I bought two of these baseplates for my children (ages 2 & 4) for 50% off at the Lego site (only difference is the one I purchased is red in color). Definitely check the Lego site before purchasing to see if they are offering any of these on clearance.
This baseplate, which measures 15" x 15" (or 22 x 22 pegs), is absolutely essential to building really fantastic Duplo structures. For some reason I can't find a single store within a 50-mile radius that carries these (I've looked) and that makes absolutely no sense, because what exactly are you going to do with Legos if you don't have a sturdy foundation for the building? Up to this point my daughters have busied themselves making large towers that often topple, scattering the stacked Legos everywhere and creating disappointment. With this baseplate (and a few of the other smaller building plates we purchased) the possibilities are truly limitless. You can actually build a structure for little people to play in, landscape a yard/garden area and plant little flowers around it, and because the baseplates holds it all in place you aren't losing pieces left and right. To be honest, when the kids go to bed tonight, I think I'm going to play! I never had one of these baseplates when we had Legos growing up, but I think it was the one thing we were always missing, and the reason my interest in Legos was never very intense.
So, I think this is a great piece, and without a doubt, it's essential. My only disappointment is with just how thin it is. Basically, if you pick it up by a single corner, the rest of the plate bows. If you hold it up to the light you can see through it - just to give someone who is purchasing on of these sight-unseen an idea of how thin it is. Because this is, as all Lego pieces are, made of ABS plastic, the material is extremely rigid, and I dare say even brittle. It's not a type of plastic that is made to withstand being bent. If we don't mount these plates on something to increase their stability, I feel quite sure that one of the children (most likely my two year old who already shows an interest in roughhousing with the baseplate) will step on it while it's on an uneven surface and break it, or use it as a weapon to club someone over the head and break it. And because it would be a real pain to replace, and because at full price it's not exactly a cheap item, I really really, do not want them to break these plates.
If you happen to have rough-playing youngsters who aren't especially careful with their toys, I would either think of this as a supervise-only item (which is a pain), mount it on a rigid surface (but where to find a surface made of safe materials?) or maybe postpone buying it until the kids are older, and in the meantime stick with the smaller collection of 3 building plates offered on the Lego site (for about a third of what the large base costs here). While the smaller building plates are obviously not the 'ultimate' in Lego building accessories (they measure 7.5" x 3.75" or 12 x 6 pegs), they definitely up the versatility of the basic pieces significantly and allow for a lot more building possibilities. At 1/2 the thickness of standard bricks, the small plates are quite a bit more durable than the large baseplate. They could be broken, but it would require some serious effort and intent, I'd imagine. Lastly, the smaller building plates can also be stacked on top of Duplo bricks as well as serving as a small baseplate, while this large 15" x 15" plate could not, say, serve as a roof for a house. The large baseplate is definitely a single-function item.
I didn't feel like I bought these equipped with a realistic picture of what I was getting, and I hope I can provide that to someone else considering adding the baseplate to their collection. I'm glad I got our baseplates on sale, as I may have been a little disappointed in their durability had I paid full price. I think in the long run, they'll be a great addition to our Lego set - so I have no regrets, but I think the smaller plates will be more durable and suit our needs better while our children are young.
Get more detail about LEGO Large Green Building Plate (15" X 15").
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