Customer reviews from shop.mattel.com
Hot Wheels - Track Builder Vertical Launch Kit - Blue/Orange
Average customer rating
4.4
(38 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 38 reviews
5 Stars
22
4 Stars
9
3 Stars
7
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
89%of customers recommend this product.
(
34 out of
38)
Customer Reviews for Hot Wheels - Track Builder Vertical Launch Kit - Blue/Orange
Customer Rating
5
Lots of fun
on August 14, 2019
Posted by: Momotsukigirl88
from Kansas City, MO
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I recieved this item for free to review, but this is my own opinion. The vertical launch kit was very easy to put together. The kit coming with the command strips was a plus since I did not have to go out and buy any. My son was so excited to get to play with this that he started running around in circles. As for play it does pretty well. Sometimes if you mash the lever too hard the car will fly off the track, but I saw no other issues while my son was playing with it. Overall this is a really good hot wheels track and my son enjoyed playing with it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
5
Huge! And a massive hit
on August 19, 2019
Posted by: Renee1230
from Mississippi, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My son loves this wall track. Be warned though it takes up a lot of real estate. Almost 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It comes out from the wall five feet too. But, that’s part of what makes my 7 year old so enraptured with it. If you’ve got the room go for it. I can’t imagine any little boy being disappointed.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
3
A Mom's Perspecitve
on August 26, 2019
Posted by: Momma M
from West Virginia
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My son turned 7, thought this would be a fun addition to his play room; first I would like to mention that this product takes more space than initially thought, and even when I used the guide included for spacing, there was not a mention to make sure to save space for the drop off unit; which I would recommend be placed on the left side of the unit. The instructions were 'fairly' simple, however It would be nice if they could be numbered on the parts itself so that you can easily put this together, it took longer than anticpated - I actually put the first double loop section together wrong, and did not realize this until I tried the unit- The switching of the U is easy to do without difficulty; I also think that extra wall adhesives should be supplied with the unit. My son, actually liked the double loop better than the drop zone - he did however enjoy just dropping the car itself into the drop zone to play as well, so that works out if you have the U set up for the double loop - my son, seems to have trouble launching the car up the track - I am not sure if he is unable to put enough force on the launcher, or if it is a design flaw, I know that when I hit the launcher I have to use a lot of force, so perhaps this might be a design flaw for younger kids to use with more ease. My son, was disappointed that there was only 1 car in the kit - he does own other hotwheels cars, which work on the unit. I am concerned about storing the unit, as it does take up a lot of space, there is a space saver storage option, but the tracks themselves are not easy to take apart and I am worried that the more you take them apart then they will bend and not click as tight and not work as well (I had this happen to another set, my son tried to take apart, then the loop did not want to stay connected, so he didn't play with it after that).
My son, played with this for 15minutes then got bored, again frustration with the launching the car up the track with the launcher. As a mom, I would buy this product if I had more space in a playroom, this is not ideal for small areas or areas that are highly trafficked as it will get in the way. The wall assembly was fairly simple - and I applied the adhesives and waited until the next day to attach the wall unit, to ensure that they would not pull the adhesives from the wall.
My son, played with this for 15minutes then got bored, again frustration with the launching the car up the track with the launcher. As a mom, I would buy this product if I had more space in a playroom, this is not ideal for small areas or areas that are highly trafficked as it will get in the way. The wall assembly was fairly simple - and I applied the adhesives and waited until the next day to attach the wall unit, to ensure that they would not pull the adhesives from the wall.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
5
Hours of fun!!
on August 15, 2019
Posted by: miko625
from Zionsville, IN
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My son loved the Vertical Launch Kit! It allows connections with other Hot Wheels Tracks (as typical) but it brings out more creativity in kids. The loop set up also works for some of the heavier cars which isn't always the case with some loops which was great. Would definitely recommend.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
5
Up! Down! Around and around!
on August 20, 2019
Posted by: PolkaDotMan
from Chicago, IL, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was not sure how my 7-year old son would respond to the Hot Wheels Vertical Launch Kit. He has a rather extensive collection of Hot Wheels (mostly entertainment themed) but mostly likes showing them off instead of sending them along tracks. However, he was pretty excited to see the box and suggested we immediately “set this bad boy up”. The prospect of sending cars up and down walls was apparently very appealing to him.
I was nervous about setting this playset up. After all, there are many pieces to affix to the wall and if they aren’t properly aligned, there is no way the cars can successfully traverse the tracks. Fortunately, Mattel had a solution that I did not anticipate.
The complete setup process took more time than my son could tolerate. However, we were able to perform the initial steps together. We assembled the double(!) loop and the spiral pieces rather quickly as this was familiar terrain that simply involved attaching track to track. As parts were put together, the full capabilities of this toy began to dawn on both of us and my son couldn’t wait to start playing.
Unfortunately, that is when the second stage began, and waiting was necessary.
Unfortunately, that is when the second stage began, and waiting was necessary.
Stage 2 involved attaching the wall frame assembly to the wall using the supplied 3M command strips. Now, in Mattel’s defense, the instructions for this process are clearly labeled “Read Me First!”, which I didn’t do. If I had, I could have attached the strips to the wall first and built the loop and spiral while the adhesive was setting. Live and learn.
The good news is that there is a template that gets taped to the wall with cutouts corresponding to where the command strips need to be placed. No measuring needed! After installing the strips, just remove the template and let the strips set. After an hour, we attached the frame assembly to the wall. There are simple levels built into some of the pieces to assist in getting everything aligned correctly.
At this point, the track pieces get attached to the frame and the fun begins.
At this point, the track pieces get attached to the frame and the fun begins.
Now, before putting this playset together, I thought kids would simply drop cars down the tracks like I did in my youth. Nope. There is a manual launcher that, if pressed hard enough, sends the included car up the wall where it takes one of two predetermined paths. You can either have the car sent down the wall into the double loop or have it drop through the air into a chute that sends it through a spiral. There are spring-loaded covers at the entries to both options that help keep the car from flying off the track. Any other additional track and playsets you have can be attached to the exits of either route to continue the car’s journey.
All of these options do require quite a bit of space. The frame assembly goes almost 5 feet up the wall and is 4 feet across. The launcher and double loop need approximately 5 feet of free floor from the wall. But Mattel addressed this issue by including built-in storage for the track. When not in use, you can minimize the floor footprint by disassembling the track pieces and storing them in the frame. Putting them back together and reattaching to the frame takes mere minutes.
But when all is said and done, the question is “is it fun?” And the answer is … “yes”. My son really enjoys seeing his cars in action and having alternative ‘stunt’ routes is a big plus. Some cars do work better than others; Hot Wheels come in a variety of shapes and there is a lot of action going on to accommodate them all. But my son has made a game out of seeing which of his cars work best. The time-consuming initial setup is worth the results. This may the playset that finally moves his collection from the storage and display cases into actual play.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
3
Easy but disappointing.
on January 16, 2020
Posted by: Pizzazz
from Staten island, ny
The track assembly and directions were way to do and understand. We waited an hour, as instructed before attaching and pieces to the command strips on the wall. The command strips stayed on the wall however the track dis not stay attached to the strips on the wall. We attached the pre assembly to the command strips on the wall. After about 5 minutes of play one side popped odd. I put it back on pressing the 2 command strips together tightly. The next morning we woke up to find the entire thing had fallen. So disappointing.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from shop.mattel.comBy Mattel, January 17, 2020
We're sorry your Vertical Launch Kit wasn't so vertical. Please reach out to our team, and we'll be more than happy to help! Phone support is available at 800-524-8697, Mon.- Fri., 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST.
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
4
Unique with a Great Wow Factor. 4.5 Stars
on August 9, 2019
Posted by: PlayfulMomma
from Wheat Ridge, CO, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] First of all, this has wow factor-it looks awesome!
My 6 year old son was beyond thrilled when he saw this arrive-heck even my husband and I were excited for it! My son has never cleaned his room so fast to make room to set it up!
It does take up a quiet bit of room (it suggests 5ft by 5 ft and 4 ft up the wall) but it's nice that it uses wall space (though maybe not the best for the corner of the room like we did). With the command strips it is more permanent than the floor tracks but I believe you could just pull the ramp pieces off leaving just the wall mount if space is an issue. The command strips have a Velcro section so I think the wall mount could come off the wall completely as well without messing anything up.
There is a little slotted section on the side that holds broken down track pieces which I thought was really neat!
The wall template for the command strips is genius! It made putting the strips up super quick and easy. However, it would have been nice to know before hand that it wants the command strips to rest an hour before you finish assembling it. To my son, that was one of the longest hours of his life! Otherwise my son and husband had it up in less than 20 minutes and all the pieces went together smoothly.
It took some trial and error finding cars that work best, we have older (husbands childhood) cars that may have been too light as they fly off the track and hit the wall.
At the beginning my son did get a bit frustrated with hitting the lever hard enough to get the cars all the way up the ramp.
He said "It takes so much force to get them up, the ramp might be too high because it's hard to get the cars all the way up it every time!". I imagine once he plays with it more (and grows himself) he won't want it to be shorter.
We've had to help him practice to find the right amount of pressure and with all the lever smacking it can get noisy.
We all loved the U-turn that could be switched around, though my son needed help pulling it off and snapping it to the other side. A younger child may not be able to reach it on their own.
We did try an older battery powered booster which didn't propel the cars up the ramp so my husband wonders if a newer booster would do the trick or if it only works with the lever.
I appreciate that it is part of the track builder set so it can be used for other set ups which definitely breathes new life into all of his hot wheels.
Overall, I would give it 4.5 stars! We all thought that the toy is super awesome and I can see it being played with for a long time. It is kind of the main attraction to his sets and adds a fun element with the vertical height and the cool drops.
My 6 year old son was beyond thrilled when he saw this arrive-heck even my husband and I were excited for it! My son has never cleaned his room so fast to make room to set it up!
It does take up a quiet bit of room (it suggests 5ft by 5 ft and 4 ft up the wall) but it's nice that it uses wall space (though maybe not the best for the corner of the room like we did). With the command strips it is more permanent than the floor tracks but I believe you could just pull the ramp pieces off leaving just the wall mount if space is an issue. The command strips have a Velcro section so I think the wall mount could come off the wall completely as well without messing anything up.
There is a little slotted section on the side that holds broken down track pieces which I thought was really neat!
The wall template for the command strips is genius! It made putting the strips up super quick and easy. However, it would have been nice to know before hand that it wants the command strips to rest an hour before you finish assembling it. To my son, that was one of the longest hours of his life! Otherwise my son and husband had it up in less than 20 minutes and all the pieces went together smoothly.
It took some trial and error finding cars that work best, we have older (husbands childhood) cars that may have been too light as they fly off the track and hit the wall.
At the beginning my son did get a bit frustrated with hitting the lever hard enough to get the cars all the way up the ramp.
He said "It takes so much force to get them up, the ramp might be too high because it's hard to get the cars all the way up it every time!". I imagine once he plays with it more (and grows himself) he won't want it to be shorter.
We've had to help him practice to find the right amount of pressure and with all the lever smacking it can get noisy.
We all loved the U-turn that could be switched around, though my son needed help pulling it off and snapping it to the other side. A younger child may not be able to reach it on their own.
We did try an older battery powered booster which didn't propel the cars up the ramp so my husband wonders if a newer booster would do the trick or if it only works with the lever.
I appreciate that it is part of the track builder set so it can be used for other set ups which definitely breathes new life into all of his hot wheels.
Overall, I would give it 4.5 stars! We all thought that the toy is super awesome and I can see it being played with for a long time. It is kind of the main attraction to his sets and adds a fun element with the vertical height and the cool drops.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com
Customer Rating
5
Hours of fun with cool tracks
on June 6, 2020
Posted by: DawnF
from Westlake, OH, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My kids were so excited to get this vertical launch track kit.I was a little nervous about the space it would take up but it is similar to other tracks.Sometimes the cars get stuck on the corkscrew side but the kids love that because they can send another car up to push it out and watch them both go down.It is fun because they can switch sides and do a corkscrew or loop.it is a little hard for my youngest to get the cars to successfully launch but he is younger than the recommended age range.they are having a blast testing out different cars. I would definitely recommend this for any hot wheels fans! The track sets up easily and looks cool.After a bunch of launches it hasn't moved from the wall so it seems really sturdy.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting shop.mattel.com