Real Construction Kit by Jakks Pacific

As a dad to four girls and one boy, you might think that my life has been dominated by Barbie dolls and glitter, but you’d be very wrong.

My two eldest girls played football during their childhood, one even went on to play for Wales. My son also played football.

When it comes to my four year old twins, R is following in the footsteps of her sisters as she also loves football! M likes football too, but I guess she’d be considered more girly than R, as she does like playing with her Barbie dolls.

When I was asked to review some Real Construction toys from Jakks Pacific, I was pretty keen. Our girls love to build things with Lego and Playdough, so I was sure they’d like these kits.

Now I have to be honest and say that I was disappointed to see that the Real Construction Kits are aimed at boys. On their website they can be found under the ‘boys’ section and the packaging is clearly also aimed at boys. I get that retailers want to sell their toys which is perhaps why they use these types of marketing decisions, but we’re living in 2016 now. Come on, girls can be builders, electricians and police officers too!

Anyway, aside from that we all spent some time one afternoon seeing what we could build and I must admit that I’m pretty impressed!

I was sent the Deluxe Workshop set (£20.93)which includes 129 pieces and contains 8 project plans. I was also sent the Starter Set (£5.90) which includes over 50 pieces, along with 6 project plans.

Now, although each kit contains a number of project plans there aren’t enough materials to make them all, so you’ll need to decide what you want to make before diving in!

The Deluxe Workshop also includes a handsaw, hammer, square, screws and nails, screwdriver, detail saw, hole cutter and bore with handles, 2 hinges, 4 small planks, 3 large planks, 2 large beams, 5 small beams, 4 small logs, 1 large log and instructions.

The Starter Set includes a small hammer, detail saw, 2 large planks, 2 small planks, 1 large log, 4 small logs, nails and instructions.

After looking at all of the project plans R decided that she’d like to make a toolbox and M opted for a birdhouse.

The instructions included measurements for the tool box, but not for the birdhouse so we had to wing it a bit. If you’re a parent who likes to follow instructions you’d probably be better going for the toolbox!

The instructions were clear and easy to follow regardless of the lack of measurements. The planks which look wood are almost like foam, except they’re easy to cut and don’t make a mess.

Our girls found it really easy to use the saws to cut the planks and the nails were easy to push into the foam. We didn’t really use the screwdriver or hammer as you could just push the screws and nails into the foam with ease.

As you can see from the photos both of our girls really enjoyed making their projects. It probably took us about an hour to complete and we still have plenty of planks and nails left to make some more things.

In addition to the Real Construction Sets I was also sent a copy of one my favourite comics from when I was a child, Beano! It was fun reading about Dennis the Menace again after all these years! It’s also good to know that on the inside of the back cover, you can find step-by-step instructions to build a speed boat!

Overall, I think that both of these sets are great for children, both boys and girls. The materials and tools included are really great quality and the instructions are easy to follow. I think the price for these sets are also really good.
For the purpose of this review I was sent the above products. All views and opinions are 100% my own.