bought this for my two-year-old, and she really loves it. Here are some details I couldn't find before purchasing:

About the box:

* The box is about the size of a large shoe box, with a transparent plastic top.

* The top can be opened by a young toddler, if you show her where to lift it. (You need to pull in a specific spot.)

* The included Legos fill the box about halfway. So there is room for an additional 50+ pieces if you want to add.

About specific pieces:

* One non-block: a boy with a hat

* Two flowers

* One (flimsy) window that opens and closes. This is the only piece that will break, and it will break soon.

* Only one green floor/platform to build on, and it's small: 4 dots by 8 dots

* One car

Hope that helps...

As a father of ten, we've had a number of Duplo sets over the years. Whenever we need to replenish our supply (this year being one such time), we look for a new set based on three basic factors: wheels, people, and price.

Price is a general constraint for us. We're willing to spend $25-$30 for a set of Duplo blocks. They're tremendously durable, and you can even run them through the dishwasher (in one of those cages used for baby bottle accessories). Within that price range, we try to maximize the number of bricks we get. If wanting only bricks (no special pieces), then you should be able to get 80 or more bricks starting at $20 on sale. If you want those special parts (e.g., wheels and a character)--and in our experience, they are some of the most used parts when the kids play--then you are looking in that $25-$30 range with at least 65 other blocks.

All of our kids, especially the boys, loved having the wheels. They would make cars and trucks, and eventually airplanes and rolling robots. Sure, they could make many of these things without the wheels, but they seemed to play longer when they were making wheeled things.

Both the boys and girls like the little characters, but the girls would often take the Duplo person away to play with other dolls or for other activities. The boys would almost always make the boy a driver, or some person who was running from (or fighting) the giant robot, tank, or whatever they built with the other blocks.

Many people might not think of Duplo blocks as educational, but they are a great tool for teaching little ones about colors, numbers, and matching. It also helps fine-motor coordination as they try to assemble the bricks (especially at the youngest ages). We have a special needs child who was grown very fond of the bricks, and really enjoys assembling and disaassembling small stacks of them (this year's purchase was targeted for him).

**A SPECIAL NOTE ON THEME SETS**

Unless you have a specific desire to get your kids the specially themed Duplo sets (e.g., Bob the Builder), I recommend skipping those (with one exception, see below) and getting just a basic set like this one for these reasons:

1) Cost. Themed sets cost more for less. You end up paying for the name/theme, and little else.

2) You simply get more blocks with the non-themed sets, and more blocks means more fun play.

3) Themeed sets usually have more special (unique) bricks. They can be used with any set, but those specialized bricks often aren't used as much (based on our experiences) in general play.

4) Most kids don't keep the sets together as displayed on the box. They like to tear things apart and build new things. Knowing that they will do that anyway, it seems to decrease the value of the special theme sets. By the time they are old enough to care about keeping sets togehter (or restoring the set to its original layout after playing with the bricks), the kids are about ready for the first regular Lego set.

**AN EXCEPTION ON THEME SETS (ANIMALS)**

The only theme sets my wife and I will occasionally purchase are the ones with the animal figures and extra people. These are a great gift for a child who already has a supply of Duplo blocks, as they add to the fun. Two such sets that we've picked up recently are LEGO DUPLO My First Zoo 6136 and DUPLO LEGO Ville Baby Zoo V70 (4962). Both have been fantastic additions to our assortment of blocks.

Buy LEGO Duplo Building Set-71 pieces (5506) Now

I love this product, but was somewhat disappointed in the number of blocks that came in the large plastic box; not even enough to build a single decent-sized structure. I've since ordered a large bag of additional blocks LEGO DUPLO Brick Set to add to the box.

Read Best Reviews of LEGO Duplo Building Set-71 pieces (5506) Here

My 2-year-old son played with duplos all the time at the child center at our gym, so we bought him some for home. He plays with them almost every day. This set is nice because you can add some of the plain block sets to it and store them in the box.

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Bought these for my 4yr old who just loves to build all the time. Set was bought in addtion to the bonus packs to give him more options to build.

He could build for hours and hours. Love it!

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