A few months ago I bought the Power Wheels Thomas & Friends train for my son for his second birthday. My three main concerns when purchasing it were ease of assembly, safety, and- of course- the elusive fun factor.
When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were very few mechanical parts that I had to deal with in assembling the train. After charging the battery over night, I found that it was incredibly easy to install the battery, handle bars, and other pieces. In fact, this train was much easier to assemble than any other ride-on toy I've bought for my son (Including one that we purchased for his first birthday that is still sitting in pieces in the box because it required tools that I did not own to put it together! But that review is for another day... ).
However, after the quick work of putting the train body together, I noticed the two large sheets of stickers that would turn the toy into Thomas. At first I thought that this part of the assembly would be fun, but I quickly realized that peeling very large stickers and aligning them precisely on the train body was much more difficult than I thought. It also didn't help that the only free time I found to do this project was after 10pm- in retrospect nap time assembly would have been a much better option.
As I peeled and stuck sticker after sticker I became increasingly annoyed with the process- especially when two of the stickers ripped a bit. I was able to hide one of the rips by over-lapping with a second sticker. But in the end, our Thomas ended up with a slight visible tear in one of the red stripes above a wheel. So be aware, that other than the face of the train, every detail you see in the picture is a sticker and that applying them will take a bit of time and focus- especially if you are picky about the stripes overlapping correctly. Overall, assembly probably took a half an hour.
However, when I gave the train to my son any slight annoyance with the assembly process was immediately forgotten- his sheer joy at riding this train was priceless. I had hoped that this train would be a great first powered ride-on toy for him- and the speed and ease of use were perfect. He immediately figured out how to push the button to make the train go, and the speed of the train reassured me that I could let him ride it safely without fears of high-speed crashes. In fact, one of his favorite things to do is drive the train full-speed into the couch which only results in a gentle, harmless bump.
When ordering, I read other reviewers complaining about the fact that the train does not go in reverse- this does not bother me at all. My son is big enough to get off and pick up the train to turn it around and he quickly learned how to turn the train by steering the handle bar.
I also had read other reviews that stated that the wheels do not go on grass. We mostly use the train indoors and it easily drives from hardwood onto carpet and back again. I also let my son take it in the back yard and it easily drove on the grass.
Several months have passed since his birthday, and my son still rides this train daily. A few of the large stickers have started to bubble and pull away from the train body very slightly- but this wear and tear doesn't bother my son and I'm sure the stickers will hold up well beyond the time it will take my son to out-grow this toy.
Meanwhile, he loves riding on his Thomas. Sometimes he will sit on it backwards and turn around to press the button, other times he will face forward and kick his feet up while driving. Most recently he has been riding it while wearing his dragon Halloween costume- seeing a dragon riding Thomas the Train in your living room is an experience not to be missed! If only I'd bought it sooner...
| 電池付属 | はい |
|---|---|
| 電池使用 | はい |
| ブランド名 | Power Wheels |
| メーカー | ノーブランド品 |
| 製品型番 | T4963 |
| 製品サイズ | 70.49 x 33.27 x 44.45 cm; 7.52 kg |
