I assembled this toy twice, once at the grand parents house on xmas day and again once we got it home. Yea it was a bit time consuming, but the kid just loves it, really loves it and let me tell you I'm amazed a blow molded plastic toy that retails for under 50 bucks goes together this easily. This was a dream compared to other plastic toy disasters I've witnessed. Plus this toy is really tough, we got this one after seeing the same toy at the pre-school and how theirs have stood up to years of rough play plus the elements.