Toyology

New wrapping service is really rubbish

                                                                  "Crapwrap" is the finest bad wrapping service around around and for your four pounds the folk at Firebox will ensure that any gift given this makeover looks like it has been left in the hands of infants wearing skiing gloves. Firebox

Chocolate Scrabble - Spells YUM, EAT

Containing 32 playing pieces, each a letter with a palatable treat at its centre, this quick play version of the wordsmiths favourite pastime is long overdue. Pull together the highest score and the prize for your triumph is an even larger chocolate prize. The next version we hope will have a fully edible board. Available now for £9.99 HERE

Chopper Challenge

The folk at Danbar toys are having a massive blow-out right now of their entire R/C range, make sure you check out this, the Combat Ground Assault game. Control your chopper from up to ten metres high and lay into the base with infra-red shots which, after the desired number of hits will result in the tank being blown to smithereens! Get over to Danbar

DIY Arcade cabinet

Soopa Coin-Up Brosis the snappy name for this arcade D-I-Y vinyl toy created by Erick Scar. Even as a child the creator wanted to make his own arcade games without the big budget. This seven inch vinyl toy can be customized with paint, felt-tips and pencils to create your own on-screen action. Each Soopa vinyl toy comes with stickers to aid in your screen and cabinet design. Pay homage to your favorite arcade games or invent a new one. £19.99 at Urban Retro

Hide and Seek with Scooby!

Give Scooby a call on the interactive remote and he'll give you clues as to how close you are like 'You're colder than my nose' or 'You're on the right path!'. Scooby also shows you how close you are by lighting up the zones map on your remote so you can follow the spoken clues and go from cold blue to warm yellow to red hot before you find him. Great fun for kids from 5+ to play alone or in pairs, you do of course need someone to hide Sccoby first! £29.99 at Character as well as loads of other Scooby Doo stuff.

Timmy Mallets right hand man

A stable part of any eighties kids TV diet was Wide Awake Club with the presenter Timmy Mallet and his unique presenting insanity. His utterly innoffensive weapon of choice for keeping his guests in check was "Pinky Punky" better known as Mallets Mallet. We can't think of any decent reason to own one, an oversized pink soft-foam hammer variant.....But the buy button looms large! £14.95 from Gadgetshop

Dog toys create comical canines

Chewed up tennis balls and rubber bones might well entertain your pooch but how about a toy for your pet that offers us humans some happiness that lasts longer than the five-minute floorshow, the norm before irritation sets in. This trio of Extreme dog toys are ready for some "ruff" and tumble with Fido yet their added extra is the catchphrases. For comedy-loving canines there's a clown that can't stop laughing and yelling phrases such as 'What dreadful breath you have, my friend!' and 'Oh my, Grandma, what big teeth you have!' Or the wrestler shouting WWF rubbish like 'Who says wrestling ain't real?' and 'You never gonna get my belt little doggie!' Then there's a Zombie that does lots of moaning 'Aargh my leg...you can't kill what doesn't live!' and 'Ughr, tear me apart, my stitching is coming loose. £12.95 at FIREBOX

Airfix F1 arrives

Following the sucess of Lewis Hamilton and bizarrely the ad in which he appears for the Santander banking  group Airfix were inundated with requeests for an F1 kit like the one seen in the ad and have managed to get it into roduction and on the shelves in time for Christmas. The 1:32 scale model clips and screws together, so no messing about with glue or paint....5,000 units are up for grabs , get yours for £24.99 at Modelsupermarket.

Say it with a Bear

              

Not just a pretty face this cute bear also has a simple recording device inside so you can leave a message upp to ten seconds long for a loved one. When they bore of your sloppy serenade it can be recorded over again and again with whatever banal message you choose to induce a smile when you press its paw. £14.99 from I Want One of Those

Forecasters Fridge Magnets

Paying homage to the weather teller who kept the kipper tie market alive, matching his with checked jackets and helping us to decide what we should be wearing too as the legend Michael Fish looked into his crystal ball....Forgetting of course to do so on that fateful day back in 1987. This retro magnet set contains 35 pieces to cover all eventualities and an image of the man himself, just sneak yourself an insiders view from your TV then present your findings in style to the assembled breakfast eaters. £7.95 at Firebox