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.
On January 27, 2012, In Adults in mind, Edutainment, Electronics, Figures and Dolls, by peter jenkinson
On January 12, 2012, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Collectables, Family fun, Figures and Dolls, Film Fun, Get Involved, by peter jenkinson
You’ll be hearing and seeing plenty more about the LEGO(R) DC Universe Super Heroes range over the coming weeks as it hits the shelves, we’ve uncovered it on the virtual aisles on pre-order at Firebox and thought a heads-up was only fair so you could try and save some cash. Our favourite by far is the Batcave set, complete with Bane and his drilling machine trying to rescue Poison Ivy whilst Batman and Robin try and stop him – you decide who prevails. The set lets you transform Bruce into Batman as he travels down in the lift, it has a Batcycle included, the Drill Tank has flick missiles and there are a raft of other accessories to justoifyb the £70 price tag, but wait, what’s that, Holy Bargain Basement Batman, the range starts at about £10 with a Catwoman on a motorcycle….Can you resist her lure? We’re also keen to get our mitts on a Superman minifig, looks the business….
On January 11, 2012, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Family fun, Figures and Dolls, Film Fun, Get Involved, Outdoor Escapades, Pit Stop, Pocket Money, by peter jenkinson
Launched in Vegas this week into what is likely to be the biggest toy genre for 2012 the AppGear range is an evolution from the iOS “appcessories” we saw last year from AppToyz with the unputdownable AppBlaster. These Augmented Reality toys herald the beginning of a raft of toy launches in this area over the coming weeks but Wowwee are first out of the blocks with theirs, and mighty impressive they look too. A range of six is set to be unleashed in the next month, each game requires a physical purchase and then a download of the free app, and happily they all support iOS and Android.
The titles are Alien Jailbreak, Zombie Burb, Elite Commander, Foam Fighter, Akodomon and Mysterious Ray Gun – Look through your smart device and virtual worlds appear in your room, there is little doubt these will, at between £10 and £20, be a sensation. Beware people walking around with toys attached to their mobiles, an increase in lamp post related incidenets is certain to ensue the release of these games. A question to Wowwee if we may though, is the Mysterious Ray Gun so named as it is a mystery to what this particular product is actually about? More Videos of the range in action this way please….
On January 10, 2012, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Collectables, Figures and Dolls, Get Involved, by peter jenkinson
Whether you are or are not fans of Mattels Hot Wheels range we would challenge you not to have a desire for this racer after we tell you a little. It has been around for a few weeks and we admit being slow off the mark getting our opinions online but, after seeing it on BBC Friday Download last week gave us the powerful nudge needed to offer our opinion. On-board, up at the front is a VGA camera, underneath a LCD diplay for playback and USB connection for PC, it’s able to hold onto 12 minutes of footage and has USB connection for easy PC transfer. The car can also be attached about your person or to a skatboard helmet to record non-track based action, so even though the £60 price tag appears a tad steep at first you are getting an action cam too. It was a shame on Fridays show as they managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Video Racer, as it is longer than other cars in the range, struggles a bit on some track sets but no matter, we’re on the hunt for a definitive list of where it performs perfectly.
On January 6, 2012, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Collectables, Family fun, Featured, Figures and Dolls, by peter jenkinson
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 lights and the track has a glow-in-the-dark print for late night missions. Then, well this is the one that’ll have pre-order buttons ablaze when we find out when/where/how much, the 1:32 scale Battle of Endor, a 4.3 metre track with woodland features and accessories and Luke Skywalker and Scout Trooper aboard a pair of Speed Bike There is also the promise of more sets and solo vehicles to add to your Star Wars track, Like this all very much we do.
On December 21, 2011, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Collectables, Edutainment, Featured, Figures and Dolls, Get Involved, Girls Allowed, Pit Stop, Reviews, by peter jenkinson
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 extended; and a large gear knob on the rear even lets you steer it. With all of these functions in mind, and of course the nifty looking design, this rig is as much fun to build as it is to assemble and so we pay homage with our 10th, and final Toyology Gold of the year. Around £40 at John Lewis
TV adverts start running this Boxing Day for the new LEGO line up aimed at girls 5-8 and represents the first solely focused girls line for the company in a decade. The LEGO Friends range, which includes five mini-figure dolls will star in a mini-movie in the New Year, to coincide with a second wave of Lego Friends. Living in a newly created environment called Heartlake City’ there’ll by accessories, brightly coloured building bricks and animals to role play in this new place and sets such as a tree house, beauty salon and veterinary clinic are coming soon. Plenty planned for the range, they’ve even added six brand new brick colours to make Heartlake City a bit different from anywhere else in LEGO land to date.
Just in time to stick on your Santa list, all new Mario gaming decals, 24 supersized stickers for your wall. Time to dig out a comedy moustache, boiler suit, appropriate headwear and start sticking a classic scene from on-screen or somehting altogether more random, it don’t matter because to can re-use/re-stick them as much as you want – There’s little work getting done for a while today me thinks. Not cheap at £59.99 But a better decal set we challenge you to find (doesn’t stick so good on flock wallpaper).
On December 8, 2011, In Adults in mind, Board Games, Boys Toys, Figures and Dolls, Get Involved, by peter jenkinson
There can be little worse than the dissatisfaction associated with pulling a sub-standard Xmas cracker. Most of the time the banging bit has to be pulled seperately as it slipped out of your cheap crepe paper number during the tug-of-war process and then, whoever is victorious, wishes they weren’t – spyglass, plastic charms, dic good-for-nothing apart from top prize at a choking hazard competition. Now this selection is different altogether, “now this collection is…..” no stop that. From the Jumbo 4-in-1 cracker featuring classic Hasbro games and six legally required hats it’ll need those lower branches if you put it on the tree, then there are the single game crackers including Scrabble,Twister, Cluedo and Monopoly which each contain surprises (and of course hats) and when all are opened you can play variants on the original classic board games. All of them are available this way – Happy cracking and good luck with the Twister version if you play post xmas-lunch!
On December 2, 2011, In Adults in mind, Boys Toys, Collectables, Family fun, Figures and Dolls, Get Involved, Retro Road, by peter jenkinson
Thundercats Hooooo! Bandai are holding their first Thundercats Father & Son Clubs this weekend as the new toy lines hit the shelves, they’re running them at selected Smyths Toys Superstores tomorrow, Saturday 3rd December. Drop in and check out the new range of Thundercats toys and join in the activities including getting the tools to make your very own Sword of Omens and of course a few comps to enter for a chance to win the neww toy range! Stores on-board where you can just turn up are Smyths Toys Superstores in Chadwell Heath Essex, Bury and Telford. All you have to do is repeat this chant when you arrive for free entry -)
