Step 2 Deluxe Workshop Review + Giveaway

I caught Evan trying to hammer one of his plastic screws into my wall the other day and knew it was time for a workbench of his own at our house. He has one that he plays with in my dad’s shop when my dad is building things, but he doesn’t have a big one for my husband’s shop. Step 2 sent us their new Deluxe Workshop to solve the problem.

Let your little worker in on the fun with the Step2 Deluxe Workshop. This play shop encourages hand eye coordination and pretend play with realistic-looking tools and props. Your little builder’s imagination will run wild with the tool chest cabinet, hanging jars for storage, working overhead shop light and battery operated drill featuring realistic sounds and interchangeable drill bits for maximum realism. Comes complete with a 50-piece accessory set and pretend shop vac.
Batteries not included, minimal adult assembly required.
Ages 3+

Features:

• Large work surface includes screw holes, recesses for nut, and screw storage
• Realistic Durafoam™ “wood” allows for easy building
• Features tool chest looking cabinet, slide in/out drawer, parts bin, hanging jars, and pretend shop vac
• Electronic features: drill and overhead shop light (requires 2 “AA” and 3 “AAA” batteries, not included)
• 50-piece accessory set included (includes drill bits, screws, nuts, saw, hammer, vise, and much more)
  -Dimensions: 40.75 H 34.00 W 15.00 D

The workshop had several pieces to put together, but it didn’t take my husband and brother long to get it set up. They ended up using a drill instead of screwdriver to speed the process up.

I’ll be completely honest-I’m a little worried about the foam “wood” pieces. They say that they’re indestructible and so far my son hasn’t torn them, but Evan can be pretty rough on his toys. It comes with an instruction page that has the four different project ideas. I wish that it came with a few more foam wood pieces, because I’m sure he’ll want to build bigger things too. I need to check and see if you can buy more pieces separately.

Here are all of the accessories that are included. The drill requires 2 AA batteries(not included) and makes noises like a real drill. It even has interchangeable drill bits.

The light requires 3 AAA batteries(not included). Simply press the red button to turn on.

The workshop has plenty of storage areas. These plastic “jars” hold the screws and other small accessories. The orange door above lifts so that you can store more items up top as well.

This is the “shop vac”. It was a great idea to include it on the toy workshop because no workshop is complete without one, but it doesn’t do anything. Kids can drop screws down the nozzle, but gravity does the work here. It doesn’t actually suck. There is a sticker with an on/off button, but when you press it, it doesn’t make any noise. I think that this would be better if it at least had sounds like a real shop vac-even if it didn’t really suck the pieces up. Evan thinks it is fun to drop the pieces in the hose, but he always says-“its not working”-I guess he expects it to make sounds too.

When you drop the pieces down the hose, it drops into this gray basket. Those “drawers” above it aren’t really drawers-its just a door that swings out. I feel like he could store things in the drawers, but the cabinet will make it where you can only put one row of things because if you stack accessories on top of each other, they will fall out when you open the door.

The vice grip on the side is a great idea. The only problem is that you have to pull it out to make it work and then it closes back shut as soon as you let go. It is difficult for Evan to pull it out all the way with one hand(because he has a piece of “wood” in the other hand) and it always closes before he gets it in there. I wish it screwed out like a real vice grip.

Overall, this Workshop is a lot of fun for the kids and has some great features. Evan now uses this and his other plastic tools to hammer on instead of my walls. He still needs help building the project ideas, but he’s getting better at it. I do wish that it came with more “wood” pieces and that the Shop Vac made realistic sounds.

The Step 2 Deluxe Workshop would make a great gift for any child over 3 on your list. Be sure to visit Step 2 to learn more and view their other products. Feel free to read my past Step 2 toy reviews for other gift ideas.