This plush fire man sam was bought for my 2nd boy as a present when he was nearly 2 years old, but all of them do play with it from time to time (age 4, 2 and 1). At first we were unsure how to activate the sound on it as it is not done by pressing the stomach as with many such plush characters, so mistakenly thought may be it's faulty! But once we realised it was activated by pressing the hand, and got it working, then it had a lot more appeal.

This fire man sam is a medium size and with plenty of detailing on his clothes and a velcroe on the hat which can be fastened and unfastened. It sings the very catchy theme song when you press his hand, along with various other phrases such as "What's the emergency!" "We're on our way!" "A good fire man is never off duty!" The sound quality is clear and not too muffled or tinny which can be a complaint with some of these kind of toys. The batteries are also lasting well and have not had to be replaced yet, in over a year.

The bottom of his feet are sturdy and stable so he is fine to be stored standing up for example on a shelf or window sill.

The texture is like cloth, not extremely soft so would not say it is the best one to be snuggled in bed or used as a cuddly toy but more for playing and acting out stories. I'm not saying it has a rough feel but it is not like a furry or soft plushy type of texture at all.

My youngest is the one who really enjoys this at the moment, as he finds it very funny to hear the song coming out and he will dance to it. It is a good toy for young children, especially big fans of fireman sam. Mine are not massive fans, they like him but not crazy about it but they do enjoy playing with this one from time to time, and I wouldnt say the sounds are too annoying for the parent. The volume level is okay, not too loud not too soft and muffled.