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Octonauts Toy Review!

Posted on by Abi

Octonauts Explore, Rescue, Protect! If that motto sounds familiar then chances are you have some Octonauts fans at home. These undersea adventurers are popular with children all over the world and thanks to their new range of toys from Fisher Price they’re bound to feature heavily on Christmas Lists. We were sent a few items from the range to review and today I’m sharing our thoughts.

Deep Sea Octo-Lab

‘The Deep Sea Octo-Lab opens up to reveal two floors of play inside, and comes with air-powered rescue tools for deep sea rescue. Hook up your rescue tools to the hoses, turn the dial on the base to select the tool you’d like to activate, and push down on the pump to shoot a kelp cake, launch a rescue flare, or activate the volcano! The pump also activate lights and sounds that will prompt you through the ultimate deep sea adventure. All pieces store inside. Deep Sea Station Playset includes playset with lights and sounds, Shellington Deep Sea figure, Octo Bot, kelp cake, rescue flare, volcano, lava rocks, and three air power hoses.’

OctolabMy kids were highly anticipating receiving this particular toy but did the reality live up to the hype?

It’s probably safe to say that the air-powered rescue tools are one of the most attractive features of the Octo-Lab. However you have to make sure that the hoses are really well pushed into their holes, otherwise the air-power is somewhat lack lustre. The tools don’t shoot far and wide which I personally think is a bonus as we’ve not lost any of them or accidentally poked anyone in the eye! At the end of this review I’ve included a video to show just how effective they are.

The lights and sound are great fun and the Octo-Lab is actually surprisingly loud. Batteries are required to make this feature work though and they don’t come included in the box.

From a parents point of view I love the fact that everything can fit neatly within the Octo-lab which makes tidying a breeze. From a kids point of view:

Agent G – It was wonderful and great!

Lieutenant I – I love pumping up the hose toys!

Captain N – I like Shellington and the jellyfish and the lights are brilliant!

Gup-DGup D Crab Mode

‘Barnacles, in the GUP-D, is ready to lead the crew on exciting new adventures! On land, the GUP-D’s drill can move and spin for pretend excavation and repair work! For undersea missions, submerge the GUP-D’s drill & press the fin to see the drill spin & squirt water! The rescue claw is perfect for transporting wounded creatures back to safety! Also included is Barnacles in his special deep sea suit and a Blue Crab, too!’

The Gup-D is a lot of fun and a really nice size for my youngest to carry around, I also think it complements the Octo-Lab brilliantly. My favourite feature has to be the ability to use it underwater so the claw can spin, bath-time has never been so exciting in our house!

Agent G – It’s really cool because it has a drill.

Lieutenant I – You can make different Octonauts sit in it and it can go in the bath and it squirts water which is amazing!

Captain N – I love Captain Barnacles and the squirty claw.

 Kwazii Plush

Mini Plush Kwazii

Kwazii is without a doubt the favourite character for my youngest and he was ridiculously happy when he arrived. The plush is well constructed and beautifully soft. Beyond that I can’t tell you much more because Kwazii was snaffled away by Captain N and rarely leaves his side.

Captain N – Kwazii is the best! He’s cool and he’s a pirate and he’s really soft and I love him!

Final Thoughts

All my children have really enjoyed playing with the Octonauts toys and have now requested more, which says it all really!

They appear to be well made and durable. The RRP is quite high in some cases (The Octo-Lab has an RRP of £39.99) however most stores are currently selling it for £19.99-£29.99 which seems more realistic.

Overall I don’t think any Octonauts fan would be disappointed if Santa dropped some of these down the chimney for Christmas.

The Toys in Action

What better way to explain the toys than with a little video showing them in action, enjoy!

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Hot Wheels Wall Track Power Tower Review

Posted on by Abi

My boys have been fans of the Hot Wheels Wall Track range for quite sometime now, so when we were offered the opportunity of reviewing the latest addition we were more than happy to agree. The new track is called the Power Tower and promises new thrills to add to an existing wall track or if you’re just starting your collection.

Previously we had found the wall track easy to assemble and this time was no different. The only issue we had was trying to keep the boys away as my husband stuck the pieces to the wall! The Power Tower does require batteries which we didn’t have in the house (worth noting if you’re thinking of this as a Christmas gift) so a quick trip to the shops and we were good to go.

To say the boys (and my daughter too) love this track would be an understatement, it can keep them occupied (and blissfully quiet) for a long time. Cars whirl around in the lift(elevator) style toy before zooming down the track, hoping not to get caught in the chomping head further down.

Would I recommend this product?

Definitely, it’s as much as the previous versions of wall track and can of course be connected up to other packs, making it a versatile and fun filled toy.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I always prefer toys that come with batteries included in case I don’t have any in stock. I’m also not a huge fan of the background posters if you are planning on connecting up several tracks.

Details

The Power Tower RRP is £39.99

Available at all good toy retails online and instore.

Further details available at Hot Wheels website

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Lite Sprites Review

Posted on by Abi

Christmas is on the way and with young children in the house, we’re constantly bombarded with adverts for every toy imaginable. Narrowing down which toy is worth the money in terms of durability and appeal can be increasingly difficult. Keeping this in mind I was happy to review the new Lite Sprites toys. Adorable little sprites that seem reminiscent of my own childhood, these cute little dolls light up and can magically share colour with each other. So is this one of the must have toys?

When you first switch on a Lite Sprite it will glow with colour, a button at the back also allows you to cycle through this individual Sprite’s favourite shades. They also have a ‘share’ button which when pressed will share their current colour with any other Sprites standing nearby. This alone seems to provide amusement, my own children (boys included) loved the ability to change the colour of all the Sprites.

We also received a Lite Sprite Wand, this comes in a set with a Sprite named Prisma. This fabulous little addition allows you to scan in colours from your house which you can then transfer over to the Sprites. There’s also a variety of spells to cast,  you can make your Sprites float through a combination of colours, or play a colour finding game.

There’s a thorn in the side of Lite Topia though, the Lite Sprite called ‘Bleak’ can infect both the Sprites and their enviroment with her lack of colour (she merely glows white). She can even affect the order with which the Sprites cycle through colours. But a quick wave of the Lite Wand using a Bleak Spell can unlock her undesirable characteristics and she will behave as all the other Sprites do.

Each Sprite comes in their own pod which we hung upon the Tree of Lite. The Tree also glows with colour and can be rotated by hand which causes magical music to play.

That’s only a very brief rundown as in truth, despite a couple of weeks play we’ve still to unlock all the Sprites abilities, particularly using the Lite Wand. I’m very pleased to report that my kids have not grown bored of the Sprites, they are still brought out daily and provide hours of creative play.

This is the kind of toy that I would have loved as a little girl, in fact I still enjoyed helping the children seek out new colours. It all feels good quality and robust and I have no fears for it’s durability. My youngest did decide to rearrange the Sprites pods and the Tree of Lite’s leaves, but nothing bent or cracked and I’m sure this will last a long time.

Would I recommend this?

Definitely, it’s a fun and engaging toy that has provided my children with hours of amusement. It has a modern feel with the use of lights and music that even in this console obsessed age it can hold it’s own. The introduction of additional playsets, the wand and Bleak mean there’s always new elements to play.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I had to really give this some thought, honestly the Lite Sprites are great as they are. Ultimately though I’d just like to see the range continue to grow. I really like toys which can be added to, so more playsets, more Sprites with different abilities would be wonderful.

Details

We received the following items to review:

Prisma and the Lite Wand RRP £29.99

4 Lite Sprites RRP £14.99 per individual Sprite

Tree of Lite RRP £39.99

Other playsets are available including a Waterfall, Swing, Flower and Windmill, each priced at RRP £19.99

Available to buy in store and online from all good toy shops.

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