Playmobil Robo Gangster Truck RC Unit and Spy Camera

I've reviewed the Playmobil Robo Gangster Truck which is a good, robust Secret Agent vehicle.  It stands alone as a good toy, but for the gadget mad technophiles among us, it has even more to offer.  It has two attachments which are available to purchase separately that turn the car into a remote controlled vehicle with a secret spy camera set mounted inside.

The RC Module upgrades compatible vehicles giving them remote control capability with three speeds and steering.  The controller is easy to use.  It is very manoeuvrable and the controls are sensitive. The aerial is a little bit fragile as the wire is fed through a tube that can fall out, which was the only downside of the conversion kit.  The internal components were easy to fit into the body of the car.

The Spying Camera Set includes a high resolution screen, separate camera and USB cable.  The camera can be set up to 'spy' on anyone or anything!!  It is a proper piece of geeky, high tech equipment.  When the camera is put into the truck in the passenger seat, it can be used as the 'eyes' to steer it around remotely even if the truck is out of sight, with the screen which can be mounted on the remote control unit.  You can carry out Surveillance work and monitor rooms to check for the all clear!  Very James Bond!  It has an auto shut off feature to save battery life.

My husband was ridiculously excited by the potential of this toy, and 15 year old Ella loved it too!  They were able to whizz the car down our hallway using the screen as guidance.  They had huge fun with it!  It really is quite unique and very innovative, taking Playmobil in a totally new and uber modern direction.  It is amazing what technology can be packed into a child's plaything.


Kizzy is 9 and was not as confident with steering the car and had a few crashes, but it added to her fun, watching the objects in the screen get closer and closer until...CRASH!!  The truck is thankfully really robust and withstood her driving skills!


The Spy Camera is an expensive piece of kit retailing at £69.99.  The RC Unit is £49.99.  Add this to the £29.99 of the Robo Gangster Truck and this is a very expensive toy.  Plus you need to factor in the batteries which are not included.  But it is unique, innovative, high tech and is a really cool boys' toy!  Hours of secret agent fun will be enjoyed using this sophisticated equipment.  It really allows kids to have the whole secret agent experience.  A great, but pricey extension to a great Playmobil toy!  We love it!!

Playmobil Robo Gangster Truck

Playmobil has been a favourite brand of mine for years.  I love the miniature world and the range of items available is just breathtaking.  The new Robo Gangster Truck brings the world of espionage to the brand with Secret Agents, satellites and chaos capsules!

The truck came in pieces, all packaged into individual bags to make it easy to organise.

It was easy to fit all the bits together, aided with clear pictorial instructions.

The finished model was sturdy, robust and impressive.  It has gull wing style opening doors, firing rockets, a chaos satellite launch pad, two gangsters and accessories.

For any budding James Bonds out there, the Robo Gangster truck promises hours of fun imaginative play.  The firing satellite is a really nice touch with shiny solar panels that fold out.  The missiles really fire from their launchers.  It is recommended for ages 7 and over.  Older children will be able to play with all the fiddly accessories, whereas Freddy just wanted to whizz the truck around.  It was Daddy who had most fun with it and expressed how much he would have loved one as a child!

The Rob Gangster Truck has an RRP of £29.99 and is available at Toys R Us.  The most exciting thing about the Robo Gangster Truck is that you can add a remote control unit to it along with a fully working secret spy camera.  This elevates this toy to something that gadget mad kids (and dads!) will love.  Look out for our video showing these features in action, coming soon!

Cars 2 Drive and Talk McQueen

We are huge fans of Disney.  We are complete suckers for the films, the songs, the characters and the merchandise.  We can't get enough of Disney.

We were very excited to receive a Disney Pixar Cars 2 Drive and Talk McQueen plush toy in our final Toyologist consignment.  The cute and cuddly Lightning McQueen toy comes with a cuddly key to start the engine, it makes engine sounds and says catch phrases and moves with a vroooom!!

You have to push down on Lightning's bonnet or stick the magnetic key to the roof to activate the sounds and motion. 

Sounds great??  So why then does this just not quite do it for me?  I just fail to understand the concept of an electronic cuddly car!!  Lightning is a mean machine, built for speed.  It does not translate to a soft, puffy toy with wheels that don't spin and absolutely no aerodynamics at all.  The loud roaring of the engine and the Ka-Chow catchphrase doesn't quite fit the new softer image.  It also only says a couple of phrases which just repeat and get old quickly.  There are two wheels in a heavy plastic base underneath which allows the car to move, but it only goes a short distance and very slowly.  It actually waddles which isn't very race car-like!  

Freddy wasn't overly impressed with the toy.  He kept pushing it to try and make it go faster and further.  He liked the sounds, but as Lightning was neither a cuddly toy that you could snuggle with due to the plastic base, or a speedy vehicle that whizzed around the floor, I'm not sure Freddy really knew what to do with him. He tried to use it as a sit n ride at one point!!  He lost interest quite quickly. 

I am sad to not be singing the praises of my favourite franchise, but this just didn't quite do it for us.  We want our cars whizzy and our soft toys cuddly.  Trying to mix it just isn't a good combination.  We still love Disney and we still love Lightning McQueen and Cars 2 toys....just not in this format. 

Mosh 'n' Chat Katsuma

Moshi Monsters are quite a phenomena, albeit one that has bypassed my own kids who aren't really big fans.  So when we received a Mosh 'n' Chat Katsuma, I didn't have any preconceptions of what to expect. 

The 30 cm tall orange plush toy looked like a typical anime character with its big eyes, huge head and fantasy appearance.  It is quite a cute looking toy.  If you press its tummy it begins to chatter and will continue to chat to you as long as you talk to it. However, it only speaks in its own Moshi language, which is basically gibberish.  Continually pressing his tummy causes it to giggle and laugh.

Katsuma is also meant to double up as a room guard for your bedroom.  A sensor should detect when people approach causing it to make a racket alerting you to any intruders.  This is an added feature that gives this toy a purpose. Unfortunately we couldn't get this to work despite our best efforts.  It just didn't detect us at all and sat silently instead.  

Freddy was quite excited having a toy that chatted to him and had a long lasting gibberish conversation.  It isn't ever going to assist his speech development, but he enjoyed the exchange.  But the novelty wore thin after a while.

Katsuma is quite a cute looking toy, but that is as far as his appeal goes.  If your kids are Moshi Monster fans, I'm sure they would love the Mosh 'n' Chat toy as a part of their Moshi Monster collection. It comes with an adoption certificate and code for a free in-game item.   However, we were not overly impressed by it.  Sorry Katsuma!

My First Number Flashcards

My First Number Flashcards from Ravensburger consists of 50 good sized cards which are designed to help your child with number recognition, counting and simple number problems.  They support early years numeracy and help develop number skills in children aged 3 and over.

I was impressed with the quality of the cards.  They are brightly coloured and printed with appealing designs which children will be attracted to.  They are printed onto quite sturdy and glossy card.

The set of cards includes pictorial representations of the numbers 0-20 in both written and numerical forms.

  The number word cards show the numeral and corresponding number of objects on one side with the written number word on the back.  Each picture shows a different object such as sheep, balls or puppies.

The numeral cards have the number on one side with the corresponding number of items on the other.  They are represented by ducks in a pond.

There are also cards showing the different operations: plus, minus, divide, equals and multiply.  This enables the introduction of simple number sentence work.

Three further cards have larger numbers on, 30, 40 and 50 to extend counting skills.

The instructions on the box give some ideas on how to use the cards with your child, from simple counting and number recognition exercises, to putting numbers in order or matching up the correct number to the corresponding picture card.  They make number work fun!!

Freddy is 2 and enjoyed counting the objects on the cards.  He is pretty good up to 14!  He will get lots of use from these cards as his skills develop so they would be a good investment for any toddler.  They also aid language development as the child names the different objects which is a bonus.  

The cards are available from Toys R Us for £5.99.

Animagic Benji...My Best Friend

When we received Animagic Benji, the cute interactive puppy, to review, Kizzy and Freddy were very excited.  He looked lovely with his fluffy white fur, big puppy dog eyes and shiny black nose.  Benji  is meant to behave like a real pup.  He sits up, barks, waggles his ears, wags his tail, plays tug of war, growls and snores when he falls asleep. All the fun of having a puppy without the house training!!  

Meeting his new toy!

Benji

Benji has a sensor that is meant to detect you as you approach so he will excitedly bark to let you know he is pleased to see you.  Unfortunately, however hard we tried, our Benji would not respond until we manhandled him quite vigorously, which was a bit of a disappointment. Once he got going he did reward us with wiggling ears, waggy tails and cute puppy noises which delighted the children.  He sat up and lay down, but getting him to do so was a bit hit and miss.

Cuddling Benji

You are meant to be able to play Tug of War by putting his rope toy into his mouth and pulling on it.  We struggled to make this feature work and couldn't get him growling at all.  We all tried but couldn't quite get the knack of this game.

Tug of War!

The other disappointing thing about Benji was the noise of the mechanical movements which sometimes made a loud clunking noise. This was a bit worrying and sounded like his legs were breaking.  

However the general consensus was that he was very sweet and really quite adorable, but just didn't do as much as you'd expect a premium priced toy, with an RRP of £59.99, to do.  It is a shame because he is such a cute little puppy that you really want to pet and play with.  You'd be just as well buying a cuddly toy to hug instead, for a fraction of the cost.  The kids do all love him and play with him...but of course they did not have to pay for him. I would expect more from an Animagic toy, it's a pity the beautiful Benji didn't deliver.

                         

Wild Science Face Mask Laboratory

Kizzy loves science and beauty...so when Toys R Us sent her the Face Mask Laboratory it combined two of her favourite subjects!

The set includes everything needed to make luxury clay packs using ingredients used by top cosmetic brands.  Everything fits neatly into the workbench.   Products can be tested and personalised and are completely safe for the skin.  

The ethos of the company is great.  It is very positive for young girls and is not aimed at encouraging girls down the fashion and  beauty route.  Instead it helps young girls learn about their changing skin, have fun, feel good about themselves and be independent.  There is positive affirmation that they are beautiful!  Wild Science Girls aren't 'fashion sheep' and they have the attitude to resist the pressures to conform to destructive stereotypes.

The best place to do the Face Mask Laboratory is by the sink with access to clean water.  There is a "get your skills" section in the instruction book which teaches the child how to use the syringe and pipette, and how to measure with them.  It was a really good exercise that Kizzy enjoyed doing.  The instructions are very clear with step by step photos.  There are even some experiments to carry out on the ingredients and some facts and hints about skin, which adds to the educational value of this kit.

An allergy test of the ingredients is recommended.  Plastic gloves and a dust mask are included for safety.  There is also advice on the safety of storage of the finished product and use-by stickers to ensure freshness if you keep the face mask.   

The mask was easy to make and can be personalised with fragrance and colours.

Big sister Megan acted as Kizzy's guinea pig and tested out one of Kizzy's clay masks.  

This Face Mask Laboratory set was educational, fun, positive and produced a genuinely good end product that left the skin feeling fresh and clean.  

At £14.99 from Toys R Us, this is an excellent gift for girls aged 8 and up.

Reeves Scraperfoil

Toys R Us have sent us the Reeve's Scraperfoil Gift Set to test out.  The set consists of 3 pre-printed boards of a dolphin, a unicorn and some dogs,  a scrapertool, a practice piece of board and instructions on how to make three engraved silver pictures. 

Kizzy 9, along with big sister Megan and future sister in law Jade, set about scraping the foil to make the pictures.  The boards are pre-printed with faint guidelines which you scrape away with the tool.  With broad strokes, stipples, texturing and freehand lines you can make your own engraving.

Megan, who usually loves art projects could not use the scrapertool at all.  She doesn't hold pens in the usual way, and consequently could not scrape away the top layer.  She couldn't get the right angle to use it.  So she was out!   The box says not to be used by children under 36 months, so I'm assuming that implies it is recommended for children aged 3 and up as there is no age recommendation.  However, within a very short time it was clear that Kizzy was struggling and getting frustrated.  I stepped in to help her.  It was not very easy to do neatly and there is definitely a bit of a knack to doing it.  This is an activity for older children.

It is quite fiddly to do and if you are not careful you can scrape through the top layer into the cardboard underneath.  This is Kizzy's attempt of going it alone on the Unicorn picture.  She got fed up and didn't want to do the background and gave up.

Jade however, really enjoyed doing the Scraperfoil.  She did a great job on the dog picture but she did say it hurt her hand and she would like the scrapertool to be a bit more comfortable to use, possibly with a soft end to hold. She also said she would like to have blank sheets included so you could create your own designs and not be tied to the pre-printed pictures.

This is a very time consuming and tricky activity, that is definitely more suitable for older kids with a lot of patience.  Some people may really struggle to do the scraperfoil as my eldest daughter did.  But, in the hands of someone who can do it, the end result is quite impressive.

Air Hogs Vectron Wave

If there is one toy that has made my husband really excited, it is the Air Hogs Vectron Wave.  This flying toy uses infra red technology allowing you to control it with your hands.  It hovers at a set height until you 'control'  it by waving underneath it.  This mini UFO really is quite a show stopper as it hovers around your living room!

The Vectron Wave uses 6 AA batteries which is quite an investment before you even begin.  They are used in the base unit which charges up the Vectron Wave.  Hopefully they will last for a while...they are still going strong after a week of play.  The flying part of the toy is a disc made of durable polystyrene which houses a spinning fan which elevates it.  It is quite noisy but impressive nevertheless.

Obstacle sensors detect the proximity to the ground as it finds its level between the floor and ceiling to hover at.  If you interfere with it before it's done this, it goes on a collision course out of control.  Thankfully there is a button on the base unit to disable the flight.  The fan also shuts off automatically if fingers poke into it, making it quite safe.

The Vectron Wave is an innovative, novelty toy which is really quite fascinating to play with.  We did struggle to control it a little bit.  I got hit in the head at one point, but it is so light it isn't a problem!  You are meant to be able to play catch with it using the wand on the top, but I think we need a bit more practice.

The Vectron Wave has definitely been a toy that has entertained us no end.  It is a bit geeky, perfect for techno-philes and budding aeronautic engineers.  We all wish they could make a giant one that you could ride on...I'm sure it is just a matter of time.

The only real negative is that the toy doesn't hold it's charge for very long and soon goes flat so the flying time is quite limited which was a little frustrating.  However, when it is flying it is quite amazing!  Watch our video to see it in action!

Toyology is Coming to an End

This morning, I answered the door to the postman wearing my stripy onesie (embarrassing much!) to take delivery of my last Toys R Us Toyology delivery.  This was the sixth and final shipment of fabulous toys for my Tiny Testers to review.

It has been a brilliant experience.  I've seen some amazing toys from the interactive Let's Rock Elmo to the high tech Air Hogs Vectron Wave.  I've enjoyed watching Freddy discover new things and develop new skills with toys like his Leapfrog Tag Junior.  Kizzy's love of doing crafty things has been totally satisfied with art sets galore.  We've had lots of family fun with board games and the Cycocycle.  It's been a fabulous adventure for us all and something I'm so thankful to have been a part of.

Ella and Kizzy have even performed the new Toys R Us song "I Wanna Be a Toys R Us Kid"!

Toys R Us are running a competition to win a £500 Trolley Dash.  You just need to film yourself or your kids performing, dancing to or singing along to the new advert, upload it to YouTube and post it their Facebook wall after you've filled out the application form.  Full details here.  What a fabulous prize to win just in time for Christmas!

#NaBloPoMo Day 15

Teacup Piggies

If I won the lottery I would so buy some of those miniature pigs as pets!  Everyone loves those adorable little porkers, and quick to monopolise on the fad comes the toy Teacup Piggies from Tomy.  Toys R Us sent us one to test and Kizzy happily adopted Shimmy the Teacup Piggy.

Much easier to look after than the real thing, these super cute must have toys appeal to young girls who will enjoy taking care of them, feeding and dressing them.  They come in their own plastic teacup, with a feeding bottle and birth certificate.  The pig says one of 25 responses or phrases.  They talk, laugh and oink. The snout can be pressed or there are sensors on her back which are triggered when you pet her. There is also a sound sensor that allows her to respond to your voice.  If you lie your piggy on her side she snores.  If you tickle her nose she sneezes and tells you her nose is sensitive.

There are loads of accessories you can buy for the piggies and some of the phrases encourage children to pester parents to buy them.  It asks to be dressed in a new outfit although it comes au naturel, which is a bit of a sales ploy!  Outfits are of course sold separately.  She also wants to ride in her limo...this pig is not content with rolling in mud!  It could prove quite expensive to satisfy this diva pig's requests!

The velvety skin is very tactile and the design really is quite adorable, but I didn't like the precocious voice of the piggy.  I would prefer more of a country pig than a partying, city pig that says L.O.L. and wants to be a princess!  There are several piggies available, maybe some of the others will be less prima donna-ish!  I also do not understand why she is bottle fed implying she is a baby...but then she wants to go out partying and marry a prince??  Mmmm!

The Tea Cup Piggy is not a soft cuddly toy. It is quite small and hard with articulated plastic legs.   It is recommended for ages 6 and up.  It says you can take them everywhere you go and they will be your best friends.  It is a cute looking toy which is a good size to pop in a bag to take out with you to entertain your youngster.  Kizzy was quite taken with the Teacup Piggy and loved feeding her and sitting her in her teacup.  She does however like to treat her as a baby animal rather than as a Porcine Barbie! 

Tea Cup Piggies cost £14.99 from Toys R Us.

Reeves Painting by Numbers

My budding little artist Kizzy was very excited to get her hands on the Reeves Painting By Numbers Artist's Starter Set from Toys R Us.  Big sister Megan was also very excited about helping her little sister to test it out! 

The set includes three paint by number canvases featuring pictures of Noah's Ark, a horse and some penguins.  There is also a small wooden easel, two paintbrushes, a mixing palette, a water pot and 21 small pots of acrylic paints.

The pictures on the canvases are quite intricate and definitely only suitable for older children aged 8 and over as recommended on the box.  Each section includes a number which corresponds to one of the paint pots.  Some sections require two paints to be mixed in the palette to make the right colour.

The easel is very cute, but both girls found it a little unstable to use for painting, but it will make a really nice stand to display finished paintings.

The paints went on really well and both girls really enjoyed completing the paintings.  You have to make sure you wear old clothes or an apron, but the paint did wash out from clothing using soap and water when the paint is still wet.  (Incidentally, it was my 20 year old daughter Megan and not my 9 year old who made a mess of her clothing causing me to test out the washability of the paints before making her wear a plastic apron!!)  The brushes are of a good quality with a fine tip.

Megan had one criticism of the canvases, and that was that the blue printing  was sometimes difficult to cover with the lighter coloured paints and the numbers showed through.  This is only a minor criticism and it is because she is a perfectionist!!  Kizzy said she enjoyed having to concentrate hard on the precise artwork.  She showed real patience and developed her skills doing the painting.  I was impressed with her perseverance  and diligence!

In a world of high tech toys, it was really lovely to see my girls sat down together painting.  This set was a really good introduction to acrylic painting, with interesting pictures and good quality materials.

It took three days for the paintings to be completed, so it is not a quick activity.  It took real commitment from the girls to get them finished.  However the end results were really very good.