Wallpaper Wendy - Where's Bob When You Need Him?
Written: Sep 06 '02 (Updated Sep 06 '02)
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Pros: Wendy figure, cute and colorful blocks, easy for little hands to use.
Cons: Could have used a bigger play mat, might be viewed as a "girlie" set.
The Bottom Line: Can you help Wendy with the wallpapering? She'll need all the help she can get hanging the wallpaper and cleaning the floor!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Bob The Builder Wallpaper Wendy 3278 |
Wallpaper Wendy is another set in the Bob The Builder series from Lego that’s designed to inspire creativity, enhance play time and help promote good basic lessons. Since I was shopping for my nephew – a hard-core Bob The Builder fan – I was stuck in the middle when it came to this set. Overall it is a ‘girlie’ set and I wasn’t too sure if he would even open the box let alone play with it. Since this was only $3.99 at Wal-Mart I figured I’d send it to him anyway. If nothing else he can add Wendy to his growing collection of figures and use the blocks for something else.
One of the things that I know from my own boys having tons of Duplo blocks is that they challenged themselves on an almost daily basis. They would build a wall and watch it fall over because they stacked brick on top of brick without staggering them – then they figured out the trick to building strong walls and moved on to other aspects of building. Even at an early age, kids can learn basic building aspects that can be applied to other avenues of learning.
Even though these sets have the Lego name on them, they are indeed Duplo sized blocks. They can be used with other Duplo sets or bulk packs of Duplo elements. One thing is for sure, if you have a child that is into Bob The Builder and loves to construct things, chances are any of the sets in the series will be a tremendous hit with them.
Wendy
Decked out in a cute green suit, she is more than ready to finish the wallpapering and clean up the mess. She has a few splashes of pain on her clothing, which means that if you plan on using her with other Bob The Builder sets – she is going to look a little sloppy. When you look at the ‘real’ Wendy from the television show and the Wendy figure in this set there are some pretty big differences – she has a rather flat smile, her hair is rather plain and boring and she looks more like a linebacker than Bob’s assistant.
The Wendy figure has green hands but good luck trying to find something to put in them. One of the major downfalls of this series is that there aren’t many accessories that the figures can use. This is partially due to the fact that they are targeted for younger kids so the safety issue comes into play. My neighbors’ daughter asked me one question that never occurred to me when I played with the other sets - why are her arms so small and the rest of her is so big?
The Wallpaper
There are four stenciled wallpaper bricks in this set. They can be stacked in a variety of ways and depending on how they are arranged – the pattern on the bricks will be checker-boarded or in a row. That is part of the fun of the set – you have a lot of freedom when assembling the bricks and you don’t even have to snap them together – you can arrange them side by side or on the play mat. These blocks can also be combined with the brown table or the bucket block or paintbrush blocks.
The Table
The four legged brown table is basic but can be used in a variety of ways within the scene. When the play mat is flipped over to the “all clean” side, it can be used directly on the mat or in the case of my neighbors’ daughter – she liked to have the bucket block on the table and move the wallpaper pieces and the paintbrush block around it. The table has four pods on the top of it so you can easily snap any of the blocks into it – this is also great if you want to attach the wallpaper blocks to it and make a huge wall.
Play Mat
The reversible play mat is a very nice feature and enhances the amount of replay value. One side has crinkled up pieces of wallpaper, a paintbrush and globs of paint while the other side is nice and tidy with a broom and dustpan. Having the ability to flip the play mat over when a child stacks up all the blocks or puts the paintbrush and bucket blocks away helps with the “before and after” of sequencing. A child can feel a sense of accomplishment when he or she flips over the mat plus you can create different scenes around the images depicted on the mat. The mat itself is sturdy and should hold up to a good amount of use but if you have a child that likes to chew on things chances are this will look pretty gruesome after a few weeks.
The Extras
There are some very cute extra blocks included with this set. The yellow block with the paintbrush can be attached to the small brown table or used on the provided play mat but since this set is all about creative freedom – kids should be allowed to do what they wish with them. The blue block with the bucket is just as cute as the yellow block however it has some bubbles coming out of it so this sort of suggests that it’s to be used for cleaning up the wallpaper mess rather than applying the wallpaper. In either event, it is a great addition to the set since it helps to illustrate how important it is to clean up.
The Bottom Line
I am not entirely sure than my nephew will enjoy this set. When my neighbors’ daughter saw the box she went ballistic and asked me if she could play with it. She liked the colors on the bricks as well as the tiny flowers but didn’t express much of an interest with the Wendy figure. I was glad that she got to test drive this set before I shipped it out to my nephew but I must admit, I had a hard time getting the blocks away from her.
If you have a little girl who loves the show but feels a little left out with all the boyish sets, this might just be the solution. For the suggested retail price of $3.99 even if this is purchased for a little boy and he doesn’t care for it, the pieces can be used with other Bob The Builder sets.
The Stats
Set Name: Wallpaper Wendy
Family Set: Bob The Builder
Lego Set: 3278
Number of Pieces: 9 [plus play mat]
Age Recommendation: 2 and up
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 5 minutes
Cost: $ $3.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $3.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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