This review is from: Fisher-Price Thomas the Train: Preschool Steam ‘n Speed R/C Thomas [Amazon Exclusive] (Toy)
Vine Customer Review of Free Product(What’s this?)
My 4-year old loves Thomas and all things train related. He was really excited to open this and start using it. I didn’t tell him about the smoke in order to gauge his reaction. Overall, he liked it, but wasn’t overly impressed. The main disappointment is that the remote control seems flaky, making it very difficult to operate the toy.
When the toy works, it’s really cool. The “steam” seems to be cool mist similar to what’s produced by an ultrasonic humidifier. The smoke stack also has a blue LED light that shines whenever it makes the smoke so that you can see it easier.
I really liked the fill bottle, which stores on the underside of Thomas, and the train is designed that it leaks very little even if turned upside down. My son had as much fun refilling Thomas as using him. It worked pretty well on both firm plush and berber carpeting,
The remote is IR (infrared) so it has to be close and able to see Thomas. I noticed that my remote was constantly sending a signal when viewed through a digital camera – not sure if that’s a defect or the design.
The remote has 3 buttons: Forward, Reverse/turn, and “Special Move”. With our, the buttons simply aren’t reliable in that sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. I’ve used different sets of batteries, held it at every distance and angle to Thomas, and it’s just plain spotty. At one point my son was so aggravated he was pratically throwing a tantrum – and I couldn’t blame him.
The forward button makes him go and periodically makes steam. Reverse does the same. The middle button causes Thomas to do a variety of special moves on his own like going forward then backward in a complete circle.
Just keep in mind that this is a very basic remote controlled toy. You can’t steer Thomas, as he only turns one direction and that is only when going in reverse. The main draw is the cool steam. My son played with him for about 2 days straight, but very rarely since then – the novelty wore out quickly.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Fisher-Price Thomas the Train: Preschool Steam ‘n Speed R/C Thomas [Amazon Exclusive] (Toy)
My son, Joel (2), loves this train! When we first pulled it out of the box, he played with it and just said thank you. After I put the batteries in, and he heard the whistle and saw the steam, he laughed and gave me a big hug! He is in love with this train. We played with it until it was time to sleep and even then I had to take the remote controller from his hand after he fell asleep. Sure it takes a lot of batteries but it is durable (it survived a trip down the stairs) and fun. To me, it is well worth the money and the batteries.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Fisher-Price Thomas the Train: Preschool Steam ‘n Speed R/C Thomas [Amazon Exclusive] (Toy)
Vine Customer Review of Free Product(What’s this?)
From the product photo with Thomas in front of the toddler it looks like this train is huge. It’s not, it’s just a bit bigger than most RC cars, making it easy enough to carry and move for my 3 year old. The controls are simple forward or back&spin, plus a steam spin mode which pumps out vaporized water at the train moves wildly to the delight of my kids. The “steam” seems to be the same as what we get from our ultrasonic humidifiers, so I’m assuming it’s the same which is great, no heat, just a cool mist.
Thomas has no problems traversing over carpet or tile. The only thing that was slightly trying was to convince my 3 year old to hold the button down instead of tapping it constantly… oh well, maybe he’s doing it intentionally. Even though I intended it for him, my 5 year old daughter also to loved play with it and had no issues using the remote or figuring out that he won’t move his wheels when lifted off the ground. Overall it’s very fun, and teaches a lot of hand eye coordination, some vocabulary (Thomas talks), and maybe a little bit about engineering. Highly recommended.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Smoke is cool, but controller seems bad,
When the toy works, it’s really cool. The “steam” seems to be cool mist similar to what’s produced by an ultrasonic humidifier. The smoke stack also has a blue LED light that shines whenever it makes the smoke so that you can see it easier.
I really liked the fill bottle, which stores on the underside of Thomas, and the train is designed that it leaks very little even if turned upside down. My son had as much fun refilling Thomas as using him.
It worked pretty well on both firm plush and berber carpeting,
The remote is IR (infrared) so it has to be close and able to see Thomas. I noticed that my remote was constantly sending a signal when viewed through a digital camera – not sure if that’s a defect or the design.
The remote has 3 buttons: Forward, Reverse/turn, and “Special Move”. With our, the buttons simply aren’t reliable in that sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. I’ve used different sets of batteries, held it at every distance and angle to Thomas, and it’s just plain spotty. At one point my son was so aggravated he was pratically throwing a tantrum – and I couldn’t blame him.
The forward button makes him go and periodically makes steam. Reverse does the same. The middle button causes Thomas to do a variety of special moves on his own like going forward then backward in a complete circle.
Just keep in mind that this is a very basic remote controlled toy. You can’t steer Thomas, as he only turns one direction and that is only when going in reverse. The main draw is the cool steam. My son played with him for about 2 days straight, but very rarely since then – the novelty wore out quickly.
Was this review helpful to you?
|A Big Hit!,
Sure it takes a lot of batteries but it is durable (it survived a trip down the stairs) and fun. To me, it is well worth the money and the batteries.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Ideally made toddler RC vehicle,
Thomas has no problems traversing over carpet or tile. The only thing that was slightly trying was to convince my 3 year old to hold the button down instead of tapping it constantly… oh well, maybe he’s doing it intentionally. Even though I intended it for him, my 5 year old daughter also to loved play with it and had no issues using the remote or figuring out that he won’t move his wheels when lifted off the ground. Overall it’s very fun, and teaches a lot of hand eye coordination, some vocabulary (Thomas talks), and maybe a little bit about engineering. Highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you?
|