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My little monster recently received a package to review that was sure to make him the envy of all of his toddling friends. The John Crane Tidlo Oldfield Farm arrived in a flat pack format but thanks to the clearly labelled screws and miniature Phillips screwdriver even a DIYaphobe like me managed to put the little house, two story barn, cow shed and pig sty together in under 20 minutes flat and that’s with a monster handing off my leg shouting at me to “Hurry up Mama.â€
Really
Whilst putting this intricately painted farm together it was clear to see just how much detail has gone into making this toy a little special. From tiny multi coloured roof tiles to pebble dashed walls and prettily painted windows it’s fair to say that this is one truly beautiful toy.
Oldfield Farm consists of two painted base boards featuring bright green fields and blue feature ponds that sit symmetrically. On top of the base boards stands a gorgeous little yellow cottage, double cow shed and multi-tiered barn as well as a cute little pig sty. The buildings are really well made and both the cottage and cow barn feature magnetic roofs allowing even more room for play.
The Tidlo Oldfield Farm doesn’t come with animals but luckily for us we were sent some gorgeous Pintoy Wooden animals to help to fill our empty barns. The Pintoy animals feature 2 large wooden cows, 2 pink pigs, 2 very cute sheep, 2 bright yellow ducks and 2 small chickens. All of the animals are really well made and sturdy, even after a good pull and tug, the odd tumble down the stairs and a visit into the depth of the monsters mouths they are still looking as god as new. Whilst it’s easy to see why the little chickens and ducks have their 3 years plus recommendation I was more than happy to let the two younger monsters play happily with the chunky cows, pigs and sheep together.
After setting up the farm with the eager beaver monsters watching it was time to let them play. My 22 month old little boy, 3 year old niece and 23 month old nephew dived straight in on the farmyard action. Whilst the boys were more interested in marching the animals around the fields it was my three year old niece who gained the most from the lovely farm. Boo is at an age where she loves to role play and thanks to the variety of buildings, animals and fences Oldfield Farm is perfect for this. The toy gives a great insight into farm life and even the boys have started to understand which animal belongs in which area and of course the sounds they make.
Boo
Whilst the farm is gorgeous I would love to see two tiny changes. Firstly it would be great for the base boards to be cut like a jigsaw so they stay firmly put and secondly it would be nice to see some form of grip of the ladder that lets the animal ‘climb’ into the top section of the barn to prevent it from constantly falling down. Apart from these minor details we are thoroughly impressed with Oldfield farm.
"Fantastic
The John Crane Tidlo farm is priced at £44.95 whilst the set of 10 gorgeous Pintoy wooden animals are priced at £17.49 which I truly believe represents excellent value for money. These fabulous wooden toys are perfect for little ones who love to role-play and explore and get a huge thumbs up from us.
