Its hard to appreciate just how small this kit is once entirely put together. The plastic brick pieces themselves feel like they are of good quality. They don't seem to "hold" together as well as the name brand stuff though. It could just be that my 4 yr old is just not as gentle with the build, because pieces would fall off when he would try and work on one of the steps (it happened to me as well though.) Instructions are very clear and easy to follow. My kids (7 and 4) were able to build it all on their own after a rapid unscheduled disassembly. We liked it so much that my kids have asked me to get the entire collection!