ImagineToys: My First Castle by Le Toy Van ~Review~

Finding a toy store, online or otherwise is easy. Finding a toy store that carries quality toys that will expand your childs imagination, build their motor skills, and enhance their social experiences takes a bit more effort. As parents we are often bombarded with the “hottest new toys” by advertisements and by our ever-wanting children. So how do we know which toys will be worthwhile purchases?

ImagineToys.com has that covered for you:

“We strive to offer unique toys and accessories that are fresh and different from what you might find at a mass-market toy store. Each product has been pre-selected by our knowledgeable and concerned experts who are intent on providing a safe, educational play experience. Our experts are parents themselves and have taken the time to test products with children of appropriate age to ensure quality, durability and enjoyment of our items.”

ImagineToys sent us the My First Castle by Le Toy Van to review.  There was some assembly required, and, though it required a screwdriver, it was really quite simple.  With it’s all wood, painted construction, My First Castle hearkens back to the classic wooden toys.  The castle features 4 turrets with removable tops.  There is a running board around the inside of the castle where you can place your soldiers, knights, archers, etc.  The castle gate can be drawn up to allow allies to enter.

The castle itself doesn’t come with any figures, but we were sent some Schleich figures.  Unfortunately, the two tournament knights with horses, the archer, and the battle knight we were sent are not on the ImagineToys site. 🙁  If you are looking for beautifully detailed, high-quality figures, and don’t mind paying a bit more for the quality I might suggest finding the figures I received on Amazon.  The only drawback to these figures is that the two Tournament Knights on their horses don’t stand up very well on their own.  Not a problem while you are actively playing with them, but you can’t really position them for battle without them acting like they’ve been prematurely attacked.  For some less expensive options check out the castle figures on the ImagineToys site.

I was so excited to receive this set for  4 year old Big Brother!  I had no idea what ImagineToys was sending us, and this was absolutely perfect.  I’ve been wanting to get Big Brother a knights/castle set for a while.  He really doesn’t have much experience with knights and castles role play so this set is a great addition to his current play repertoire.  In addition to being a regular castle, our new castle also functions as a dungeon for naughty stuffed animals, a fortress for superheros, and many other yet to be discovered things.

The ImagineToys.com site is designed for easy searching.  You can find toys by searching keywords, searching by age, category, interest, and price range.  With Christmas coming up you’ll want to utilize their wishlist feature so the grandmas and grandpas know exactly what to get.

You can keep up with Imagine Toys on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/imaginetoys

And on twitter at: http://twitter.com/ImagineToys

Disclosure: I was provided with the above mentioned products, at no cost to myself, in order to facilitate a review.  The opinions expressed are honest and are entirely my own.