my 3yo son received a few of these rescue hero action figures for christmas. He loves them. The figures are chunky and sturdy and easy to stand and manipulate the limbs. I won't say they are impossible to break, but my son is really hard on toys and these have now lasted us 6 months with lots of use and no casualties. They do not really have any tiny pieces to lose or break off.

I like that the figures are "realistic" heroes - police officers, firemen, etc. My son just thinks they are cool and tough and take all the abuse he can muster and keep coming back for more. He especially loves the figures that come with "pets".

Dewey CM comes with an aligator (or crocodile - not sure which) named Glades. Dewey wears a removable backpack with a working hook/pully thing - great for pulling other action figures to safety! Glades has a button on his back that makes his mouth opens and closes (not battery operated). The backpack can also be worn by any of the other rescue hero figures - another plus to have accessories that can be shared!

I would absolutely recommend these figures for a toddler or young child. We do not have any of the videos or play sets that come with these characters - just 3 or 4 of the figures themselves. This is all we needed to spark hours of imaginative play! Also, I have noticed these figures come and go quickly on Amazon. There must be a huge demand for them. I would say, unless you are a collector looking for a specific figure, don't spend more than [...] or so on a figure.

This figure is a total dude! He wears a sweatband...his arms are huge and muscle-bound...he hangs with an alligator...he has a square jaw and no neck! Like all Rescue Heroes, they model a big & beefy masculinity, and provide a positive role-model that appeals to the rough-and-tumble nature of boys.

I'm not sure what the 6-14-05 reviewer's complaint was about small items: the smallest piece is the removable backpack, with the firmly attached claw-tool and cable, which is all one piece.

The claw-device in Dewey C.M.'s hand isn't operable, but if you press the button on Glades' back, his jaws snap open and closed. The camo attire makes this Rescue Hero one of my son's favorites.

This Rescue Hero, Dewey C.M. and Glades is very cool. My son loves the Nature Force sets and has all of them. He really enjoys incorporating the animals into the rescue missions. This one is particularly fun since the animals mouth opens at the push of a button so he pull a branch of a stranded victim or some other type of rescue act. The other reviewer mentioned small pieces but I am not so sure what she is talking about. This specific action figure does not come with any small pieces and I have never had a problem worrying about my son with Rescue Heroes. He has had them since he was 2 1/2 and never had a small piece put in his mouth. He has always loved his Rescue Heroes and never would put one his mouth anyway..... In fact, most do not even come with small pieces...They are made for the preschool age group keep in mind, not small toddlers. This set has a Rescue Hero, a backpack and Glades the alligator, nothing a child could put in his mouth and choke on. This is even more fun when used in conjunction with the Rescue Hero Swamp Skimmer. My son loves making up "swamp missions".

This is a good toy (series of toys) with a nice theme - heroes of nature. It is durable and fun, but I don't agree with the ages 3 to 8. The three year olds I know still put a lot of things in their mouths and some of the pieces are small. I would say 5 to 8 is better. Just watch younger ones with these.