Need a sidekick? Dodge & Splatter are the right twin Diesels for the job!
Written: Mar 15 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 2 Character Engines in one pack, add to imaginative fun
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: These diesel engines are not really bad guys, and they are nice change from so many alike steam engines.
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| ariel10575's Full Review: Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends: Dodge and Spla... |
After we saw the movie nearly 2 years ago, "Thomas and the Magic Railroad,", of course, my son just *HAD* to have all the characters from the movie. We had been looking into getting him a train set already, and so we kept our eyes open for those characters for him. It took a while to get them, but it was worth it in the end.
Right after the movie came out, there was the annual BIG train sale at the local branch of the train store. Sure enough, the characters were out, although Dodge and Splatter were the only ones we could get. They had a special offer to get one of the character free when purchasing one of the videos. We got 2 videos that we did not have, and one each of Dodge and Splatter. A few weeks later, we gave my son his train set for his birthday. Little did we know at the time that he was in for a disappointment - Dodge and Splatter (and Percy that he got just before that) did not fit! The only trains out were from the ERTL company and none of those die cast trains fit on the track!
I thought, "How dare they only release these die cast crud, and not even make them so they can fit on the standard Brio/Learning Curve wooden track!" Grrrrr!! I was mad, and Alex was sad. He happily played with the 3 vehicles he had, but when half of your vehicles, including the newest cool ones from the big movie did not even fit, he was disappointed. Well, we kept our eyes out, and about 6 months later, we finally laid our hands on Learning Curve's version of Dodge and Splatter (and later on Lady and Diesel 10).
Here is the description from the Official Thomas Website, "Dodge and his twin Splatter are Diesel 10's silly side-kicks. They plot and scheme, but are not as tough as they would like to be."
Dodge and Splatter, being twins, are both 3 1/4" long from magnet to magnet. They are 1 7/8" tall, and 1 3/8" wide. They have a rectangular shape, which is just like other diesel engines in the product line and stories. Their names are on the sides of them in white capital letters. They have 6 black wheels attached to a black bottom with their names written in white capital letters again. Many of the vehicles have this on them, but not all.
Dodge is olive green as a main color, but the shade is darker slightly from Diesel 10's olive green. His secondary color is dark gray. Unlike most of the steam engines on the Island of Sodor, Dodge has a worried look on his face. This goes to match his personality we see in the movie.
Splatter, on the other hand, has purple as his main color. Like his twin, he has a secondary color that is dark gray. He also has a worried look, but it appears like he is saying, "Aaaack!!"
Both engines have black paint on them to simulate other parts of them. Being that they are diesel engines, we are not very familiar with what they are called. I know some are windows, and a couple are doors. They both look different than other diesels we have seen, and your children will be able to recognize immediately that they are diesels.
Poor Dodge and Splatter, being diesels make them somewhat misguided, but they are good at heart. They hang out with Diesel 10, but he just looks down on them, and does not respect them enough to call them by name! He calls them, Splodge, as it takes too long to say each by themselves! How rude!
To their credit, Dodge and Splatter do wise up and tell Diesel 10 that they do not like him, and will not help him out anymore. Up until then, they seemed rather like the typical spineless sidekick. They are comic relief, and help Diesel 10 not look as bad as he wants to be. Plus, who knew that diesels had such a sense of humor? My favorite part of the movie is from them. They have the following give and take:
Splatter: "Liar, liar--"
Dodge: "--pants on fire!"
Splatter: "Does he wear pants?"
Dodge: "Well, training pants."
Splatter: "Oh, right."
As a product, they are top notch, like all Learning Curve products. If there is a problem with it, talk to the company, as they stand behind their products. I think that these 2 vehicles for the price is actually pretty good. My kids both love to play with these 2 engines, although my younger son doesn't understand whom they are yet, my older one has great fun pretending with them.
We paid $17.00 for both of them. Usually, if you were to buy an engine this size, you would pay around $10, probably even $12 for it. If you happen upon a train sale, which a lot of times is 20% off, you've got two engines for a great price! You usually pay $18.00 for Gordon, or Henry as it is! I think that this is a great gift for a child, a great addition to his/her collection, and even the perfect gift for relatives to give to a child that likes this train system.
Thank you for reading, and have fun with Dodge and Splatter!
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For more information on Learning Curve, and their products, go to:
http://www.learningcurve.com/ourProducts/thomas.asp
On this page you can select to go to Thomas and The Magic Railroad Movie Items, and then select in the drop down box Dodge & Splatter, or whichever product you want more information on.
For more information on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, go to:
http://www.thomasthetankengine.com/home/homepage.html
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17.00
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
ariel10575
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Rebecca Murphy
Location: Granada Hills, Ca, USA
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 62 members
About Me:
I'm back, and getting ready to write again. :)
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