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Character Options Zhu Zhu Kung Zhu Battle Cold Space
by spiritwood
Since the frighteningly named "Preziosi Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Jilly" gatecrashed my home and took up residence about the person of my rather excitable young daughter, I have unfortunately added several more to the collection. Glutton for punishment some might say but my daughter is thrilled. Now instead of having one of the damn ... things to contend with I now suffer FIVE of them. The latest one to grace my house is "Kung Zhu Battle Hamster Cold Space".
These darn toys are very annoying when solo with their chirps, squeaks and random scuttling but with five I am afraid that we have a small riot on our hands. These things have some form of intelligence it seems and actually COMMUNICATE with each other, cheeping in some secret ninja hamster code and plotting nefariously about the house. They lurk surreptitiously only to shoot across the floor and attempt to kill you by breaking your neck as you fall over them. All of this of course is accompanied by the terrified scratching of cats trying to find a safe spot away from the furry toys of doom, and the maniacal giggling of a small child as she watches you suppress a very rude word for the 15th time that morning.
Welcome to the world of the Zhu Zhu hamster.
Zhu Zhu hamsters are an interactive toy which randomly scoot about in a manic fashion via little motorised wheels on their base. They are also equipped with a range of equally irritating noises which range from the high squeak to what sounds like a very badly recorded short sample of Aqua singing that God awful song "Barbie girl".
They come packaged in a flimsy card casing with instructions and the batteries are included. Each of these hamsters have a name and colour which range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Daughter (nearly 4) chose this one for its "hair" which I admit does like somewhat like a mohican ( think Sique Sique Sputnik in hamster form).
The toys work best on a flat and smooth surface (we have a tiled ground floor which encourages them to be annoying to their full capacity). The instructions warn that fluff or hair in the wheels will hinder movement so carpets and rugs are probably not the best place to play with these. They also find it hard to cope with changes in floor level and twitch rather pathetically when they reach this. On a nice flat surface however, these things are quite nippy and scuttle efficiently across the floor.
We have wised up a bit since "Preziosi Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Jilly" met my German Shepherds mouth (and survived) and keep these out of the way now. However the dog vs hamster incident does show that these toys are sturdy and relatively hard wearing.
All of the ones that we have are much of a muchness in terms of construction and have a soft fur which covers a plastic skeleton. There is a motor to drive the little wheels that make it scoot about and several buttons that can be pressed to enable it make a range of noises and sounds. The movement button is the lower one on the back, there is one above this and the nose is also a button for interactive fun.
The size of this toy is slightly larger than a real life hamster and perfect for small children from 3 plus as it is easy for them to hold and handle. The eyes and ears etc are sturdy and well attached.
"Kung Zhu Battle Hamster Cold Space" is obviously quite hardcore with his funky punky hair and grey fur but I have yet to see him do anything other than get under my feet or chatter enthusiastically to his fellow Zhu's. Child loves him of course and wants more...
Zhu Zhu hamsters vary in colour and type and there are a myriad of plastic accessories to waste your money on such as interactive fun houses and hamster balls. Luckily my daughter does not know about those and if I have my way nor will she. EVER.
GOOD POINTS:
Interactive and amusing
Unpredictable movement and random sounds
Sturdy and reasonably well built
Come in a variety of colours with silly names
The toys interact with each other when there is more than one
Accessories to buy which enhance play
BAD POINTS:
Rather ridiculous, annoying, noisy and skittish
Need to replace batteries.
Lots of plastic tat available to buy
Price varies, we paid £6.99 including postage.
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Character Options Zhu Zhu Winkie
by pmcds
We have two of these little things, a white one and then this black and white cow-patterned one named Winkie. I honestly can't see much of a difference between the two, but they seem to hold great entertainment factor with kids, and having different ones is part of the appeal. They used to be called Go Go Hamsters, but with the emergence ... of Gogos onto the scene a few years ago they changed to be marketed as Zhu Zhu Hamsters instead. Winkie is very active.
One of the main features about the hamsters are their movement, Battery operated, they zoom around the place on the wheels that are on the underneath of a cosy exterior. The flat plastic panel with the wheels also houses a battery compartment to keep it going, although this seems to last forever. The top of the hamster is this well designed and realistic looking hamster with synthetic fur, cleverly etched in black and white and with a button nose and eyes.
It's activated by a simple push of the nose, which you wouldn't be able to tell is depressable when you look at it. I think its design is very good, and I've seen these retail for around the £5 mark, although this particular one, along with the white one, were presents my 9 year old had a few years ago. When you press the button, this sets it off in an exploratory mode where it zips around on its wheels, stopping every now and then and making a mewing sound a bit like a hamster would make. This in itself is quite endearing, but as with the other Zhu Zhu Hamster we have, this after a while becomes extremely annoying. I appreciate the fun factor for kids, but this is ultimately one of those noises which just starts grating after a while.
The problem doesn't necessarily come when your kids are playing with the hamsters, it's more when they put them away. The sensitivity of the nose means that it takes only the most gentle of touches to start it off, and this makes it mew and the wheels turn. If you know where you've put it then this is fine, but 9 times out of 10 I haven't a clue, particularly when our 9 year old tidies up as quick as he can to get back on the computer. Then you have to rely on following the sound to find it and try to deactivate it, which is nigh on impossible unless you remove the battery.
Having the hamsters on their own is rather basic apparently. Using the tracks and other devices that come as part of the range can add to the playability factor, although we only have the two hamsters and these have mysteriously disappeared of late. I can't say I'm too upset about this as they are potentially the most annoying toys our boys have ever played with. I'd say that 3-7 are the ideal ages for these. Our 19 month old probably isn't old enough for them, while our 9 year old has lost interest to a certain extent. Not a toy I'd personally recommend, but this is more to do with my sanity as opposed to my kids' enjoyment.
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Character Options Zhu Zhu Winkie
by wazza115
Whilst sorting through Laurens toys recently, we came across Zhu Zhu Hamster Jilly, the rest of the day was spent laughing and giggling as Jilly 'ran' around the living room floor, crashing into things, getting stuck under the settee and annoying the cat. The following day whilst we were shopping in Home Bargains, I spotted there was a ... selection of other hamsters for £1.99 only so I had to buy one! There were several different ones available, but Lauren choose Winkie.
Winkie is covered in black and white fur, with a little pink nose which when pressed, Winkie starts making his noises! As with all the Zhu Zhu Hamster range, the packaging of the product is yellow and black and Winkie's nose sticks out the end of the box so you can listen to the noises he makes before you buy.
Operating the hamsters is really easy; on his back he has a little button, which has three setting; sleep mode, which means he doesn't do anything, talk mode, which means Winkie just makes squeaking noises, and finally, the most mode of all, explore mode - just place your hamster on the floor and off they go. Explore mode is what provides the most fun, Lauren can literally sit for hours just chasing the hamster around the living room, making little obstacle courses for it, watching it get stuck, reverse and try and find an alternative route. As I said earlier, she loves to chase our cat around the living room with it too!
As with most wheeled toys, Jilly seems to work better on hard flooring however she still works fine on carpets, just a little slower. I would be careful of placing her on a deep pile carpet or rug as the pile may get stuck in her wheels.
The range of Zhu Zhu is enormous, there are loads of different hamsters available, all ranging from £2 - £15, you can buy clothes & jewellery for around £5 each and then larger accessories such as cars, restaurants, tubes etc. I have heard friends say that the accessories are quite poorly made, but as we have never purchased any, I cannot really comment - what I can say it we have had hours of fun without any of these.
The hamster requires 2 x AA batteries which are included, based on my experience with Jilly, these actually last for ages.
You do have to be careful if getting you hair near the hamster when the wheels are turning as it could easily get tangled up - Lauren likes to get quite low down on the floor when playing with them, so I always have to remind her about this. Also, there is a bit of a knack to picking to picking the hamsters up when it it running around the floor; you need to pick it up by the sides, being careful not to put your fingers under the hamster otherwise the wheels might nip your skin.
Overall, I would recommend the hamsters, they have provided lots of fun - more so when we brought two and I would therefore give 5 out of 5 stars.
Thanks for reading.
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