FurReal Friends Torch My Blazin’ Dragon

FurReal Friends Torch My Blazin’ Dragon is boxed with his accessories behind clear plastic. The box is easily opened and Torch can then be removed from the package insert by unwinding his paper “rope” ties. Once out the packaging you have to remove the battery compartment to remove the final “rope” tie and insert four C batteries for operation. Included in the package is Torch, a marshmallow treat, instructions for use and a water dispenser “gem” for filling Torch’s water tank.

The battery compartment is located on the bottom of our FurReal Friend Torch My Blazin’ Dragon and is easily removed with a small Philips head screwdriver. However, putting it back on once the batteries are installed proved to be rather difficult. The battery compartment has two small tabs that have to line up before it will close properly. Once the batteries are installed it is very difficult to line things up and hold the batteries down long enough to secure the battery compartment back down.

FurReal Friends Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon was a lot of fun to play with . He moves a lot and makes adorable noises while on. Torch has interactive sensors in his mouth, on his nose and a button badge on his chest. He comes with a lot of instruction but essentially, you use the gem accessory to dispense distilled water into the water tank in his head. The dispense point is in one of his spines on top of his head. Once the water tank is filled, when you push the button on Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon’s head he will emit steam made “flame colored” by several orange lights in his mouth.

If you place the FurReal Friends Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon’s marshmallow accessory in his mouth he will make chomping noises as he pretends to eat. The Marshmallow accessory also is lined with a reactive material that turns brown when exposed to his flame colored steam. The trick is getting him to stay still long enough to “roast” his marshmallow.

I really liked that the FurReal Friends Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon is so soft and cuddly. His noises while he interacts with you are very cute and make him a lot of fun to watch and play. I love the steam feature because there are not very many toys that can boast such a cool feature. Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon was a lot of fun to play with but his actions and noises did become redundant fairly quickly.

The Torch, My Blazin’ Dragon toy from FurReal Friends was a fun toy but he is a bit redundant in his noises and movements. I think that though he offers a lot of entertainment value, I have some concerns about the water tank and steam feature. Right off the bat, Torch My Blazin’ Dragon comes with a lot of instructions and steps to get him started. He also comes with warnings about using anything but distilled water and the filters inside the water tank. My immediate concern as a parent is if you don’t happen to have distilled water laying around, you either cannot allow your child to play with that feature of the toy or you have to fill it with an alternative like tap water. Tap water can be full of corrosive mineral that if used often, or left to sit in the water tank, could cause the toy to malfunction.

Additionally, when you press the badge on Torch’s chest, it is supposed to make him use his flame colored mist feature. I found that although it did cause him to use his steam feature, he doesn’t stay still long enough to effectively “brown” his reactive marshmallow.

The FurReal Friends toys are rated for children four and older, Torch My Blazin’ Dragon is certainly appropriate for this age. While other FurReal Friends toys I have found appropriate for younger ages but I am not sure I feel that way about Torch. I don’t think that Torch is appropriate for younger than four because he comes with so many instructions for use. While he is certainly entertaining for these younger ages I don’t think anyone younger than four could necessarily benefit fully without an adults help in filling the water tank and using the marshmallow accessory.

When I purchased the FurReal Friends TorchMy Blazin’ Dragon I was a little surprised by the initial price. The pricing was somewhat high for a toy in my opinion and I only think it is worth it if your child is going to get long term entertainment out of it. While he is cute and entertaining, I don’t believe that the entertainment value is long term enough to justify this price point for me. In addition, because I have concerns about the longevity of the water tank and filter pieces I would be concerned that this toy would malfunction in that area and become less useful thereafter. Ultimately, I would admonish fellow parents to buy carefully knowing that the entertainment value is really only there if Torch can use his steam feature and always keep distilled bottles of water around for use.