Buster is turning three, and, as such, has entered the "Thomas-obsessed" phase that apparently most little boys go through at this stage of the game. We have exactly ONE Thomas video that's been allowed in this house, and he will watch it all day, every day if you allow it, pointing out engines we don't have, and pouting during his re-enactments. I took pity on him for his birthday and got him a few new trains, including the Breakdown Train, Gordon, and the Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon.

::: Yet Another Wooden Train :::

The Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon is a vehicle that makes only one appearance in the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends series, and just our luck, it's on the one video we have. In that episode, Percy is stuck out on the tracks one night and sees a dragon. Of course, the other trains don't believe him until they finally see the car for itself: a huge yellow, red, and green Chinese Dragon!

The Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon is modeled on the longer engine style (with there being two real engine styles in the Wooden Railway line, one with four wheels, and one with eight). The Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon has a red wooden platform base approximately 4 inches long, with two separately swiveling black wheel bases underneath, each with four wheels to help the Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon get around the track better. On top of the base is the dragon himself: essentially a yellow wooden block with red and green swirls and black dots painted on the sides, a yellow plastic "dragon" head insert in front with molded red and green dots in his mane, and a red satin ribbon tacked along the top of the body and dangling off the end for a tail.

As with all Thomas & Friend vehicles for the Wooden Railway, the Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon is made entirely of wood with the exception of the plastic wheels, metal wheel axles, ribbon tail, and plastic head. Magnets are placed at the front and back of the car to attach it to the other vehicles, and "CHINESE DRAGON" is printed in white on the bottom of the first set of wheels for those of us who sometimes get confused about which train is which.

The Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon also comes with the standard-issue Collector's Card.

::: Big Bird Comes to Sodor :::

The first thing you notice is that the Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon looks ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like a Chinese Dragon, much less the Chinese Dragon that appeared in the show. The head they put on this poor fellow looks more like a panting Big Bird than anything else, and I was totally disappointed. I'm guessing that I didn't look too closely at the pictures online or I'd have noticed how utterly heinous this train car was, especially when compared to the diecast version (which can be seen here: http://www.allaboardtoys.com/assets/product_images/76107.jpg) that's available for the Take Along Thomas sets. At approximately half the price I paid for the wooden Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon, the die-cast version looks much closer to the real thing AND has a bobbing head and tail. This one looks like Big Bird went on a bender and is being carted home by his good buddy Thomas.

When my son opened it, he was excited to receive yet another Thomas car, but didn't even recognize it from the video that we've watched at least 8000 times. That's saying something, because he can tell you the difference between Bill and Ben, which are identical twin engines! The Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon was quickly added to the collection, but hasn't seen any real off-the-track action since his birthday, unlike his new limited-edition Thomas and Gordon, which also go to bed with Buster.

Unless your child is a die-hard fan of the episode with the dragon, my best advice is to skip right by the Thomas & Friends Chinese Dragon.

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Other Thomas-related reviews:

Dazy Sure Track • Ivo Hugh with Zoo Cars • Lifting Bridge • Mavis • Nilo Multi-Use Storage Bench • Nilo Multi-Use Train Table • Schylling Thomas & Friends Tin Drum • Sir Topham Hatt & Lady Topham Hatt • Spencer

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 14.99
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: Other