Saturday, 1 March 2014

Dinosaur Train InterAction Mr. Conductor Troodon Figure

TOMY has earned their reputation by most collectors as being a very high quality brand. And this certainly hasn't changed for today's toy I'm reviewing, the very first entry into my toy, model and collectible blog known as Friendly Barghest Toy and Model Reviews.



Meet Mr. Conductor Troodon. The latest UK release in the Dinosaur Train InterAction figure series. He has been available to the US and Australia for a while now, but it was only very recently that he's finally been available for UK fans to purchase. Mr. Conductor is my favourite Dinosaur Train character, so I was very happy to find him in my local Toys R Us. Of course, I didn't show my excitement as other customers might find it a little odd for an almost 18 year old girl to buy a Dinosaur Train toy...

Anyway, for those who don't know, these talking InterAction figures are unique in the fact that when placed with other InterAction figures, they will begin having conversations with each other, just like in the show! Each one has an infrared receiver/transmitter that allows the figure to recognise other characters in the line by name and talk with them. The more figures you have, the bigger the conversation. I find it very amusing to see a whole group of these figures conversing with each other. It's something that kids will love, and it'll probably give the parents a good laugh, too. It's some really cool toy tech.


Mr. Conductor is what I call the smallest size of these figures, standing only slightly taller than Buddy and Tiny. Like his name suggests, he is a troodon. A small, highly intelligent Cretaceous dinosaur related to the "raptor" family. His legs, arms and neck are moveable and he has a button on his hat that opens his jaw when pressed, which is one of my favourite features. It's perfect for a bit of 'puppetry'. If you push the button with slightly more pressure, he will talk. He also has a light-up watch on his jacket that flashes red, green and yellow, makes sounds and some unique phrases. He holds a train ticket in his hand that you can pretend to punch a hole in by lifting his "raptor" toe claw. I find his bright colours very eye-catching, which I'm sure kids will agree. However, one thing I can't comment on is the durability of this toy, since I'm just putting it on display with the rest of my collection and obviously not going to play with it. I can say, though that like all the InterAction figures, Mr. Conductor is of high aesthetic quality and is very well painted and detailed. Something sure to please the collectors. Every Dinosaur Train toy also comes with a free double-sided poster, displaying some of the InterAction figures and on the other side, a checklist of all the mini figures.


Showing Mr. Conductor's articulation.

According to the box, Mr. Conductor says over 40 sounds and phrases. Once again, like all the InterAction figures, some phrases can only be heard on certain circumstances, like depending whenever he's on 'try me' mode or full function, whenever you press his hat or watch and if he's talking to another InterAction figure or not. Below is all the phrases I've managed to squeeze out of him on all functions so far:

"Hi! I'm Mr. Conductor! Press any of my Dinosaur Train friends to hear us talk!"
"Hi I'm Mr. Conductor!"
"Hi, (other figure's name)!"
"Hi, everybody!"
"Everybody ready? We're gonna ride... The Dinosaur Train!"
"I'm a troodon!"
"Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Corythosaurus gets us to the chorus! Hey, hey, hey come along with me... This is how we memorise dinosaurs A to Z!"
"Next stop, the Triassic time period!"
"Next stop, the Jurassic time period!"
"Next stop, the Cretaceous time period!"
"Tickets! Tickets, please!"
"Time tunnel approaching!"
"I know ALL the dinosaurs!"
"Troodons have large brains!"
"Troodons are the smartest dinosaurs!"
"I'm an omnivore, I eat/love meat AND plants!" (Variation where he says 'love' instead of 'eat'.)
"I weigh 50 kilos!"
"I have a huge brain!"
"I don't remember you!" (When introduced to another Mr. Conductor Troodon figure.)
"All aboard!"
"Tank is a quadruped!"
"Tank is a herbivore!"
"Hank is a herbivore!"
"Morris is a herbivore!"
"Morris is a quadruped!"
"Boris is a carnivore!"
"Boris is a theropod!"
"Buddy is a theropod! *Laughs*"
"Old Spinosaurus is a theropod!"
"Tiny is a carnivore!"
"Tiny is from the Cretaceous time period!"
"King Cryolophosaurus is from the Jurassic time period!"
"Alvin is from the Jurassic time period!
"Ned is from the Jurassic time period!"
"Ned is a herbivore!"
"Big tail action!" (When Morris Stegosaurus whips his tail.)
"Everybody! Stomp!"
"Hahaha, gosh..."
"Woah, awesome!" (When 'watching' another figure do something, like Tiny flapping her wings.)
"Awesome!" (When winning a 'roaring contest'.)
"Really? Golly!" (In reply to when another figure talks about themselves.)
"Ahem... Rawr!" (When asked to hear his roar.)
"Rawr!"
*Laughs*
*Snores* (If not played with for an extended period of time.)
*Yawns* (When 'waking up' by turning the switch to full function mode.)

Press the button to open his jaw.

In the words of Buddy the T. rex, I have a hypothesis. All the other Dinosaur Train characters that Mr. Conductor mentions, also have their own InterAction figures. This includes characters that have not yet been released to the UK. Is this a hint that soon these characters will too be released in the UK? It could just be a coincidence. But I certainly hope my hypothesis is right! As I can't get enough of these awesome toys.



Overall, Mr. Conductor Troodon is great for kids and for the minority of teen/adult collectors for different reasons. Kids will love Mr. Conductor for his cute looks, fun features, bright colours and phrases. It's also good for a little education on their favourite dinosaurs. Collectors will appreciate his high aesthetic quality, detail, good paint job and his likeness to the character from the show. For kids especially, to get the most out of Mr. Conductor, I'd recommend buying at least 1 other figure from the line, as the main point of these toys is to have them converse with each other. I bought him at Toys R Us, but Smyth's, the Entertainer and Hamley's sell Dinosaur Train toys, too. He retails at £14.99.



















Keep an eye out for more Dinosaur Train toy reviews coming soon! The other InterAction figures I own, Buddy T. Rex, Tiny Pteranodon, Tank Triceratops, Ned Brachiosaurus, Morris Stegosaurus AND Boris Tyrannosaurus will have their own reviews, too. As well as some of the small sized figures. If you have any questions about Mr. Conductor Troodon or any other InterAction figure, leave a question in the comments and I'll answer it as soon as I can.
Mr. Conductor, next to his mini figure counterpart.


Mr. Conductor's light up watch flashes green, yellow and red.


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