Toyology

Bye Bye Yummy Mummies Hello Dishy Daddies

                                                                      Tomy is teaming up with leading parenting magazine Prima Baby to launch a nationwide search for a handsome new Dad to be the 'face' of their brand new, stylish Freestyle carrier range. The winner of this dishy Daddy search will receive the kind of prize money can't buy as it is the chance to star in the 2008 national print advertising campaign for the award winning range. They will also win a night for two at a top London hotel, £200 spending money, travel expenses and a bunch of baby and toddler goodies including the Freestyle Premier carrier - so quite a mammoth prize! Launched this autumn, Tomy's new Freestyle range has been designed to have a unisex appeal and is ideally suited to the 'active dad' types. So move over Brad Pitt and David Beckham as there will soon be a real life 'Daddy Idol' to take centre stage who will have endless women swooning over him. The search is open to dads who have had a new baby since 7 December 2006 or has a baby before 7 December 2007. So if you think you have what it takes or know someone who does simply log on to www.tomy.co.uk/daddyidol or get a copy of November's issue of Prima Baby, complete the entry form along with pictures and wait with anticipation!

Totally Legless

The spooking season is once again upon us so get into the Halloween spirit of things and create your own ghostly goings-on with this chilling Crawling Zombie. Sensors will spring your pet zombie into life and he’ll groan, moan and shine his evil red eyes as he drags himself across the floor avoiding obstacles as his plastic form wanders your home. Thankfully this zombie has an off switch for when the afterlife holds no more appeal. Get your very own zombie minus the smell of rotting corpses for £19.95 www.iwantoneofthose.com.

Have a Whale of a Time

Go fishing for fun with Splashy the cheeky, electronic, squirting, and action-packed whale. Take it in turns to go fishing in the depths of his mouth to retrieve the sea-themed items he has swallowed with your green fishing rod but be careful not to tickle Splashy's tongue in the process as he will squirt you with water. Fun for all the family and yours for £14.99 from www.character-online.com.

Inflatable Boxing

Enjoy the thrill of boxing or settle a few scores or two without the risk of injury with these giant oversized inflatable boxing gloves. This is the most harmless form of boxing so you and you jumbo sized gloves won’t hurt your opponent at all (know matter how hard you try with that right hook) especially as they’ll be wearing an inflatable helmet. Have your own cartoon-style fight and unleash the fury with this hilariously stupid boxing equipment. Yours for £16.99 from www.hawkin.com.

Traditional Toys With a Twist

                                                                                                                                                                                               Treat your little ones to some traditional old favourites that have a contemporary twist with the Leapfrog Brightlings range. This collection of learning toys is much better than boring traditional building blocks and stacking cups and even has cool, contemporary designs which will combine well with development and fun for your tot. Brightlings come in a range of four sets of characters - Matchers, Dancers, Stackers and Builders - designed to trigger learning and development. The Brightlings home is the big yellow exploration Station (£29.99) - a world of discovery for your little tots featuring lights and sound effects that encourage sensory exploration. Incorporating a 'Grow With Me' feature, the station can transform from 'Baby Mode' which encourages language development, vocalization, motor skills and music appreciation to 'Toddler Mode' which introduces 5 languages, counting 1-10, Cause and Effect, Creative Thinking and social skills, giving two ways of play.

Princess Barbie

Barbie’s back again and surprise surprise she’s in a new guise inspired by the new musical movie The Island Princess, which follows the adventures of Princess Rosella after she is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Just like the movie this beautiful princess Rosella doll comes to life as royal ball gown magically transforms to reveal a fan of peacock feathers at the back of the dress and she sings memorable songs from the movie to recreate young girls favourite moments. Rosella also comes with a tiara that little that your little princess can wear too. Priced at around 19.99 from Hamleys.

Vocabulary Geniuses

The exceptionally smart are competing again. This time it was for the National Scrabble Championship title. These Scrabble obsessed wordsmiths were pretty good but it was winner Paul Allen who quite literally wiped the board with his opponent and came out on top scoring 1908 points, receiving the wordsmith’s ultimate accolade and a well deserved £1000. Feeling a bit unimpressed? This should change your tune.  A 17 year old student competed in the simultaneously held Schools Championship. In one game he scored 613; a score that betters any achieved by an adult finalist. Feeling inspired or simple? Maybe it’s time to wipe off that dust and brush up on those vocabulary skills.

Find a Home in Harrods

For just £34,995 you can get a six bedroom mansion with a luxury interior in a much sought after area; the only catch is you have to be around three and a half inches to live in it. As absurd as that price may sound we kid you not. It seems even doll’s houses are being affected by the property market these days and this one’s on display in Harrods toy department until Christmas. The makers of the doll’s house, art historians Kevin Mulvany and Susan Rodgers took three months to build this masterpiece which boasts a sumptuous interior with one bedroom, a bathroom, a well stocked kitchen, hallway, lounge, sitting room and a £15,000 brick finish. It even comes with chandeliers, carpets, working lamps, a newspaper left on the chair and shoes left in the hallway. Well at that price we should think so. You’ve heard nothing yet. Three years ago, whilst most of us would be scrimping and saving to buy a real house, they sold one of their miniature homes for an unbelievable £200,000.

Dr Who Mania

If it's the Doctor you want then Toys R Us is the place to go. The massive toy retailer has dedicated a whopping 24ft of wall space to the massive range of Dr Who toys and merchandise in each of its 73 toy stores, upping the stakes which might possibly lead to making it this years best selling product range. Despite having key items listed in this years best sellers - the Master Laser Screwdriver and the Dalek Sec Hybrid Voice Changer Mask - the company has announced they have the biggest range of Dr Who merchandise in the UK and more is on its way. As you can see from the picture, the humungous display is enhanced by the latest imagery from the New Doctor Who series featuring favourite characters including Sarah Jane, the Daleks, K9 and of course the Doctor. The dedicated wall also has illuminated effects with lights, sounds and motion to create a unique experience for shoppers and fans. New editions include the new Laser screwdriver and action figures from series three and new merchandise from The Sarah Jane adventures is expected to arrive in stores towards the end of the month. So for all those ardent Dr Who fans, you know where to go when you need your Dr Who fix!

Rat Trap

Remember Mouse Trap? The zany contraption-building game that involves players (mice) trying to navigate through a ridiculously complex mousetrap. Well here is the updated version - Ratatouille Kitchen Quake Game. In this thrilling daredeveil game players race around a wacky contraption made out of kitchen utensils but don't let Chef Skinner find you! He'll drop his cleaver and set off a wild and hillarious chain reaction of obstacles that could send you flying. The first player to get their special ingredients into the soup wins. Relive your favourite moments from the film with this fun-filled game of crazy mechanical gadgets available at Tesco Direct for £19.97.