 |
ELC Wooden Click Clack Track
by jrh2
The Early Learning Centre Click Clack Track is a brilliant toy for young children.
Unlike most toys these days it is wooden which I think looks attractive with the simple design. The toy has four sloped tracks which all have grooves on where the car wheels fit. On the edge of each track is a colour that matches the ... cars.
The four cars included are red, green, blue and orange. Although they are cars they just look like a piece of wood with four wheels. They barely resemble a car.
The idea of the toy is to place one car on the top track and it will race down, drop onto the track below and repeat until it reaches the bottom. On the way it makes a click clack sound, as the name suggests.
This toy is really strong and I think it would be very difficult to break. The cars are very small and could get lost so we keep them away from the children unless they ask to play with it. I believe this is the best thing to do as the toy will only work with those specific cars.
This can be bought for £15 from Boots which is quite expensive for what it does but it's worth it.
It is for children over one but most of our children of preschool age have loved it. They sit and play with it for hours and it attracts a crowd with the children. We have to encourage sharing and taking turns as they usually all want the toy to themselves.
I think this is a great toy and I quite like playing with it myself. Surprisingly, it never gets boring watching a piece of wood click clacking to the ground.
Read the complete review |
 |
Fisher-Price Shake 'N Go Disney Pixar Cars 2 Raceway
by Whizz11
This has to be the coolest car race track for little kids that I have ever seen/played with and it was actually my little 14 month old boy at the time who showed us how to work it.
We bought this for my son on Christmas time and of course, my husband had to build it and make it as soon as my son had opened it. The track is ... plastic and easily snaps together and features two loops, one that goes up over a bridge and another that goes under the bridge. I like the attention to detail that they've done with this track as soon of it is made to look like a cobbled road whilst other parts of it are brick and some feature racing go faster stripes. There are also little scenes that attach to the track so you have some shops and building scenes to make it look quite realistic as well as a cool blue suspension bridge.
The set is a Disney Pixar cars track and it came with two cars, a red Lightning McQueen car and an red, green and white Italian looking car. I'm not sure if this car is from the film as I am not very familiar with the movie but the driver talks in an Italian accent as well.
The two tracks mean that these two cars can face against each other. When we first got this set we were not too sure how the cars actually raced as there are no wires attached or joy sticks or anything like that but then my son picked up one of the cars, gave it a bit of a shake, put it down on the track and off it went. I was shocked to see it go so when it stopped I then gave it a go and realised that is what you need to do. Obviously, make sure the on button is switched on on the bottom of the car and then shake it to warm it up. It find it gives it more power if you sort of gently move it from side to side rather than shaking it like a maraca. The more you shake it the faster and longer it will go for so make sure you give it a good go.
On the track there are two red arrows to indicate the start line as well as two gates. Place the car on the arrows and then when it's ready to go, the gates come down and off it goes. The cars move really quickly and hug the track really well and it's really fun to watch them race and see who is going to win. The cars make a lot of noise as they go around and I think this adds to the atmosphere and the fun of the track. The Italian car has some fun phrases, he will say, "See you at the finish line McQueen" and also, " grazie and arrivederci"
The great thing about this track and raceway is that it is fun for little kids, I'm talking 1 and 3, to play with as they can do everything themselves, from revving up the cars to racing them and my son and daughter love playing with this together. It keeps them entertained for quite a while and it definitely a track I recommend.
Read the complete review |
 |
Fisher-Price Disney Pixar Cars 2 Character Lights
by xmum2threex
===The car===
While browsing for my sons Christmas presents I found these cars at Argos reduced to around £6. He loves Disney cars so I decided I was going to pick him one up. There are three versions available Lightning McQueen, Mater, or Finn McMissile and you can ask to see which are in stock and choose between the ... characters. We went for Finn as we have shake and go versions of the other cards which are similar in size. It did say it required 3 AAA batteries which we had to hand, but actually they were already included so it was a case of removing the packaging and it was ready to go.
It resembles the blue spy car well. There are none of the features you would expect to see on Finn, but as it was a toddler car I was expecting this. Most of his spy accessories are small so for this to be a small child friendly toy it is to be expected. The voice is the same from the movie too so it is instantly recognisable to little one. If your child is a fan of the second movie it is sure to be a big hit with them. By pushing the button on top of the car the car will say two phrases from the film. These are the catchphrases of Finn and over within a few seconds. They are not overly loud bit loud enough to be heard while playing. At the same time as activating the phrases the front of the cars bonnet also lifts up to reveal a small light that shines out.
===In use===
The car was a great size a little bigger than I expected. You can tell it is made for smaller hands as the car is made of thick durable plastic, and the shape of the car allows little one to get a good hold on it. The car still remains light enough for a small child to hold for long periods, and I would even say it could be used before the two year age recommendation. The button to activate the lifting of the hood is large and orange so easily usable by smaller hands. You only need to tap the button to get the car working, and there is nothing at all that could cause a danger. The car may open at the front, but it is all designed well so that it cannot catch little fingers.
Durability is ok but not fantastic. The voice is still fully usable after four months of use, and there is no sign of slowing or the batteries running low. We did find that the light stopped working after around 4 weeks. To be honest I am surprised it lasted that long with the amount of time my sons were playing with them. They tend to fly them around in the garden often resulting in it hitting the floor with some force. There is nothing that could cause any danger, and the whole car is still in one piece but the light just gave up. The front of the car still lifts and there are only a few small scratches so this does not affect play in anyway.
My main issue is this just has not been used. My boys still tend to pick the smaller cars up over this one, and it has been barely been out of the cars box since we purchased it. Once the light stopped working it was a broken toy and so interest in it just dropped. I think the simplicity of it is great, but just having two phrases makes you wonder why they bothered adding this feature at all. I think it is more suited to younger children as my two year old son enjoyed it at first, but even he became bored quickly. I think the fact it only has two phrases and the light stopped working quickly put them off. It is a lot larger than the other diecast cars we own so it puts it out of place in stories.
It works well as a car and I think it would actually be better without the interactive features. It rolls freely across the floor and travels some distance when pushed along. It is well made and has suffered a number of crashes with just the light breaking. It runs on carpet just as well as wooden flooring, and it has even been used out of the patio without any wear. The rest of the car is designed perfectly for little hands and I do think it would have been enjoyed more as a larger car. Again I feel it may be enjoyed more if we purchased the other two characters available as it sits out of place against the smaller cars. It is too large to fit on most of the race tracks we own, but my sons did figure out it can be pushed around their shake and go track without any problems. It does not run freely like the shake and go cars, but they still enjoy pushing it around the track.
===Summary===
I would recommend this car if you can get it cheaper than the £9.99 retail price. I think the lower age range could easily be dropped to a year old as it is very well made with nothing that could harm younger children. It is large in size but still light enough to be carried or pushed along the floor. My youngest son who was two when he received this was a lot more interested than my five year old son. It does have a young feel about it and with only two phrases it becomes boring quickly. We thought the light was great but it stopped working quickly which was a shame, and we have tried replacing the batteries with no success. At £5 a car they are reasonable for the price, but I do think £10 each is pushing it a little. This would be perfect for a first car from the range for any Cars 2 fan.
Read the complete review |
