Ben 10 Deluxe Power Up Figure

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Ben 10 and his Omnitrix (alien watch) is a key part in the Ben 10 series and sees him transform into various different alien beings taking on their appearance and powers whilst still being a ten year old boy underneath. The perfect way for a kid to have fun and play for the day. Flair have launched a range of three Power up Figures fully articulated and with their own lights and sounds. Here we check out Heatblast.

The Ben 10 figures stand at around 14cm tall and easily stand unaided with a steady balance. Arms and legs can be moved easily for imaginative fun and play but the big feature with these figures is the little button on the top of the back which can be pressed as little or often as you want giving your alien a surging burst of energy. The character lights up in various ways and makes a great selection of sounds. From little blasts the more you press the button, the more it powers up creating larger and better sounds. By holding the button down you get an instant alien blast which really adds to play value.

My just turned 7yr old enjoyed this figure and found the sounds really encouraged play and his imagination to get working. He is often found carrying the figure around the house and imitating it’s blast off sounds.

A fun toy for Ben 10 fans and one that’s durable for lots of play but has an interactive side to add to the excitement!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Sip n Sound Farmyard Animal Straws

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Sip n Sound Farmyard Animal Straws from Flair are a fun new interactive range of straws for children, that along with the fun element also encourage health benefits by using a straw as opposed to a cup. In the Farmyard Animals range there are four straws to choose from, Horse, Cow, Sheep and Pig.

Each straw is quite solid and easily slides inside the animal so can simply be removed for washing. The animals stay put at whatever height you put them on the straw although we did find you need a sturdy cup to use them with so they don’t tip the cup over.

The children’s faces were all smiles when they saw them and they couldn’t wait to try them out, not quite knowing what was going to happen. When they heard the animal sounds as they drank through the straws they were in fits of giggles and thought they were really funny!

The straws are great fun and the children love using them, it certainly encourages them to drink plenty of liquid everyday as they kept asking for refills so they could use the straw again. Also drinking through straws is much better for oral health and helps prevent tooth decay.

So what did the kids think:

Mister B – “They are amazing – I love them, can I try a different one now?”

Miss M – “Brilliant, they are really funny, can we use them for dinner later please?”

As you can see the Sip n Sound animal straws have been a success with my children and they can’t wait to share them with their friends when they come round. Being reusable and easily washable I think these will get many months of use!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Hot Wires Plug & Play Electronics Set

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Fiona Martin

With British Science Week upon us, John Adam’s Hot Wires Plug & Play Electronics Set is the perfect toy to generate interest in electronics and circuits for children. Miss M age 9 was very excited to try this out as apparently has recently done a similar experiment at school with some wires and a light bulb so she was eager to get started and see what she could create.

The kit contains everything you need to make over 100 experiments along with a full colour instruction booklet that sets out each one clearly. The connector parts are numbered for ease of use and there are many parts such as lightbulbs, speaker, finger sensor, buzzer, switch, LED lights… the list goes on to the extent that once you get the hang of it you can come up with your own creations.

Miss M didn’t waste any time and was straight in the box, creating before I even got a look in and the next thing I knew, she had an invention ready to show me – it’s that simple!

Miss M and her brother had created some sound effects and thought they were hilarious as I don’t think they were expecting to be able to make multiple sounds from what they saw in the box! After calming them down, I managed to record this brief clip of the sounds effects in action:

Next up they decided to make a doorbell. With it having been my birthday the day before they couldn’t believe it when they pressed the finished doorbell, and the tune was that of ‘Happy Birthday’ which none of us were expecting and it was a pleasant surprise.

Overall we absolutely love this Hot Wires set, it’s safe, it’s simple to use and the possibilities are endless. Miss M can use it independently and create some amazing things that both children enjoy looking at and playing with. She’s managed to expand some sets with further pieces to change the pitch of the sound that she made. This really is good to get children thinking, learning and experimenting with electrics in a safe and educational way.