CT was excited because of the nostalgia associated with the franchise, especially for kids his age, who grew up with Andy, Woody, and Buzz. When he was very little, he was obsessed with the original Toy Story movie and he became equally as obsessed with it’s sequel, Toy Story 2, when it was released. He even had a Toy Story bedroom. Lil B is a new generation who is just starting to appreciate the franchise. It was nice for the boys to be able to see it together. So, you can guess what their reaction was when they were told we were receiving the Toy Story Army Men on Patrol Lego set.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about Dom. He never really got a chance to play with these kinds of toys as much as he wanted to, as a kid. So, as a grown man, he is a big kid. He loves toys, especially Legos, as much as the kids do. Dom is also in a wheelchair, because he has a progressive muscle disease, so putting things together can be a daunting task for him. Usually, he just lets the boys put the sets together, because it can take him a while to snap things in place, and they grow bored waiting for him. This set wasn’t huge, so Dom set out to have the boys help him put it together.

CT is a very helpful boy. He was more than willing to find pieces for Dom to snap together. Lil B is too young to realize that this was a big deal for Uncle Dommy Vomit (as he so calls him!), and instant results would not be achieved. Instead, he wandered around the house, coming back every few minutes to ask, “Is it done yet?” He is also too impatient, at this point, to sit and build anything without some help, so Dom and CT would be building it anyway.

You gotta give Dom credit. He was wiping his brow as he put the last piece in place but he did it! You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief as all three of them were glad the building was done. Dom didn’t really care about playing with it. He was just thrilled he’d built something…anything without asking CT to push anything into place! The boys even let me put together the Army men. It was a true, family effort, all around. The boys had way more fun playing with the set together. That’s all Lil B really cared about. They played out scenes from Toy Story and also made up their own. CT has since put this Lego set together and taken it apart multiple times.

While the picture shows a small army jeep, it actually had quite a few pieces to put together. It was a lot more than a few snapped pieces here or there. That’s great because CT especially loves to build. It would have been disappointing if it only took a minute to put together. Even the army men have a few pieces to put together. Despite this being a small set, there was a lot to do to keep all three of my boys busy during the construction of this set and the play that proceeded it.

If you have small kids, you will want to be careful of the Toy Story 3 Army Men on Patrol set. There are many, tiny pieces to put together and those under the age of 2 or 3 face a serious choking threat from them. Little kids shouldn’t even be allowed near this set, and Lego agrees with this assessment, as the set is recommended for ages 6-12. However, a slightly younger child and most older kids will enjoy this set, as well. Lil B turns 6 in July, and he had a blast playing with the set. However, he wasn’t very interested in the actual construction of the set. Adults who like Legos and/or Toy Story will also get a kick out of the Toy Story 3 Army Men on Patrol Set. I know Dom had a great time helping the boys put it together and watching them play.

For those with kids who have a physical disability, but who have minor strength in arms and hands, this set is accessible. There aren’t as many pieces as the big sets, and most of the pieces should go together with minor assistance. Dom struggled occasionally, but always managed to get the pieces together. We always like to mention how accessible toys are for all kids, and this one gets a fairly decent rating for accessibility! In any case, it would be a fun way for parents and kids to put the set together if help is needed.

The quality of Legos is outstanding. They are as durable as they were when I was a kid. When they are built into objects (like Army Jeeps) they hold together well and shouldn’t break with minor bumps or drops. However, rough play is going to break up the set. That is to be expected of Legos. The actual Legos would have to be hit with incredible force to break the pieces, so most kids couldn’t actually break the Legos. They are made of hard plastic too strong for most kids to destroy. They’d just have to rebuild the set if it fell apart during a collision of some sort.

Overall, the entire family had (and continues to have) a lot of fun with the Toy Story Army Men on Patrol Lego Play Set. Dom and CT loved putting it together. CT and Lil B had fun playing with it once it was together, and I had fun watching the boys create memories that will last a lifetime thanks to Lego. The Toy Story Army Men on Patrol Set comes highly recommended.

Technorati Tags: Kids, Family, Toys, Toy Story 3, Legos, Toy Story Army Men on Patrol Set, Building Blocks, Play, Toy Review

Doing Lil B’s birthday bash has exposed me to a number of fun and awesome toys that I probably would not have learned about, otherwise. One of those toys comes from Creativity, Inc and is known as a Smooshie. A Smooshie is a stuffed toy, of sorts, that allows kids the room to design their toy however they want. They can make a normal looking stuffed friend or they can whip up a monster in no time. It’s fun because it allows the kids to change the Smooshie’s look whenever they feel like it. It’s hard to get bored when your toy is constantly changing an evolving.

Before we get into the meat and bones review, I want to say that I think this is an adorably fun toy. I am all for creative play, so I thought this was great. It reminds me of a cloth Mr. Potato Head almost because you can completely rearrange the look whenever you want. Still using the Velcro tabs, this goes a step further by allowing you to move the hair, arms, and legs rather than just swapping them out for other designs. The Smooshie is also cuddly too, which gets it a few extra points.

The biggest downside here is that there is likely to be a limited age range. Young kids are going to adore this, but it’s not going to be something that an older kid will pick up more than a few times. Still, if you’re shopping for the young ones and want something creative that will keep them busy in the car and on the go, this might hit the spot.

Pros:
Fun for parents and children
Promotes Creativity
Promotes Independent Play
Works well as a gender neutral toy
Inexpensive add-ons available
Endless possibilities of what the kids can make

Cons:
None that come to mind

Lil B had plenty of fun playing with his Smooshie. As you can see from his video, he whipped something up pretty quickly. I teased him as he proclaimed…”That’s the best I could do,” but he managed to come up with a few designs once the camera was turned off. We both had a ball playing with this. He likes how you can change it around and make new designs with just a press of some Velcro. Parents will like that you can buy add on pieces for next to nothing.

The only downside is that this is not something that Lil B chooses to play with at all times. There are toys that are considered his “go-to” toys that he always wants around him and then there are things that he plays with occasionally. This is an occasional toy. Considering the price that isn’t too big of an issue. However, if you’re looking for something that will receive everyday use you might want to look for something else if your child thrives on activity and more boy-oriented toys. This would be perfect for the creative, artsy kids though.

When you consider the creative, fun nature of Smooshies, they are going to be great for some kids. More active boys and girls may not be in love with them, but kids that like building toys or toys like Mr. Potato Head, which offer some artsy expression and freedom, will like them quite a bit. Parents will enjoy the excitement in their child’s eyes when they make some new creation.

This is a fun, rainy day activity and great for some quiet, independent play. The price is also very reasonable, though it will add up as you add more accessories, which ups the fun level. The good thing is that you can start out small to ensure they will like their Smooshie and then add accessories when you can.

Price: 4 out of 5 stars
Durability: 4 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Smooshies, Creativity Inc, Toy, Make Your Own Monster, Velcro, Birthday Bash Review, Fun, Kid Friendly

Lil B loves his Lego toys, so when we were given the chance to give him a LEGO City Dump truck from LEGO’s City line of products, we gladly accepted. We have had a chance to review some LEGO products in the past, the most recent being the LEGO City Police Pontoon Plane. The kids had a great time playing with that, so I assumed that this dump truck would hit the spot, as well.

Unfortunately, things did not go over as well as we had hoped that they would. Lil B loved the dump truck at first, though it is plain to see that he is not as enamored with this LEGO toy as he is his other presents this year. I think one of the main reasons for that is sheer frustration. We had a problem or two keeping the truck together. A flimsy design means that it is almost impossible to use this dump truck for its intended purpose. I can’t say that I blame him for wanting to put this aside. When he couldn’t get it to stay together this LEGO set quickly lost its luster.

Positives & Negatives:
Pros:
Cute Design
Promotes Creativity/Logic Skills
Suits a wide age range
Comes with the main toy and many companion pieces
Suitable for independent or group play

Cons:
Pieces can be hard to put together
Younger kids may become frustrated
Weak design/Falls apart easily
Not meant for rough and tumble play – More suitable for design and show

Pricing & Availability:
LEGO toys are available just about anywhere you go that sells toys. You can find them online or in just about any nearby store that you might have. I recommend shopping around though, as the price can range quite a bit from one store to the next. On average, the LEGO City Dump Truck should be between $15 and $25. It’s certainly a good deal for collectors and people that just want to build these and leave them alone. For kids, this is a harder sell though because the construction is not sturdy enough to allow for serious play.

Requirements & Instructions:
The instructions that are included are pretty straight forward. Both Lil B and CT (who was helping him put it together) were able to understand what they needed to do to get the dump truck built. You don’t need anything outside of what is in the box. The problem was more with the construction and less with the instructions. The pieces did not want to fit together or they were stubborn when it came to getting them locked in place. It can be hard when the small pieces do not want to fit together, so I can understand why the boys got frustrated.

Durability:
Normally I am a huge LEGO fan. As most moms know, they sure are durable. Unfortunately some of us find that out by stepping on them at 3AM because the kids didn’t clean up as well as we wanted them to. I did not find this City Dump Truck to be durable in the ways that count though. For instance, once it is put together the boys had to be incredibly careful or pieces would fall off. When they tried to drop something into the back of the truck and then get it to roll out the back would often snap off and have to be fixed. Most kids have an attention span that is pretty short. If the toy they are playing with doesn’t work, they will leave it behind and pick up another. In this case, it means that unless you’re using this for a display you might not get your money’s worth.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
LEGO normally has some pretty awesome toys, so I don’t fault them for the occasional dud. If the design were better I think this would have been a lot more fun for the kids. Lil B just couldn’t get into it because it didn’t do what he wanted it to do or even what it was supposed to do. CT, on the other hand, tried to get it working a little longer than Lil B, but in the end he gave up, too. It’s hard to say that this was fun, because in the end they didn’t get any real playtime out of it.

This would be a good piece for collectors that own the other City pieces. When it comes to kids though I think you might be better off seeking out another LEGO alternative instead.

Bottom Line:
Lil B and his dad will probably end up placing this on a shelf and leaving it there because whenever he tries to play with it, the pieces end up coming apart. Lil B and LI Kids are big LEGO fans, so we are taking this in stride. I am sure we will be looking at other LEGO pieces, but as for this one we recommend that parents proceed with caution. If your little one is active and likes to get involved with his blocks, this probably won’t work where he is concerned. We recommend checking out the wide range of other LEGO offerings instead.

Price: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 3 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 1 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 2.58 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: LEGO, City Dump Truck, Blocks, Building Blocks, Birthday Bash Review, Toy Review, Truck, Durability

LEGO generally tops most boys’ must-have lists every year be it at Christmastime or not. Some of the best building sets come with the LEGO name. In fact, every year, I see a few that make me wish that I was a kid again. Then again, that’s the nice thing about being a reviewer. I get to play with toys like LEGOs and justify it by claiming I am reviewing them. In the case of this set, I was thrilled to be able to review the Police Pontoon. We have reviewed the City Line of LEGOs before. Last time, we reviewed the Police Helicopter.

There are a few things that make this set different than the last set we reviewed. The Pontoon is much bigger than the standard Helicopter. It offers a higher level of detail, too. There is a difference in the price, though that would be expected when you see the differences in size. The other major difference, which I was rather surprised about, was that the Helicopter actually came with more in the way of accessories.

The Helicopter comes with a good set of accessories including things like handcuffs and other items that are not found with the Pontoon boat. If you already own other LEGO City sets this may not be a problem for you. However, if you’re going in buying this as your first City Set you might want to be aware that many of the things that will make the set more fun for the kids will be missing and need to be purchased either separately or in another set.

Positives & Negatives:
Pros:
Great Addition to the City Line of LEGOs
Kids will Love the Detailed Look of the Plane
Works Perfectly with Other LEGO Sets Especially in the City Line
Promotes Independent and Group Play
Fun for Anyone that Likes LEGOs/Building
Good for a Wide Range of Kids
Detailed Set

Cons:
Despite Being a Pontoon it Does Not Float
Relatively Expensive
Lacks Accessories you Might Expect to See Here

Pricing & Availability:
The Amazon price is just over $50, which is a bit much for this set, in my opinion. This is available at many other stores though. Walmart offers the Police Pontoon for just under $40. You can also pick this up at just about any toy store, discount store, or online at numerous stores including the LEGO site.

If you’re looking for this set I highly recommend doing some price checking due to the ready availability. There is no sense in paying more if you don’t have to. The set is worth owning because kids that like the City Line will love this Pontoon Plane. Still, if you can save a few bucks it’s worth doing because there are a few vital elements missing from this set that make it slightly disappointing.

Requirements & Instructions:
No matter how much skill you have with LEGOs you should be fine with this set. We built it together as a family with a teenager and two adults. Still, I could easily see a five or six year old handling this with little help thanks to the instructions that are included. Pictures and basic common sense when it comes to building blocks makes it pretty easy to put this set together. We had a harder time weeding through some of the pieces to find what we were looking for rather than actually building the entire thing.

Durability:
How durable this is really depends on how rough your children are on their toys. No matter what it looks like all done up, the Pontoon Plane is still made by LEGOs. That being said, the LEGOs themselves are nearly indestructible. Unfortunately, the set when it is put together is not.

If you put it together you are going to want to make sure the kids are reasonable in their pursuits when playing with the Pontoon Plane. It won’t break from touching it, but if they are hard on it, pieces will come undone and it will need to be put together again. So, it’s durable in the sense that you cannot really break LEGOs (unless you’re seriously trying), but it may need to be put together more than once especially if it will be seeing some heavy action during playtime.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
If you have another set that you can use the handcuffs, bad guys, and other accessories with, then this set is tons of fun. If you’re going just off of this set it’s more of a show piece. You can fly the Pontoon around with the guy inside it, but without the added features and accessories there isn’t much to make use of.

We had the Helicopter, which came with the added extras so we were able to play for hours and when we tired out our son was able to enjoy it on his own. Our nephew will be coming over and though he is too young to build this on his own (he’s 4) I am sure that he will love it as he is a certified LEGO fanatic.

The level of detail makes it great fun on it’s own. The two main downsides are the bar that sits in the middle where things could be stored behind the front of the cockpit and the fact that this doesn’t actually float. Had it actually been able to float I would have said that it’s worth every penny. I am still glad it’s part of our LEGO collection though and would recommend it to parents that have already begun collecting the City sets.

Kids will enjoy their time playing with the Police Pontoon Plane and even though it can be challenging to get it put together for some of them, I never heard a single complaint, other than the two minor annoyances that were previously mentioned.

Bottom Line:
LEGO has created an awesomely detailed Pontoon Plane that kids are sure to love. While this doesn’t float and would work even better with some more accessories and the bar missing from the back for storage purposes, the set is definitely worth owning. That being said I would make sure to pick up other City sets either with it or before it to ensure that you have enough accessories to make this truly enjoyable for the kids.

If you’re older and just love LEGOs this will work great on its own. Also, the Amazon price is a little much so you might want to make sure to price check before taking the first price you find. No point in spending more than necessary for this or any set.

Price: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 4 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.08 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: LEGO, Police, City, Pontoon Plane, Building, Toy, Kids, Fun

Advent Calendars are not new toys or calendars, depending on what you want to call them. However, they are becoming more popular than they ever were before. If you are unfamiliar with Advent Calendars they are calendars that are generally used around Christmas time. There are boxes with tiny themed presents numbered 1 to 24. The first box is opened on December 1st and the final box is opened 23 days later on the 24th, Christmas Eve. This allows for a great way that kids to countdown to Christmas. They just open a box a day and know that when all the boxes have been opened up, Christmas will be here the next day. Kids really seem to like these and adults enjoy them, too for the same reason.

The nice thing about Playmobil Advent Calendars is that they are inexpensive, built well, and they come in a variety of fun themes. We received the Pirates Calendar for this review, but Playmobil also offers a Knights Calendar, a Christmas Calendar, and a Unicorn Palace Calendar that would be perfect for the mom and dad that have little girls in the house!

This was my first experience with an advent calendar, but I have to admit I enjoyed it quite a bit! I didn’t put in a specific request for what type of calendar, so I was very pleased when I saw that the pirate theme calendar showed up. The reason I was so excited about this was because the only thing my nephew, Lil B, likes more than Santa Claus and Christmas is pirates. He’s only four years old, but Jack Sparrow is his hero and he loves anything associated with pirates, so for him, this calendar couldn’t have been better if we’d ordered it from Playmobil ourselves!

Positives & Negatives:

Positives:
Affordable
Sparks a Creative Environment for Play
Allows for Imagination Play
Allows Young Children to Better Understand Christmas Timing
Easy Assembly Kids Can help With (in Part)
Sturdy/Durable
Fun for the Whole Family

Negatives:
Need to be Careful with Flimsy Boxes – Watch with Small Children (not a real firm negative)

Pricing & Availability:
You can purchase these advent calendars in the theme of your choice for anywhere from $15 to $20 depending on where you shop. Stores will vary based on location though if you are shopping on the Internet you can pick these up at the Playmobil website or at shopping websites such as Amazon.com. Based on the fact that you can use this from year to year this is an incredible bargain. You get plenty for your money and this is something that works well for children of most ages.

Requirements & Instructions:
An instruction booklet comes with your advent calendar. This booklet lets you know which toy pieces go together and in which boxes they should end up. The boxes all go on a cardboard hanging calendar. The boxes will match up with the numbers on the calendar. The instruction booklet makes it incredibly easy to set things up. All of the toys are in plastic baggies so they are easy to locate when it comes time to set things up.

As the boxes are opened and the toys are revealed they are able to be put on a playscape which can be assembled by the directions on the playscape (you just fold portions over and tuck them in to make it playable) or by using some basic common sense.

Other than the booklet, you don’t need anything to get things set up. All of the required pieces are in the box. The only other thing you might need is a pushpin should you decide to hang the calendar up somewhere. If not, then everything is in the box when you purchase the calendar.

Durability:
The Pirates Advent Calendar comes with a sturdy cardboard cutout calendar for all of the boxes, a playscape that you put together for all the toys, 24 boxes, and the little toys that go in the boxes so let’s look at each piece individually before making an assumption about the whole thing.

The cardboard calendar is sturdy and well made. Even when the calendar becomes heavier from all of the boxes being placed in the right spots, you do not have anything to worry about. The playscape is just a thin piece of cardboard cutout that has some hole-slices in it in order for parents (or kids) to put it into an independent, sitting position. This is probably one of your flimsiest pieces, still when used for play we did not have any problems with it. We used it on the floor and on the table where we had planned to keep it and it did fine in both spots.

The boxes are by far the flimsiest piece. Even then, the smaller ones are fairly sturdy. It’s the larger ones you might need to worry about. You just need to look out for when they are being opened. These would be the easiest to rip out of everything included in this set. The toys will be a concern for parents that have younger kids or children that like to put small toys in their mouths. Many of these toys are small enough to do a child some harm. However, assuming your child understands that toys shouldn’t go in their mouth, they should be fine. Additionally, most of the toys would not work going in a child’s mouth, but there is one or two that do make it worth mentioning.

For what you pay for this, it’s definitely a fair deal. I haven’t noticed the kids trying to hold back any of their normal play activities and it is holding up just fine. We will be able to pack it up at the end of the season and use it next year when the time comes.

Ease of Use:
It really doesn’t get any easier than opening a box and putting the toys on the playscape to play with them. Some minor assembly is required. Some of the toys need to be put together (nothing too hard here) and the 24 boxes and the playscape need to be assembled. Otherwise, everything is ready to go. Kids young and old will be able to play with this Advent Calendar. Even if you don’t particularly feel the need to play with it, you can still enjoy the excitement the kids get from counting down the days to Christmas.

I can’t speak for all the calendars, but I have to admit, I like the mix of big and little toys that are used in the order they are. Kids won’t be revealing all of the major toys first only to end up with something little in the end. One day they will reveal a tree and the next it might be a pirate, then it could be some gold pirate booty and then there could be a treasure chest or two.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
The Playmobil Advent Calendar is definitely an enjoyable addition to the Christmas season. It does not have a Christmas theme, which means it could be used at other times if you really wanted to use it then you could. Other families might want to opt for the Christmas themed calendar, but if you’re looking for something to countdown the days this one works perfectly.

My son, CT thought the concept was really cool. We had it all set up and would take out a toy as each day passed. However, on the fourth day, my four year old nephew, Lil B came over. Within a few minutes, and a back turned for what seemed like seconds, he was opening boxes at will. Being that he is a pirate fanatic, he could not wait to open anything in this lineup. I allowed him to open the boxes just because I wanted to see the kids play with the set for the review.

Well, they loved the setup. Lil B didn’t want to leave and when he had to go he wanted to take some pirates, some booty, a treasure chest, and the list goes on. They sat and played for hours with all of the various toys and when he comes back (he’s been back twice since that first day) he always asks if he can play with the pirate toys and their home (as he calls it).

Just going off the fact that this is under $20 no matter where you buy it and it is fun for such a wide age group makes it worth the money. If you have younger kids you just need to make sure they understand the concept or else they might be opening the boxes too soon!

Bottom Line:
The kids in my house love Christmas and this is one of the best ways to let them know that Christmas is coming. This is inexpensive, fairly easy to set up, and most importantly, it’s fun. It comes with a nice selection of pirate themed toys to match the motif and kids seem to love playing with everything included. As a reviewer, my job does not get easier than this Playmobil Advent Calendar. If you do not have one of these, I highly recommend you pick one up. If you don’t prefer pirates there are other themes that you can purchase that should be equally as cute as this one is.

Price: 5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Playmobil, Advent Calendar, Christmas, Pirates, Pirate Booty, Treasure Chest, Toys, Toy Review, Calendar Review, Kids, Children, Holidays

With all of the Hannah Montana gang ready to hit the beach it only seems fitting that the Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop would be included in this set. While other reviewers had the chance to check out the Oliver and Hannah dolls, Maddie was thrilled that we received the Lilly doll with the surf shop. In the time since we’ve received these toys to review, Maddie has played non-stop with her Hannah Montana toys. She’s already begging me for the three other dolls that would complete this set. With her birthday coming up, there’s a great possibility she’ll be receiving them!

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Inspires Creative Play
-Fun for Hannah fans
-Somewhat Durable
-Easy to Assemble
-Allows for solo or ensemble play

Negatives
-Sometimes falls over
-Seems to be made of flimsy materials
-Small Parts

Pricing & Availability:
The Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop is not that expensive. I’ve found this available at Wal-Mart. I’ve found it online at Amazon. It can also be purchased at Toys R Us. You should be able to find the Surf Shop and all of the Hannah Montana dolls at your favorite toy retailer. At Amazon, the surf shop is available for $30. Meanwhile, at Toys R Us online, the Surf Shop can be purchased for just under $21.

Requirements & Instructions:
The surf shop is easy to assemble. Your child will be able to set up the various pieces and put them together. You might have to help with some of the parts, merely because the materials have a tendency to tip over if the set isn’t put together correctly. The lights on the Tiki Hut at Rico’s Surf Shop really light up, and included in the package are batteries for this.

Overall, this is one of those toys, which does not take very long to set up. What should be noted is that there are many pieces to this set and some of them are quite small. Like the dolls, which are recommended for children six and up, the Surf Shop shouldn’t be purchased for a young child. Many of the parts present a choking hazard. Maddie is six and she was fine with the Surf Shop. Then again, she knows better than to put toys, especially small pieces, in her mouth. Since I have two other little ones, I made sure to watch them around the toys and Maddie made sure not to leave anything out when putting the toy back in its box.

Durability:
The Surf Shop isn’t nearly as durable as the Hannah Montana dolls that accompany this set. I was slightly disappointed in how flimsy the material was for part of the Tiki Hut. Dropping this toy may cause it to come apart, and the set’s tendency to fall over just adds to minor frustration levels. This is another reason why smaller children may not want to own this. While Maddie can move things around and put things together on her own, younger children may be frustrated when/if this play set were to fall over or come apart.

Ease of Use:
This toy is fairly easy to play with and Maddie had a lot of fun. Since she had a few other Hannah dolls, she was able to have Lilly play with Hannah. They ate food, went surfing and had a great time at the beach. She was able to act out many of her favorite scenes from the Hannah Montana Disney show. I really enjoyed seeing her eyes light up as she played with the Surf Shop, Lilly and the rest of her dolls. As a mom, this toy is a winner.

I just hope it’s able to withstand the length of time Maddie will want to play with it, without it falling apart. While putting the set together was easy, I’m not sure how long the set will hold up. I blame this primarily on the material (cheap plastic) that was used to make the Hannah Montana Surf Shop.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
The Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop comes with the Tiki style bar, which is lined with real working lights. The Tiki Hut also features swing away doors. There is a removable surfboard that can be used by any of the Hannah Montana dolls your child owns. The Palm Tree and stand is located near the surfboard. Other things that come with this set include a sticker sheet, cell phone, plastic popcorn, a comb, a lounge chair, one Tiki stool, a hot dog maker with hot dogs, a drink machine, a blender, a plate of nachos, headphones, a CD player, a portable music player, three pairs of sunglasses, sunscreen and two drinking glasses.

As you can see, this Surf Set is quite comprehensive. Maddie had hours of fun with this toy and she was sad when we had to put the surf shop and her dolls away. Since Hannah Montana is so popular, this is the perfect summer gift to get your child. This is one of those fun toys that will entertain your child for an extended period of time. I highly recommend this for all young Hannah Montana fans who can handle the small parts that are included.

Bottom Line:
The Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop isn’t going to be suitable for every Hannah Montana fan. The older fans (six and up) will find the most enjoyment and having Hannah Montana dolls to accompany this set is a must. With dolls, a little imagination and the surf shop, your child will be able to spend many hours enjoying this toy and you’ll certainly get your money’s worth. I know that my daughter is enjoying her Surf Shop and with so many toys not suitable for children these days, it is nice to have the familiar face of Hannah Montana and Disney toys to entertain my child.

Price: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 3 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 4 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 4 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Hannah Montana, Disney, Disney Channel, Rico’s Surf Shop, Tiki Hut, Bar, Summertime, Summer Fun, Hannah Montana Dolls

While the Compact, which the OG Kid reviewed, has orange wheels, people and other parts, the non-wooden parts of the Pickup are green. You can, of course, mix and match these parts. That’s the whole point of Automoblox. These toys inspire creativity and help to allow boys in a family to bond with one another. I love the toys that bring my family together and this is one of the toys that does that. Even I wanted in on the fun!

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Sleek design
-Incredibly durable and well built
-Beautiful craftsmanship
-Easy to put together for most
-Fun to play with
-Inspires Imagination
-Great for solo or group play
-Long lasting in appeal and structure

Negatives
-Not as disability friendly as we’d hoped
-Can be easy to pinch fingers when snapping parts together

Pricing & Availability:
It’s easy to find an Automoblox vehicle if you have access to a computer. If you didn’t have access you wouldn’t be reading this article. You have three courses of action. The best choice is to go to the Automoblox website. The second choice is to search for the toys through Google or Yahoo. Put the term Automoblox in your search engine of choice and choose a store selling the toys. You can also go to Amazon and purchase the cars by looking for them. Amazon has a nice selection of these toys.

At the Automoblox website, you can mouse over the shop link. You’ll have two options, store locator and shop. The store locator lists places you can purchase the toys by U.S. state and Canadian province. Michigan has plenty of places where these can be purchased, but none within 30 minutes of where we live so it’s better for us to just shop online.

At the Automoblox online shop, you can choose from many different Automoblox cars. There are regular sized cars, which are $34.99. This includes the price of the T9 Pickup. There are special edition cars for $39.99. There are also Automoblox minis. These are available for $7.99 or in a three pack for $24.99. For as long as Automoblox should last the prices are quite reasonable for this toy!

Requirements & Instructions:
There are no special requirements or any additional items needed to play with the Automoblox T9 Pickup. The truck was put together in the sturdy box it arrived in. I recommend keeping the box for storage when your child (or big kid aka husband/partner) isn’t playing with it. The appeal of the Automoblox T9 Pickup is in the ability to mix and match the parts and build an innovative car. The cars roll smoothly and have a great look to them. The attention to detail down to the wheel rims is just perfect. It looks like a mini- wooden version of a car.

You will probably want to own at least two Automoblox because it’s more fun to mix and match. Taking apart the pieces and putting them together is fun, but the fact that other cars can be torn apart and put together with mixed up wheels, rims, connectors, front ends, hoods, back ends and even people makes this a fun and creative toy. You simply cannot have just one. You’ll soon want to collect all the Automoblox.

Durability:
These cars are strong. They are durable. Lil B is rough on his toys. He drops them. He rams them into things. He throws them around. He’s your typical three-year-old boy. He had more than one collision with the OG Kid and both of them survived the crash unscathed. The wood is beautifully finished and the toy is carved in a way you know it is meant to last.

I’d only heard of these kinds of handcrafted toys, which were made when my grandfather and even my mom were kids. People still took pride in their craftsmanship, especially with toys. The Automoblox T9 Pickup reflects this kind of craftsmanship.

The maple wood on the Automoblox was sanded with three coats of laquer put on between sanding. There is no need to worry about splintering wood. The finish is smooth and safe. It won’t scratch, tear up or dent due to the extra layers of laquer, even with hard play by rambunctious three year olds! The rims, hoods, and axles as well as other parts are molded from polycarbonate plastic. The axles are incredibly small (though they’re attached to the wood) and so are the people (which can come out of the car).

Speaking of the people, they also appear to be made of polycarbonate plastic as well as the connectors for the wooden parts of the car. The smaller pieces can pose a choking hazard for kids under three years of age. This toy is not recommended for those under the age of three for this very reason.

Ease of Use:
I watched Dom struggle with the parts on this toy. He has trouble with most building blocks. With a progressive muscle disease, SMA, he needs assistance playing with this kind of toy. While he could pull the pieces apart sometimes and putting the pieces together was easy, he struggled at times. This toy can be played with by those with disabilities, but independent play may not be attainable. It may be more frustrating for a child with a disability if he or she doesn’t have a parent or sibling helping him/her when they play with the Automoblox T9 Pickup.

Dom managed to pinch one of his fingers when putting the pieces together. While I don’t see this as something that happens often, I can imagine it can happen and will sting little fingers. Care should be taken when snapping pieces in place. This is one of the few, minor problems we noticed, but it isn’t enough of a big deal to not make us want to play and/or recommend this toy.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
Even with the minor flaws that Dom experienced, the boys had fun playing with the Automoblox T9 Pickup and the Automoblox A9 Compact. It’s a great toy that allows the family to bond and build together in a fun environment. The overall appeal of the Automoblox T9 Pickup comes from the fact that this toy is going to last forever. The quality is amazing and the fun factor is neverending. I can see many more Saturday afternoons spent with the boys playing with their Automoblox and it definitely beats a day of watching television or spent apart.

Bottom Line:
The Automoblox T9 Pickup brought my family together. We had fun putting the pieces together and then driving the cars around. I don’t care if you have kids or not. This toy is a touch of nostalgia that every person needs to own. This is the car you’d always wished you had owned when you were a kid. This is one of our editor’s choice toys and comes highly recommended! Purchase the Automoblox T9 Pickup and all of the Automoblox cars while you can!

Price: 4 out of 5 stars
Durability: 5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.58 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Automoblox, T9 Pickup, building toys, build a car, car toy, adult toy, wooden car, blocks

The perfect solution arrived on my doorstep in the form of ZipBins. These are toys that actually unfold and offer storage space when they are folded up for all of the toys that accompany the bins. Each bin takes up very little space, so they are perfect for those with limited space such as a small house, small bedroom or an apartment. The bins aren’t just great for storage space. They are also quite adorable. There was a lot of attention that was paid to the detail of each ZipBin. The Racer has little additions to each side of the bin with one side folding into the image of a car and the other folding out into a race track play mat whenever my nephew wants to play.

Positives & Negatives:

Postives:
-Compact – space saving toy
-Adorable with plenty of attention to detail
-No extras needed to play with the toy
-Affordable
-Easy to Clean
-Initiates Creativity
-Excellent toy for solo play
-Durable

Negatives:
-None that we’ve found

Pricing & Availability:
The ZipBin®Softie™ Racer is available for $19.99 USD. It comes with toys so you don’t have to buy anything though you could certainly add in some matchbox cars if you wanted to, since there will be extra room to store additional toys.

ZipBin also offers a ZipBin®Softie™ Wheelie, which is similar to the Racer though it has a different kind of track. It costs the same price as the Racer so you could look into purchasing both of these toys and mixing and matching playtime with them depending on your child’s specific racing mood.

I’ve never been able to find the ZipBin when shopping at the stores in my area, but if you put in your address at the ZipBin website you can search for a local retailer selling these toys in your area. Besides the racer, there are a wide variety of ZipBin toys including a Farm, a Castle, and an Express Train play set. If you look up ZipBin on Google, you can purchase these toys at a variety of places selling them online or you can purchase the ZipBin through the ZipBin website.

Requirements & Instructions:
Everything your child needs to play with the ZipBin®Softie™ Racer is included whenever he or she wants to play with it. You will just need to remove the cars from the cardboard and plastic they come in and unzip the play mat. Since this is one of the bigger playmats available there are backpack straps so your child can wear the toy like a backpack. It also has a carrying handle. The Racer is fairly light so a child is going to be able to easily carry this toy.

The ZipBin®Softie™ Racer is recommended for children who are three and up. There really aren’t any small parts except the cars and they’re your standard toy car size. To play with this toy, the play mat zips all the way around and the cars can be stored within a special, plastic compartment in the side of the play mat. You can also store extra cars within the playmat when it is zipped up. To play with, simply unzip the playmat, remove the toys from their storage spot and play. It really can’t get any easier!

Durability:
The ZipBin®Softie™ Racer is pretty durable. It would take some serious work to mess it up. You would have to use something with a sharp edge or some sort of natural disaster would have to occur to rip this toy apart. Hitting, dropping, bumping, yanking, tugging, pulling, and twisting really wouldn’t do anything to the toy. Banging it into a wall, toybox, on the floor or elsewhere wouldn’t maim it either. We tried to rip it and it just wouldn’t rip! It’s just that durable.

The ZipBin®Softie™ Racer is also incredibly easy to clean. It is made of the kind of plastic that allows you to wipe it off with a cloth dipped in soap and water. You don’t have to worry about messing up this toy because it is strong, durable and kid friendly in all the right ways.

Ease of Use:
If you child can use a zipper then they can play with the ZipBin®Softie™ Racer. This toy will help a younger child with their fine motor skills as they learn to use a zipper. While some three year olds can zip on their own, it is great practice for others who are struggling to learn to zip and unzip. Once your child knows how to use a zipper simply unzip the play mat, take out the cars and play. It’s simple, easy to use, and fun for your child.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
Kids love to play with toy cars. Race tracks can be messy toys. You have all kinds of different parts to put together. Sometimes they don’t even fit together right. Cleanup is a hassle for both parents and kids. The ZipBin®Softie™ Racer alleviates all of those problems. The track is on the incredibly detailed play mat. Your child just has to unfold the mat and playtime can begin. This kind of fun is long lasting.

Parents will love the ease of use factor. This is a space saving toy. It can be hung up by its carrying strap, stacked together with other playmats or other toys, stored in small places and just about everywhere. My nephew Lil B loves this toy. He can play with it in his room, in front of the television in the living room or just about anywhere in my brother’s apartment. My brother loves the fact that the toy takes up such little room when Lil B is done playing with it and he likes the fact that the cars have a place to be stored without having them lying around. Toys get lost that way, but with the ZipBin®Softie™ Racer Lil B will never have to worry about losing his cars.

Bottom Line:
If you have a young race fan buy the ZipBin®Softie™ Racer. It’s affordable, kid friendly, fun to play with and easy to store and clean up. This toy is a parent and child’s dream. There really isn’t any other type of toy out there like the ZipBin® toys by Neat Oh! All of the males in my family loved playing with this set with Lil B, from the grownups to the teenager. Car fanatics will love this. If I could do more than highly recommend the ZipBin®Softie™ Racer I would! – This is on my list of the top toys to buy in 2008.

Price: 4 out of 5 stars
Durability: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.67 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: ZipBin, Softie Racer, Neat Oh, toy, playmat, fun, cars, racing, race track, storage toys, kids

I’m a 13 year old kid. I know some building toys are suited better for younger kids. The car building system by Automoblox isn’t like that. Everybody in the family wanted to play with this toy. Even my mom liked it and she usually prefers playing with the toys that most girls like playing with such as dolls and My Little Pony. We all agreed this is the coolest car that we have had the chance to review and that’s why I’m writing this review.

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Fun
-Easy to put together
-Hard to damage/break
-High quality design
-Unique Toy

Negatives
-Has a few small parts

Pricing & Availability:
You can look for Automoblox online. There are some shops where you can buy the cars. The Automoblox website has a shop. At the shop, you can buy Automoblox cars. There is a wide variety of cars to choose from with all of the cars between $30 and $40. The A9 Automoblox is $34.99. It is orange in color with a wooden frame. You may be able to use the store locator on the website to find a store where you can buy Automoblox. I’ve never seen them in local stores like Wal-Mart. I recommend you find them online and buy them. Your kids will love Automoblox and so will you!

Requirements & Instructions:
You don’t need anything like batteries to play with the Automoblox A9 Compact car. Your car is put together. You can take it apart. Nearly everything comes apart. You can put it back together and drive it around or you can mix and match it with other car parts if you have another Automoblox car. We have a T9 Pickup. It was fun to play with as I put the front of the truck on the Compact and mixed and matched the green and orange wheels and rims.

The best advice I can give is to use your imagination. Switch up your car then drive it around your table, the floor, outside or anywhere. Anywhere you play you are sure to have fun.

Durability:
This car is durable. I dropped it and so did Lil B. I don’t recommend dropping it on your foot. It isn’t really heavy, but it is heavy enough to hurt your foot. It will hurt you more than the car. The car is made of a heavy wood and according to the Automoblox website, the hood, wheels, people and other parts is durable polycarbonate. This toy is for kids 3 and up. This is because the wheel parts are small and so are the people in the car.

Ease of Use:
It was easy for both Lil B and me to take apart and put together the Automoblox A9 Compact. My dad had a little bit of trouble with this. He has a muscle disease. He did get them apart, but it took him a few tries. It is easy for most people to take these toys apart but if you have a muscle disease and need help, it is a good thing that Automoblox are good toys for sharing. Someone can help you with the parts. Pushing them together was easier than taking them apart for him. This is a good family toy. I know I had fun helping and playing with everyone and my dad had more fun moving the car once it was together then he did putting it together.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
This toy is fun. Who doesn’t love building things or cars? I love both. I couldn’t wait to play with this toy. It is made of very good wood and is incredibly durable. I know it will be a toy that will last a long time. This is a toy that anyone can play with. Girls and boys of any age and even adults love Automoblox. This toy is going to last a long time and I’ll probably play with it when I’m an adult, so it is well worth the purchase.

Bottom Line:
If you are like me and like to build then you need to buy an Automoblox car. It’s fun no matter how young or old you are. Building a car is fun because you can drive it after you build it. To have even more fun, buy a few different cars. Then you can mix and match the parts and create cool new cars like I did. This toy comes very highly recommended from a 13 year old kid.

Price: 5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.83 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Automoblox, A9 compact, toy, car, fun, building, family activity, wooden

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Creative Toy
-Hand-Eye Coordination Development
-Fine & Gross Motor Skills
-Helps with Logic Skills
-Easy to Figure Out
-Good, Non-Violent Toy
-All Around Fun Toy
-Suits a Wide Age Range

Negative
-Small Pieces – Easy to lose
-Not Suited for Small Children

Pricing & Availability:
The Lego City Police Helicopter and most of the Lego play sets we’ve come across are extremely affordable. You can find the Police Helicopter in your national retail chains, such as Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. You can also find it online at the Lego Shop. Prices vary between $8 and $11, depending on where you plan to purchase the play set.

If you plan to purchase the Lego City Police Helicopter at the Lego website, you can find the play set for just $9.99. You really can’t get any more affordable for a toy that is going to be worth an innumerable number of hours worth of play.

Requirements & Instructions:
The Lego City Police Helicopter comes with an instruction manual. It shows piece by piece instructions about where to start. These instructions also include diagrams. Everything is wrapped up in its own separate package so you don’t mix anything up. This also comes with stickers that can be placed on the actual helicopter. The words on the stickers are written in both English and German.

This is the type of toy that you’ll be able to take out of the box and play with. We let our son, who is 13, but is a lifelong Lego fan, as well as his 11 year old friend, play with this. The two had a blast and didn’t have any problems. With no batteries or other extras needed, this toy is the ideal present for just about every occasion. Or you could just buy it to be nice!

Durability:
This is a Lego toy. You aren’t going to be able to break the individual parts very easily. The worst case scenario is having the helicopter break apart if it is dropped, but even then, it’s an easy fix as your child will be able to put it back together again. We don’t recommend letting your dog or young child chew on these. That might be the only way to disfigure the Legos. Other things that might destroy the pieces are vacuum cleaners, a car running over them or Dom’s wheelchair. Of course, Dom was very polite about that and made sure any dropped pieces were picked up before he attempted to run them over!

Ease of Use:
Thanks to the pictures and diagrams, this helicopter is incredibly easy to put together. Dom tried out the pieces, since he always likes to check out how disability-friendly toys are. From there, he gives his recommendation so parents that have children with disabilities know whether the toy is going to be fun or frustrating. Dom has tried many a building blocks in his day. By far, Megablocks have been his enemy when it comes to putting pieces together and taking them apart. He’s also found easy to use products like the Kids K’nex.

Dom recommends Legos in general and, more specifically, the Lego City Police Helicopter for those with limited hand strength. Dom doesn’t have a lot of dexterity in his fingers and he has limited strength due to a muscle disease. Kids with disabilities, depending on their specific condition, should have a fun time either putting the helicopter together or helping mom, dad, or siblings put it together if their strength is more limited. Still, the parts were, by far, some of the easiest to push together.

Taking it apart is the most difficult part. Some of the pieces have grooves on them so they’re much easier to pop off, but others might mean a parent, sibling or friend has to help. Overall, this set is disability friendly with minor limitations!

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
Who doesn’t like Legos? They’re the ultimate building blocks that offer fun for nearly everyone! This set is recommended for kids between the ages of 5-12. Dom is in his late 20s and I will just say, I’m older than him. Still, we had a blast putting it together ourselves. Call it a touch of nostalgia on our part, but Legos really are fun!

With so many benefits like improvement of hand-eye coordination, improvement of gross and fine motor skills and assisting in creativity and logic skills (following directions) this toy is more than just fun to play with for kids. This toy is educational, economical, and going to provide hours upon hours of fun! The lasting appeal of this toy is high. This toy will last for years to come and the Lego City Police Helicopter will make an excellent addition to some of the other Lego play sets out there including the Legos Prison Transport, Police Motorcycle and the Police Headquarters!

Bottom Line:
If your child likes to build and likes Legos, the Lego City Police Helicopter will make a nice addition to their Lego collection. We love this set and can’t help but recommend buying Legos, in general. With an affordable price, easy to follow directions and plenty of ways to expand and work your child’s creativity how can you say no to this toy?

Price: 5 out of 5 stars
Durability: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.83 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Legos, Lego City Police Helicopter, Police, Toy, Play Set, Building Blocks, Creativity