Toyology

Office Warfare

Office warfare has always existed - and let’s face it we all become victims at some point. Forget rubber bands and balls of paper, upgrade your office arsenal and wage war on your colleagues with this superb line of battle toys that are sure to liven up any working day.

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USB Missile Launcher - £19.95 – www.paramountzone.com

USB technology has reached a whole new level with this missile launcher, so let the pandemonium and chaos begin with one press of the RED button.

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USB Cannon - £19.99 – www.firebox.com

Office warfare has gone all high-tech with this nifty gadget - simply aim the cannon using your keyboard and unleash hell. Well, not quite, unleash three spongy projectiles and hide under your desk.

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Desktop Trebuchet  - £14.95 – www.firebox.com

Launch small objects at unsuspecting victims with this miniature piece of medieval weaponry.

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Pico z helicopter - £24.95 – www.firebox.com

No one will ever suspect a swooping attack from above so just think how much havoc you could                       cause with the airborne section of your office war.

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Tommy 20 foam bullet gun - £14.95 - www.squidoo.com

When you're happy your victim is targeted unleash the fury with this Twenties inspired                          Tommy gun.

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BTHA Announces Action Plan

Following an unprecedented three product recalls this year the BTHA has created a six point action plan designed to further strengthen current safety controls, improve on relations with China and to educate consumers in making safe and appropriate purchasing decisions.                                                                                                

The six point plan is:

1.     Encourage the EU’s cooperation with China on product safety and support the recent actions of the Chinese government against some manufacturers.

2.     Advise the industry to revisit and potentially widen the education programme to Chinese vendors.
3.     Encourage the EU to strengthen surveillance and enforcement of toy safety laws across all 27 member countries.

4.    Advise the UK toy industry to strengthen further:
- the design management and control of raw materials, suppliers and manufacturing
- controls and random factory visits throughout the production process
- control of finished products/batches of products
5.    Support the efforts of retailers to help consumers make a purchasing decision and assist them to buy age-appropriate toys.
6.    Urge increased activity on the part of the BTHA to educate parents on toy safety. Through www.btha.co.uk/parents_page, a one-stop information point for parents, the BTHA will encourage consumer vigilance through guidance.

Via - Toynewsmag

Littlest Pet Shop Goes Digital

Hasbro has recently announced they are launching Littlest Pet Shop VIPs (Virtual Interactive Pets) – a line of five cuddly, plush pets including a dog, cat and turtle that have secret codes on their collars to unlock a virtual world for tween girls to interact with. Each plush pet allows you to explore a fun online portal packed full of exciting games, activities and community events. Once the secret code is entered at www.littlestpetshop.com, users receive a VIP’s Adoption Certificate and watch their pet come to life online. The VIPs will be released in the US and online in mid-October and followed by a global retail launch in early 2008. The US retail price will be around $14.99.

Via – Toynewsmag

Tool Bench for Little Tikes

Move over Dads there’s a new generation of builders in town. Budding young mechanics will have so much fun building, assembling motors, planning projects and using each of the 25 tools with the new Buildin’ to Learn Tool Bench. This tool bench and work station has all the tools your little tikes need – 60 pieces in total including a power drill with a set of extra drill bits. Use it to take the engine apart and put it back together again and make the engine rumble when you turn the gears. The power tools feature real sound effects and actually turn when you activate them. Something tells us the Dad’s will want to play with this one. Yours for £99.99 at Argos.

Pixel Chix Roomies

What happens when a group of crazy characters with unique personalities are forced to live under one roof? Mayhem? - Well thankfully this isn’t the Big Brother house so you won’t have to witness the dramas, tantrums and arguments unfold. Instead, enjoy the interactive fun with everyone’s favourite 2d girl Pixel and her friends as they share their own house as flatmates. Simply plug the 3d characters into the base of the house and watch them move in and come to 2d life. Flip the screen to move from room to room and win games and challenges to get control of the penthouse suite. With a range of exciting features, the possibilities for fun and friendship are endless. Available at Argos for £44.99.

Red Hot Review - The Real Macaw

Hype

Remember when we told you about the Furreal Friends family a while back? This week the latest edition flew in through the window – it’s the all talking all dancing parrot. Hasbro tells us Squawkers Macaw can repeat words, be “taught” to speak, respond to touch, make cheeky sounds and even dance, just like a real parrot.

Toyologist Test – 2 hour Trial

Well shiver me timbers, it actually does sound and act like a real parrot – that is apart from the breaking wind, demented laughter and of course the fact you can control it with a remote. Once you have removed the Mensa challenge that is the sellotape and wire fastenings from the box and assembled its perch (which doesn’t take very long), you are free to dabble with your new furry friend at will. Involves anything from making it dance to music or its own version of Arrow’s “Hot, Hot, Hot”, training it to obey your command and say certain words phrases and sound effects to making your plush friend coo kiss and flutter his wings and not forgetting to feed Polly his plastic cracker.

Verdict

The Squawkers Macaw Parrot is great for all ages. It is however your year that will determine your tolerance to this product. The range of features will be too much for kids to grasp, so adult supervision is definitely recommended, although we’re certain children would be entertained for hours with just the 45 words phrases and sound effects already installed. It’s the kind of toy you buy for your kids which you then sneak to the office to show your colleagues to get a few laughs, only to give it back when the novelty has worn off or you were close to shoving that cracker down Polly’s throat to shut it up!

Overall the Squawkers Macaw Parrot earns a silver badge from us at the Toyolgy Towers. It’s got a high entertainment level and has enough features to prevent boredom, however it misses out on making it to gold due to the complexity of its features and the tendency to annoy if left on for too long.

Box of Tricks

First alerted to it way back in January, the Freaky Body Illusions set from Marvins Magic has at last appeared on the shelves. For just shy of £25 you get a great selection of stuff to impress in the playground, tomfool about in the office or scare slighty sensitive people with. We'll say no more and let the video do the talking. Check out www.freakybodyillusions.tv too for tips and tricks.

Time for Action - Man

What kids and grown-ups have in common with action man is their love of the long-running military figure. So if you happen to be an Action Man lover, you will love the retro reissues of the classic poseable action hero complete with change of guise. Whether you’re buying one for the kids (whatever) or for your own amusement for £39.99 these classic Action Man figures will provide hours of fun for all.

Horsing Around

Fed up being the rear end in a two person horse get-up? Then the inflatable horse costume is the perfect solution, and also a half decent one for fancy dress parties where you struggle to come up with a decent outfit. With its own internal fan, all you do is stick on the appropriate ten gallon hat and in seconds it'll appear as though you're riding your own comedy steed. £39.95 at www.iwantoneofthose.com

Five way threat

Shock your enemies into submission with this awesome piece of Spider Man kit, a gadget that'll have your goblins running scared. The Ultimate Web Blaster is the most incredible Spider-Man toy ever, five, yes count them, different weapon options mounted on the blaster to change manually as you see off  your foes. Water spray, web string blaster, two different dart shooters, and a web slinger – Just strap it to your arm and away you go. £39.99 over at Argos