Step2489099 Pro Play Workshop and Utility Bench, Grey, Orange

Bought for toddler’s Christmas giftHe enjoys itNot all the accessories were included, we had to have them mail the drill press separately and had to go through a process to prove we didn’t receive it

This workshop was missing the 2 drills and We have been unable to get a replacement even after following all the directions. Very unhappy after paying so much for this incomplete workshop.

I thought there would be more places to put the screws. The table like area with what look like holes to put them in only really has 2 or 3 holes they fit into. My 2 year old grandson enjoys the tools. The foam pieces are too difficult to put together for him. I have only put together the toolbox. You need to follow directions to figure out the other things that you could build. But not practical. It's too hard to put the screws into the foam. Maybe they could have been more wood-like. With pre-filled holes to actually put together. He likes the sink. It's a nice looking set. Lots of space to put things. However the spaces could have been deeper. The power tools don't stay in. It's almost not flat enough too. Things slip out easily. Maybe as he gets older he will want to put together the foam pieces. Idk. The hooks for the hand tools don't hold them well. They fall easily. It's a beautiful set. Durable with lots of area to work on but.. I wanted to love this but there's some design flaws.Update: My daughter says he plays with it all the time. He is now putting the foam pieces together.

TLDR version: A nice set up with fun "working" tools, nice features, and granddaughter loved it but compared to Melissa & Doug a bit disappointing with assembly and missing parts.Longer version: It arrived 3 days early which was nice. I immediately set out to build it and was frustrated with the instructions. In the last month I have bought the M&D large kitchen and the vet/grooming play sets, so I am comparing the building experience between the two. The instructions for the M&D were clear, easy to read and understand, and showed the whole part that you were looking for/assembling. The Step2 instructions showed black & white darkish, partial photos of the part that were difficult to see and very few words (on 5 of 30 photos). Additionally, there were parts that were not listed in the parts list in the beginning. M&D instructions were step by step and basically idiot proof as well as entertaining. I've seen worse instructions, but these could surely be improved upon.Then, you are screwing into plastic only. There are no starter holes either so if you are building solo, if you can, start a hole with the piece on the floor and then attach it to the other piece it is going on after you get through the first hole. I had difficulty with the end piece fitting properly to the bottom slat in the first couple of photos. I should have completely attached piece "I" to piece "A" first instead of doing it in the order of the instructions. It would have made attaching "I" to "G" easier which is where I had my first problem. It really took studying some of the pictures and playing with the pieces to figure some of the next steps out, but if you are mechanically inclined it can be figured out.They don't actually show you where to put the little orange plastic hooks, but it is pretty obvious that they go on the peg board. They required some strength and the side of my screwdriver to get them to snap all the way into place. There are also 3 black pieces not listed in the parts list that I could not figure out where they were supposed to go. I ended up snapping them into the peg board also, but it seems like they are supposed to go somewhere else because I *think* they are supposed to be for the bolts to practice screwing into. They didn't really fit in the holes near the vise though.The top piece was a bit warped. Enough that the drill press would not seat properly and comes out a bit easier than it should I think, but not enough for me to want to take it all apart and ask for a new piece. The kids won't care and I will figure out how to make it stay. Perhaps some hot glue or something.We were missing sticker "N". Not a particularly big deal because it just goes on the drill press column and won't be missed, but it is annoying that it is listed in the instructions but not included. Also one of the stickers was wrinkled. I was able to get it mostly smoothed out with just a tiny wrinkle on the unit.Lastly, one we had everything built we tried to make some of the items in the "plans" sticker. First, there are no instructions for the kids to follow, you just have to try and figure out what you need from the small sticker pictures. But more annoying is that the pieces aren't there for several of the projects. This is frustrating for young children (and adults playing with them). I am opening a family daycare, so I want things as frustration-proof as possible!I struggled with the star rating between a 3 and a 4. I succumbed to my frustrations with the experience of building it and the flaws and rated it a 3. However, as far as toys go and the "yet to be seen durability" (which I *think* will be good) it may deserve a 4. Compared to M&D in general, which in my opinion are usually 5's, it is disappointing. Compared to most toys put out for kids it is a great toy.

My grandson loves this so much. There is so many things to do and play with. He loves the workable tools!