March 2009 Notable Toys — Construction

This set comes with bricks and materials to create a miniature version of the Yellow House as portrayed in one of artist Vincent van Gogh's famous paintings.

This 500-piece starter kit includes enough components for the construction of 12 lineal elevated feet of monorail track. It also comes with a powered engine and a car to ride the rail and weather 30-degree grades.

Adding to the earth-friendly series that encourages kids to recycle products through their constructions, the PirateShip comes with 112 pieces as well as a scavenger list of items children must collect to create their sailable ship. Launch date: February 2009.

This series features four robots: Razor, Chomp, Turbo and Spider. Each set includes over 350 parts and and a motor that allows for unique mechanical motion features.

This series features four racers: Stock Car, Dragster, Formula Car and Sports Car. Each set includes over 200 parts and K’Nex men drivers.

This series features aircraft with their own unique feature – flashing lights on the Switch Wing™, motion-activated sound on the Stunt Jet™, foam missile launcher on the Spy Plane™ and motorized winch on the Rescue Copter™. Each set has more than 200 parts and K’Nex men pilots.

This set includes 339 pieces for building more than 20 different dinosaurs, including T-Rex, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops. In addition to classic and micro rods and connectors and K’Nex bricks, this new set includes a motion-activated sound brick with roaring and stomping noises.

This set has 138 pieces with ideas and instructions to create tractors, trucks, mowers and more. Two all-new K’Nex men figures are included.

This set has 128 pieces with free-rolling wheels, including mail trucks, police cars and buses, complete with working lights. Builders just set the vehicles in motion to activate the flashing light-up brick.

The Deluxe Set includes 15 clowns, 2 dowels, 6 toss rings, and an instruction booklet. Bill Ding Balancing Clowns are considered one of the best eye/hand coordination toys ever made.

This starter set of nine balancing clowns is a great introduction to the Bill Ding product, or a perfect addition to grow your set. Bill Ding Balancing Clowns are considered one of the best eye/hand coordination toys ever made.

These eco-friendly construction toys were inspired by children's board books and come with landscape and character pieces. Each set includes flat panels printed with colorful, water-based ink and slotted building blocks made from earth-friendly Sprigwood. The Palace and Barnyard are large sets. There are also medium sets: Construction Site, Ladybug Adventure and Safari Adventure (MSRP: $19.99). Large sets are 90 pieces; the medium are 60. Launch date: Fall 2009.

This set includes 100 pieces of various colors to make creative construction projects and marble runs. Launch date: July 1, 2009.
— Rebecca Goblish, owner of Picayune Toys in Dunwoody, Ga., told TDmonthly in a May 2013 survey that Q-Ba-Maze is one of her best-selling construction toys.
— Dean Smith, owner of Jazam Toys in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a May 2015 survey that this was a best-selling construction toy at their store.

This set of 12 blocks comes in a plastic tray and features various designs on each block side, so that kids can assemble them in different ways to form many distinct creations.

This colorful set for girls includes 60 plastic rods, wheels, connectors and EVA leaves, flowers and wings, plus instructions to make two environments, a fairy and two friends. The box with handle measures 9" x 12" x 2.5".

Based on the sizes and shapes of standard unit blocks, these blocks feature hand-scrolled and turned detailing that turns block towers into buildings with archways, buttresses and columns. These blocks are smooth-sanded hardwood with a natural finish, and come packed in a wooden crate for storage. The set contains 44 pieces in 11 shapes. 
― “Wooden blocks by Melissa & Doug” are best-selling wooden toys, Marianne Kearns, owner of Second Star to the Right in Bridgehampton, N.Y., told TDmonthly in January 2009. She said she sells an average of eight sets per month.

Made in the United States from sustainable basswood grown in Michigan, Uncle Goose's Nursery Rhyme Blocks give a whimsical twist to standard block play. The set of nine 1 1/3” cube-shaped blocks are embossed and painted with classic children's nursery rhymes. Two sides feature scenes in silhouette, while the other four feature the words to the rhyme itself, encouraging early reading and memory skills. Rhymes included with Set A are “Little Jack Horner,” “Three Little Kittens,” “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,” “Old Mother Hubbard,” “Humpty Dumpty,” “Diddle Diddle Dumpling,” “Little Boy Blue,” “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” and “Old King Cole.” 
― “I'd say blocks, and the manufacturer is Uncle Goose,” Rebecca Pfeil, owner of Timeless Toys in Homer, Alaska, told TDmonthly about best-selling wooden items.
― Sandra Bartholomew, owner of Wingdoodle in Warner, N.H., told TDmonthly her best-selling wooden toy is “wood blocks, the basic kind.”
― Ten percent of 56 retailers said blocks were a top-selling wood item in early 2009.

Little kids can build colorful baby penguins with the 24 chunky pieces that come in this set, packaged in an easy-to-carry storage case.

This colorful construction kit contains four pieces each of the five ZOOB shapes in sparkly shades. They come in a reusable tube that includes instructions for 17 simple projects, including a giraffe, rocket man, cell phone and tiara.

This set contains 1,250 Puzzibits pieces in 12 vibrant colors. It comes with building instructions and plenty of pieces to shape various creations. The "flexible interlocking pieces create flat and 3-D art," Julie Flann, manager of marketing and sales services for Manhattan Toy, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2008.

This garbage truck, featuring solid wood construction, measures more than 13" long when assembled, and does not require cutting or gluing. It includes a magnetic trash lift and disposal mechanism. Completed dimensions are 6.25" x 5.25" x 13.5".

The LaQ basic 3 includes all 7 types of blocks with a balanced number of pieces in the 6 basic colors of red, blue, yellow, green, white, black. This 650 piece kit includes a Starter Instruction Book and Collection 1 Instruction Book so that beginners can create a variety of LaQ models.

Open the Sphinx’s secret mummy hiding place with your amulet. Includes two figures, skeleton that glows in the dark, and many other accessories. Recommended for ages four and up. Choking Hazard. Small parts. Not for ages under 3 years.
— Playmobil products continue to be great sellers at Melody’s Choices, as reported by Owner Steve Melody in spring 2009. “Although this line is in the big box, if you support it well, you have something the [big] box does not … selection,” he told TDmonthly.

Celebrate the newlyweds’ marriage at the Wedding Pavilion. Includes two figures, bride with veil and bouquet, table and chairs, champagne glasses, pink Wedding Pavilion, and many other accessories. Also comes with a pink jewel case to hold rings. Dimensions 11.4 x 22 x 15.7 inches (L x W x H). Recommended for ages four and up. Choking Hazard. Small parts. Not for ages under 3 years.