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I hate this toy!
I can never understand toys that are marketed for young children yet nearly impossible for them to do! The parts are small and flimsy and nearly impossible for young children to play with. This toy causes frustration for children and parents. Basically....my child tell me what to do with it and I do it for her.

Not the most durable toy...
I have no idea how it started, but my 3 year old daughter is completely infatuated with all things princess....so this set is of course a necessity. She plays with this (and other polly pocket princess sets) every day, all day. She narrates stories, gets them dressed and undressed, and sometimes they even go visit the dinosaurs! This set is very cute and will provide hours of entertainment for your kids...provided the dolls don't break. As noted, it does take pretty advanced fine motor skills for a 3 year old to dress/undress the dolls, especially the shoes. They tend to hold the head of the doll and pull hard on the clothing, which can lead to headless dolls. I haven't had any luck supergluing due to an square plastic extendable piece inside the neck. But it's pretty cheap to just replace the broken doll (about ) should that happen.

Great Playset
Great playset. My 3 yr old loves this and carries Cinderella around everywhere. We don't have any trouble with the clothing breaking or the dolls heads falling off, although one dress broke after 9 months of not-gentle play. I like that this set has a prince, too. We need to use a small rubberband to hold the carriage on to the horse. My kids (3 & 5 both love this.)

poor quality
The clothes are very difficult to put on, even for adults. We have many ripped clothes and have super glued the heads back on so many times...my daughter LOVES playing with these, but they're disappointing from a parents' perspective. They are very poor quality and not worth the money!

Difficult to keep track of
My almost 3 year old daughter "bought" this toy by cashing in stickers that she had earned for staying in bed. She still loves it even though it has been almost a month. However, I do agree with other reviewers that the parts are very small and become lost easily. We keep the small pieces in a ziplock bag and she is only allowed to open the bag while sitting at the kitchen table or at her play table. The parts are so small, they almost pose no choking hazard to my 13 month old. The shoes are smaller than an extra strength Tylenol! That being said, my daughter can't put the shoes or dresses on without help but absolutely loves the carrying case and probably enjoys carrying the toy around most of all! Loves putting the princess and the accessories in the carriage and connecting the horse (doesn't stay connected well) for a ride to the ball! Has been a great princess toy. Fun for little girls who like Cinderella.

Fond Memories of Great Toys
First of all, yay! I have waited for toys like this to return in some fasion and they do not disappoint. The cloth outfits, the elastic band holding the torso together, the huge boots, and packaging all hail nostalgic times. I remember playing with the Mego figures of the 80s and while they did tend to be poorly constructed and often broke, thats just what toys were like back then. Compared to them, these are more durable, but that isn't saying a lot. You can't go swinging your action figure around and yanking on the legs and torso and expect it to last. Toys like these, like all toys in my opinion, should be played with. Just be careful when you do.

So what's the same? The look and feel mainly. The bodies are all the same build, but have different hands for different colors and accessories. They have that same floppy feel to them due to the elastic band holding them together. The outfits snap together using plastic snaps. They are as basic as it gets in terms of design and form. So much fun. Even the packaging has a dull, faded look to make them seem as if they had been in a special storage area since the early 80s. No annoying twist ties or anything holding these toys in place in the package. They are loose inside, but there isn't much to move and break so its fine.

So what's different? I remember the older figures, particularly the ones with capes, having the cape sewn to the costume and the buttons buttoned them up at the back of the neck. These aren't like that. The outfits snap together in back, but with plastic snaps unlike the metal ones that used to rust easily. The capes are sewn on the front of the costume only, and have elastic in the neck so that it fits tightly against the figure. The fabric appears to be of a higher quality and not so easy to tear and become loose. The boots do not come off, eat least not without considerable effort that would likely break the toy. The former Mego toys had hard plastic boots that could slip on and off, which often resulted in them getting lost within minutes of playing. These stay on, and are made of a soft rubber. This means the feet can't bend, but that's okay. The characters with gloves now have shaped and colored hands instead of a huge glove that slides on. For example, Green Lantern's hands are made of white molded plastic and his ring hand is a fist and features the ring on his finger. That's the kind of small detail the old figures lacked. The forearm part of the gloves is sewn into the costume, so it can't slip off and get lost, plus they're made of a soft leather-like material. Instead of a mere rubber band to hold the figures together in the middle, these figures use an elastic material that is kind of like a bungie cord. Its durable, but can break with enough force. Granted they are not nearly as delicate as the former rubber bands though. The most common problem with these figures back then was that rubber band. Since rubber bands become brittle with age and continuous strain, they broke easily. These use a more modern material that can hold up to time and strain.

So what's bad about it? Well, I've heard people complain about it being floppy in the waist and that they don't stand up well. That's true, but that's how the old Mego figures were and that's what they were going for. I think its great because it has that classic feel to it when they move. The bodies are made of a more sturdy plastic than in the past, and have a nice weight to them. I've also heard others complain about durability and the symbols on the costumes wearing out. That's true too, though I haven't had any problems with mine coming apart. I have noticed a bit of wear on the "S" symbol on Superman's chest. This wear is to be expected of printed symbols on fabric. As the fabric stretches more and more, the decal will tear in places. But the good thing is that the material of the outfits is stretchy and tear resistant in most cases. The only problem I've had is that sometimes the snaps come undone easily. That's the trade off with plastic versus metal snaps though.

All in all, they're pretty good. As of writing this, the Batman figure wave hasn't come out yet, so I can't say if they've improved on those or not. These figures are great for children of the late 70s and early 80s as they bring back fond memories. They are definatly worth getting if you have the chance. If you get them, I suggest treasuring them during play and not subjecting them to strenuous play. You could leave the figures in the package, but what fun is that? ;-) I would hope that Marvel and other companies follow suit and remake their old Mego-like figures as well.

Superman, but not made of Steel
Well, First off this action figure is beautiful to look at. Makes me remeber my days with my Mego's in the 70's. At first Superman held up to play, but his waist elastic broke. So I just duct taped the waist together for a quick fix the play continued. Next the silk screen "S" emblem started to split like a old T-shirt. Finally I descided to send him back for a replacement, and finally the head started to seperate from the torso. The neck plastic ripped. Maybe my house hold recieved a defective one? The figure does look amazing and was a real hit in my family, but the durability for one afternoons worth of normal play really surprised me as poor. Will be returning him for a refund due to the play toughness just not being there for .00