Erin is a huge fan of Paw Patrol, and has been for quite some time now! We have followed the series on Nick Jr since the beginning, and Erin has watched with excitement at the arrival of every new episode and character. To accompany the series, the toys have been really popular, hitting most children’s Christmas wishilists, and we have been lucky enough to previously review the Air Patroller and Paw Patrol Roll Patrol Track sets.
Following the release of the New ‘Mission Paw’ episodes on Nick Jr, Spinmaster have added a new addition to their range of Paw Patrol merchandise – The Paw Patrol Mission Cruiser and it’s accompanying mini vehicles.
We were sent one to put it through it’s paces, and here’s what we thought!
About the Product
As they say on the show, no job is too big, no pup is too small! The Paw Patrol Mission Cruiser is the perfect way for your Paw Patrol fans to use their imagination, and act out their rescue missions with the characters they know and love.
There’s trouble in Barkingburg and the Paw Patrol pups can set off on a ruff-ruff rescue using the new Mission Cruiser vehicle. The Mission Cruiser vehicle includes the Robo Dog character and his own mini vehicle, with two additional storage slots for additional pups and their rescue racers (sold separately). With storage space in the back, side and driver’s seat, the opportunities for creative play are endless. The Mission Cruiser comes with an animated mission card which can be popped into the pop up card holder or loaded into the Mission Pup Pad (sold separately).
The Mission Cruiser retails at £44.99 with additional mini vehicles available at £9.99 each. Each Mission Paw Mini Vehicle comes with an additional Mission Card and there are currently 6 to collect – Chase’s Three Wheeler, Skye’s Cycle, Marshall’s Rescue Rover, Rubble’s Mini Miner figure, Rocky’s Repair Kart and Zuma’s Hydro Ski.
Our Experience
We were sent the Mission Cruiser and two additional Mission Paw mini vehicles to review – Marshalls’ Rescue Rover and Erin’s favourite, Skye and her Cycle – which flicks between a two wheeled motorbike style cycle into a four wheeled car.
Each mini vehicle and the Mission Cruiser itself comes with a small hologram Card – a hologram scene representing the mission that the pups have been set. Erin was fascinated by the fact that the scene changes when she moves the card up and down! There is a small risk that these could get damaged fairly easily as are made from card rather than plastic, so I made sure Erin popped these back into the boot of the Mission Cruiser when not being used, mainly to avoid her baby sister getting hold of them!
The hologram cards slot into the little TV screen that pops up out of the roof when the button is pressed, enabling children to see the mission that the pups have been set, and use their imagination to bring that scene to life.
When the button on the roof of the Mission Cruiser is pressed, the side door pops open and the mission tv pops up. The Mission Cruiser also makes a variety of fun sounds but importantly here they are not at all loud or overbearing – much quieter than some of the previous Paw Patrol toys which will be a real positive for parents!
The front of the Mission Cruiser opens up to reveal the drivers seat where characters can be sat inside.
The back also opens up, with plenty of room to store additional cards or characters.
Erin’s favourite part of the Mission Cruiser was using the little buttons on the other side of the vehicle to fire the vehicles out as if they are rushing off on their mission. By simply holding the buttons down, the floors raise up inside the truck, forcing the vehicles to quickly roll out across the carpet (I imagine they would roll quite far on a wooden or tiled floor!)
The pups have little studs on their feet meaning they can be pressed into their cars and secured firmly into place so they don’t fall out when the cars are fired. Erin couldn’t always do this on her own, so you may find this is one part of the product you need to assist with.
It’s great to see one character and vehicle included with the Mission Cruiser making it a ready to go playset (it even has batteries included so no need for screwdrivers or rushing to a shop when you forget to buy some! That said, whilst Robo Dog is very cute, he obviously isn’t one of the main characters and as such, it is fair to say that children will probably want at least one of the others to go with the set.
Overall the Mission Cruiser was a big hit with Erin as expected, and I’ve really enjoyed watching her play, doing the voices of the characters and running through the stories in her head. The Mission Cruiser is lots of fun for siblings and friends to play together, encourage sharing and taking turns, and in my opinion is a great addition to the existing Paw Patrol range.
Pros:
- Interactive screen for mission setting is a fun new feature of this set.
- Comes with Robo Dog character included.
- Has sounds but they are relatively quiet and non offensive (pro for parents!)
- A little smaller than the original Paw Patroller which makes it easier to store away when not in use.
- Encourages creative play and use of imagination.
Cons:
- Although it does come with one character (Robo Dog) the chances are children would want to have (and benefit from having) the additional character cars that fit inside the Mission Cruiser – in reality probably another two to fill the other two slots. As a result, although the £44.99 is cheaper than some of the other in demand Paw Patrol toys, the overall cost could still mount up to £65 if you bought another two.
- Despite some additional features, the Mission Cruiser is somewhat similar to the Paw Patroller which was the first of the large Paw Patrol playsets.
- The Mission Cards are only made from cardboard, so it would be good if replacements were available to buy on their own.
You can learn more about the Paw Patrol Mission Cruiser on the Spinmaster website here
The new Paw Patrol Mission Paw episodes can be seen weekly over on Nick Jr
*Disclosure – We were sent a Paw Patrol Mission Cruiser free of charge for the purpose of this review, however as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own*
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