James Spence

Author – Cartoonist – Toyologist – Dreamer

Archive for August, 2011

Real Construction Deluxe Workshop

August 14th 2011 Posted at Toys
2 Comments

A huge part of the fun of being a Toys R Us Toyologist is not knowing what I’m going to be sent to play with.  I find myself playing with toys I would never have considered buying, and this was certainly the case with the Real Construction Deluxe Workshop.  However, I was very pleasantly surprised…

The toy has a lot of parts between tools, ‘wood’ and nails/screws, so it feels like a substantial kit once you open the box.  The instructions for building the various projects look more like guidelines than precisely measured blueprints, so it’s a fairly rough and ready approach, but I think it’s a better toy because of it.

One of the drawbacks of using ‘kid wood’ rather than wood is that the projects are not really built to last.  Because it is, essentially, packaging foam, you can’t paint the models.  I did wonder whether balsa wood would have been a more versatile material.  I guess that might crank up the price though.

The toy is really good fun and is both a creative and educational toy.  Real Construction, you’ve… uh… nailed it!

Real Construction Deluxe Workshop is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 6 years +

Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket by Leapfrog

August 13th 2011 Posted at Toys
2 Comments

The Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket that Toys R Us sent me to review as part of the Toyologist programme took me by surprise.  I mean, it’s a picnic basket, right?  How good can it be?  Well folks, this is no ordinary picnic basket.  This is an educational, entertainment masterpiece!

The toy is aimed at toddlers and, as luck would have it, our friends’ daughter Hollie’s 2nd birthday coincided with the review!

The toy seems to have a lot going on between the fourteen accessories, the large number of sounds and the design of the basket itself.  The electronics are discreetly placed in the bottom of the basket but don’t take up much room so it can hold all the accessories and more.

If I had to suggest one improvement it would be to ask those brainy boffins at Leapfrog to find a way of the basket giving feedback, i.e. if it asks for a biscuit, it tells the child if they have correctly put a biscuit into the basket.  At the moment if it asks for a biscuit and the child places a ceremonial mahogony pilchard in it, they’d never find out they were wrong!

It really is a good product.  I’m sure Hollie will have a lot of fun with it for a long time to come.

The Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket is available from Toys R Us


My Own Leaptop by Leapfrog

August 11th 2011 Posted at Toys
6 Comments

Toys R Us recently sent me two Leapfrog toys to review.  The first was My Own Leaptop, a pretend laptop for very young children.  It is a pleasant looking toy shaped to resemble a small portable computer and includes a keyboard (arranged in alphabetical order), a small monochrome display and a switch (shaped like a mouse) to select the play mode.

The Leaptop has some clever circuitry allowing you to personalise it, or so I thought…

By drawing attention to Elwood’s name not being on the list, you might think I’m being a little unfair.  Elwood is certainly not a common forename (in fact I believe there was only one Elwood born in the UK in 2010).  However, his nickname Woody is more popular and was also not on the list.  I guess Woody Allen, Woody Harrelson and even Woody Woodpecker wouldn’t be able to customise their My Own Leaptop experience either.  When a name does not appear on Leapfrog’s list, the personalisation tool claims that you can still have the toy display the child’s name, but just won’t say it.  However, I couldn’t get it to work.  The support does allow you to suggest names for future inclusion, so I have put forward Elwood and Woody for consideration.

The email option allows you to select a sender and choose from a handful of messages (so I could add an email from Charlotte to Elwood saying ‘I love you so much’, for example).  There are only a few choices of email messages - I wish you could add my own though.

The Animal Mode asks a question for each letter pressed, but as highlighted in the comic, there are some letters of the alphabet where there isn’t a particularly obvious animal.  “Which animal has a long neck?”  If you said Giraffe, you’d be wrong – it’s vulture!

I feel as if I’m being a little harsh on the toy and I know it’s unfair because the Leaptop is actually very good fun to use.  With each key on the keyboard doing something different in each of the three modes, it means there is a lot of opportunities for play without going through the same thing too often. I do believe it’s very good value for money and if I was buying a gift for a toddler, I would give some serious thought to this (as it falls squarely in the category of ‘looks like I spent a lot more than I actually did!’). 

Yes, nice one Leapfrog.  Now, how about updating that list?

My Own Leaptop is available from Toys R Us in Green or Purple


Toy Dyson Competition

August 2nd 2011 Posted at Blog
91 Comments

Thanks to Toys R Us and the Toyology Programme, I have one Dyson Vacuum Cleaner toy to give away as a competition prize.

 

Dyson DC14 Vacuum Cleaner

Real life scaled down replica toy version of the Dyson DC14 vacuum cleaner, great for realistic fun role play for children! Features imitation vortex and working vacuum action, it really picks up! Includes tools and detachable wand. Use the detachable suction hose to suck up small paper items.

Please note: Colour may vary from the image shown.

To enter, all you need to do is visit and ‘like’ the Toys R Us Facebook page then leave me a comment telling me you have done so. The Toys R Us UK page regularly posts competitions, news and reviews of toys and, in my honest opinion, is a great page to subscribe to.

The competition closes at 6pm (GMT) on Monday 22 August 2011.  The winner will be drawn at random and asked to provide their address and phone number (for the purpose of sending out the prize only).

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries.

Facebook has no affiliation or responsibility for this competition.

The toy will be sent directly from Toys R Us at the beginning of September.

No alternative is available. No cash equivalent.

UK entries only.

Good luck!

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