Customer Reviews

Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway - Battery Powered Jet Engine With Thomas

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm giving this 5 stars relative to the other Thomas cars available because it is unique, fun and a little silly.

Like other people mentioned, don't expect this to stay on the track. It doesn't. Only the best conditions will keep in on the track and I've found that mixing track brands is the least effective. But the fact that is zooms around the corner only to fall off is part of the fun.

As the story goes, the jet engine unexpectedly ignites pushed Thomas at uncontrollable speeds that exceed even Gordon. The jet engine is definately faster than other trains and it's unexpected behavior lends itself for a different kind of fun than a typical battery engine.

I will add that the wheels spin a little to freely going up hills causing it to get stuck sometimes.

Lastly, I've had my son's jet engine for 6 months without any problem. Replaced the battery twice and it's still working.

Overall, I would hesitate suggesting it but I also wouldn't pay full price.

I like that the jet engine is where the batteries go. This enables my son to play with the jet with the other engines instead of Thomas. The double wheels let it have a little more power do to make it up the incline with the wooden set of trains. The powered enines like Thomas and James can't pull many cars around and go up the hill.

one draw back it that there is no magnet at the back so if you want to pull more than one car they have to be infront. Then you have to keep a watch and make sure the trains stay on the track.

I wasn't going to buy this, based on reviews, but my son saw it in the store and really became attached to it, so I decided to give it a go at home. We've had no problems with it coming off the track. It doesn't go too fast. It's easy for my 2.5 y/o son to turn on and off himself and set working on the track. It handles the corners and hills and tunnels just fine. We have generic track, not the special Thomas one with the grooves that are supposed to hold the trains on better. It can also push the other non-battery-powered wooden trains along, so you can just buy the wooden ones and use the jet engine to convert them to battery powered. I would recommend this item. Enjoy!

My 4yo son received this as a gift. He loves it, and so does his 2yo sister. They have played with it for hours already. the expression on Thomas' face is priceless, but the children just like the jet engine. It needs 2 AA batteries-not one as stated.

My son is 3 and just love this Thomas with the Jet Engine. This is one of his favorite stories and he loves to tell us over and over how "Thomas flew by Percey Mommy!!", so even though the reviews weren't great, I had to get it. I am so glad I did. Yes it goes fast (but that's the point) and it does fall off the track, but my son just laughs every time it falls off and puts it back on. And when they do make it past a curve that will often cause them to fall, he gets so excited "Look Mommy they made it!!". If it just went around and around, that would eventually get boring. And when friends come over to play, this is the one that is always the most popular (I am concidering buying another one). We've had it for about 4 months and we've had no problem with it breaking. We've gone through about 4 or 5 batteries though, but that's just because it gets used so much. If your child loves this story, they'll love this train!

I bought this for more 2 year old who just loves Thomas. He loves to turn the engine on and let it go on the floor. But as soon as you put it on the track it derails as soon as it hits a curve. He still has a great deal of fun with it but I think they need to tweek it a bit so it won't go off the track so easily.

My 4 yr old loves Thomas and has a ton of the various types of Thomas train sets. My husband bought the Thomas and the Jet Engine for him as a special treat. Unfortunately, the jet engine pushes too hard, so if you have any curves in your track, it pushes right off the track. This is very frustrating. Yes I realize Thomas is pushed very fast by the jet engine in the movie, but the toy shouldn't push him right off the track if there is more than a slight gradual curve. This was a total waste of money. Every once in a while my son will try it again and then puts the jet engine aside again because it won't stay on the track.

Like many of the other children mentioned in the reviews, my son loves the jet engine episode. And while he loves this toy, its design is a source of some frustration. 1) The on/off switch is hard for my 3 year old to use, in fact, it is hard for adults to use. We typically have to remove the train from the tracks to do it. The button is too small and when it is turned on, it is flush with the rest of the model. 2) My son sometimes prefers to use the jet engine without running the batteries; while there is a clutch to prevent damage to the motor, it would have been preferable if the car could have free-wheeled forward. For a toy as expensive as this one, that's not asking much. 3) The battery compartment screw is made of cheap metal and the head easily strips. The other screws use a triangular head making it difficult to open and repair (which it will eventually require).

I am less concerned than other parents about the tendency of the engine to derail; you can design a track that is foolproof, and it is also an opportunity to learn about the dynamics of pushing something. On a minor note, I would have preferred if the set actually looked like the jet engine in the episode. I know there have been earlier iterations that did so. This version smells of cost reductions.

Addendum: the engine stopped running on Day Two! I used a jewelers screwdriver to get past the screws with the triangular heads and found the culprit: a single hair had wrapped around one of the inner sprocket axles. It is a bit of a mystery how it got in there; the hair was not wrapped around any of the wheel axles. There is an even chance that this was left over from manufacture.

This train (if you can call a jet engine that) is so LOUD and annoying for parents. I'm sure that the noise is part of the reason why my 2 1/2 year old son loves the jet engine along with the fact that it can only push trains (not pull) and it will frequently rocket off of the track on tight turns. I'm sure that this fast derailment is a design flaw but my kid loves it! So parents be forewarned, this is a crazy & loud train that might dissapoint some adults and thrill the kids.

My son loved this toy. He played with it almost every day. We did have similar problems with it going off of the track on tight curves but most of the time it worked very well and pushed 6+ cars. However, it only lasted one month. It was time to change the batteries since it was slowing down and when we changed them it never started again. It just would click when we pushed the start button. Hopefully the company will honor their 90 day guarantee and replace or repair it.