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Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train
by k2705
It has got to be a bit of a tradition that every year my Mum and Dad buy me and my Husband advent calendars, this year they wanted to buy our Son Jayden something as well, however at 8 months old he was a bit young to have an advent calendar of his own so they decided to buy him a little present, they gave him a Push Along Ball Blowing ... Loco Train, the train is extremely cute and Jayden loves it.
The Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train come in a cardboard box of sorts, however it had the top and front missing allowing you to see and touch the train whilst it was inside, various information appears on what would be the back of the inside of the box. The box was colourful with the name along the top of the box in large white letters against a blue background, next to this was the brand logo which is Fun Times. The word Loco appears at the bottom of the box in white lettering against a red background. Pictures of the train also appear on the front and back of the box along with product information, for example the age ground this product is suitable for and various warnings.
The design of this toy is quite simple but it is something that children will love, the Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train is basically a chunky plastic steam train, the main top part of the train is made from a bright blue plastic with the base of it being made from a green plastic.
The large funnel on the top of the train is also bright blue with a smaller red one next to is, the front buffers and all 4 wheels are bright red and the pistons and face of the train are yellow, the colours of the train do contrast each other however this makes it eye catching for younger children.
On either side of the trains cabin area there is a small rectangle sticker on it with the picture of a train driver giving the effect of a window with the driver sitting inside the train, the train itself also has a smiley face on the front of it giving it a friendly appearance.
The main feature of this toy is the funnel, coming from the large funnel on the front of the train is a large plastic tube which is moulded into an arch shape, this then feeds into the top of the trains cabin at the back of the train, as the train is pushed along the floor brightly coloured plastic balls (yellow, purple, green and orange) come up out of the funnel, go through the plastic tube and back into the cabin, these balls go round and round for as long as the train is being pushed along the floor, also as the train is pushed along the wheels spin round and the pistons move backwards and forwards in the style of a real train making a little bit more realistic for you child.
The Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train is of a decent size and measures 23cm (L) x 23cm (H) it is not huge so that is difficult to store, but it is large enough for small hands to easily grip and manage as they play. The toy is reasonably strong and durable as well, the plastic that it is made from is tough and can withstand a bit of rough play that toys often get with young children.
Cleaning the item is also easy there are no real small parts or areas that might be difficult to clean, when I clean Jayden's train I tend to wipe it with Dettol wipes that are suitable for toys, however you can also use soap and water to clean it, although I would not put it directly into a bowl of water I would just use a cloth to wipe it over, the smooth surface of the plastic make it quick and easy to clean without having to worry about whether you have missed a bit.
This toy is designed for children 12 months onwards, it is something that you baby can use for several years to come, pushing the train along and making the balls go around the funnel will give them a sense of achievement and help with their motor skills and as they get older they can make up stories with the train helping to develop their imaginary play.
Jayden was under 12 months when he had his train and whilst he didn't always get it quite right when it came to pushing the train along he soon learnt and had fun trying.
There are warnings on the back of the box and these tend to focus mainly around not leaving your child unattended with the toy, there are no real small parts to the train that could come off, there are some screws which hold the train together, however these are set well into the plastic and cannot hardly be seen never mind removed by your baby. There are screws that hold the pistons to the wheels but again these could not be removed without a screwdriver, however despite this Jayden is not left unattended with his train, there is always someone nearby when he is playing with it.
My parents bough the Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train from a local shop (Store 21) that often sells baby toys and clothes, however you have to buy something when you see it as they do no always have a large stock of everything in. I'm not sure how much the train cost from here but I have found the same train available online from places such as Amazon, here they are being sold for between £3.69 and £7.50, the price does vary quite a lot depending on where you purchase it from so it is worth shopping round so that you do not pay too much for the same item you could have bought else where at half the price.
Since Jayden has had his Push Along Ball Blowing Loco Train he has had a lot of fun with it, when he first got it he didn't really know what to do with it, but after a few goes of playing with it with me or my Husband he soon got the hang of it, the train doesn't always end up the right way up when he is playing with it but he enjoys himself.
The quality of the train is excellent, it is strong and sturdy with no small breakable parts or parts that could be a hazard for your baby, the train requires no batteries so can be played with for as long as you like without having t worry about the batteries running out. The toy is very reasonably priced and in my opinion worth the money. This is definitely a toy that I would recommend to anyone as it is something that is going to last and give your little one hours of fun.
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Mega Bloks Tiny n Tuff Race n Go Rig
by Whizz11
The Mega Bloks Tiny n Tuff Rcae n Go Rig looks just like a car transporter and acts like one too. My son received this for his first birthday and I think that was a perfect age because he had just started to push cars around and this truck is perfect for pushing and bashing because its so big and can withstand a lot of heavy play. It's ... got big thick tyres, just like a big transporter would, four at the back and two at the front and these goes around very well so it makes it very easy for the truck to be pushed. Despite its size this truck is actually very light so its easy to give it a big push and watch it go the length of our kitchen.
There is also a handy handle at the top of the truck which you can have up or down so you can also carry the truck around which I find quite useful when I need to pack it away or move it around for my son. My son also finds it quite easy to carry this truck around by the handle and this is what he often does when he's not pushing it.
What I like about the truck is that it looks quite industrial and hard working and like a real truck should look. I think here is a good time to point out that the truck actually has a big smiley face at the front, there are two eyes in the window of the truck and then a smiling mouth on the grill but apart from that the look is very industrial, ha ha!
The back of the truck is made up of some ramps which are fun as you can then drive the cars that come with this truck up and down the ramp and they do zoom off quite fast, much to the amusement of my little boy. The ramps are silver/grey just like on a real truck and have lots of cut out chevrons on them which makes it look really authentic in my opinion. The back door/flap of the truck opens out flat towards the floor and then the ramp on top also opens up. This allows you access to the storage section underneath where you can store all the cars that come with this truck and more. According to the information, this rig can store more than 12 Tiny n Tuff vehicles but ours usually has some Happyland figures in it, usually a biscuit, some cars, etc, etc. This is actually the first place we look when we have lost something as usually my son will have take it and hidden it in his favourite truck.
The truck also came with three cool cars, we love cars in our house so the more the merrier. They each have two sections to them and underneath is like a big bit of lego/mega bloks that they stick to so you can take the cars apart and make different colour combinations with them which is fun. The cars are really easy to put together and take apart and my one year old son can do it no problem. I find buys love taking things apart so I think this was a really good design idea from Mega Bloks.
All in all a really fun truck that I can see him playing with for many more months to come.
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Chad Valley Basic Ride On
by womble1985
I purchased this item for my sons 1st birthday in April 2012. It was quite cheap so I wasn't expecting great things from it, I did however expect alot more than what I got.
It came in the box with all the bits fo ryou to put together yourself. It was pretty simple to put together and only took about ten minutes. I could tell ... while I was putting it together that it felt quite flimsy and the plastic was thin and cheap.
It comes with a steering wheel with a horn in the middle, a seat which flaps up so you can store very small toys and a long handle at the back which is a parent handle. There is a clock face at the front with movable hands and in front of the seat is a plastic removable telephone. (Promoting driving whilst using the phone?!)
My son did love this ride-on when we gave it to him, but not so much after he repeatedly fell off it. It overbalances very easily, so if your child is sitting just a touch too far back they will easily make the ride-on tip backwards. Secondly we found that the back wheels kept falling off, they seemed to clip in to place fine but they still somehow kept coming off.
This started living outside as we had it in the summer and so it was soon forgotten about, and it will be thrown away before my son finds it again. It is really not safe at all and he really did hurt himself a few times. I am quite suprised that a product like this is aimed at babies/toddlers due to its safety issues.
I paid around £10 for this from argos, and I would definately not buy it again and it s not worth its money at all. I will often buy cheap things as we are on a budget, and most of the time I think you do get what you pay for in terms of quality but this is by far the worst toy I have ever bought.
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