SUMMARY

Happy Hopperz are a new take on space hoppers and are particularly suited to younger children who find it difficult to use the classicly shaped space hoppers. They come in various colourful, animal-themed designs. They can be used indoors or outdoors. We tested the normal size one for 12 months+..

MANUFACTURER: Happy Hopperz are an independent manufacturer, started by a couple who designed one for their small son.

AGE RANGE: 12 months+.

RRP: £21.99 for 12 month+ version. £44.99 for XL 3yrs+ version.

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE
It is pretty easy to use.  We inflated ours once several months ago and not needed to top it up at all.  As a product it is really for the child to use it as it wants, so there is no complication here at all.

DURABILITY
We have the Dino hopper which has been used indoors and in the garden by several children and it has withstood it well.  The plastic is of the type that marks quite easily so it will not stay pristine for very long.  But I have no reason to doubt that it will not last a good while longer yet.

VISUAL APPEAL
There are a range of different animals so you can choose which one you like best.  They come in bright colours with simple facial designs which appeal to children.

FUNCTIONALITY
My 3 year old daughter has loved using it and bounces around the garden quite happily.  They could be used indoors depending on your flooring (we have tiled floors so have encouraged her to use it outside as she does fall off quite often).  But the beauty of them is that there is not very far for them to fall so they just climb back on for more bouncing!

COST EFFICIENCY
Given the amount of use that it has got, I have to give this the maximum score.  Visiting children as well as my own use it and this shows no sign of abating.  At £21.99, it is within budget for a gift for family members and worth the cost if you want to buy it as a one-off addition to play equipment.

ORIGINALITY
Of course space hoppers came first, but it is a very good idea to make something similar for younger children.  I'm not aware of anything else on the market that does the same thing.

OVERALL RATING
Like many other families, we feel we accumulate too many toys.  But the Happy Hopperz is firmly on the "keep" list every time we have a clear out.  It is fun, safe (on a soft surface!) and good for any child - even very little ones could be held sitting on it and bounce a little.  We have been delighted with ours.

Find Happy Hopperz at www.happyhopperz.co.uk or browse the online brochure by clicking here.

SUMMARY

My 9 year old daughter tested the Designer Sketchbook and Sequin Loop Earrings make. The sketchbook allows you to sketch clothes design using stencils, stickers and patterns to create your own designs. The earrings make is a simple craft to make two pairs of loop earrings (for pierced ears).

DISTRIBUTOR: Wooky Entertainment

AGE RANGE: 8+

RRP: £4.99 for Sketchbook and £3.99 for Earrings.

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE

The sketchbook was really easy to use as the child just picks up a pencil and off they go. The earrings were more tricky to make and needed adult supervision, especially as we needed to use tweezers to bend the metal to allow my daughter to put the beads on the loop.

DURABILITY

The sketchbook is still going as there are a lot of designs and each can take as long as your child wants. However, my daughter did seem to have quite a low boredom threshold with it. The earrings were quick to make but at least the wearer can keep on wearing them (although my comment would be that my daughter doesn't have pierced ears so couldn't wear the earrings herself!).

VISUAL APPEAL

Both come little packaged kits and are definitely portable. The earrings looked good when they were made, but may be a little childish for an adult!

FUNCTIONALITY

Yes, on the whole both do what they are designed to do.

COST EFFICIENCY

Both seem to be good value.

ORIGINALITY

We hadn't seen other products like this, but that's not to say that they don't exist.

OVERALL RATING

Both products certainly do what they say they will. The sketchbook will be something that my daughter will dip in and out of and she's told me that she will keep her designs to make into real clothes when she is older! She was really excited to make the earrings, but once she realised she wouldn't be able to wear them herself they slightly lost their appeal. They would make good stocking fillers but they are a bit too big.

SUMMARY

A fantastic and fun craft for a craft loving child, age 5+. A bit like origami, but also involves sticking. The monsters are great to play with once they are made. My 9 year old daughter reviewed this craft.

DISTRIBUTOR: Wooky Entertainment

AGE RANGE: 5+

RRP: £5.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE

Quite easy as my 9 year old followed the instructions and didn't have to ask for much help. The child has to glue flaps together to build the monster, sticking flaps with the same number to each other. Occasionally she couldn't get the flaps to stick down properly and I had to help her, but on the whole I left her to her own devices.

DURABILITY
They have started to fall apart a bit and get knocked over.

VISUAL APPEAL
They are very bright and look good on the windowsill.

FUNCTIONALITY

Yes, it's a easy craft and she did manage to build all the monsters successfully. Some of them did look a bit wonky, but that is probably because of how they were made!

COST EFFICIENCY

My daughter was building them for a couple of hours and then she and her sisters spent quite some time playing with them, so I definitely feel they were worth £5.99.

ORIGINALITY
The concept is not new as I remember making this sort of thing as a child, but my daughter hadn't come across this type of craft before.

OVERALL RATING

Making and playing with the craft did last quite a long time and my daughter thought it was great fun. The fact that she could do most of it independently was great. We would recommend this craft.

SUMMARY

Splitface is THE coolest Bionicle in the price range. It looks awesome, it’s a great build, and we would definitley recommend buying this model.

MANUFACTURER: LEGO Hero Factory

AGE RANGE: 7-14

RRP: £9.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USEThis is a tricky model to make, with a lot of parts. Because it splits you have to make both halves differently, so you have to take a little more care than with other Bionicle models. This is a model for an older child with good concentration and some experience with other Lego models.

DURABILITYThe good quality plastic pieces are robust and unlikely to break under normal play. This toy can be re-made many times. The bullets are however likely to get lost very quickly

VISUAL APPEALThe finished model looks amazing. It has no hands, but instead claws and lazer blasters. His head switches colours and attitude

FUNCTIONALITYNot only is this a great model, the bullet firing mechanism works well (until you lose the bullet) . You can also use the pieces to make other models.

COST EFFICIENCYHe is quite expensive, but is an amazing buy, especially compared to others in the range

ORIGINALITYThis is another generic Bionicle, BUT it is the first one we have seen that actually look more like a cyborg than a robot.

OVERALL RATINGThis is our favourite Bionicle (which is saying something as we love the brand).

SUMMARY

Black Phantom is one of the largest Bionicles you can get, consequently we think it’s the best Bionicle ever.

MANUFACTURER: Lego Hero Factory

AGE RANGE: 9-16

RRP: £14.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USEWe found this challenging for a 12 year old to build. It took well over an hour for an experienced Lego builder, and there were lots of steps to follow. It does clip together quite easily provided you pay attention.

DURABILITYThere are quite a few fragile parts on this model. The horns fall off easily, and the bullets also are very easy to lose.

VISUAL APPEALIf we could give this 6 out of 5 we would. It looks amazing, and is much bigger, with its own pet that clips on to arm and turns into a weapon. It has a double ended weapon which the model wields effectively.

FUNCTIONALITYNot only is this a great model, the bullet firing mechanism works well (until you lose the bullet) . You can make it into a smaller version, but it does not really make lots of different models.

COST EFFICIENCYIt’s a very very very good deal at around £15 as the model is very satisfying to make and play with.

ORIGINALITYThis is another generic Bionicle, BUT it looks great and it has a great pet, and is a really great build.

OVERALL RATINGWe love this product.

SUMMARY

Surge is the easiest bionicle we have made, but does have a good selection of weapons to play with. If you are looking for a quick and easy Bioicle to play with then Surge would be a good one to get.

MANUFACTURER: LEGO Hero Factory

AGE RANGE: 6-14

RRP: £6.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USEThere are not as many pieces as some other models, and they go together easily with the excellent instructions.

DURABILITYThe good quality plastic pieces are robust and unlikely to break under normal play. This toy can be re-made many times.

VISUAL APPEALThe finished model is one of the coolest we have seen in the smaller Bioncile range.

FUNCTIONALITYIt's good to build, but you cannot really make anything else from these pieces, hence only a 3 star rating. You could combine it with pieces from other models though.  

COST EFFICIENCYIt is good value at less than £10, but many children will want more than one of these to play battles, so you could end up spending a lot on a collection

ORIGINALITYThe Bionicle brand has been around a long time, and Lego have many variations on this model.  That does not detract from this being a good example of the range

OVERALL RATINGIt’s a good make but there are better models in the range in our son’s opinion

SUMMARY

One of the many Bionicles out there price targetted at the £10 market - a good build and a well liked model.

MANUFACTURER: LEGO Hero Factory

AGE RANGE: 7-14

RRP: £9.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USEMy 9 year old found it “very fun and easy to build, but some parts were very hard and I needed help from my 12 year old brother”.

DURABILITYIt is made of strong plastic and clips together well. There are a number of small parts, and the silver ball got lost under the sofa within 5 minutes. The plastic bag does provide a temporary place to keep the pieces, but be careful not to lose the instructions as well if you want to remake the same model.

VISUAL APPEALAccording to my son, “When it had its mask on it looked better than without it. It took ten minutes to build altogether. At the end it looked really awesome because of his weapons, and his armour. It has a gun that has two swords sticking out of it, and it shoots a silver ball. One of his arms has a green shield.”

FUNCTIONALITYIt makes a really good robot, which can stand up by itself. The children enjoyed helping each other to follow the clear instructions, but it is a one-child at a time toy to make.

COST EFFICIENCYThis is one of the cheaper models in the Hero Factory brand, at around £10. You can put the pieces together to make up your own robot, and they are interchangeable with other models and Bionicles. You can also add them to other Lego ranges to make really imaginative machines.

ORIGINALITY
The Bionicle brand has been around for a long time, meaning there are plenty of others to match up with.

OVERALL RATING
This is a good toy which appealed to both the boys and girls, which is rewarding to make and strong enough to play with afterwards.

SUMMARY

The Trash Pack are described as 'The Gross Gang in your garbage'. They are a collectible range aimed at boys and there are over 100 to collect and swap. The Trash Pack Dumper Truck featured in this review is a great place to store your 'Trashies'.

MANUFACTURER: Moose Toys (distributed by Flair in the UK)

AGE RANGE: 5 years +

RRP: £19.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE

Fairly easy to use. The pack comes with all the component parts attached to the truck and my 5 year old son soon worked out how to clip and unclip each bit.

DURABILITY

The set seems to be made of good quality plastic and the parts that you clip bits to seemed well made and strong. My son thought it was good that you could store all the smaller parts within the truck to help avoid losing any bits.

VISUAL APPEAL

Very bright and the graffiti style writing I think will appeal to boys.

FUNCTIONALITY

I'm sure there are many messages that could be drawn with recycling from this toy but I think for most they will just see it as another vehicle to play with, although points about recycling could be learnt through imaginative play with this toy.

COST EFFICIENCY
I believe these toys retail around £19.99 which is quite expensive but comparable to similar toys. As it is a collectible set it could work out expensive to add to the collection.

ORIGINALITY
It is a good concept and the grossness will appeal to boys in particular. It is quite similar in style to Moshi Monsters so it would hopefully differentiate itself enough to find it's own market.

OVERALL RATING  

Trash Pack is bright and colourful with instant appeal to children.  It appears durable and can be used in many play situations. A well designed toy with plenty of scope for imaginative play.

SUMMARY

A great addition to the LEGO product range. My girls are 9, 7 and 3. The 9 year old got the most out of it, enjoying building it step by step. The 7 year old loves playing so enjoyed making up games and scenarios with the playsets. The 3 year old really enjoyed playing with it too.

MANUFACTURER: LEGO

AGE RANGE: 5 years +

RRP: From £4.99 for the smallest set

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE

Really easy to use. The LEGO parts fit together perfectly and all work together to make a really realistic playset. We tried the Butterfly Beauty Shop and the attention to details was lovely, from the tiny lipsticks to the till with money in the draws.

DURABILITY

The pieces are sturdy and stick together well. It should last for years as long as we don't lose too many of the pieces.

VISUAL APPEAL
Looks great. LEGO have introduced some new colours to the range, mainly pastel blues, purples and pinks. The whole range is really appealing to girls. Once the sets are built they are great to play with and a girl can get lost in the make believe world they have created.

FUNCTIONALITY
Yes. It is designed to be educational to build and fun to play with. It certainly fulfils both of these functions.

COST EFFICIENCY
I would say yes, because the sets will last for years. The smaller sets can be bought for £5 or £10 and are ideal for pocket money. The larger sets can be saved up for or bought as a birthday or Christmas present. But LEGO is never cheap so it may not seem like value for money for some.

ORIGINALITY
It is different in that it's a playset for girls that you actually build yourself (unlike say, Polly Pocket, that comes pre built). However the concept of LEGO is not new and I'm sure that most girls would have played with other LEGO sets before.

OVERALL RATING
A brilliant addition to the LEGO range and one that appealed much more to my 'girlie' girls than other ranges have.

SUMMARY

"A flying dragon ship" as described by the 8 year old who reviewed this toy.  It is part of the Lego Ninjago collection.  A large kit which comes with very clear building instructions.  It includes six Ninjago character mini figures.  The ship has many appealing features including the sails which flip in and out at the touch of a button, opening cockpit and plenty of weapons.  For ages 8 years and over.

MANUFACTURER: LEGO

AGE RANGE: 6-14 years

RRP: £59.99

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS

EASE OF USE

The Lego pieces are in several sealed see-through packets and each packet is numbered.  The kit came with two large booklets of instructions.  Each page tells you which numbered packet of lego you should be using and shows very clearly where each individual piece goes by showing a diagram of how the model should look as you build it. Each page also shows which pieces you need for that particular part. 

DURABILITY

The ship is not designed for "hard" play.  Bits will fall off, but can easily be put back on again.  The lego pieces themselves will last forever.  As long as the instruction booklets are kept and pieces don't get lost, the model can be broken up and re-built as many times as the child likes.

VISUAL APPEAL

The ship looks amazing once built.  Lego have put a lot of thought ino the design, and they have thought of everything, from moving parts to the small detail, such as secret doors which flip up to reveal hiding places for the weapons.  The box and instruction booklets show how it will look once built, complete with "action" shots of characters doing their Ninjago thing on and around the ship.  One picture was so appealing that my son wanted to play with it in the bath!

FUNCTIONALITY

Ultimately, this is a construction toy that can be played with once built. It has moving parts and small parts that will fall off, but will provide hours of fun and encourages imaginative play.  Patience required.

COST EFFICIENCY

The RRP is £59.99. This isn't a cheap toy, but if you have a child who loves playing with and building lego, and they are in the right age bracket, then this would make an ideal gift. It can be broken up and rebuilt again another time (provided the instructions and pieces are kept safely!). It also looks good on display on a shelf somewhere in the child's bedroom.

ORIGINALITY

This toy is a typical Lego construction toy aimed at slightly older children.  Ideal for a 7-9 year old who has outgrown their smaller Lego kits and is ready for a challenge.  Equally ideal for a slightly older child who simply enjoys building these kind of kits.  It makes a refreshing alternative to the numerous computer games which this age range also enjoy playing.

OVERALL RATING

Another amazing piece of kit from Lego.  Very clear building instructions.  This toy will appeal to any child who is in to Lego Ninjago.

Find out more at ninjago.lego.com