Toyology

Turn yourself into a T-600 Terminator

  

Kit yourself up as a T-600 from the Terminator Salvation flick and no one will bother you however loudly you munch your popcorn. The T-600 mask Voice N Vision skull (£34.99)is a decent looking voice changer with sound effects and LED red eye that are menacing to those you stare at but from inside the mask you get an opaque view. The Power-fist (£29.99) should make a decent addition to you office warfare kit, not only a noise maker but with a flying fist for random attacks. Last in line are a collection of body transfers (£7.99) that aparently make you look metal underneath, now no one is going to mess with you!

Solar Powered toy offers six times the fun

 

From Solar technicians to beginners in the art of harnessing the power of the sun this 6-in-1 solar kit offers half a dozen different robots from just 25 parts. No screws to fiddle about with, just a collection panels and pieces complete with large print diagrams and instructions that make perfect sense. Pretty good value we reckon, £13 for this little lot - Robotic dog, boat, moving plane, car, windmill and desktop plane - Grab one at Red5

Mountaineering expedition of sorts in your back garden

 

Unless you're unlucky enough to have active tectonic plates beneath your home then it is unlikely a mountain will surface anytime soon, which is great news unless you have budding mountaineers with a desire to practice their scaling skills. A solution has been found, the Skyward summit is a sizeable structure that reachs over 2 metres at its peak and all four sides offering different routes to the top, thats over 100 square foot of climbing area. Complete with a couple of cargo nets for the outside, one to catch them on the inside, a flag to plonk at the top as they reach the summit make for an activity centre perfect for budding Boningtons. £450 at Hamleys online

Balancing Act

 

Walking the tightrope is a trciky business and perhpas best kept under the big top for the professionals, "Slackin" however brings similar principles to the masses. Using strong nylon webbing it offers a wider surface on which to balance and, as it is a little less rigid than a tightrope means you can bounce about on it for extra fun...All you need to get started is one of these kits and two fixed points that can take some strain, trees come highly recommended. Just attach your kit at both ends and let the practice begin, there are loads of online resources offering advice on how to master this sport which started back in the 80's so in no time you'll be impressing onlookers. Prices start at £44.99 for the basic set and the more adventurous can grab the bulkier kit for £79.99 - Both available at Iwantoneofthose.com

Scalextric Special

 

Available in September this Lotus Gold Leaf tem was driven back in 1968 by the legend that was Graham Hill, available around the UK and Australian markets only we say this is an absolute must for recreating retro racing days around your slot track.

Nice claw Mr Wolf

 

Wolverine was born with thismutant ability to extand claws from his wrists, a superhero skill like none of his peers.  Grab yourself a Wolverine Electronic Battle Claw, slide your hand inside and just a flick of the wrist extends the claws with an electronic clash - £19.99 at Toysrus

New in the Scalextric showroom

A couple of new cars have just rolled out of the Scalextric showroom, both superb rally car replicas, but both from very different eras. The Lamborghini Gallardo GT3made its first appearance in 2008 which the yellow Ferrari 308 GTB is a replica of a car first raced back in 1978. Both are available over at the Scalextric website for£32.50 and £40 respectively, and what an addition they'd make to any rally fansset.

Add some horsepower to your cycle

Many of us stuck a lollipop stick in our spokes as kids, we thought the sound akin to a motorbike engine, how wrong we were. Then this gadget came along and changed everything, attached to your handlebar the Moto Horn is revved up and offers a satisfying grunt that should give you the illusion that you can screech away from the lights. Now the folk at Firebox have brought it back for a new generation of kids to get their motors humming.. No batteries required just a twist of the wrist. £5.95 HERE

Action Man for the 21st century

An extensive range of Armed Forces inspired toys, role play kits and vehicles have just been released by the folk at Character Options and after spending a day with the line-up we are mighty impressed. There are thre characters from each service which offer great detail and accessories and all were developed in conjuction with the servicesand ensure they were all spot on. The vehicles also offer excellent detail, now we hope they bring a scale sized aircraftcarrier in as part of the range. Finally there'sa range o role play items inclusing metal detector, night vision goggles, outfits and walkie-talkies for the kids to lose themsves in play outdoors. Take a look HERE for the entire range.

Star Trek in your pocket

There are toys-a-plenty out there celebrating the latest film,perfect for a bit of role play or re-enacting your favourite scenes, for those who hanker after a less CGI based Star rek, where planet surfaces were mainly polystyrene and "beam me up" looked as though someone simply turned the dimmer switch this keyring will have the memories flooding back. There are six original phrases inside plus a bonus secret phrase which we assume you'll have to doa fair bit of button pressing before hearing it, just £8.99 at Underground