James Spence

At the beginning of the year, with Tiffany pregnant and my Girls in Space comic absorbing a lot of my free time, if you would have told me that I would be starting a major new project around the same time the baby was due, I wouldn’t have believed you.  However, when Toys R Us advertised that they were looking to recruit 10 Toyologists – people who form an elite toy testing force of bloggers, reviewers and toy enthusiasts – I knew I had to apply, and to my great delight, was accepted.

Over the past six months Toys R Us sent me forty different toys to test.  In order to maintain a consistent approach, no matter how big or small I granted each one the same amount of space: one A4 comic page, with accompanying notes.

It has been so much fun to play with all the toys, and each toy box delivery felt like a mini-Christmas.

Elwood was born on the day I was accepted onto the programme and has therefore been part of the programme his whole life.  As such, it has been amazing to watch him learn how to use the toys as he develops himself.  At Baby and Toddler groups he seems very advanced compared to other babies his age and I can’t help but wonder if the number and variety of toys he has helped test has contributed to this.

Drawing this project to a close has made me think about everything we tested.

There have been a few toys that have really stood out from the crowd:

•  The Step ‘n Play Piano by Fisher Price is used on a daily basis ever since we got it months ago.  Elwood has gone from slouching behind the controls to sitting upright to swivelling around in the seat to standing against it and playing it.  It really has been a phenomenal piece of equipment and I cannot recommend it more highly.  This is, simply put, an outstanding toy.

• At the risk of seeming like the Fisher Price fan club, the other clear winner in Elwood’s age group was the Fisher Price Twirlin’ Tumblin’ Fun Park which he adores.  Before we set this toy up Elwood couldn’t support himself sitting up.  Within half an hour of setting this thing up, he was sitting at it mesmerised by everything that was going on.  He might have done this anyway of course, but it certainly didn’t appear that way!  This toy blew him away.  Several months have passed since I reviewed it and he still loves it.  It is always the first toy he plays with in the morning.

• One of my own personal favourites (and I think Charlotte’s too) was the Vectron Wave by Air Hogs which is a really original idea and quite dramatic to watch.  It hovers around the room like a UFO.  It feels like something from the future.  It’s a great toy.

• Tiffany loved the Little Tikes Town Playhouse, a wendy house with a twist – each wall represents a different aspect of a town, including shops, a garage, sports centre, school house, bank, etc.  It’s a very substantial toy and very well thought-out.

I received a lot of generous feedback from readers throughout this project for which I am very grateful.  It seems that the Real Construction Deluxe Workshop was the most popular review, having generated the most traffic, links in and positive comments.  Thank you to everyone who read and commented on this and all the other reviews.

I’d like to wrap things up by saying an enormous thank you on behalf on Elwood, Charlotte, Tiffany and myself to Toys R Us and the team organising the Toyologist programme and in particular Carli who has been a pleasure to deal with.  I’d like to thank all the toy manufacturers who entered into the spirit of the programme.  I’d also like to thank my fellow 2011 Toyologists for their support.  It has been an honour to be a part of this programme and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.

Finally, thanks to my long-necked friend Geoffrey Giraffe and his Facebook page!

Now if you’ll excuse me, Elwood and I have some toys to play with!