LEGO Creator Emerald Night Train (10194)

This train. Oh, man. If you have a young kid who is into both legos and trains then you may be in for some trouble. It has a lot of pieces and is fun to build but potentially too complicated for, let's say, a 5 year old to build without a lot of adult supervision and help. Then, a year after you first got it, when it's long since been taken apart and all the pieces have been thrown into a box with the other legos, and your kid says he wants to build it again, and you dig up the original instruction booklet and now you have to find these obscure pieces in a giant box full of other legos, you will wonder why there isn't a Google app that takes a picture of a full lego box and highlights the exact piece your'e looking for.Anyway, I think the other reviewers here have covered all the specific technical details in sufficient detail. You can get a motor to replace the engine compartment so that the train will actually run on (lego brand) tracks. But building the included engine unit is a lot of fun -- various interlocking gears and axles which were very interesting for my 5 year old to put together (with help) and see in operation.Lego sets of this size and complexity offer a lot of rewards for the dedicated builder, because there is a lot of inner detail which is not visible from the outside that you are putting together during the building process.

The detail on the train is amazing. Lego's have come a long way since I was a kid. My son (9) had seen this and requested it for Christmas. He worked on it diligently for a couple of days. Now he is pleading his case to get the motor, transmission and track so we can make it run. The only problem we have had is that the train fell off his shelf and a piece broke. The cool thing is that when we called Lego about it they sent a replacement for free! Kudos to good customer service. Something to keep in mind regarding this product is that to make it run you will drop another $150 or more to get all the parts and track. Ouch! New twist on a classic.

I purchased this as a gift for my brother. It's a nice looking train, it comes with some really cool moving/working parts inside, but I don't understand what for since it's covered up once the train is finished and you won't be able to see them. It took about 4 1/2 hrs for my brother to complete this train. It's nice, but for the time that it took from start to finish I really don't see it worth the cost.

OK, i really like this (my first lego train) set, but who designed green that looks like black. ok,ok,ok, before i get a lot of complaints....i am a little color blind.the set is cool, it has three mini figs to go along with it a working cole tender with door that opens. but the green and black....sheeesh.there also seems to be more then a few steps that don't mean a thing, and i am nt even talking about the gears (what they are for i don't know)over al it is a worthy build and a great piece to my humble lego model collection. i am looking forward to the mearsk train next

Just from a parents point of view, I was annoyed that it wasn't obvious in the product description that there is not motor included with this train. Having purchaced a Lego City train for my child with a motor included, I just assumed this one would too.The motor is also impossible to come by at this time. Apparently they are virtually non-existent for this size.Otherwise, our child LOVES the Lego Night Train. Being 8 years old, he has always taken on complex Lego sets and this one was certainly the hardest for him so far. Finally a set that was challenging enough to hold his interest for many hours.Since the motor was not included, I am glad that I paid much less than the listed price for this set.

The box says 14 years and up. Yes - it is complicated to build. I'm 35. It took me a 3-4 hours, if not more. The detail is amazing!!! Quite possibly the coolest train Lego has yet to make. The instructions also have plans at the end on how to motorize it and what parts you'll need. The train is built around the idea that you may want to motorize it later. Putting a motor and battery pack in will be a cinch and probably only take about 30 minutes - as no dis-assembly is required. (Lego planned for it in the design).

Our 6 1/2-year old son insisted on this from Santa this year. He has enjoyed it quite a lot and plays with it with the Lego track we bought. We did not get the motors for it and these do not come with it. Maybe we will upgrade to a motor, but he likes it fine right now without it. He was able to put together a lot of the engine and almost all the coal car and coach by himself. So, I think if you are getting this for a "lego-experienced" child, you can go younger than the age on the box.

I remember receiving this set as a Christmas present when I was 8 years old. My parents had purchased the appropriate Power Functions set to go with it as well. I spent all of Christmas morning and afternoon working on this magnificent creation from LEGO. It was a pleasure to build, a pleasure to play with, and a pleasure to own. I say this as it is the one LEGO set I have built that I have never disassembled for spare parts in my 14 years of living. Buy it, love it.