The Postman Pat Deluxe Sorting Office Playset proved to be a minor hit in our house this Christmas with the grandson, though I myself wasn't quite as impressed. We paid £20 for it on sale, with the full retail price being £24.99 usually. You can get it from lots of big chain stores including Tesco, Boots and Argos.

The box that this set comes in is quite large, and the packaging is a bit awkward to be honest. Once you manage to yank the insert out of the outer box sleeve, you're faced with a jungle of plastic ties, sellotape and yet more layers of cardboard. It took me about fifteen minutes just to get all of the pieces out of the box, never mind set the darn thing up!

Fortunately, actually putting this set together doesn't take quite as long, and mostly there's just a bit of slotting in here and there to do, to assemble this toy. Note that the picture above might be a bit deceptive, as it looks as though you might get a lot more in this set that you actually do. Some sneaky photography has gone on here to make the set look as though it's going to be bigger than it is.

The pieces included are nice enough though, and they're well suited to a younger child who can't be trusted with the abundance of tiny pieces that come with Playmobil sets and the like. There's just the main backdrop included here, which includes an opening door, raising barrier, moving lift with sliding door, and a conveyor belt that can be moved using a stiff knob. Then there's a 'parcel sorter' which is just like a chunky roulette wheel really, and an 'x-ray machine' which is just a plastic box with a sticker on the side. Plus there's a parcel cart, two parcels, two figures (one is Pat) and Jess the cat. That's a fair contents for the price, but I liked that there isn't too much to lose out of this.

The play appeal is a bit limited if you buy this set on it's own, but if you buy it along with the Post Office and Postman Pat's Van then you've got a great little postal world going on with this toy. Alone there is only so much you can do before you get bored and wonder why you haven't got a van to drive through your door and take the parcels out in. Really I think they should have added an extra few quid to the price tag and included a van thinking about it.

The quality is about what you'd expect from this price range. I can't see the set breaking too easily, but then again I don't think it'll last for a second generation's use like Playmobil generally does. The conveyor belt and lift both stick a little too easily, though so far an adult has always been able to unjam them both.

I can only really give this one three stars, as there's a lot more they could and should have done with this product to make it great. They should have fine-tuned the mechanisms which stick easily before manufacture, and they should have included a van to double the play possibilities (instead of selling it seperately meaning you're forced to buy the additional figures which come with it). The quality is a bit lower than I would have liked, and I think I'd have rather paid extra and got something of better quality. I do like the idea and general design though, and I like that they've not gone overboard with the tiny accessories like Playmobil so often do.