I got my first ever train set for Xmas after mentioning it seemed like a hobby I might enjoy. I got the Thunder Valley N scale set, and to say I am disappointed -- or more like discouraged -- is an understatement. It's certainly aggravating enough to make me think about cutting my losses and writing the whole thing off as an expensive mistake.

I watched the YouTube video half a dozen times, where of course everything looked so simple a 2-year-old could manage. Ha! The EZ connection are anything but EZ. I could not get half of the connections to come together as the rail-joiners would not line up. I needed to use my modeling magnifier, needle-nose clamps, and modeling tweezers to adjust the misaligned joiners (thereby, I'm sure, voiding the warranty). Once I got one to fit, it would knock another out of alignment. It took over two hours, and a lot of &)#^#@+% language to get the simple circle assembled.

Then came the couplers. Oh what fun! Not one -- not one -- of the couplers would couple. The knuckles would slide passed each other, or would slide on right but utterly fail to catch no matter what I tried. Once again, I needed the modeling magnifier, modeling tweezers, and a very steady hand to join cars. I gave up after an hour and two cars.

Am I missing something here? Or is the manufacture and design that poor? Again, unless I can find a way that's easier, I'm writing the who experience off as a costly mistake, lesson learned.