We started working on the award notifications this week…as more products keep pouring in. Still waiting for our safety verification form to be returned from several companies before we can finalize our list. We also got a walk through the new website–it’s going to be great!
The Spinmaster RC Air Hog Switchblade — has gotten a lot of buzz lately. It was featured on Letterman–where happily for the company and our friend Shannon…it worked on air–much to the delight of the audience (and Dave).
So we were eager to give this one a try. The results were decidedly mixed. If the Switchblade is fully charged, there is no wind–and you’re relatively skilled with these types of toys–it goes up and will fly–and it is extremely cool. Now here’s the down side–we could only get it to do what it’s supposed to do two or three times in the course of a full afternoon of testing. This is not a load it up, charge it, take out and fly it kind of toy — it requires much more finesse.
After having several teens try it with limited success — (they all really wanted it to work)…in come my two adult engineering friends (one designs drone helicopters and the other has a degree in nuclear engineering). Nothing like watching grown men get very excited about these types of toys. I shared the reports of the day—and they both were not satisfied. They were sure that they could get it to work. After about a half-hour of consulting –they both gave in and concurred with their younger counterparts. “Great idea, poor execution.” They then offered a much more detailed report about why it wasn’t working. (I love these guys. I remember when we first started toyportfolio.com, one dad (he worked for Dupont) sent back a ten page review of an Erector set with design modifications!)
One of my go to teen testers told me that he often reinforces the very lightweight material with some duck tape–so that crashes are less likely to do permanent damage to the toys. I thought that info was worth passing on–of course, he warned that if you don’t put it on the right way you can blow the whole aerodynamics of the toy. Of course!
So even though this toy can be fantastic…in the end, it can not sustain the wow factor.
The Max Liquidator from Prime Time Toys is great fun for the pool. Unlike many other water shooting type toys, the spray in this one is not as harsh–making it a safer choice. It also looks more like a water toy -rather than a plastic assault gun. I personally love the kickboard that has the mechanism built in…allowing you to surprise your kids when they think you’re just just floating around.
LEGO has been a consistent winner of our top Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award each year–often with multiple winners. This year will be no exception–except in one category.
When we were at Toy Fair in February we were really excited to see a renewed commitment to the DUPLO line–designed for kids 2 & up. There were Fire Stations, Trucks, Zoos…all great fun and we knew our preschool testers would love giving them a try.
Each set has arrived and while they are wonderful for 3s & up, we are concerned about the size of some of the pieces in these sets for kids under three. While most of the pieces are big and chunky, we found one or two pieces that caused concern. Let us be clear, all of the pieces meet current government guidelines. Each of the pieces in question (see images below) extend outside of the “choke tube” and therefore are completely legal. We wondered though–why make these pieces so close? The CPSC recommends that parents use a toilet paper roller as a home test…all of these pieces fail under this test.
So we asked the team at LEGO whether there was a design or developmental advantage to having two year olds handle such small pieces and why the pieces were so close to the edge. Here is their response:
We always make effort to have play imitate life, so the size of the suitcase is proportionate to the DUPLO figure. We would not include an accessory that could potentially cause harm to a child or that does not pass the CPSC standard for small parts and age grading as regulated by the official choke tube test. The accessory does not fit completely into the choke tube and use and abuse testing reveals that it also does not break into small parts that will fit completely in the tube. While we understand the “home” test potential of the toilet paper tube, it is not a regulated means by which to measure safety as it has no bottom to mimic a real-life scenario.
*Since we asked this question about the DUPLO Zoo, we have received several other set that raise similar issues for us.
While we appreciate that the idea of scale is important–we’d side on the up-scaling or eliminating these items for this age range. The working light piece on the top of the truck (one of the coolest aspects of the garbage truck–and also in the fire station set) could have been attached to a bigger piece, the fireman’s ax could be attached to his hand, the same with the pitchfork…you get the idea. The flower and the fish…just look so inviting.
All of these products would have been Platinum Award contenders if not for these small pieces. We do recommend them for preschoolers–but unfortunately we don’t feel comfortable with the existing age label. If you buy one of these sets and you have a child under three or a child who still mouths his toys…remove those pieces that concern you and you’ll be left with a engaging product.
We hope LEGO will remodel these “close” pieces. Last year, after our concern over STEP 2’s hot dogs (that came with some of their kitchens)…the hot dogs were redesigned…so that the hot dog is now encased in a bun–making it a much wider and safer prop for play.
Below are some of the pieces, in our opinion, that are unnecessarily too close for comfort. Again–completely within the law, but we see no reason for them to be this size.
As we’re wading through all of the new toys that will be vying for your toy dollar come December, I was just thinking how much fun blowing bubbles can be. I’m not sure why I keep focusing on bubbles, but for the past few days, I’ve really wanted to play with some bubbles.
When you’re really little there’s the excitement of watching bubbles being blown by others and chasing them down–and as you get a bit older there’s the ultimate satisfaction of making your own bubbles. Now I find it really pleasing because it is such a pure play experience-no batteries, no instructions…you’re good to go. Come to think of it, that’s probably why it’s on my mind so much–many of the toys we’ve been looking at this week are very high tech. Not that there’s anything wrong with high tech toys–but none of them deliver what bubbles do. You make something so beautiful and then, in a matter of moments, watch it as it floats away….lovely really.
I loved the pink and blue plastic jars of bubbles –with the wand. Remember those? The way the bubble solution always found it’s way to my hands…it was just fun- unless of course I knocked it over…and then there were tears! The picture below is from one of my birthday parties (my brother James is on the left). That is not me in the background, but I do remember that ride-on.
For this new generation, bubbles are a whole new experience–thanks in large part to the folks at Little Kids–the inventors of the No Spill Bubble Tumbler…no more tears from an accidential spill. No more sticky fingers from trying to get the wand out of the solution.
They have them now in all sizes–the little ones make great party favors!
Now for super big bubbles–I’m a huge fan of the BeeBoo Big Bubble Mix Kit from Extreme Bubbles, Inc. You can watch my demo on the TODAY SHOW last year. I’ve also noticed that it doesn’t matter how old people are–they love trying this toy out. Even my most reserved teen age (and mostly retired) toy testers love this product.
We’ve always been big fans of Scratch Magic from Scratch Art Co. — it’s a fun craft activity that’s easy to explore and works for a range of ages. You start off with a black sheet and with the enclosed wooden stylus–you scratch off the black to reveal the print or colors hidden beneath the blank overlay. You can draw your own design or use the enclosed stencils. This deluxe set, Wacky Scratch Deluxe Kit $15.99, comes with sixteen drawing boards (trust me you will want to try this yourself), stencils and three frames for displaying your work. They also make travel sized sets— useful and easy to take along when you need your kids to be entertained, sitting down and quiet (at least for a little bit!). You can also buy this bigger kit and break it up into small sets to dole out as you go. Also a good to choice to have in your office for when your kids drop by and you have some work to do.
Chickyboom from Blue Orange Games is a fun balancing game that appealed to our school age testers (and their parents). Most balancing toys like this ask players to add pieces – here you take away chicks, bales of hay and wagon wheels…they all have different weights and will affect the balance of the perch. Points are assigned for each of the play pieces–the players with the greatest point value (when the rail finally falls over) wins. Easy to learn –and fun to play. The company says that each round takes about 1o minutes. Our parent testers gave this one a thumbs up. We’re giving this one an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award. A solid gender free choice for kids 4 & up.
This friendly PushAlong Dog from ImagiPLAY is just right for toddlers that love have wheel toys but are not ready for cars that have small parts. He doesn’t make any sound–also a welcomed novelty these days! There’s also a really cute yellow duck, greencar, and red cat in this line. All $14.99.
I’m pretty old school when it comes to wooden trains. Having watch kids play with trains sets for a long time, they usually don’t need a lot of bells and whistles. Several years ago (before all the lead issues), train makers were looking for ways to compete with all the electronic toys–so there were lots of trains with lights and sounds. They were ok, but truth be told if you have a child really in the train zone they provide their own scenarios and excitement. So I was pretty skeptical when Learning Curve announced voice recognition technology for their new set, Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway-The Great Discovery Set. I have to say–it is pretty amazing. Sir Topham Hatt greets the trains by name as they go through the station…how does he know? While one of our testers was amused (not amazed) with this aspect of the toy, what I loved was that he continued to play with the setting in a very traditional manner. The technology did not take over the play experience–it enhanced the play possibilities.
Trains are a wonderful puzzle–which is why I do not recommend gluing down tracks or being wed to a train table. Train tracks can take all different turns — I’ve also observed that 4 year olds are better at making train tracks work than most adults. Watch your child as they work out how to make the tracks connect–it’s really one of those moments to enjoy.
This 35 piece set comes with enough for making a figure eight, the Great Waterton Station, Morgan’s Mine, Thomas and Stanley. The trains and accessories are sold separately so you can them to your existing trains. The sound levels are set very high when you demo them in the box–the good news, you can turn down the volume. With BRIO all but gone from the US market–it’s nice to see Thomas the Tank back with all engines a go.
We’re in countdown mode here for the new STAR TREK movie (yes I already have my tix for the IMAX) — so I was happy to see these new dolls cross my email (I haven’t seen them in person yet). I really hope the movie is good.