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I am old enough to remember time before Lego when the only construction toy was Meccano and you constructed most things from within your head. Now you have sets with a specific purpose and although some of the bricks are still the basic shapes a lot of them are specific to the task of constructing your Super Hero.

Of course in the days I am thinking of there were not the mass of health and safety rules and I am sure many a meccano nut and bolt passed through me along with other items that belonged to my older brother that looked tempting.

There are three booklets to go with the unit and the first pages shows contents being tipped onto a table the box is already partly ripped to get into it so even if you open it carefully it is probably beyond saving to store the pieces.

There are five different plastic bags containing parts to construct the total scene as its not just the Super Hero you construct but also the building and other figures. Also in the box is a Lego rope and base for the building as well as a sheet of transfers.

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The age range of ‘7+’ proved interesting. I doubt most eight year olds could have the patience required to construct everything. Certainly the simpler figures would be easy but the more complex parts would need an older sibling or a parent.

I have now reached that age where following even simple instructions is difficult partly because instruction sheets use tiny type. This is not a problem here as everything is brightly coloured illustrations so even a grandparent should be able to assist.

Once constructed you need a child’s imagination to keep things intact. Lego has always constructed by clicking together so no glue is needed. This also means that deconstruction is just as easy and small bits will get lost.

I had access to an eight and a ten year old and both seemed to enjoy the construction. However I suspect a pre constructed Super Hero would have been more fun and mum or dad would soon be hovering bits up from the carpet.

While my main toy –singular – at that age was a train set this also got deconstructed and this was not the use it was meant to be put to. Today it is impossible to equate price with that of fifty plus years ago without taking many other things into account.

TV was a single channel and certainly we did not have one till the 1953 coronation. Colour came in towards the end of the sixties and then of course adverts ran riot and now we have dedicated Children’s Channels that direct the child to what he/she should hanker/pester for not only for toys but clothes food and other things like phones and computers.

The Lego system in itself was a great step forward for a construction toy and in itself is timeless however will Super Heros still be the must have in one, two or three years I don’t know. Will Lego still be around then certainly.

Should the instruction booklets go missing before construction is complete you can download a PDF copy.

The Lego Super Heroes 76005 set is available from the link below for £42.98 including delivery.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0094J5KIA?ie=UTF8&tag=gadge0a-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634

http://marvelsuperheroes.lego.com/en-gb/products/default.aspx#76005