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Hot Wheels Wall Tracks Review

Posted on by Abi

If you are lucky enough to be the Mother or GrandMother of boys then chances are you’ve heard of Hot Wheels cars. Frequent adverts show amazing tracks where cars swerve and dive with ease. Now Mattel have taken Hot Wheels one stage further with the introduction of wall tracks. I think it’s safe to say that these are going to grace many a Christmas list, but do they deserve too?

I received the Hot Wheels Starter Set and Daredevil Curve Set to review. With my husband on hand we set about assembling the array of components. First we taped a large design template onto the wall, this has notches either side which guide you to the placement of your wall brackets. These are attached using 3M Command Strips which are removable (although not reusable) and do not damage your plaster work.

As we had two sets we headed to the Hot Wheels website for advice on joining them together.  They have a selection of useful videos which take you through assembly step by step. Within 15 minutes the track was on the wall!

Our three children were eagerly waiting in the wings, ready to play. I must admit that I half expected it to fall off the wall as soon as they started, but thankfully it stayed put. There was a lot of squealing, giggling, jumping up and down and general enthusiasm. The only problem we encountered was the cars shooting off at speed and having to be retrieved from under cupboards.

It’s hard to explain the sheer joy this toy has brought my children, my daughter included. There’s little ramps which they can control to change the direction the cars take. Pretty soon the cars had been named and they were inventing little make believe stories using them. The day after assembly I came downstairs to find my two eldest had crept out of bed and were playing quietly in their pyjamas. It seems to have completely captured their imagination and provides hours of happy contented play. The only problem it seems, is getting them to stop playing with it occasionally.

I had several reservations about this toy, first I wondered if it would break quickly due to it’s plastic construction. Second I wondered if I had a bare expanse of wall large enough to accommodate it. Thankfully all of these lingering concerns have been answered. The plastic has survived some very vigorous playing and has slight flexibility which makes it very durable. As for wall space, the track can be adapted to make it work for pretty much any wall (as long as it’s not wallpapered).

Would I recommend this product?

Definitely, it’s wonderful for the kids and it’s rather wonderful for Mum & Dad too due to the peace it provides!

I honestly think this could be one of the ‘must have’ toys for Christmas 2011 so buying early might be a good idea!

It’s also great to have an engaging toy that doesn’t involve sittng in front of the TV or computer.

Can it be improved in anyway?

I’d like to see even more track configurations either in the packs or on the web, this may come in time of course.

Details

Starter Set RRP £29.99

Daredevil Curve Set RRP £16.99

Available at all good toy retailers online and instore.

 

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Dirt Devil Easy Handheld Review

Posted on by Abi

A couple of weeks ago I trotted off to the Lowry in Manchester with my children for a Dirt Devil Blogger Event. At the end of the day I was lucky enough to be given a Dirt Devil Easy Handheld to take home :). It has since been faithfully tested and put through it’s paces. I’m fairly sure my children spotted it before it came out of the box and vowed to be as messy as possible just to lend a helping hand :/.

First we’ll have some lovely info about all the clever things this mini vacuum claims to do:

  • 0.7 litre capacity dust canister
  • Perfect for pet hairs
  • Power = 12V
  • 3 Attachments including motorise Turbo Brush, Crevice Nozzle, Upholstery Brush
  • Lightweight 2.1Kg
  • Rechargeable with a run time of 15mins
  • MicroBan Technology

So with the details out of the way we come to the important stuff, does it actually do all those things and more?

In a word, yes. If you’ve ever experienced a rechargeable or even corded handheld vacuum before, then it’s quite possible you fought long and hard to get it to actually pick up anything or hold it’s charge for longer than a minute.

These kinds of machines are often bought to clean out cars because of the obvious wireless benefits. It was the  starting point here as well,  after our long day out my car looked anything but clean. The kids all seemed to crumble food in the back and the floor looked suspiciously speckled. With great shame I shall show how the car floor started at the beginning of this experiment.

Not exactly a pretty picture. I plumped for the Motorised Intense Turbo Brush for this job, and within seconds this is how the floor began to look.

A significant improvement as I’m sure you’ll agree. In fact it was so good at cleaning the car that I felt compelled to remove all the car seats and matts and clean the whole thing! My car has never looked so tidy. All completed on one charge and with power to spare.

Next I let the handheld loose on my large love seat. It was with great deliberation that I chose the fabric for this chair and with much chagrin that I realised it was not only pretty, it was a magnet for dust. It didn’t exactly complement the look that I was trying to create. But after a quick clean with the upholstery brush it was back to looking gorgeous once more. In fact the Dirt devil sucked up so much dust off this one chair that I had to empty it twice! At this point that was the only problem, this compact little unit does require frequent emptying. But it’s take mere seconds to do, so it wasn’t a huge problem.Dust on the chairs and sofa is a particular bugbear of mine, so the advantage of being able to grab the Dirt Devil ready charged off it’s wall unit is fabulous.

But it hasn’t all been rosy, I do have a teeny tiny complaint about the Dirt Devil Handheld. I should mention that this is actually due to it being really rather good at it’s job. But using the Turbo Brush attachment I was vacuuming up hair here, there and everywhere (apparently my daughter is molting at the present time). But within a very short period of time I seemed to be loosing suction. I emptied the vacuum and got a slight improvement. But on further inspection the Turbo Brush was completed wound up with hair and other gunk. I decided to clean the brush, but this is where the problem came. I am used to a vacuum where the brush is removable and cleaning is very quick and simple. But I couldn’t find a way to remove the brush in this case. It made for a rather laborious method of spinning and grabbing the brush to pull the debris from it. Of course once it was clean it was back to being fabulous. But it would be nice if it was as easy to clean as the whole unit is to empty.

Would I Recommend This Product?

Yes, particularly for cars or those small spills that tend to pop up about the house. In fact I was so impressed it’s already cleaned several other cars to the delight of their owners. Apparently they are all going to buy their own Dirt Devil just for this job alone.

Could It Be Improved In Anyway?

As I mentioned I would prefer that the attachments were easier to clean. I would also love it if the battery lasted just a little bit longer, although on the whole it has lasted longer than the advertised 15 mins. Other than that it’s one powerful and compact piece of equipment.

Details

The Dirt Devil Handheld has an RRP of £59.99 and is available to purchase from Argos, Tesco and other leading retailers both online and offline.

Further details are available on Dirt Devil’s website.

To ask questions, give suggestions etc contact Dirt Devil on Twitter

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Dino Bite Review

Posted on by Abi

The Summer holidays can feel like a long time when you have children to amuse and occupy. This makes it the perfect time to take up new hobbies and learn new skills. With more and more of us becoming concerned with the amount of time our children spend on computers or watching TV, it’s always a good day when you discover a new  game that keep your kids entertained and happy.

With this in mind I was very happy to receive a copy of Dino Bite to review courtesy of Drumond Park. The box alone seemed to get the kids very excited. My youngest declared ‘DinoWalrus!’ (we’re working on saying Dinosaurus). Unfortunately batteries were not included within the box and they most definitely are required. So after a mad hunt about the house we quickly got the game set up and sat down for our first play.

First impressions were very good, the kids were all suitably nervous every time they attempted to steal a Dinosaur Egg from the T-Rex’s nest. When the T-Rex did launch towards anyone they all jumped and giggled loudly. I even found it a very easy way to pass the time. The T-Rex plays jungle style sounds continuously with occasional rours. It randomly snaps forward which renders the snappee out of the game. The object being to throw the special coloured Die and retrieve an egg of corresponding colour without getting snapped. Simple enough that even my 2 yr old could play happily (although the box does recommend it for over 4+).

Would I Recommend This Product?

Definitely, all my kids, the boys and girl all love it. This ‘action game’ has permanently amused and excited them all and they have played it several times each day since we received it. It’s simple enough that they can play it unsupervised and the random nature of the T-Rex aided by interesting background noises, mean that boredom has yet to become a problem. It’s also a relative quick game which means it captures their attention perfectly.

Could It Be Improved In Anyway?

Yes, I think it could. As a busy Mum I always prefer products to come with a set of batteries, otherwise there can be rather disappointed kids if given as a gift.

I also was not fully impressed with the Dice included. It’s just a plastic Die with coloured stickers on either side. So far it has survived, but I wonder how long it will be before one of my little darlings decides to peel a sticker off. Perhaps an extra set of Die stickers would solve this problem. Although I have to admit it has already survived far longer than I expected on first opening.

Overall I love this little game, it’s very economical and provides hours of fun.

Details

For more information and stockists, visit www.drumondpark.com

For 2-4 Players

Ages 4+

RRP £19.99

Available online and at all good Toy Retailers nationally.

 

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