Space Shuttle And Toy Rocket Ship Set - 10 Piece Complex 39 Launch Site with Astronauts, Rockets, Space Shuttle, and Ground Vehicle - Measures 15"

I loved the toy on reception; our 3yo has a serious shuttle obsession so he was delighted. Initially though, we had the same issue others ran into: a couple of small parts very quickly broke, which was disappointing. I emailed Echo Toys through their web site and not only did they graciously send us a replacement shuttle but added some activity books. The new model is holding up pretty good so far. So maybe it's not perfect but the people behind it do care.

Our preschooler loves this toy. As other reviewers have noted, the "robotic arm" is incredibly flimsy. We removed it almost as soon as we set it up, as the little pieces constantly fall apart and are easily swallowed by younger children. We had similar concerns for the solar panels on the space telescope. But, even with those parts removed, our preschooler loves this toy. We have had it for three months and it is played with frequently and not-very-gentley. It spends its non-play time tossed in the bottom of a toy trunk. And yet, even the plastic connector pins to snap the boosters, fuel tank, and shuttle are intact and functional.

This is a pretty nice toy for my daughter who is very much into all things space related. The astronauts are a bit oddly disproportionate to the orbiter, but she doesn't mind; she just puts them in the open cargo bay and lets them ride inside as if it were a bobsled! Pros: The orbiter, fuel tank, and boosters all detach and reattach, and the attachment points seem well constructed such that they fit together securely but are still easy enough to detach, and the connection points appear durable enough that they shouldn't break during play and repeated detachments and reattachments. The crawler is a cool add-on as well. My daughter is very excited by this new toy and has been playing with it quite a bit. It is cool that it even comes with an articulating cargo arm for the cargo bay as well as a satellite. Cons: The satellite that is supposed to go inside the orbiter is sort of bothersome; it must be disassembled to be placed in the cargo bay and reassembled each time, and comes with one tiny little piece that doesn't attach very well and has already broken. Honestly I'm surprised it hasn't been lost altogether yet. It would be nice if there were some way to attach the satellite pieces inside the cargo bay so they don't fall out quite so easily if the doors happen to open during play (they don't lock shut very securely, so this happens easily). The cargo manipulation arm that goes in the cargo bay does attach to the orbiter, but not very well, so that it easily falls out if you are playing with the orbiter upside down as if it were truly in space. I wish it snapped in a bit better. Finally, the little vehicle that comes with the set seems rather out-of-place. I'd rather have just paid less and had that item omitted. It is poorly/cheaply made, making it seem like a waste of an add-on for the set overall. Final Word: My cons paragraph above may be longer than my pros paragraph, but honestly, I think this is a great toy, and I am happy I purchased it for my daughter. She really is happy with it, and I am hopeful it will continue to be played with for quite some time.

The kid in my family who loves space shuttles loved this today big time!! Every part disconnects from the other parts. Astronauts can't fit inside the shuttle of course, but then they'd be a choking hazard. We just love it. I can see where, if it gets dropped the 'right' way, something would break, but the kid is being very careful to make sure it all stays intact, while still enjoying zooming it all around. (I only wish the astronaut's weight was distributed better so they would stand up.)

Its not bad, unless you plan to give it to a small child. Then its a waste of money and will break. It looks nice, but I wouldn't buy it again. Especially not for $39. Mostly plastic (the bay doors are plaatic) with some really cheap die cast on the shuttle (the shuttle has a die cast frame and plastic everywhere else except for the wings and fins). Its mostly a rip-off at this price and I added a star because my son loves it even though he broke off the bay doors on the shuttle on the second day. Day 1, the boosters broke off (in my hand no less) and the shuttles booster jets broke off right afterwards. The horizonal stabilizer is also broken off (me again trying to pick it up off of the floor). Its really cheap but somehow not terrible. My son still loves it so I guess I didnt waste $40. The other reviews talk about the scale issues, but I couldnt talk my son out of it. I ordered the Playmobil set to replace it. I'll review it after it arrives.

My son is 3 1/2 and loves the space shuttle and loves, loves, loves this set. We've had several similar metal space shuttles and I had even made an external tank and rocket boosters out of cardboard tubes for him to use with his shuttles. After I misplaced his last space shuttle I decided to order him this set as a replacement and I'm so glad I did, he loves it. It was a bit pricey (his normal metal shuttles cost $8-$10 to replace) but this kit included the external tank, the rocket boosters, the launch platform and astronauts. The external tank and boosters are a heavy duty plastic and detach from each other and the shuttle. My son has been playing with this set for a month now and everything has survived the launch explosions and high altitude crashes with minimal wear. I would definitely buy this kit again for him.