cars | TheBoyandMe

TRU Review: Cars Aquadoodle

October 17, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

A few months ago, I reviewed a Rainbow Aquadoodle as a part of the Toyologist programme. When it arrived, I thought, "We've already got Aquadoodle mats, we don't need another one!" I quickly realised that not all aquadraw mats are the same, they have different features which make them an entirely different toy.

Therefore when I looked at the box for this Cars Aquadoodle I was interested to see what its 'special feature' was. And it is a special feature indeed. With this one, the mat is surrounded by the usual associated pictures (this time it's obviously characters from the Disney film Cars) and the colour that comes through on the mat is red. The special feature is a Lightning McQueen car that drives along a 'road' drawn by the special roller.

I've had experience of these types of 'follow the line' cars before and that one was rubbish. This one is excellent, it works really well and can pick up either the rollered road or a drawn line using the spare Aquadoodle pen.

If it loses the road or line that it should be following then it meanders around a little bit until it picks up another one, which I thought was rather clever of it. It's very quick to respond and can detect the faintest of lines, which is just as well because the roller works well but creates a bolder line when over a hard surface (not carpet).

My only negative of this, and it's a minor thing and depends on your noise threshold (mine's very low), is that it's quite noisy. Obviously, Lightning makes excited noises as he drives along and that is part of the appeal. The bit that I found gave me a headache (literally) is the whirr of the back wheels. However, like I said I have a low noise threshold; just ask one of my ex-pupils!

Aquadoodle sets can be a little bit pricey,and at £29.99 this set falls into that category. However, for a Cars fanatic (like my nephew; wait until he sees it), it's probably a must. How does it compare to the Rainbow Aquadoodle? It is more expensive but in this set you're getting a car that is responsive and interactive to your child's play, whereas the other set is more artistic. Different areas for entertainment, both worthwhile.

For more reviews by the Toys R Us Toyologists, click on the image below.

We were provided this free of charge to review. My opinion is, as always, honest.

Saturday 8th October 2011 – 'Daddy's Tummy' (280/365)

October 8, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

We were sent this rather fabulous t-shirt from TwistedTee for The Boy and Mr.TheBoyandMe to play with. It's great fun because Mr. TBAM gets to chill out on the floor doing nothing, while The Boy drives his little cars all over his stomach. I can thoroughly recommend this as a funny present for the man in your life, a really cool and clever t-shirt. Certainly beats socks!

Hot Wheels Wall Tracks

September 25, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 11 Comments

I would like to send your son some cars to play with.

Oh alright then, if you insist!

When we met up with the lovely Lexy from MammyWoo, The Boy discovered the wonders of die-cast cars. Addison didn't particularly want to share them with him, but how many toddlers do? Ever since then, The Boy has been very fond of the two Hot Wheels cars that I picked up for him in the supermarket.

Today I staggered home from a stressful day in work to find a large box labelled 'toys' waiting for us. Inside was this:

Wall Tracks Drift Rally Spinout Track Set and the Track Starter Set

Hot Wheels Wall Tracks are one of the new big toys for young lads (and daddies). The track is used vertically by attaching it to a wall.

Daftly, I opened up Drift Rally set before he went up for his nap. Daftly because he then sobbed his heart out when I had to take him up, he was perfectly happy sat pushing the car around on the unassembled bits of track. We had to take the car to bed to pacify him!

So while the little chap slept, I assembled the Drift Rally set. It needs to be put up on a wall that isn't covered in wallpaper and says it doesn't stick well to vinyl, so I opted for a 3ft wide section of kitchen wall. There is a really comprehensive set of instructions which are on an actual template that gets stuck to the wall. You then line up the four brackets against the template and adhere them to the wall with sticky pads. They are designed to be removed, indeed there are spare adhesive tabs. The pieces of the track then slot into holes in the brackets and rest there securely. The instructions recommend that you leave about half an hour or more to allow the pad to be securely attached.

When The Boy woke up, he couldn't wait to have a play.

We then spent an hour and a half in the kitchen playing with it!

I love this because it is flawless, not once did the car get stuck and not race down the track properly. On this track, there is a levered section which drops down before the car races along a bumpy section, before speeding around the corner and off into thin air.

I have often heard of toys that provide hours of fun; this one actually does!

There are a few things that I've learnt which might help:

When it says 3 foot clearance, it means it. We positioned it next to a door which we then couldn't open!
It comes with one car which works brilliantly. We have a few other Hot Wheels cars, one of which doesn't work as it is a) not heavy enough to trigger the level, and b) has a ridge on the bottom which catches.
Don't put it near a large heavy item which you can't move to retrieve the car which has just rolled underneath!

The Hot Wheels Wall Tracks Drift Rally Spinout set retails for £29.97 (RRP) and I think it is worth every penny. It's incredibly clever in its engineering, and because it is a wall-mounted toy it saves space. The whole thing can be removed, leaving just the four mounting plates. They can be pulled off with no problem by pulling down on the adhesive tabs (although I did manage to remove a small chuck of plaster by pulling up not down: follow the instructions!).

If you are looking for a racing track for your little ones, this is a must. It's aimed at 4yrs+ but The Boy is 2 and you can see he was capable of using it.

We were sent this set for the purpose of review. The fact that we love it is entirely honest, as is this review.