34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!, September 24, 2004
= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Fire & Ice Dragons Role Play Set: Firedrake Attack Dragon (Toy)
Alright, let me level with you up front: I have no kids. So, yes, I bought this toy for myself and am reviewing it on its own merits and my impressions. Therefore, you'll have to decide from that whether it's alright for your children. Despite being a adult -- complete with adult sensibilities and responsibilities -- I'm a lover of all things draconic, and blessed with a fine spirit of play. I tend to collect dragon toys and don't mind admitting I can have a little fun with them while I'm at it. :)
This toy, frankly, is awesome. It's basically a puppet, of sorts, with lights and sound. With your hand in the dragon, you can open and close the mouth, and pop up the spines (you have to push the spines down afterward). Besides that, the dragon makes different sounds depending on its position. Rolling your hand left, right, up, down, and closing the mouth all elicit a response from the beast -- everything from a growl to a roar! It's definitely fun to rear back and roar, before chomping on some of the baddies on the battlefield (a couple are included as appetizers).
The dragon is well-made. The inside is padded and has a nice soft lining. The outside is a sort of rubber, and the padding inside lends a nice definition to the dragon's features. The jaw plates, as well as the spines are made of plastic, which gives them some tangible hardness. It is this fact, however, that leads me to note two things: First, this is not a soft toy. While these parts are covered by dragon 'skin' and a little light padding, they are still there. And, second, since this toy has some plastic parts (jaw 'bones', spines, and speaker box), durability against heavy use is questionable (i.e., while the plastic is pretty solid, *too* rough play has the possibility of causing some damage). That said, under normal use it seems as though this dragon could offer a long life of fun play. Despite the fun factor, be warned: it makes noise, and lots of it! Since the dragon does everything from roar to crunch, be prepared to hear a lot of it. Even moving the dragon, without a hand in it, elicits a growl (wouldn't you after being jostled?). Don't worry, though, if -- after all that time growling, and roaring, and chomping -- your dragon seems a little too pooped to say anything else, just two AAA batteries (two are included and already inserted) are all that's needed to perk him back up.
As far as educational value... well... It's a fun toy, but I'm not necessarily sure what it could teach your children. Perhaps that dragons can easily chomp little troll-like warriors? It can definitely spark some imaginative play and that's -- I think -- the most important part.
All told, I have to say (again) that this is a fun toy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Getting kids to use their imaginations, January 30, 2006
= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Fire & Ice Dragons Role Play Set: Firedrake Attack Dragon (Toy)
This is just a puppet in which you can make its spines pop up after you push them down (it took a little bit of time to figure this one out as the instructions weren't clear). There is a trigger inside the puppet near the mouth that makes the spines snap open.
It makes sounds that change based on its position and its eyes light up. Using regular mouth open and close movements, you can move its mouth. The inside lining is smooth like silk. The outside has a smooth rubbery feel.
It comes with a couple of bad guy figurines and weapons. One of the weapons broke in half easily. All I was doing was putting it into the figurine's arm... and snap it went. The bad guys aren't worth keeping. The puppet is good quality. The lower score for durability comes from the figurines that broke easily.
Most kids have plenty of toys laying around that the dragon can munch on. It can't swallow anything as there isn't any hole. When you move its mouth closed, it makes munching sounds. When the spines pop, it makes a popping dinging sound.
The nice thing about this toy is that it's "stereotypically" a boy's toy. Boys don't like to play pretend as much as girls (this is based on experience of having one girl and two boys) and the dragon encourages my son to use his imagination. Since it's based on the popular Fire and Ice Dragons, it's likely to interest boys.
The review from Mathew is right on. My son (7), surprisingly, hasn't played with it much yet.
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