Top Toys

Unboxing the toy

The Air Patroller is presented nicely in an open front display box, without a clear plastic screen.   This means you can touch the toy without opening the box in order to press the button and hear the sounds.

It is well secured to the box so arm yourself with scissors if your eager child wants to be able to play with it quickly!

Key features

First and foremost, this toys looks really good.  The handle on top of the vehicle simply invites you to make the Air Patroller soar through the air.  Press the button to add sound effects as you do so.  It’s all very intuitive.

The cockpit opens up to reveal two seats, one of which has slots for the Robo-dog figure (supplied).  There is also a compartment at the back where additional figures (sold separately) can be transported.  Without additional figures, the space can be used for transporting other toys around!

The propellors twist up to transform the plane into a helicopter of sorts (although it’s more like a plane with vertical take-off ability).  The sounds change to helicopter blades in this mode.

Thoughts on the toy

Elwood has watched Paw Patrol before and although he likes the show, if I’m honest, it isn’t a particular favourite.  However, the toy is so good it is difficult not to want to reach for the handle and start flying it around the room!   The cockpit and the compartment provide plenty of scope for imaginative play, even with only one figure.  That said, with more figures it would create more ways to play.

The figure of Robo-Dog looks very much like the character on the show.  The only criticism I have of the toy is that although his head moves, his body doesn’t change pose.

The toy has wheels allowing it to roll along the floor and, of course, take-off and land while in plane mode.

The toy certainly seems sturdy enough to cope with rough play, although we didn’t really put this to the test!

Aftercare

The toy uses three LR44 batteries (supplied), so they may need to be replaced at some point.  Otherwise, it seems like it would be an easy toy to look after as it doesn’t have parts that would be easy to lose.

Toys R Us asked me to review a large version of the Dinotrux dumper truck: Ton-Ton.  As with all my reviews I am not paid for the review although I do get to keep the toy!

Unboxing the toy

The toy comes in an open cardboard box, allowing you to see the toy itself and get a feel for the materials it is made from (plastic).  As the box does not contain a clear plastic screen, you can actually touch the toy without opening the box.

The pieces are held in with string, easy to snip and plastic locks - simple to gain access to the toy.  

There is a blue plate that clips into the dumper to assemble it.  It is easy to insert.  However, we did note that it is not watertight because the dumper isn't a single moulded piece.

The tail (spade) can be inserted into the back the dumper truck to complete the dinosaur look.  Although, full confession, I didn’t realise this until after we’d had it a few days and I came to write the review.

Key features

The dumper truck is large, though not too heavy.  It seems to be quite sturdy although the plastic on the dumper itself feels a little thin.

The tail can be removed from the dumper truck to become a spade.  The handle features a roller that leaves patterns in the mud or sand.  The dumper doesn’t dump properly with the spade in, but that’s no biggie.

Thoughts on the toy As with any basic toy, it can be difficult to come up with lots of exciting new reasons why you should race out to get it.  However, that said, I like this toy a lot.  Most kids enjoy playing with dumper trucks - it’s a classic toy for outdoor play.  If you are looking for an outdoor toy for a 3 to 6 year old, a dinosaur dumper truck with a detachable spade is not a bad choice!  

Elwood thought that the yellow moulded lights at the top should have worked as lights or buttons.  However, when I said to him that it meant the toy would be able to go into mud, sand or water without fear of the electronics stopping working he was happy enough.

Aftercare I’ve not had this toy long enough to say, with certainty, how it will fair over time, but my experience of outdoor plastic toys, generally, is that they discolour and deteriorate.  A metal dumper truck could also deteriorate over time and get some rust on it, but in my opinion that still looks ‘right’, like a real dumper truck.

So, yes, plastic is acceptable, but personally I would rather it was a metal toy.

Toys R Us also sent us this toy to test as part of their Toyology programme.

Unboxing the toy Like the Long Range Upgrade Kit I previously reviewed, the Stealth Ops Upgrade Kit contains a further three cool upgrades which slide or clip into Nerf’s ECS-10 Modulus Blaster.  Again, to be clear, the gun itself is sold separately.  

The kit shares the striking colour scheme of the Modulus.  

Again, the box presents the upgrades nicely, showing you exactly what you can expect to find.  As the box does not contain clear plastic, you can actually touch the toy without opening the box. The pieces are held in with string, easy to snip and gain access to the toy.   Key features These accessories are pretty nifty overall and clip into the various rails on the gun itself.  This kit contains three upgrades: a proximity barrel, folding grip and a red dot sight.  The red dot sight requires batteries.  

Thoughts on the toy The proximity barrel, first and foremost, looks cool.  There, I said it!  I’m not convinced it offers much that is functionaly different to the barrel that comes with the Blaster.  However, it can be used with the Barrel that comes with the ECS-10 Blaster to make a big long (slightly ridiculous looking) gun.  I’ll admit it.  It’s great fun!! 

The folding grip has two positions: up and down.  One for running with the weapon, one for holding and firing.  Again I’m not sure it adds much to the Blaster, especially as it isn’t very comfortable.  I prefer the one that comes with the ECS-10 Blaster.

The Red Dot Sight, does project a red light, but not a pin-point laser light like you see in the movies, more a diffused red mini-torch glow.  It does display a red dot on the target, though which helps you aim upwards.  It kinda works.

Aftercare This kit fits well with the Modulus well and is sturdy enough that I wouldn’t worry about it breaking out there on the front line of the Nerf battlefield!  

Toys R Us sent us this toy to test as part of their Toyology programme.

Unboxing the toy The Long Range Upgrade Kit contains three cool upgrades which slide or clip into Nerf’s ECS-10 Modulus Blaster.  Just to be clear, the gun itself is sold separately.  The Modulus range has a striking colour scheme with bright ‘safety’ orange and a slightly industrial look, that feels a bit sci-fi rather than military.  The box presents the upgrades nicely, showing you exactly what you can expect to find.  As the box does not contain clear plastic, you can actually touch the toy without opening the box. The pieces are held in with string, easy to snip and gain access to the toy.   Key features This upgrade kit does not require batteries (although that is not the case for all the upgrade kits).  These accessories are pretty nifty overall and clip into the various rails on the gun itself.  This kit contains three upgrades: a long range barrel, folding bi-pod legs and a distance scope.   Thoughts on the toy The distance scope doesn’t contain a clear plastic screen, but is open.  It doesn’t bother me either way, but I might have expected it to have a screen.  It has two sets of cross hairs which you  line up against each other and the target.  It works reasonably well, bear in mind the blaster fires out foam darts!  

The folding bi-pod legs are quite good, albeit a little shakier that I would have thought.  Though I suspect that’s on account of the size of the gun with all the components added!  

The long range barrel helps the gun shoot with a little more precision, but perhaps at the cost of a little distance from what I can see, which is slightly ironic in a long distance upgrade kit!

Aftercare Having had the Modulus for a while now, yes there is the matter of finding individual components and darts lying around the house, but it’s no different to any other toy that can be separated into parts.  The Modulus still works a treat and, actually, is still great fun to play with.  

A second gun would be great fun so that the boy and I can have a battle!  

As part of the Toys R Us Toyologist programme I was asked to review a Kinetic Sand set...

Unboxing the toy

The colourful cardboard packaging depicts a large blue tray filled with oodles of sand.  A sandcastle, seahorse, turtle and fish have been shaped, presumably by the four coloured moulds shown in the corner of the packaging.  The box looks bright and presentable although the large amount of text in multiple languages cheapens the overall look somewhat.

Opening the box, you will find that the tray is roughly the size the box.  A smaller white cardboard box sits inside the tray.  Inside the smaller box lives the four moulds and the small bag of purple kinetic sand.

Key features

The sand has a squeezable, slightly odd feel to it.  It clumps together and doesn’t sprinkle even if you attempt to crumble it between your fingers.  Elwood described it as being ‘slow sand’ and this is probably as good a description as I could offer! 

The moulds are small, as is the bag of sand itself.  A second bag wouldn’t go amiss, though, of course, this adds to the overall price of the toy.

As toys go, the ‘sandbox’ is a classic.  It is fun by itself but can be combined with other toys, such as monster trucks or tea sets.  Of course, the real value of a toy like this is how obviously it feeds a child’s imagination. 

Thoughts on the toy

Elwood, aged 4, had a lot of fun with the toy and has gone back to it to play some more.  He was keen to experiment with the moulds and had great fun trying to persuade us that one of the moulds had ‘gone missing’ although there was a suspiciously large lump in the sand that he insisted we couldn’t look in.

The one upside of having only a small amount of sand is that there is less sand to make a mess!  In fact, because of the clumping nature of the sand, it actually was a lot easier to clean up than ‘normal’ sand would be.

I am aware that other colours of sand are available, so if I were to buy a refill bag, I would probably buy a different colour (even though I am aware the two would soon be mixed never to be separate again!

Aftercare

If the tray had a lid, it would be better for storage.  However, it’s no biggie as we just poured the sand into a freezer bag and clipped it shut. 

Final words

Unboxing the toy

The bright packaging of the box presents Leap Frog’s activity tracker very nicely, with the band itself on full display within the box.  The Leap Band is  white with a colour accent and is available in different colours.  The one that Toys R Us sent us to review was orange (which I think most boys or girls would be happy with).  It’s modern design gives the impression of a high end gadget.   Elwood’s first impression was one of wanting to wear it immediately!   

Opening up the box, the band is held in place by a piece of plastic visible when looking at the box so there are no surprises in trying to gain access to the toy.  

Key features

The wearable motion tracking band logs movement in a way that encourages kids to play activity.  It has very simple controls which most children in the 4 to 7 year old age range should find straightforward and intuitive. The LCD hi-res colour screen is 1.44 inches diagonally.  It seems well made and tough.

As a parent I was very pleased to see it uses a rechargeable battery and is charged through a USB port on your computer.

The tracker encourages active play with 50 games or challenges focused around a virtual pet.  There are eight pets to choose from, including a monkey, a dragon and a panda.  Youngsters earn points and unlock rewards for being active, caring for their pet and completing challenges.

When you connect the Leap Band to a computer, parents can set limitations for play and select additional games to install.  There is a silent mode ad you can deactivate the games at night or during school hours.

Thoughts on the toy

Elwood tells me the band is comfortable and not too heavy to wear.  It’s a very neat wee toy. The strap is the right size for the age range, but I certainly couldn’t wear it as an adult.

Many of the games involve three buttons so there’s nothing too complex.  There are lots of things to discover within the device so it should keep a child entertained.  Actually, even after the ‘new toy’ novelty starts to wear off, I would imagine Elwood will keep going back to it as he has with his Leappad. 

You can customise your pet’s colour and name.  The graphics are very good and friendly.  Having played with several of the animals, Elwood likes changing them around and often says that they are ‘cute cute’.

Connected to the PC you can see how your child is doing.  I really like how you can limit play times with it and, yes, I admit it, there are times I am really appreciative of silent mode!

The battery life is pretty good.  Depending on use, you can go a couple of days, maybe three. 

Regardless of the motion tracking stuff, just having a watch is something of a novelty and this watch has analogue and digital modes and a timer.  Elwood loves this as it shows times passing in large friendly numbers.  If you were thinking of buying a watch for your child anyway, I think this crams a lot of entertainment value in with it.  

Aftercare

The toy is quite compact and therefore would be easy to store but Elwood often wears it (when it isn’t charging).  It seems quite durable and tough.

Final words

As part of the Toys R Us Toyologist programme, I was asked to review the Nerf Modulus ECS-10 Blaster...

Unboxing the toy As the centerpiece of Nerf’s new Modulus range, the ECS-10 Blaster is exciting from first glance.  It’s large with a striking colour scheme and a futuristic design that any self-respecting kid would love.  Elwood’s first impression could be summed-up in one word, “Awesome!”    When I saw the gun and all the component parts, I must confess my first thought was of gun parts taking over my house as so many other toys do!  However, there is some comfort in the fact that the gun is certainly cooler with all the parts attached so hopefully that’ll remain its default.   Opening up the box, the pieces are held in with pieces of string, easy to snip and gain access to the toy.   Key features The first thing we discovered was that it requires 4 x AA batteries.  As luck would have it we had some in stock.  The batteries power a motor which builds up the power to launch the darts.  After a first shot, we rapidly came to the conclusion it was going to be an outside toy!   The accessories are actually a pretty cool touch, especially when you see that it is part of a range of toys with interchangeable parts.  The five rails allow parts to slide into place.  The toy includes a precision scope, shoulder stock with integrated clip storage, dual-rail barrel extension, drop-down grip, banana clip and ten Elite Darts.   It is nice that although this gun can be used with additional accessories you don’t feel like you have an incomplete toy to begin with (as I’m  sure many parents will have experienced with toys that are part of a ‘range’). Thoughts on the toy There was a reasonable amount of play time with this gun, but undoubtedly having two guns would further open up the possibility for a Nerf War.  Alone, it is still fun setting up targets and configuring the gun in different ways. One thing to bear in mind is the firing range.  Our back garden is not huge and the chances of all the darts remaining at our side of the fence were always going to be small! Aftercare The toy is easy to store if the pieces are assembled, but the scope to find random darts all over your house and garden is pretty huge!  We’ve used the toy on and off for around a week and the batteries are still going but, of course, your mileage may vary! Final words Overall, we were all very pleased with the toy.  For the action-packed kid or Nerf warrior in your life, the gun is strongly recommended.  

It's been a while since I posted a toy review comic as part of the Toys R Us Toyologist programme.  However, I was asked if I would test Leap Frog's Mobile Med Kit and I was happy to do so.

The med kit is one of these 'two toys in one' type of deals.  Not only do you get a set of toy medical instruments but also you get the holder, which in this case is a sturdy, push-along Ambulance. 

One of the nice things about this med kit over other med kits is the vehicle.  Whereas a normal med kit is best when there are two kids playing, the vehicle also allows for solo play.

This is a very friendly, pleasant toy, which works well and looks good. 

Read With Me Scout is an interactive reading toy made by Leapfrog.  The toy includes one talking dog and five books.  

Press a button on Scout's collar and he reads the corresponding book.  There are two modes: Sleepy Time where Scout reads the story and Story Time where Scout stops to ask comprehension questions.  Patting the dog's head prompts him to read the next page.

However much I believe it is better to read to your child yourself, the concept of the dog reading to your child is not necessarily a bad idea.  Since he got it, our son has often chosen to play with Scout first thing in the morning before anyone else has gotten up. We even hear him answering the questions.

The toy is well made and looks good.  The voice is clear and the controls to turn the page are appropriate for a toddler.  The stories themselves are pretty basic however.

So, here we are, the final toy we have been asked to review as part of the 2012 Toys R Us Toyologist programme.

In many ways the Play & Learn Mothers & Babies game is a straightforward 'Match the Animals' game.  However, I feel that to describe it so plainly is to do it a disservice.

A toy like this is only as good as the artwork, and in the case of the Mothers and Babies game it really is good.  The drawings are old-fashioned, friendly and colourful.  There is a lot of joy to be had from just looking at the images.

The idea that only the correct combinations link together is a nice touch.  It confirms to a child that they have correctly paired the animals together.

At 18 months Elwood has a lot of fun with this game, and as parents, we have a lot of fun helping him with it.

Baba Yellow is one of the characters in the CBeebies hit television show Cloud Babies.  She (and for that matter all the main characters) have been released as colourful, friendly, talking dolls.

As Cloud Babies is a show Elwood enjoyed watching, we were excited to review Baba Yellow when Toys R Us sent us a doll as part of the Toyology programme.

The doll has a plastic face and a fabric body which is soft.  It isn't too heavy and can stand being knocked around.

The seven phrases Baba Yellow says are very much in keeping with the character on the television show.  However, if you had bought the doll not knowing it was part of a television programme you might wonder what a Fluteytoot is.

The doll is very cute.  If your child loves the show, of course, they would be drawn to the doll.

As far as my son is concerned, his interactions with it were typical of any doll or soft toy he has been given.  He'll play with it for a while but doesn't tend to go back to it regularly.  But that's just him.  He's into vehicles.

If I was to compare this to other dolls we have reviewed, I would say that it would benefit from accessories.  The Fluteytoot or the bag she wears on the show would be obvious things that could enhance the toy.

Overall though, it is a nice little doll and would make a fine addition to a Cloud Babies fan's toy box.

The Winnie the Pooh Spin 'n' Play Acorn Train is a colourful, pleasantly presented toy for toddlers aged 12 months and up.  As you would expect it features Winnie the Pooh and two of his friends.

When you pull the train, the characters spin around.  It works well.

Because the child has to do something to get it to work, it encourages active play, particularly where a child is just starting to walk.

It is nice that the figures are good representations of the iconic Disney characters.  This would make the toy appeal to any Winnie the Pooh fan.

This toy would make a good gift as it feels quite substantial and looks really cute.  I imagine this toy will be making a lot of toddlers happy on Christmas morning.  It is quite enchanting.

Dolls are not really my area of expertise.  They're also not my one and a half year old son's area of expertise.  Even when we describe them to him as 'baby action figures'.  I guess he's just not the target market for this product.

That said, the Baby Annabell 'action figure' is actually a very good doll.  If creating a realistic representation of a baby with lots of ways to interact with her is the goal, then this doll scores highly.

The cooing, gurgling and other baby sounds play constantly though, of course, only when the batteries are in!  However, they are pretty authentic sounding and add an element of realism to the doll.  However it isn't the sounds that are the most striking element of the doll, it's the bottle drinking action.  Baby Annabell's mouth moves as though she is sucking on the bottle, and her eyes slowly close, making it seem as though you have soothed her to sleep.  It works pretty well.

The other good thing about this doll is that you get a good few bits and bobs in addition to the doll, including both a bottle and a dummy.

I may not know a lot about dolls, but even I can tell that the Baby Annabell doll will be making lots of little girls happy this Christmas.  It really does seem like a top quality toy.

A bouncer is a great tool to have at your disposal when you have a new baby.  You can pop them into the seat and you are free to do the million and one other bits and bobs you need to also take care of.

The Animals of the World Playtime Bouncer is a great example of a bouncer, loaded with plenty of features.

The bouncer has nice graphics, bright colours and seems soft and comfy.  Being a neutral design, it means that if your family should expand (or if you wish to pass it on to friends or family) you have the most flexibility.

The packaging is slightly TARDIS-like, squeezing the bouncer into quite a compact box.  I was very happy with the size of the bouncer once unpacked and assembled.  I'd recommend assembling it away from 'helpful' toddlers.

The friendly lion and monkey on the detachable bar are a nice touch, adding a cute dimension to the bouncer.  The Elephant and Hippo which hang below are appealing and colourful.  The music, which plays in short bursts, is actually pretty good.

All in all, it's just about the best bouncer in the jungle!

It is fair to say that the Animagic Glamour Pet, Ruby, is not the type of toy that we would have bought for Elwood.  So when Toys R Us sent us one for review, I just couldn't guess how Elwood would react to it.

Elwood, in fairness, did attempt to play with it and liked activating the noises it made.  However, it didn't hold his attention for long.  i would imagine his reaction would be the same as a lot of one and a half year-old boys.  That said, for the right child, a child who loves hair-do's and animals I could see how it would appeal.

For me, the  enslaught of pink accessories was a lot to take in, but I know Animagic have other animals in the range which use a wider colour palette and, personally, I think look better.

The accessories and sounds that Ruby make, make it clear that this dog is designed for pampering and grooming.  In many ways it feels like a complete toy as you wouldn't feel that you would need to go out and buy additional accessories to get the most out of it.  In this sense I think it would make a nice gift.

So, while it clearly isn't the right toy for Elwood, I do believe there are plenty of children out there who would consider it the right one.

Raa Raa the Noisy Lion is a popular children's television character.  The design of the character, his friends and the environment that they live in is very distinctive and beautiful.  So when I saw that Raa Raa's Interactive Playset is true to the look of the show, I was pleased before I'd even taken it out of the box.

I'm not sure if this is relevant to the review but the first thing that the plastic treehouse reminded me of was a toy from my childhood:  The Weebles Treehouse!

Raa Raa's treehouse comes assembled and ready to play with.  It has a lot of good features: the hot spots which activate sounds, the leafy canopy which lifts to reveal Raa Raa's Cubby Buggy, the swing and the front door.  These features combine to make a toy which provides a platform for lots of different play scenarios.  However, to get the most out of the toy I would suggest that additional characters are something of a must.

The ladder and drums provided with the toy should be considered purely decorative as, to be honest, I would rather that an additional character had been provided rather than these.  I would have liked the inside of the treehouse to be a bit more detailed so that it looked a bit more substantial.

All in all though, it is a good toy with good ideas.  Overall, this toy does seem to be barking up the right tree!

From the moment we saw that a Thomas toy was being sent to us for review, we were thrilled.  Elwood is an enormous fan of Thomas and the Steam 'n Speed R/C Thomas from Fisher Price was always going to be a hit with him purely because of that particular cheeky little train!  However, we were surprised at just how good the toy is.

Thomas the Tank Engine is a character who originally appeared in the 1940s Railway Series books by Reverend Wilbert Awdry.  The original series of books had an ensemble cast with no single train intended to be the main character.  In fact, Thomas doesn't appear in the first book.  However, he was the most popular with readers and so when a television series was created, it was named Thomas and Friends, placing the focus on him.

It actually wasn't a show that I, myself, watched regularly as a child (although when I did see it, my favourite character was always my namesake James, the Red Engine).  From what I remember of it as a child, the engines were quite snide and rude to each other and that put me off it.  However it looks like the show's producers have since phased this aspect out.  To see Thomas and Friends now, the main characters are all buddies who support each other.  It's much better now in my opinion.

We often read Elwood the books and he is able to identify the main characters (and a lot of the others too!).  Elwood doesn't have many Thomas toys, so we were understandably thrilled that Toys R Us would ask us to review such a substantial Thomas product.

...and it really is a substantial and impressive model of Thomas.  The combination of remote control, sounds, speed and steam make this toy feel very well thought-out.

To get steam from Thomas you fill a little compartment with distilled water.  A little plastic pipette is supplied for this purpose.  It fits into a section on the underside of Thomas so you don't lose it.

Thomas's remote control is (I think) an infra-red signal and receiver, which means that it works better if you are not in direct sunlight, so this is an indoor toy.

If Fisher Price were to further develop this line of Thomas toys, the only suggestion I would make would be the addition of some carriages.  With any train set you want to have the train pulling something.  As a customer it would be what would make me choose a remote controlled train over a remote controlled car.  Just saying.

Either way it is a really enjoyable toy.  Full steam ahead!