Playmobil Fire Station Headquarters (3885)

Playmobil apparently tried to save money by using the same wall and column segments in different combinations in several of their building playsets. As a result, instead of being snapped together from a few large parts, the fire station has to be assembled from a large number of separate walls, columns, etc. These are held together with plastic snaps that pop apart all too easily. They pop back together, of course, but it's easy for the whole fire station to shatter (e.g. if dropped more than a few inches), which means reassmbling it almost from square one.

There are some minor shortcomings as well: for example, there are no anchors for some of the major furnishings (like the dispatcher's control panel) and no obvious place for them, so it's hard to arrange the interior. And it doesn't have what would seem like the most obvious feature for a fire station, a garage (or at least an apron) for a fire truck.

Considering the cost, you'd be better off getting Playmobil's fire truck and other firefighter sets -- and then helping your child make his own fire station from a cardboard box or something.

Its greatto look at once you've spent two hours putting it together. After all the intricate pieces are put together, you better hope your four year old does not drop it. My husband builds computers and said this takes extensive assembly. You also need to hope once you've taken the time to put it together that they didn't leave a small piece out. I do not recommend this toy for a child whose wanting to be able to play with it right away or the same day for that matter.