My son turned 5 in December & had been "dying" for transformers. Lucky for him he got tons of them for his birthday & Christmas. If you do not currently own a transformer, you need to understand one thing before you buy: YOU will be converting it back & forth about 500 times a day untill (assuming it is possible) your child can do it his/herself. LOOK at the CONVERSION DIFFICULTY LEVEL of each transformer you buy and equate that with how many hundreds of times you are willing to convert it for them. This particular transformer is a level 4 or 5 (sorry, don't remember the scale). I am mechanically inclined. My husband is as well. Well, it took us each about 20 minutes to convert this guy the first time - with the instructions (don't dare throw them away). I think I did Optimus Prime and dad did Megatron. After the 3rd or 4th time, I could do it without the instructions but keep them handy. I am hoping that one day, if I say "watch what I am doing" a few more hundred times, then my son might be able to do it himself.
So as for the toys themselves, I think they are very clever & my son loves them. He plays with them daily though he prefers the ones he can convert quickly himself (level 2/3, I think). Some of the pieces do come off but "clip" back on easily though I usually have to do it. He plays rough with them, as 5 yr old boys do, and none have broken yet. So, as long as you know what you are getting into, these are awesome toys. The only thing keeping me from a full 5 star rating is that some of the pieces could "click" in place better. Also, I think 5 is a bit young for the highest conversion levels but am realizing as I read other reviews that 5 is definately the lowest of a very wide age span! I must admit, I get a tingle of joy when my son asks me to convert one.
