Flight Control Tardis Review

The eleventh doctor Flight Control TARDIS was a Christmas present from a relative to my eldest. It is the toy that made me realise that when I'm asked for present suggestions for the boys, I should put a little research into it first so friends and relatives don't end up wasting their money. (You can probably tell from that sentence that this isn't going to be a positive review).

Technical Details:

Review

Let's start with the spinning function on the toy TARDIS. It works by placing a finger on the little circular disc underneath while twirling the TARDIS by the lantern with your other hand. There isn't much to say about this feature, other than it is adequate and simple for an age appropriate child to manage themselves.

The flight control TARDIS has a light function, but it is only the lantern on top that illuminates. To me, this is fine but from what I've read on other people's comments it can be a little disappointing if you have had previous incarnations of the toy TARDIS - the tenth Doctor flight control TARDIS apparently had more lighting features.

The main selling point of the eleventh Doctor toy TARDIS is that it responds to movement and will make appropriate take off, flight and landing sounds. Or so the information on the box states. Ours doesn't, and only makes the "in flight" sound regardless of what you are doing with it. To be fair to the product, I did look at other people's reviews to see if this is a common issue with the toy, but I haven't seen anyone else mention it so it may just be ours which is faulty.

To be honest, a disappointing range of lights and sounds doesn't bother me a great deal. As far as I'm concerned the most important function of the flight control TARDIS is to be a fun addition to my son's games with his Doctor Who figures. At nine inches tall, it is the ideal size for the action figures. But unfortunately, the product also performs poorly on this point.

The left door is tricky to open and close. Either I have to be on hand to wrestle with it, or my son has to resort to struggling with it alone. Inevitably this will eventually lead to it being broken beyond repair. The right door is easier, as it has a button on the floor which you can push to close it automatically, but doesn't work that well either. It sometimes takes a few pushes of the button to get it to work and when it does work it normally snaps shut on your finger. This doesn't hurt, but does get a tad annoying.

Verdict

I'm glad I wasn't the one who paid for the Flight Control TARDIS because it was not worth the money. If your little Doctor Who fan has their heart set on a toy TARDIS it may be worth trying to track down the tenth doctor flight controlled TARDIS instead, which by all accounts is a much better product. A better alternative gift for a child might also be the Doctor Who sonic screwdriver.