Toyology

Toy Fair fun with Top Gear fella

Not content with an hour a week of James May and his Toy based shennanigans then perhaps you'd like to purchasetickets and meet the man himself as he hosts his very own Toy Fair. On offer, for the moderate sum of £20 (which includes a signed copy of his book) is a show of some fabulous LEGO models, the chance to ask the man a few questions, race against him on a Scalextric track, enter a Meccano building comp, make your own Airfix model and even mould a Morph. We wanted more feature based stuff on toys on TV and have a "careful what you wish for"  feeling now that the prospect of a James May action figure becomes closer to reality. Still, £20, not bad for a day out - HERE

Balloon-Copter powered by hot air

Blowing into a balloon and then just letting it rip around the room is amusing enough, keeps small kids and animals entertained for hours but grown-ups possibly need a little more given back after their exhaling efforts. The Balloon Copter features three small blades enclosed in a plastic ring, this system attaches to a balloon thats been filled with CO2 and after giving the rotor an encouraging spin and letting go your copter will begin a generally upward trajectory whilst letting out a whistle though its spinning centre and can reach 50 metres if your balloon is big enough. At ust £4.49 from PLAY.com surely a superb stockling filler!

Big Bubble Machine

Forget paltry bubble blowers this gadget includes a patented "Bubble Thing" (invented by NY Architect David Stein) and a helpful bubble guide entitled "How To Make Monstrous, Huge, Unbelievably BIG Bubbles". So grab one and literally step inside and impress your garden guests. £8.99 at IWOOT

Golf for fairweather fans

The British Open is in full swing, lets hope the weather on the Ayrshire coast plays into the home grown players hands and puts the visitors off their stride.There are many fans of this infuriating sport but if you want to put in the practice whilst staying warm and dry what's to be done?

Fun in the Sun

Lounging around outside is fine for a while but when the tedium of being horizontal sets in you'll need one of our trusty toys at hand so you can stretch your legs and ready yourself to set back down and siesta once more. With these outdoor games to hand they'll also help keep the kids off your case as you get some downtime. Here's our top ten outdoor toys:

NERF Havoc arrives..Almost

We first saw the rapid fire machine gun in January at London Toy Fair and got a little overexcited at this belt fed, fully automatic, foam dart firer. Blasting its bullets out at the rate of three per second it was set to be the ultimate posession in anyones NERF arsenal, but it all went quiet on the launch date front, rumours abound that it might notmake it to the UK! We can happily tell you that it is on the way in a couple of weeks, priced at £49.99 over at IWOOT...It'll blow you away!

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

Sticks are dangerous...Official

The Royal Veterinary College tell us to avoid throwing sticks for Fido to retreive due to the horrific injuries it can cause, we'll not bang on about the various incidents that have been seen or even mention an over eager nanny state with little better to do than release a report whose statistics for "stick injury" seem fairly low. However, if the reports have you worried for your pooch then this plastic replica is perfect, and unlike a real one has an added sqeuak. £3.99 from HERE