Dudley Dump Truck product reviews

When Mr3 saw this, he was INSISTENT that it was "...mine... pweez? GIMME *MINE* TRUCK!" Ahhh, the joys of behaviour shifts courtesy of daycare. But this told me a lot about the appeal factor of this toy, that he a) knew exactly what it was, and b) demanded it be unboxed right away! Alas for him, it was not to be... and alas for us, he made sure we knew exactly how unfair we were being by making him wait until AFTER bedtime... because what parent is going to let their kid get a new toy right on bedtime? Can you say "insomnia"? I knew you could...

The sun rose, and Mr3 was hammering on his bedroom door bright and early at 6am... a full 2 hours ahead of his usual wake-up time. Little words wafted gently through the obstructing wooden panel "WANT MY TRUCK! GIMME TRUCK PWEEZ! MUM! DAD! WANT MY TRUCK! LET ME OUT!" Man, that kid has a set of lungs on him. And he knows what he wants. So out he came, the box was duly presented... and shredded. The truck was extracted with all due care a desperate 3yr old can muster... along with the driver and accessories.

Now, one of the first things *I* looked for was a dinky little secret shown to me by the fine team at Holdson when we visited the showroom... the characters in this range all have their hands giving the thumbs-up symbol... fist clenched, thumb extended. On the vehicles, there are supposed to be little buttons shaped to fit these fists... they release secret doors, hatches, etc. giving the kids a little fun surprise... but no matter how hard I looked, this truck didn't seem to have one. Maybe it's too well hidden even for me.

None the less, Mr3 didn't care... and he has not ha a single day since then where his truck hasn't had an adventure or three... ranging from a trip to the moon (couch with rumpled up cover), to a race across open desert plains (the wooden dining room floor) and even a brief sojourn through wild jungles (the yard lawn). In all cases, roadworks were done, mysterious alien golfballs were discovered and transported/dumped/collected/lost/found/blown up/launched into orbit... and fun was had in great doses.

Overall, he's played with Playskool, he's played with Tolo... but this... this has really captured his attention. We unpacked some of the age-appropriate toys from the other ranges and they still don't match up. Although, it has to be said, this truck is so tough, he gives rides to Tonka trucks when they break down. Now THAT'S tough!