Matchbox Smokey The Fire Truck

The strangest fire truck I've ever owned!
Smokey the Fire Truck in one of the strangest toys I have ever received for my two young boys. My Father is a retired Captain from the Boston Fire Department so I basically love anything to do with fire trucks since I grew up around them.

Matchbox has clearly designed a toy that goes beyond the basics of a regular fire truck that kids usually play with. The closest way to describe this toy is a cross between a tonka style truck, a transfomer toy and talking robot type toy. In its simplest form, Smokey can be used as a regular fire truck and can be pushed around a room like a standard truck toy. In this stage, Smokey's personality will still be in full force as it will sing, make jokes,and do about 100 other things with its built in recordings. The one item that my kids were laughing so hard is watching Smokey's mouth move while he talks. It is quite funny.

From here, Smokey can be turned into what Matchbox calls "character mode". Using a handle on the side...
Cool at first, but not a lot of staying power
Initially this toy has a lot of "wow" factor going on, primarily due to the fact that the grill of the truck moves like a mouth in sync with its (incessant) talking.

But this is not one of those toys that your kid will play with for long periods of time (YMMV of course, depending on your kid), like Legos, or matchbox cars, or Lincoln logs. It's more of a stand alone toy that you watch and listen to rather than something to really interact with.

PROS:
- initially very cool to see the robotics technology implemented
- design is cool, looks good, I like the three wheels
- I actually like the concept of the "water" gun since it's got plenty of shooting power, but harmless due to very soft ball

CONS:
- Freaking packaging is HORRIFIC, maybe some of the worst I have seen. You better have some serious cutting tools to get this guy out of his cardboard jail.
- After a while, the style of the toy's voice (very macho, talk-show...
You Will Hate It, Kids Will Love It
Please, Smokey, stop talking...

Smokey seems to have boundless energy. Whether he is in traditional fire truck form or standing up like an Autobot, he always has something boisterous on his plastic lips. He is like a crazy uncle to play with your children, and hopefully keep them entertained. Hearing his constant flow of sound may drive you crazy, but your children may just love it. Additionally, he shoots balls! Chances are that these will be aimed directly at you, but no worries -- it will only be a flesh wound. They shoot with a satisfying click and will help smaller toddlers learn manual dexterity. I'm sure many children will set up targets to shoot down as well and pretend (let's hope) that they are putting out fires.

Smokey moves his tire arms, sings, and has plenty to say. If you have a child in that age of loving this sort of persistent stimulation, this would be a fun interactive toy to consider.
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