NATALIE TRICKETT looks at this range from Märklin, designed for children from the age of 3 upwards.
I both love, and at the same time, dread taking long periods of time off with my children. I won’t deny it and there are a lot of mums out there in the same boat - the time spent is precious and the best memories are made in the school holidays. We all remember hot summers going to the beach, national parks and on picnics with the family but for the parents anything over a week can quickly turn in to our worst nightmare.
After a week the boredom kicks in, the lack of routine goes to their heads and that’s when fighting begins! Parents end up jelly brained and willing to do anything to entertain them until the holidays are over! The usual activities include trips out; theme parks, farms and holiday clubs, all very expensive things to do that are short lived.
So, with all this in mind, and the Easter holiday coming up quick, having booked the whole two weeks off I decided for the first time to plan it out. The first few days were to be spent at home then a long weekend in the New Forest, followed by the odd family visit. But after that I was stuck for ideas! On the Friday before the Easter Holidays I made the rash decision to pick up one of the MyWorld Starter Sets in our shop which is aimed at younger children. I didn’t expect much, but thought my son would enjoy it for a while, long enough to keep him quiet. As it turned out he absolutely loved it, and so did my daughter!
MyWorld is a range designed with smaller children in mind, produced by Märklin. A typical set includes either a loop or figure of 8 track, a locomotive (of which there are some very iconic liveries like Eurostar and ICE trains to choose from), rolling stock, a controller (batteries are included!) There are also loads of add on sets, station accessories, locomotives and wagons you can buy as well to build on what you get in the set.
What is fantastic about this range is that the whole thing is battery operated and controlled by the infra-red controller, so there is no wiring or messing around to get it up and running. The track is very similar to the Märklin C Track system, so all the children need to do is push it together; my 5yr old son could do this with ease. The train itself has working lights and sound, controlled using a small battery powered controller which is ideal for their little hands. The wagons couple together using magnets which are easily pulled apart again, some of the trains have interchangeable bodies so the children can swap the top part making it a steam or diesel loco instead.
MyWorld is effectively the next step up from a Brio wooden train set, and the trains will actually run very well on Brio track! They’re brilliant for children who are at that stage where they are too old for Brio, but too young for a fully electric Model Railway. Märklin MyWorld sets are also ideal for birthday presents as they can be added to, and are very nicely packaged as well as not costing a fortune.
Another bonus with this range is that the plastics used are very high quality, neither the train or track system suffered any damaged even after hours and hours of play and the odd accident where the train was knocked to the floor. We didn’t even suffer a scratch to the paintwork on the loco so I’d highly recommend this for anyone with boisterous little boys. In all this set really did keep both the children entertained for hours and was well worth the gamble!
CLICK HERE to view the full Märklin MyWorld Range