Leonardo’s Electronic Katana Sword: NOT Your Typical Toy Sword
Written: Jul 21 '04 (Updated Jul 22 '04)
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Pros: No sharp edges, realistic metal sword sounds
Cons: It’s a sword...
The Bottom Line: If your little Ninja HAS to have a toy sword, definitely get him this one.
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| Dr_Steph's Full Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo's Electroni... |
Though I was reasonably willing to buy my 5 year-old son several other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plastic toy weapons like the bo staff and nunchukus, I've been steadfastly avoiding Leonardo's Electronic Katana Sword because, well, it' a sword! Don't kids poke each other's eyes out with toy swords? As luck would have it, some other well-meaning parent bought this sword for my son for his birthday. I was all set to return it to the store unopened but my son, guessing my intentions, ripped open the box before I could get to it and gleefully brandished the sword for all the partygoers to see. Well, OK, it wasn't quite that easy. He had to do a little wrestling to get it out of the box first. All the boys were in awe of this weapon and, after the two AAA batteries (not included) were installed by the evil gift giver, my son's sword was the hit of the party. You could just feel the testosterone in the air!
Not Your Typical Toy Sword (Thank Goodness!)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo’s Electronic Katana Sword is an all-plastic sword with a silver "blade" and a brown handle, made to look like it was covered with woven bamboo. The battery compartment is on the handle and carefully hidden under one of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" logos so you have to search awhile to find it (requires a small Phillips head screwdriver to open). Also on the handle is a barely noticeable on/off switch. When turned to the "on" position, the sword makes "real sword battlin' sound effects" (according to the manufacturer). Actually, the sound effects of a metal sword blade (activated by moving the sword) are quite realistic.
The nice size of this sword and the cool sound effects are enough to make this a highly desired toy by kids (especially those with XY chromosomes). However, the greatest appeal to ME with this sword is that there are NO sharp edges or points ... none! The hefty blade has a carefully rounded edge and the end is rounded as well. Sure, the rounding takes away slightly from the realistic look of a sword, but the safety advantage more than makes up for the lack of visual realism. By the way, no eyes have been damaged by our sword (or any other body parts, for that matter).
Fortunately, kids don't care one bit about the rounded blade on this sword. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo’s Electronic Katana Sword is easily the most popular toy in our house when a group of 6 to 9 year old boys get together - they all fight over who gets the "Ninja sword."
Oh yes, this sword also comes with a blue Ninja mask. As with the other masks we got with the other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys, this mask was a big hit ... for about 10 minutes. We haven't seen it much since then. I suspect it's gathering dust at the bottom of the toy box.
In addition to being a relatively "safe" sword, I love the durability of this toy. Kids (mine and others) have swung this sword around many times, hitting trees, fences, and other not-so-nice toy swords. It feels as solid and together as the day we got it.
I'm not a weapon enthusiast by any means, but I have to admit that I've liked all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy weapons that we have. They closely parallel the weapons that my kids are exposed to in karate, they make very realistic and cool sounds, they're durable, reasonably affordable, and relatively safe. Best of all, the kids play with them constantly. I can't say that for 98% of the toys we own.
Well, I'd like to stay and chat longer, but it's time to get my son's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo's Electronic Katana Sword and defend myself against the Foot Soldiers and the evil Shredder. Someone's gotta do it ...
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Type of Toy: Playscene
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