We had him open this birthday present last because I had a feeling that it was going to be his favorite. He wanted it put together immediately when he found out what it was. In fact, he couldn’t be bothered to wait for his dad to do it so he started to assemble the few parts and tried to put it together himself. When that plan didn’t work so well for him, he was nice enough to let his dad help and he was up and moving in no time.

He tried it out on our driveway first. He is in the video, going crazy (in a good way), speeding away as he tries it out for the first time. After he got off, he proclaimed that this was the best birthday ever just because he received his Plasma Car. Out of all the toys that he received, this has been the most used one of all. Every time he has a chance he is riding his car. When he is with his dad he rides it around the paths in their apartment complex or takes it down to the basketball court when no one is playing and rides it around there. Sometimes he rides it in the house, too, though he doesn’t like that as much because he can’t speed like he does outside. He’s become quite the little speed demon with his Plasma Car, but he loves it and that’s what matters!

One of the best things about the Plasma Car from a parental standpoint is that it will work for any child. A friend of Dom’s mentioned on Facebook that her child was able to use a Plasma Car. The impressive thing about this is that her child has a progressive muscle disease. The child cannot ride a bike or even walk, so being able to sit on this and move his arms to get him going is incredibly liberating. It’s great for the child and the parent because the child can just go and the parents don’t have to worry about adapting another toy.

Both young and old children will have fun with the Plasma car. This gives the toy a great sense of staying power. It’s made with high quality plastic and isn’t missing anything from the box. Just one payment and you have a toy that will work for years. Lil B turned five when he got his, though I can see him playing with it for a long time to come. As much as he seems to love it, I can’t imagine him tossing it aside any time soon. However, with the quality of the product I am sure he will outgrow it before it outgrows (or wears out on) him.

When we spoke to the folks at Plasma Car about a review, I asked for the blue or green car. Green is actually one of Lil B’s favorite colors so I was glad to see the Green car when it arrived. The other colors to pick from include Purple, Red, Pink, and Yellow. Each of the cars are available for $69.95 (the same price for Canadian buyers, as well). Considering the type of product this is and the amount of use a child will get out of it, this isn’t a bad price at all. Despite getting this for review, I would have had no problem purchasing a Plasma Car at this price.

If you have young children I highly recommend picking up a Plasma Car. Lil B loved it and I am sure your little ones will love it, too. It’s great to keep them active and on the go and it works great as a fun outdoor toy. Under the circumstances, it’s also pretty inexpensive. It’s not something you will buy as an everyday toy, but it would be perfect for a birthday or holiday.

You can check out Plasma Car at the Plasma Car Website.

Technorati Tags: Plasma Car, Toy, Riding, Birthday Bash, Review, Car Review, Toy Review, Kids, Children, Green, Favorite

One of the toys we received for his birthday bash was the Plasma Car. It’s his favorite birthday present, as you can most likely tell from this video.

Technorati Tags: Video, Lil B, Birthday Bash, Plasma Car, Fun, Toy, Riding Toy, Kids, Family, Present, LI Kids

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

I can’t really find anything wrong with this toy. It inspires creativity by allowing children to make up their own adventure within a barnyard setting. It also offers a colorful, bright play area that won’t make a mess in the car. I have found that with the ZipBin Mini Farm there are no more are we there yets! In fact, it’s sometimes hard to get him out of the car because he doesn’t want to stop playing with his farm!

Positives & Negatives:

Postives:
-Compact – space saving toy
-Ideal for play during travel
-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:
While some local retailers may be selling ZipBin’s I’ve never seen them at any of the places I’ve shopped. You can find them at various stores online including through the Zip Bin website. At this website, you can purchase either the Farm or the Mini Farm.

The Mini Farm is a smaller version of the Farm, which is also available from ZipBin. This version of the farm is perfect for trips in the car, on the bus, on a train or on a plane. It automatically comes with toys and is available for $9.99 USD.

The large Farm is available for $19.99 USD with toys or you can get the play mat on its own, without toys for $17.99 USD. I recommend that if you don’t have your own farm animals or aren’t planning to get any that you buy it with the toys. The play mat on its own won’t be nearly as exciting.

Requirements & Instructions:
You don’t need anything to play with this toy other than an imagination. There is no hassle with putting anything together or the need for batteries. You can take the ZipBin out and play with it without any additional requirements. The Mini Farm comes with four animals. There is a pig, a horse, a cow and a goat.

The ZipBin comes with a cardboard covering that you will need to remove the first time your child plays with the toy. The play mat part folds into the storage part of the box and a decorated lid comes with it. The toy pieces are covered in plastic that you’ll have to remove, but once you remove the packaging the play mat can be unzipped to form a mat shape or the corners zip up to form a box shaped storage compartment where you can store the farm animals. The lid slips on and there is a carrying handle for easy transferring. The storage bin is light enough for a child to carry and they can probably store additional toys within the case (though not too many with the Mini Farm).

Durability:
The playmat is sturdy. I’m not sure exactly what the material is, but it is a kind of plastic of some sort. It’s the kind of material you can easily wipe off with a damp cloth. The farm animals are all plastic figures. It would take a lot of force to rip the play set apart so kids who like to play rough will benefit from the durability of this product.

Ease of Use:
Recommended for ages 3 and up, the ZipBin Mini Farm is pretty easy to use. A three year old who knows how to zip things can easily zip and unzip the play mat and unfold it for play. The play mat is easy to clean up with little to no hassle. There really isn’t anything to do, but unfold the play mat after taking out the toys stored within it. It’s all smooth sailing from there as your child can easily play with their play mat until they’re ready to put it away. I’d say cleanup takes less than two minutes for a child who isn’t still learning to zip. Those who are learning can still manage to put it away in five minutes or less.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
The fun factor for the Mini Farm is fairly high. It is going to alleviate travel boredom. Besides, what little kid isn’t fond of farms and farm animals? This also gives your child something to do independently. Playing together is great, and possible with the play mat, but children can just as easily play alone with this toy. There is no need to try and entertain them during a long trip on a plane, in the car, on the bus or on some other trip.

The overall appeal for this toy is high because the fun factor is appealing to kids while the various positive factors of the toy are incredibly appealing to parents. I don’t know about you, but I love a toy that is pretty much self cleaning. I also love one that will entertain a child while in the car, is durable, easy to use, and doesn’t require a lot of setup.

Bottom Line:
The ZipBin Mini Farm is the ideal toy. There really aren’t any negatives to this play mat/storage bin. It is unique. There really isn’t another toy like this on the market. Kids love it for how fun it is and parents love it because it’s easy to use, clean up, put away, store and it keeps kids occupied for hours at a time! What more could you ask for in a toy? The ZipBin Mini Farm is one of our editor’s choice toys!

Price: 4.5 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: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: ZipBin, Mini Farm, Neat-Oh, Farm Animals, Storage, Toys, Creativity, Fun Toys, Storage Box, Travel Toys