"This is my first Duplo purchase (have been eagerly waiting for my child to hit 18months but alas I could not wait another 3 more months).
I received this set just 10 minutes ago and fixed it up quickly to test it out after reading all the bad reviews. Wanted to see if it was really as bad as it is reviewed to be before deciding whether to introduce it to my 15 month old boy.
Setting up for me was definitely easy and then when I set up the gears I naturally went for the spacious corners instead of what the box suggested. With this set up I could turn any gear freely and also see the other parts work flawlessly. No issues for me! I did my best to twist haphazardly but nothing flew off as the gears were seated within 4 nodes on the 'grass' base.
Of course I would foresee some frustration for my child if he decides to take off the gear and try to twist it off the nodes but overall it is a fun toy to show my baby the workings of gears. I myself enjoyed the various ways to play this."