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Horrid Henry Voice Changer
by MikeBorry
~*~*~ Horrid Henry Voice Changer ~*~*~
~ What is it? ~
The bane of my life that's what!!!
This is a megaphone shaped electronic voice changer. It is quite large and very noisy!
~ Horrid Henry who? ~
Horrid Henry was first published as a book and then later into a children's ... cartoon/animation for CITV. My two older children have always been a fan of Horrid Henry well the one on TV as before that I didn't know anything of it, but we now have quite a few of the books too.
In the TV show we see Henry who can be Horrid and his little brother Peter who can be Perfect, my eldest loved Henry and his brother loved Peter and it is quite a true likeness to my children haha!
~ Why did I buy it? ~
Good question! I have asked myself that so many times!
My now 9 year old really loved Horrid Henry so about two years ago when the B&M store near me had a full range of Horrid Henry toys I went and bought the lot, including in these things was this voice changer and I thought it looked like a cool toy he would enjoy playing with. He had the toys for Christmas and as soon as this was opened he wanted to try it out.
~ Is it any good? ~
Yes it is good, it does change your voice so of course this is a good thing seeing as this is the whole point of it but it is very loud!
Its constructed of a strong dark blue plastic, with red and green hints too. Around the speaker at the front are six little green lights that flash as you speak.
It has eight different voice effects that are activated by moving the four switches on the side of the toy, the effects are -
Growl
Screech
Grunt
Super Growl
Super Screech
Robotic Shriek
Squeaky Robot
Alien Scream
~ Overall ~
My son really likes this, he still does now. Me however, I hate it! It is so noisy. I have noticed that it simply needs to be held near the mouth without talking and it will still make a noise! As I have mentioned above there are supposed to be eight different effects however the all sound like a growling sound to me! Some high pitched some low yet all growly!
This would make the perfect gift for someone you don't like as it is so irritating!
It is annoying, it is loud but that is what kids like, for kids this is a great toy. It easy to use by simply pressing in the trigger button and it is really strong. My kids have used it a lot and it has been dropped, thrown etc, it hasn't broke but does have a couple of marks and scratches.
What I would like to mention is that the voice changer doesn't resemble any voices from the show which would have been a nice thing, however it doesn't take from it that it is still a cool but annoying toy!
I have seen these in my local B&M's again priced at around £5 which I think is a really good price for this, I think at the time I paid around £8 and that too was a great price.
Thanks for reading :o) x
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ELC Boil and Pour Kettle
by Coffeetiere
This ELC kettle was a present to my daughter I'm her grandparents for her fourth birthday. It's a rather cute little kettle which was perfect at the time as my daughter was very into kitchen play. Currently however at five she seems a little less interested in pretend kitchen play, however my son who is two and a half likes to play ... with this kettle.
It's very realistic and can be filled up with water. There are measurements showing 1-4 cups on the side of the body of the kettle which is a blue transparent plastic so it possible to see where the water is filled up to. We don't do water play that often as it is very messy, but I have let my children occasionally play with water in the kettle and pretend to make cups of tea with a plastic tea set we also have. The lid of the kettle lifts up so water can be poured in or so the kettle can be filled from the taps in the sink.
The best thing about this kettle is it makes a very realistic boiling noise when the button pushed on, until it is turned off again. My kids love this sound. It also has a red light which comes on when the kettle is turned on, just like the real thing!
As mentioned, our kettle is all blue, not blue and green like the one in the picture. A friend's daughter also has one of these early learning kettles and theirs is red, blue and yellow so I guess they must be available in a variety of different colours.
I am sure the box the kettle came in recommended this toy was suitable for 36 months and upwards, however I would say it's more than suitable for a two year old. There aren't any small parts which come off, it's handle is easy to hold and the kettle is very light without water in.
The kettle takes two AA batteries which are placed in at the base of the kettle. You will need a little screwdriver to open up the section for the batteries, which is easy to do and not a problem as the batteries last a long time.
I think the kettle costs around £10 and was a nice birthday gift for my daughter from her grandparents. It's not played with an awful lot, but does make regular appearances when my children are going through a "kitchen" phase as my son is now. I'll give it 5/5 as its durable, looks good and is very realistic for a toy.
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Science Museum Pin Art
by MikeBorry
~*~*~ Science Museum Pin Art ~*~*~
~ What is it? ~
This is a very cool 'toy' that I remember loving as a child! It is basically a frame containing lots of flat pins on the back sheet which when pushed through will form an image against the glass frame at the front. I remember having hours of fun with these as ... a child so I bought one for my son two Christmases ago and I still have fun with it now!
~ What do you do with it? ~
As the image above suggests you can push your hand/fingers into the pins which have flat non sharp ends and as you push through the image is shown through the glass at the front, the glass also acts as a barrier to stop the pins coming out!
The silver pins sit in a black plastic board at the back of the 'toy' there are then six pins which enable the glass to be elevated at about 2 inches or so above so that you can push the pins through to make art!
The image will stay in place so long as you don't tip it back down.
Not only can you use your hand/fingers but you can press your face into the pins or use an object. When placed back down you can then display your art with style!
The image is in 3D which makes it so cool.
~ Overall ~
My son loves this, as do I. When he got it he knew what is was and set about making an impression of his ear which turned out really well, his ear was shown in 3D and displayed on the fireplace for a couple of hours until he shook it out to try something else. The glass at the front is very thick and strong and hasn't scratched at all despite us all using it, my children will often play with this and then the 3D image will be displayed on a shelf in my sons room until he is bored of it.
I went for the Science Museum one as I found it reasonably priced in a local retro type store for £7.99. There are many other makes available and they all do the same thing, however I can say that this one is really good and has had lots of use without showing any signs of wear at all.
This particular pin art has a size of -
Height 17.5cm, Width 12.5cm, Depth 5cm.
It's a really cool, quirky & retro toy that will transport you back to your childhood!
I remember being really jealous that my cousin had a pin art and I didn't and then Santa brought me my own and I was over the moon. I am pretty sure that my original one is still in my mums attic so I think a little dig about soon will have to happen!
Thanks for reading :o) x
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