You’ll already have been temnpted by our Chest Arc Light and Iron Man helmet so, to finish off your outfir before heading to the cinema this week to catch Tony in action consider this Wrist Repulsor set too. The 3-in-1 gadget features a motion sensor that lights up to warn of impending danger, or show you to your seat in the cinema. It of course makes sounds that should be used after the credits have rolled otherwise you might be in for a barrage of incoming abuse and popcorn missiles, still you could repel any attack with the four ready to fire repulsion missiles. It’ll cost you £15 from thetoyshop.com
keeping one amused
We're unlikely to see the veritable amount of tat that surrounded the Royal wedding last year, we're hoping that celebratory and commemorative kit will all attempt to be as classy as this chess set (over optimistic perhaps). Each piece is handpainted, it truly is a glorious piece of kit that's certain to find favour with those who refer to parts of their abodes with terms such as East and West wing. It'll set you back almost £300 HERE for those interested parties.
Star Wars slot sets – At last
We've been treated to a fair few Scalextric licences over the years, James bond ones were pretty good, Toy Story didn;t float our slot-car racing boat, this pair of beauties has us grinning from ear to ear. Why we've had to wait for so long to get Star Wars and Scalexctric to tema up Darth only knows, and frankly we don;t give a Yoda because it's finally happening - Exactly when we're no sure. So, we have the Micro 1:64 scale Death Star Attack set with a Lord Vader Tie Fighter battling a Luke Skywalker X-Wing, the spaceships have working ...
Cherry picker is a sweet build
It took us a while getting around to building our LEGO Technic Bucket Truck, that’s cherry picker to most of us or elevated platform to those perhaps allergic to cherries or very posh indeed. It’s the machine used to rig up local Christmas lights or fix street lights, very clever vehicles they are too. Just like its real life ride this Bucket Truck has a set of gears to raise and rotate the platform on the back, two more gears let you deploy the outriggers at the side of the vehicle to keep it stable when the platform is fully ...
Off-screen action with Mario
In our scramble to put as many crossover category toys to the test this year (think Skylanders, Wappydog, Angry Bird plush etc) we'd somehow almost missed this plumber based box of racing good ness. The Mario Kart Battle pack features a Mario and Yoshi sat in their rides and an assortment of track accessories for you to establish where your hairpins and chicances should be placed. whilst you race the lights on the nift RC unit have lights which each represent an action you'd find on the console version, Mushroom: Gives a speed boost Green Shell: Sends your opponent hurtling backwards Lightning: Sends ...
Remember the posh Fox?
The upper class fox was at his very best in the eighties, close to the cuff humour for kids TV, often ridiculing his guests and co-hosts, quality Telly. Now you can own your own Basil Brush handpuppet, give him a squeeze and he'll let out his grin inducing laugh topped off with a legendary "Boom Boom" at the end. At just £12.99 seems like a no-brainer.
Down at the wonderful Maritime Museum this weekend an exhibition of toy boats begins. Celebrating the century between 1850 and 1950 when shipbuilding shifted from wood/sail to steel/steam and inspired a huge upsurge in kids toys manufacture in tandem with the goings on at the larger end of the scale. Over 100 items will be on display at the Greenwich museum, certainly worth a trip if your nearby. More details HERE
Silly Gordon. He might as well throw out his crib sheets on foreign policy/the economy/recession/whatever the topic is for tonight’s debate because there’s only one question people want to ask – ‘After twenty odd years in politics how can you not remember to turn your microphone off?” We can’t help thinking there’s a slight resemblance between the PM and our favourite cartoon donkey and there can be little doubt that he’ll have uttered a familiar Eeyores downbeat greeting at breakfast “Good morning…If it is a good morning… Which I doubt”. Anyone else see the Cameron forehead/eyebrow combo on the left and as for Tigger, he’s a dead ringer for Clegg…. isn’t he?
Is there an ethical argument in teaching kids about money? Most likely. Nevertheless, if you’re still seething over that financial-meltdown-recession-banking-disaster thing that is so yesterday now we’ve had an ash cloud to deal with, what better way to get revenge on the bankers by training your children in all things financial using Money Bags: Coin Value Game. (NB. This is a long term revenge plan for the truly patient). The idea is that the kiddies learn how to earn money using a spinner, some chores and some basic maths skills – an over complex way of getting the little’uns to do odd jobs around the house at the very least, but apparently the game aims to promote a positive attitude towards earning and saving money. Retailing for around £16.95 (top tip, tell the child they can only have the game if they work out how much change you’ll have from a twenty after you buy it)
Peppa Pig’s PR team are certainly working over time ahead of the General Election. A long time supporter of Sure Start children’s centres Peppa has, with regret, decided to remain a-political in these fraught and uncertain times and has, after much soul searching, decided not to attend the centre’s launch event for the Labour Families Manifesto. Peppa, obviously a mature and considerate model of her species is afraid of sparking controversy (and maybe losing any young Tory viewers). But we reckon there must be plenty of cartoon characters out there who aren’t bothered about sticking it to the man and voicing a political allegiance (answers on a postcard please) – surely the Babar family will be turning out on May 6th to vote Conservative, and Dora the Explorer will no doubt be opposed to any plans of the Green Party to stop her un-eco-friendly global expeditions…
London based designer Ryan McElhinney creates one off furnishings using recycled toys, we’re hankering for one of his lamps for the office but as there’s no word on price here we’re guessing they’re a fair few quid. The manufacturing process he descibes on the website of the toys being “bonded together and then coated in a High Gloss polyurethane laquer” sounds simple enough, probably isn’t.
Adding to the Double Decker 2012 Olympic handover bus that has sat in the Olympic category on their site solo for a few months Corgi have added a range of London cabs to the range. These colorful numbers are each liveried to depict one of eight Olympic events, rolling out at the rate of four every two months till the games start in July 2012, these 1:64 models are priced at £3.99 each. Corgi are also releasing a limited edition run of the site tour bus, this 1:76 scale vehicle is the one used to ferry officials around the east London sites, it’ll set you back £22.99 – Pre-order HERE
Ahead of the Toy Story 3 release in June (US) there’s set to be an avalanche of licensed playthings to conincide with, and cash in on, the anticipated excitement. From Scalextric we have this micro racing set, 1 :64 scale racing arena with Woody and Buzz both riding RC Car around a colourful and detailed track that’ll be in big demand ahead of the UK release on July 23rd. Expected retail price is around £50, sign up to our RSS feed, bookmark us or follow us @toyologist and we’ll let you know as soon as it is available on pre-order.
An indistinguishable update to the original game by Merit in the shape of this re-release of the classic Amazing Magic Robot game is one that should have parents who hanker after a touch of nostalgia looking for the buy button. If needed, use the pretence that it is for their siblings as it can certainly be classified as an educational tool. Stick the robot in the centre of the question cards and point him to your query, then move himover to the answer sheet and he’ll spin to the right response every time. You can buy originals in decent condition for about £40, this brand new boxed one from Russimco should be hitting the shelves soon..for less, we’ll let you know. follow us @toyologist for the latest update
We were out and about in central London last week filming a viral for fancy dress company Cesar last week. A full edit of the days shenanigans will be ready for your viewing pleasure next week, we just thought it apt to share some of the stills from the day. We stopped plenty of traffic, attracted lots of attention, had our pictures taken by and with passing tourists and didn’t bother changing for the journey home. Check out the full photo stream HERE

















