Pros: Mixture of wood and plastic construction. Includes 2 pirates and a treasure chest. Fun features.
Cons: The sails fall off a bit too easily.
The Bottom Line: Very cute toddler-oriented pirate ship. Great for imaginative play. Nice figures included. Lots of fun features to keep little ones interested.
My two year old is quite the little vehicle aficionado. He's nuts for anything that moves -- planes, trains, automobiles, and boats. We've got an over-abundance of cars and trains around our house, so when I was presented with the opportunity to try out a new pirate ship toy (with wheels) I knew it would be right up my little guy's alley.
Product Description:
The Play Town Pirate Ship is a very cute, very toddler-friendly pirate ship constructed from a mixture of wooden and plastic parts. The ship measures roughly 11½ inches tall and is just over 11 inches long, making it large enough to be fun but small enough to not take up a huge amount of space when you want to store it. The construction is mostly plastic, using wood only for the support pillars on the ship. There are 4 plastic wheels on the bottom of the ship, and when rolled there is a small bit of "rocking wave action" as the wheels spin and cause the ship to rock/sway (just a tiny bit though).
The play area has 2 levels, not including the crow's nest at the very top of the toy, with various interactive features (16 according to the packaging). On the bottom level is a cannon that can be flipped to point out of either side of the ship and a pull-out "plank" (surely a requirement on any pirate ship). There is also an alcove for storing the removable "treasure chest" (which opens to reveal a jewel-encrusted decorative sticker). The second level is split into front & back sections, with the spinning Captain's wheel in the back section and a knob you can turn to raise and lower the anchor in the front section. There is also a removable ladder your characters can use to get from the first level to the second. There is a flip-up telescope attached to the crow's nest, and a notch for securely attaching your pirate figures to the crow's nest (handy if your sailors are in for a bit of a rough ride). There's also a pirate-holding-notch on top of the wench for raising and lowering the anchor, so there's a secure place for each pirate on-board.
Stickers are used to decorate the toy and are pretty cute overall. The "scull and crossbones" that adorn the flag and two large sails are happy and smiling with big, friendly eyes in what would normally be empty eye sockets. A little monkey and patch-wearing parrot adorn the stickers that decorate the backs of each sail. The stickers on the floor of the ship include cute details such as a pirate's map, eyeglass, treasure, and various friendly sea creatures. The ship's name is "Timbers B.Shiverin".
Two pirate characters also come with the ship. Like the boat itself, the characters are also constructed from both plastic and wooden components. The torso and head are made of wood while the arms, legs, hair, and hats are all plastic. The two pirate characters appear to be young and child-like, with big smiling faces. One has blond hair and a pirate hat (Captain Curt); the other has black hair and wears a bandanna (Peg Leg Pete). Both carry little knives in their little plastic hands. Each character stands just under 3 inches tall. They are a tad taller, wider, and rounder than your average Little People character.
Accompanying the toy is a little "Play Town" book called "Sounds Like Fun". The 6-page book tells the story of a party being held at a Play Town house, with various Play Town guests arriving. There are 3 sound buttons to the right of the book's pages. The sounds that play are a doorbell sound, a horse galloping sound, and the sound of a bunch of kids laughing. The same book comes with the Play Town Wood Family House as well.
There are no batteries required for the ship itself, but the book requires 3 button-cell batteries (included). The manufacturer recommends the Play Town Pirate Ship for children age 1 year and up.
Our Thoughts & Experiences:
I was pretty sure that my vehicle-loving little two year old would adore this toy, and I have not been let down. He has far too many cars and trains, so having a pirate ship in his collection is a welcome addition for us all. My two year old can stay occupied with this toy for a while. He enjoys raising and lowering the anchor, and particularly likes having a character sit in the crow's nest as he raises and lowers the telescope. He points to the "skull and crossbones" graphics and says "Arrrgghhh!" which is endlessly amusing to us adults. My toddler has even chosen the Play Town Pirate Ship as his pick for "toy to take to bed with me" for a few nights (which is really saying something, as he usually prefers either a Thomas or Pixar's Cars character instead).
This toy is a bit below my 6 year old's level, but my older child will sit and play with it when he wants to spend some time playing with his little brother. There isn't a ton of play-space on the ship, due to its fairly small dimensions and the large size of the characters, but my two boys manage to make it work. My eldest did spend some time wondering about the cannon. There does appear to be a cannonball loaded inside, but there's no launch method and no instructions on firing it, so I suppose the cannonball inside is just for looks.
The included pirate characters are rather cute and non-threatening (for pirates). Their wooden heads and upper-bodies do tend to make them a bit top-heavy, but we haven't had much problem with them falling over as my son plays with them. According to the little pamphlet that came with the toy, additional characters are available separately. For the pirate ship you can also get "Captain No-Beard" (who does appear to have a bit of a goatee and mustache, if I'm seeing the picture correctly) and "First Mate Fred" who has red hair and an eye-patch.
My 2 year old enjoys the "sound book" as well. In the story the additional pirate characters are the first to arrive at the party, so whenever my son presses the button to make the doorbell sound he'll shout out, "The pirate is at the door!" It is a very short book without much of a story, and is perhaps better suited to accompany the Play House than the Pirate Ship (it does come with each toy set), but my son enjoys it so I can't complain.
I've been pretty happy with this cute little pirate ship. I do think that the 2 large sails fall off a bit too easily -- they seem to come off whenever my son tries to pick up and carry the ship with him. I am quite pleased with the alcove for storing the treasure chest though -- once it place the chest is rarely knocked out accidentally, no matter how rough the seas are that day. I can't claim that my little guy is very rough with his toys (unlike my older child who really puts them through the wringer), but the ship is holding up very well and shows no signs of wear or tear.
I really don't have many complaints about the toy. While the decorative stickers are very cute and clever, I'm not a huge fan of stickers on toys. Over time they tend to fade or peel away, so it is always nice to have some molded in detail too. Also, there's not much open surface area on the toy, no large space for the characters to "hang out" or interact, but that's not a big complaint as the area we do have is taken up by fun features, and a bigger area would mean a bigger toy to store somewhere.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Wood and plastic construction
+) Lots of interactive things for little hands to do
+) 2 pirate figures included
+) Treasure chest included
+) Play Town "sound book" included
+) Very cute graphics/designs all over the ship
+) Not too big & bulky
+) Fun with no batteries required
Cons:
-) Lots of stickers for decoration (I would prefer some molded-in decoration, in case the stickers come off/fade with time).
-) The two big sails fall off a lot (but are easy enough to put back on)
Final Thoughts:
Overall I've been quite pleased with the Play Town Pirate Ship, and so has my 2 year old. It is always nice to have a fun, interactive toy that doesn't have flashing lights or play lots of sounds (although the included book does play sounds, if you're into that). It has been a great toy for encouraging imaginative play in my vehicle-loving son.
Disclaimer: I received the Play Town Pirate Ship from Learning Curve in exchange for my unbiased review.
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