An attractive looking fire truck, but not as fun as the original Stinky the Garbage Trunk. It was difficult to load the waterballs so that they didn't get stuck - or double fire. And even when they don't misfire, our testing parents felt they come out a little too fast. As well, our testing parents ad a few safety concerns regarding the noise level (MUCH too loud) and the shooting water balls. At least two parents caught their curious kids looking down the barrel about to shoot - a situation taht is praticularly likely to arise as kids try to check out why it's malfunctioning.
Overall Play Value Cost Value Design "The lever that launches the balls can be difficult to pull back so I wouldn't expect a young child could operate it." Karen Recoskie
Quality "The balls in the water hose don't always load properly and so they will get stuck and then shoot out two at a time. Also, when the shooting action does work, the balls are launched pretty fast and far so it is best used in an area where there aren't alot of sofas and tables for them to get caught under." Karen Recoskie
"The tube to insert the balls is awkward for the kids to put the balls in. And the launching mechanism is, also, at times, faulty. Either no ball comes out or a few will come out at the same time." Mireille Sabourin
Parent Appeal & Satisfaction Safety "The instructions don't explain how to get Smokey into his two different positions (my son figured it out after 10 minutes) or that to move positions you need to remove a key type device that is stuck in Smokey to keep him in one position during shipping (I figured that out only because I remember it from testing Stinky last year)." Jennifer Fraser
"The projectile balls are not extremely hard and I think could be a concern with the lower end of the age range or when playing with a larger group. Siren noise seems louder than what I would consider safe considering how close up they play with this toy." Jennifer Fraser
"Safety concern number 1, is the launching mechanism. It is very strong and can send the balls flying very hard and very fast. I turned my head for a minute and my son, who's 5 (note: recommended age is 3+) had the launching tube up to his eye ready to fire the water ball. Extreme caution should be exercised. My second safety concern is the noise level. Much too loud for a child's toy - unacceptable for a child's toy." Mireille Sabourin
"He was interested in the balls but he kept wanting to look at the opening and we were concerned the ball would shoot out and hit him in the eye." Esther Mak
MATCHBOX® SMOKEY® The Fire Truck - Review 
