I love Thomas the train and bought my son all the Thomas toys I could over 5 years ago. I even bought one train set on clearnace for $5.oo at that time, it now sells on ebay for over $100-200. They are great collectables and something that is sure to be based on from generation to generation. Thomas the trains are 100% guaranteed by learning curve so if they break, paint wears off, or needs to be touched up, Learning curve guarantees to fix it up. My trains after 5 years of being thrown in a rubbermaid storage are in mint condition except for some very minor rubs of paint. Now at age 3 my twin daughters love Thomas the train. They teach so much from sharing, motor skills, cognitive skills, and even speak. My twins are very delayed in speech and in gross motor skills and we build, the trains "pretend talk" and problem solve when the tracks do not quite fit together. Even my now 8 year old son enjoys playing trains with his sister. Although Thomas is quite expensive, $10 for 1 train, $60 for the buildings, $150+ for the train sets, but it is a wise investment and after collecting just for 5 years I can get my money back if I wanted to sell them (which I do sell my doubles or extras). We have three huge Rubbermaid tubes (helps with the trains maintaining there mint condition) full of trains, track, and buildings. We play with them daily, watch Thomas on Spout, go to A Day With Thomas every year at Greenfield Village Henry Ford in Michigan.