 |
Hot Wheels Toy Story 3 Rex Rider
by princesschickpea
Like any house with small boys, we have an extensive collection of Hot Wheels cars. When these Toy Story 3 themed vehicles were spotted on a trip to Smyths, we decided to treat our kids to one each. We got this Rex car, as well as Buzz and Woody themed version. They were priced at around £3.00, which is usually more than I'd be willing ... to pay for die cast cars, but as they are themed, and as a once off purchase, it seemed an acceptable price to pay.
They come in traditional Hot Wheels packaging, with a clear plastic front and simple card back. There were no problems getting them out of the packaging. The front of the pack has a picture of the character the cars are based on, so you get some idea of how the design was achieved. The Rex car is really nice, and of the quality you'd expect from Hot Wheels. It is a yellowy green colour, with a scaly textured finish and it has dino teeth on the front. It has shiny metallic details and is designed like a sports car. It moves very easily on hard surfaces (we haven't tired it on carpet), and while it isn't friction powered and doesn't have any kind of bells or whistles, it's a really nice addition to my sons' Hot Wheels collection.
There are plenty of others in this range, including little green alien, Lotso the bear and army men styled vehicles. They are definitely eye-catching and unique and my sons certainly favour them over some of their more basic cars. However, the price is a little much for simple cars, which is the only reason it doesn't get five stars.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Wow Toys Off-Road Ollie
by princesschickpea
I'd never heard of Wow Toys before, and haven't even seen their products on the shelves in the toy shop. Maybe I had been over looking them when faced with so many other brands. However, a friend of ours bought this set for our son's 2nd birthday, as his name is Ollie and he's mad about cars. Couldn't get more appropriate than that! And ... I have to say, I am now very impressed with Wow Toys.
This was tough to get out of the box (so many twisty ties!) but once out there was a bit of a battle between my three sons over who would get to play with it first! The colours are lovely and vibrant, and the cars are made from quality plastic and have a bit of weight to them that made me confident of their durability. The trailer attaches to the car with a magnet, so no fiddly catches to frustrate the kids! The back of the trailer goes up and down, so as the motorbike can be driven onto it, and there is a button on the side of the car to pop open the lid so the driver can be put inside. The figure is pretty basic, with no moving parts, but is colourful and cheerful and perfectly suited for young children. The car is friction powered, which my son has yet to get the hang of, but should be a breeze for slightly older children. It's a great size for children's hands, and it has withstood many knocks and falls in our house without the plastic cracking or breaking. And best of all, no batteries! Which means it has no lights or sounds (which is a good thing in my book) but it is still a much loved and often played with toy.
The recommended age for this set is 18 months - 5 years and there are plenty of other sets in this range that compliment each other. Our son will probably be getting another set or two from Santa, though I will be shopping around. The RRP on Off Road Ollie is £16.99, and while I think it is a great toy, I feel that's a bit expensive for what it is (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.) Overall, I would recommend this set and Wow Toys in general, but would advise you to try to find the best price online before buying.
Read the complete review |
 |
Big City Heavy Duty Dumper Truck
by pootlegirl
My son was given this dumper truck for his second birthday (those of you that regularly read my reviews be warned, this is the first of many toy vehicle reviews! Apart from one jigsaw, every single present was a vehicle).
I couldn't tell you who was more excited when he opened it, him or my friend's 10 year old son! In fact, ... there were a fair few Dads at the party that you could tell were itching to have a go (and I think each and every one of them did at some point during the day!)
This is an all singing, button pressing, parts moving truck......so, not really my cup of tea!! In fact it has so many features that I don't really know where to start! Maybe I should start with the one that seemed to excite all the boys the most (and I'm including the Dads here!). The truck comes with a little wheely bin which has a small plastic flap on the front of it. This flap fits into a slot on the truck (just behind the drivers cab). Next to the slot is a lever. When you lift the lever up the bin moves up the side of the truck, curves over the top (see image above) until it is upside down over a hole on the top of the truck, gravity causes the lid to fall open and anything that is inside the bin is deposited into the back of the truck! You then press the lever down and the bin is returned to the ground again. Now, the level of excitement this caused the 10 year old (and the dads!) was impressive! He instantly started rolling up little balls of wrapping paper to fill the bin. Up the bin went, the rubbish fell into the truck, the little button at the back of the truck that pops open the end of the truck was pressed and yes, the little bits of wrapping paper were in the back of the truck! "Wow! This is SOOOOO awesome! Mum, I've got to have one of these!" exclaimed the 10 year old! And this is a boy who you can't normally drag away from the ipad! Admittedly, I think his request was a bit tongue in cheek, but he did play with the truck for quite some time!
There is also a large button on the top of the truck which when pressed alternates between the sound of an engine starting and the beeping of a truck reversing. It also makes the orange lights on the front and the sides of the vehicle flash on and off. These lights also flash when the button on the drivers side of the cab is pressed, and again this activates two noises which alternate, one is possibly the sound of rubbish falling into the truck, the other......hmmm, I'm really not sure what it is! A mechanical, engine mish mash of noises is the best way I can describe it!
The whole of the back of the truck lifts away from the cab to tip the rubbish out. So far we have been doing this by giving it a tug. It seems strange that a toy with so many buttons doesn't have one to do this, but if it does we have yet to find it!
The vehicle was already decorated with stickers (unlike some toys where you have to apply the stickers), some of these are safety/warning stickers, others are images of buttons/dials. The cab windows are blacked out and the doors do not open which is a shame in our case as my little boy loves putting people in to drive his vehicles (we have a wooden bus full of little wooden passengers so we have plenty of people to go around!). The truck itself seems reasonably well made, though already has an annoying squeak when the wheels go round! So far it has proved a popular addition to my sons fleet of vehicles, though at just two years old he hasn't played much with the bin lifting aspect of it, mainly because it is too fiddly for him to attach the bin by himself. He likes the buttons which activate the sounds and he likes opening the back and putting other cars in it! The fact that it is a bin wagon is irrelevant at the moment!
I am not sure how much this truck was, I have done a search online and it doesn't seem to be widely available. I did find it on the Mothercare website for £15 reduced from £30. I do not think this truck is worth £30! But that may be down to my taste in toys, for £30 you could get a beautiful wooden truck that will last a lot longer than this....but it wouldn't have buttons/sounds! So I suppose it depends what you want your children to play with. For all it's features I suppose £15 is a reasonable price. I am struggling with how many stars to give it! Personally I don't like it! But I suppose there isn't actually anything wrong with, and laddo seems to like it and that's who it's for! So I'll go with 4 stars....deducting marks for the doors not opening and the ridiculous RRP!
Read the complete review |
