Today's Review: Marshmallowville Marshmallow Shooter

A cafe just opposite a quay on Mersea island was the last place I'd expect to find a gun purpose built for firing mini marshmallows, but find it I did. Now, I'm not a man who can clap my eyes on a marshmallow gun and not buy it, so I grabbed that sucker off the shelf. Some of my company at the time felt my purchase was frivolous and unnecessary, but all I was reminded of was this extremely apt scene from Parks & Rec:

The premise is simple, you put marshmallows in the tube, and then you shoot them. It's pretty easy to load, you just pop the tube off and shove in some mallowy goodness. It helps to keep them the right way up, so some finesse is required, but all in all it's a pretty easy method. Once you pop the tube back on, you're a few pumps away from raining tiny marshmallows upon whatever you desire. As long as it's not someone's face though, the box makes it very clear that you should never aim it at someone's face or mouth, and there's even a target provided to ensure you've got something better to fire at. But I posit this: If you're not supposed to fire this at peoples' faces, then why does the logo on the gun itself depict a guy with marshmallows in his hair?

Firing is simple, but it's not perfect. My first attempt with this was at work, where all I could rustle up were some fairly stale marshmallows that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while, and the results were less than satisfactory. But on the way home I picked up a bag of fresh ones, and I'm pleased to report that they're much more effective. It may still take a few pumps to get one to come out as opposed to the rapid fire I was hoping for, but I can still fling marshmallows across the room at will, and firing it at mouths is lots of fun, despite the inherent risks. Sometimes the marshmallows come out more than one at a time, making this more like a marshmallow shotgun instead of a rifle, and that's always cool. So while it doesn't fire after one pump 100% of the time, this is still an effective launcher of mini marshmallows. Maybe I just need practice, and one day I can be like this:

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Cubic Fun Burj Khalifa 3D Puzzle

So here's an interesting little gift I got for Christmas. I used to be really into Puzz 3D back in the day, and my parents bought me a few that I enjoyed putting together. I guess they remembered that, as they bought me one of these newfangled 3D puzzles, this one is in the shape of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. That means it'll take a long time to put together, right?

Well, this isn't exactly a puzzle. It doesn't have small, interlocking, almost identical pieces like the monstrous Big Ben Puzz 3D I have stored away. Instead, the pieces come etched into several slabs, which you need to press out and then fasten together in a particular fashion. There's no real jigsaw puzzling involved, it's very much an elaborate tab A into slot B scenario, and the instructions and labelled pieces are there to help you every step of the way. 

Not that it's not fun to put together. I certainly whiled away an hour or two putting this thing together, and it's quite satisfying watching the layers build up to create the final model. Some pieces are a bit fiddly to slot into place, but it's not too taxing overall. The end result is pretty impressive, and it's currently standing at 81cm tall next to my TV. Not that it's going to stay there forever. It's a nice little conversation starter, sure, but that conversation would go like this:

Interested guest: "Ooh, what's that?"

Me: "It's a model of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world"

Fascinated guest: "Wow, have you been there?"

Me: "No."

Disinterested guest: "Oh."

But hey, if you've been to the Burj Khalifa, or just fancy starting up a display of self-assembled 3D models of famous buildings, you should be all over this. If neither of those apply, this is still a fun little thing to put together. It may not be as cool or challenging as the Millennium Falcon Puzz 3D I picked up at a charity shop a few weeks ago, but if you want a review of that you'll probably have to wait a couple of years for me to put it together...

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Melissa & Doug Latches Board

The festivities are all over, it's a new year, so now it's time to wade through the mountain of toys my kids got for Christmas. One that particularly caught my eye was this Latches Board from Melissa & Doug, which we gave to our youngest. It's basically a board with a set of wooden doors, behind which lie various numbers of cartoon animals. But to see them, you have to open a high quality metal lock, some simple, some not so much.

You see, if there's one thing toddlers like to do, it's opening doors and fiddling with any kind of metallic object or lock they find. While most companies would condone keeping potentially dangerous stuff behind locked doors, it seems Melissa & Doug want to train kids how to get into things. After playing with this, they can open all manner of latches and gates, so watch out for those kids in the back garden. Also, watch out for the next edition, which tackles combination locks and comes with a complimentary lockpick.

I jest, I jest, a little. It's a pretty fun toy. The locks are all pretty sturdy, and satisfyingly clunky and noisy. The animals inside are cute, but not too much of a reward for opening the doors. Still, it's about the journey, not the destination, and this is a great alternative to boring old wooden puzzles. It may be a little taxing for younger kids to open up the doors, but it's certainly something my daughter enjoys playing with.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Lego Simpsons Minifigures

I've never really paid attention to the Lego Minifigures series. In my mind, Lego is always too expensive, but since all the Lego video games have been coming out, and my kids have been getting into it, I've been keeping up with what's being released. The Back To The Future Delorean, The Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, both awesome. But The Simpsons house was the big release that caught my eye last year, and while I certainly wasn't going to spring £180 for that, I was certainly willing to start picking up a Minifigures series made up solely of Simpsons characters. I may not have completed my collection, but I'm getting close.

Look at those, how awesome are they? With the amount of franchises being snapped up by Lego in recent years, The Simpsons is probably the best fit, as Lego men and Simpsons are yellow alike. This series of 16 minifigures contains the most famous characters from the hundreds that have shown up over the years. We have all of the main Simpsons family (Homer has so far evaded my grasp), Ned Flanders, Chief and Ralph Wiggum, Apu, Krusty (and Itchy And Scratchy) among others. Each one is perfectly formed, and looks just like their cartoon counterpart. Each one also comes with an awesome accessory or two. Homer has his remote and donut, Bart his skateboard, and Ralph even has his doomed Valentine's offering for Lisa. 

These figures may be £2.50 each, but I actually don't mind spending the money on them. Besides, with each character having a unique accessory and/or head shape, I've actually managed to feel the blind bags and figure out exactly who I'm getting. I may look a little weird fondling Lego in Tesco, but hey, at least I'm not wasting money on duplicates. This is an awesome collection that would look good on any shelf, and there is plenty of potential for further Simpsons sets and figure series. I for one would love to see a Kwik-E-Mart or nuclear power plant, or a set including Patty and Selma or Sideshow Bob. As for whether Lego will actually expand the collection, only time will tell. But at least we have these awesome figures to be getting on with.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: M:Tech Gyro Flyer

Of all the toys we unwrapped and tried out today, this has to be the best one. While it may say 14+ on the box, my two year old was transfixed by one of these in Menkind a few months back, and since it was on sale, we thought why not. I'm guessing it's only 14+ due to its potential to cause bodily harm.

Once you unwrap this bad boy and put in the 6 AAs necessary to run the remote (not great...), in addition to charging up the helicopter itself via USB or mains power, you're good to go. Be warned that the first time you try this will not be pretty. In all likelihood you'll launch it straight up to the ceiling, sending it crashing back down again. You have to find the sweet spot on the up/down throttle in order to maintain a safe level of flight. Well, I don't know, maybe people figure these things out before trying out toys. I just wing it.

Yes, it takes a little while to get used to, but once you've send it plummeting to the ground or into people's bodies a few times you should start to get the hang of it. It's pretty easy and smooth to control. There's the obvious up/down stick, and also one that lets you turn left and right, and go forwards and backwards, as well as a little knob to stop any erratic turning the helicopter might do on its own. I've only taken it for a few flights now, and I can quite easily manoeuvre it around my tiny rooms. But if you're worried about the crashing, rest assured that this is a durable machine. No parts have broken in the several times it's hit the floor, and it hasn't cut any flesh open yet either, so that's a bonus.

I'm definitely planning on having lots of fun with this toy, my next step is to obviously set up an obstacle course of rings and the like. It's a cheap, easily controlled, durable little chopper. The only downside is the power, what with the previously mentioned 6 AAs, and also the relatively small 5-8 minute flight time received from 50 minutes charge. But hey, five minutes is enough to not let me get too bored I guess, and I have no idea how long these things are supposed to fly for anyway. But I sure am enjoying the airtime I do get.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Play-Doh Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Letter Lunch

Here is one of Alex's most awesome presents this year, although my opinion is somewhat skewed by my previously mentioned love of Sesame Street. Look at this guy, so adorable. What we have here is a series of food shaped moulds for your Play-Doh. Cookies, fruit and whatnot. There are also individual letter stampers, so you can cut out your favourite words, mix them in a big bowl with foodstuffs, scoop them up with the provided cutlery and shove it in the Cookie Monster's face.

Yeah, maybe I should have moulded some shapes, but you get the idea. Once his mouth is stuffed, just tap the top of his head, and...

Holy crap, where did it go? (Here's the best part)

Why, it's in his butt of course! Scoop out the Play-Doh poop, roll it up and do it all over again. Endless fun, in the form of a blue monster's digestive tract.

It's a great set. There's a good amount of Play-Doh, and loads of utensils, including a spaghetti maker, that sadly only makes a small amount of spaghetti. You know what would have made it perfect? Sound effects. I don't know if there are problems with putting electronics in Play-Doh toys, but I would love to push down on his head and hear the signature "Om nom nom". Still, a great toy.

My rating: 4/5