Halilit’s bath toy range featuring foam letters, numbers, clocks, dominos, mirror, and my favorite – a foam fishing game!

Perfect Petzzz are the most adorable life-like sleeping kitties and puppies. I was astonished to see their chest rise up and down and to touch their soft fur. “Each pet comes with its own Adoption Certificate, Petzzz Carrier, Collar and Petzzz Bed. Perfect Petzzz breathe for up to 4 months on 2 ‘D’ Alkaline batteries (not included)” Seen at the Selkin booth.

Dotty Dinosaurs game from Orchard Toys. “Can you help the dotty dinosaurs to find their missing spots? Throw the dice to match shapes or colours and be the first to cover your dinosaur board in this fun game for young players. Two games in one.”

Tomy Magic Storytime Theater mini projector that can beam images on to a wall. You can listen and watch, read on your own, or set it to automatically turn off after a story. Available Autumn/Winter 2007.

The new bendy Betty Spaghetty dolls have rainbow hair that I think is absolutely wild and fun. I can’t seem to find a picture of her, though.

This Playmobil Take Along Dollhouse reminds me of the Fisher Price dollhouse I had when I was a little girl. It has a handle and can be opened up to play then closed up with all the little pieces of furniture safely stored away inside.

Fortunately, I am not even half-way through the catalogs yet so there will be more must-buy and, perhaps, weird toy lists to come.

Tags: toys, children, kids, london toy fair, parenting, family, playmobil, betty spaghetty

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At the London Toy Fair, I picked up a new product listing catalog and Toy News magazine. Here are some of the weirdest toys I saw. If you can explain their appeal, please leave a comment!

Bamz Interactive insoles that you put inside your shoe and talk when you walk. You can program whatever messages you like.

Gymkids Cyberbike and other exercise equipment for kids. Speaking as someone who hates the gym, I’d rather get the kids outdoors walking and running around. Perhaps ok for winter months during bad weather but I can’t imagine gym equipment being that much fun for anyone let alone kids.

Stikfas and Cuboyds figures with interchangeable parts. There’s a whole range that will appeal to the collector in every child but their featureless faces freak me out! Cuboyds are a litte cuter, though, and I think my son would enjoy playing with them. Quite honestly, they look like pocket money toys given out as party favors.

Bionic Putty – you can bounce it, stretch it, snap it, shape it, squish it and watch the colors change. I cannot recommend putty to anyone. They stick to everything and little tiny thready bits are very hard to remove once dry.

Gelli Baff bath product. One pack of bath powder turns the water into very thick goo, the other pack turns it back into water. GROSS!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Street Grinding figures. A ripcord goes through the turtle’s body from front to back and when it’s pull out, the turtle will fly, do a face plant, then whiz away. The ripcord is highly unattractive.

My list of favorite toys from the 2007 London Toy Fair will be up tomorrow.

Tags: toys, teenage mutant ninja turtles, tmnt, bath toys, cuboyds, stikfas, children, kids, toy fair, parenting, family, silly putty, bamz

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Over the past few days, I’ve been going over some of my favorite finds at the 2007 London Toy Fair (at least those that I had time to see during my short one hour there). You may have noticed that I haven’t highlighted any toys from the major brands, such as Fisher Price, Hasbro, or Wowee. And the reason is that their particular sections of the convention hall were fortresses where none shall enter unless they know the secret password.

I regret not having taken a picture of the way these big toy companies set themselves up at Toy Fair. (I got camera shy after being told off at the Fashion Angels booth.) Unlike the smaller booths where people are free to wander in and out, these sanctums have four walls with windows cut into them so you can take a peek inside or only display windows with select merchandise. To get in, you have to go up to the counter set-up at the entrance of the booth and make an appointment. Actually, I’m not sure how to make an appointment because when I cluelessly went up to one, I was told that they were awfully busy that first day (media day) and that I should try again later. When later? I didn’t have time for later!

As for “busy”? Toy Fair was far from busy as far as I could see. The aisles had barely anyone and most of the stalls were full of employees talking to one another. It wasn’t much different at the larger companies but I suspect I was there too early to catch the hoopla with celebrities and swarms of press photographing inanimate objects.

Being the newbie pseudo-journalist, I didn’t have a clue how to barge my way into these places nor did I know what I was entitled to. I had been led to believe that there would be lots of free goodies and had hoped to be able to give them away to Play Library readers but I ended up with nothing. In fact, since I had promised my son a goodie, I ended up giving him a Hot Wheels garage I had stashed in my toy closet for emergencies such as this.

Granted, I had done no preparation whatsoever to attend a trade show since I’d happened upon the information just one week before Toy Fair started. But I have attended many medical conferences and Toy Fair wasn’t too different. There were the usual fat balding men who’re too snooty to talk to anyone but themselves as well as the overly made up women who patrol the entrances to the secret lairs of the evil big toy companies. Toy Fair should have been fun, exciting, and full of innovative products. It was really none of these things.

I left Toy Fair thinking that I should pay more attention to the smaller toy manufacturers. Who needs another Barbie typewriter or character toy when the elderly gentleman manning the tiny booth with handmade wooden alphabet blocks has no one to talk to? Being big doesn’t give anyone a monopoly on fun.

More toys from London Toy Fair to follow this week when I share with you the wackiest toys from the catalog and the most anticipated

Play Library’s London Toy Fair Series:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Tags: london toy fair, british toy fair, toy fair, toys, children, kids, parenting, family

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Le Toy Van also makes castles such as the Skull Fortress pictured below and other imaginative wooden toys that allow children to create their own fantasylands.

Le Toy Van toys can be found primarily in the UK and Ireland (links above are to Amazon.co.uk – aff).

Tags: le toy van, wooden toys, castles, doll houses, dolls, fairies, toys, children, kids, family, parenting, fun, toy fair

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Continuing my series on London Toy Fair 2007. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.

After having some fun with the Aquapalz virtual pets, the Fashion Angels beckoned. Kerri and I have written mostly about Barbie and Bratz dolls but Fashion Angels seem like a better alternative to either. Produced by The Bead Shop, Fashion Angels are larger than the average Barbie or Bratz doll at 15 inches and are plush dolls instead of plastic. Their faces are embroidered and they wear wigs that can be changed.

The Fashion Angel Living Doll pictured is named Debo. Her profile says that she loves to design fashion and hope to have her own clothing line. Her pet peeves are school uniforms and people without their own original style. (Judgmental little thing, isn’t she?) The multicultural Fashion Angels also includes Bebe, Izzy, and Lulu (very Sloane).

Although Fashion Angels might not appeal to mothers who are above such frivolities , they are well made and perky rather than trashy (Bratz) and not so provocative (Barbie). Their wardrobe is amazing – glitter, sequens, and leopard print trims all sturdily tailored for endless changes of ensemble. Fashion Angels Enterprises also include a vast range of accessories including doll houses, sketchbooks, pens, magnetic dress-up doll sets, and Design Studio Sets where children can design clothing for 15-inch paper dolls. Their website also has a Fan Club where kids can send in their fashion designs. I was pretty impressed with the children’s creations.

A Google Fight between Fashion Angels and Bratz has Fashion Angels winning by almost 4 to 1. Barbie, however, wins over Fashion Angels by almost 35 to 1. And as you can see from the poll in our sidebar, Barbie is winning out over Bratz.

If I had to choose from the three, I think I’d have more fun with Fashion Angels. What do you think?

NB: I really wanted to take a picture of the Fashion Angels at Toy Fair with all their accoutrements, but was told that it was not allowed. I have no idea why. Next time I’ll be more pushy and ask. Forgive me for I am but a fledgling journalist.

Tags: fashion angels, barbie, bratz, dolls, children, kids, girls, fashion, parenting, family, toys, fun

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Nikko UK describes Aquapalz Virtual Pets:

Aqualpalz are cute virtual marine pets available in Tropical Fish, Dolphins, and Jelly Fish pets. Featuring a touch-sensitive screen for you to communicate with your Aquapalz, there are 3 interactive games to play and you can watch your pet play in its very own aquatic playground.

The most impressive part of Aquapalz is its ability to flip ends no matter which side you hold up! So you can play with it even while it hangs on your neck or when holding it in your hand. Aquapalz are also Skype-enabled and you can dock it in the base you see in the poster below and play PC games with it.

Tags: aquapalz, gamez, nikko, electronic handheld games, children, kids, toys, toy fair, family, parenting

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Here’s a video of the R2-D2 I mentioned earlier in part 1 of my series on London Toy Fair 2007.

Tags: r2d2, r2-d2, nikko r2d2 mobile entertainment system, robots, star wars, toys, children, kids, family, parenting

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Snow! For the first time since I moved to London a year ago, there was snow. We had a lot of fun playing in it but I knew it would be trouble.

The subway train I needed to take was severely delayed so a journey that should have taken me one and a half hours ended up taking two and a half hours. As the announcements rang through the stations, I wondered if I should even bother at all but I forged on. I didn’t want to waste my first opportunity to attend a trade show as a memeber of the Press.

Welcome to Toy Fair!

I pinned on my badge and grabbed the official Toy Fair bag for brochures and other materials.

Then I called toyologist Peter Jenkinson who will be attending the Toy Fair every day starting today until Saturday, January 27th. He recommended checking out the R2-D2 at the Nikko booth.

I hope I haven’t blown Peter’s secret cover since his name isn’t mentioned anywhere on Toyology. Rumor has it he’s bringing another toyologist on board so look for new developments and hopefully more frequent posts.

Here are the amazing Nikko Home Electronics Star Wars R2-D2’s! The smaller one is the R2-D2 Communication System which is Skype enabled.

The larger R2-D2 Mobile Entertainment System stands about three feet tall and has an iPod docking station and stereo speakers, DVD player and projector, USB lightsaber phone, web camera, CD and MP3 players, and a Millennium Falcon remote. My husband is already getting out his wallet.

For the rest of my hour, I walked really really fast through the exhibition hall with my camera tucked under one arm and a notebook open at the ready. I met some very nice people and saw some toys that are a rehash of the same ol’, same ol’ plus others that are truly something different and new. Over the next few days, I’ll post more about the toys that I think are great and toys that I think are just plain freaky. Stay tuned!

Update: You can see a video of the R2D2 MES in action here.

Tags: london toy fair, toy fair, toys, children, kids, parenting, family, r2-d2, star wars, nikko home electronics

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The London Toy Fair will be the first non-science related trade show I’ve ever been to and the first I attend as press. I can’t wait until next Wednesday partly because I’m still not sure if I can manage to get myself in! But I will try to be my most charming and persistent self. *cough*

So the plan is to take my four-year-old with me (shhh, don’t tell his school) on Wednesday. We’ll spend as much time there as we can and if I need to, I will return the following days on my own. I don’t have any high expectation for the trip. I’d be happy just wandering around looking at stuff, enjoying the atmosphere, getting a few pictures and junk toy swag to share with all of you here. If I can get enough cool freebies, I will definitely do some sort of contest here at Play Library!

And since it will be hard to live-blog the event with child in tow (even if he weren’t with me, I wouldn’t bring my honkin’ big laptop with me anyway), I’ve decided to twitter my Toy Fair romp. Every time, I see something cool, I will use my mobile phone to text a 150 character message or less to twitter. I better go top up my phone now in preparation!

Tags: london toy fair, toys, children, kids, parenting, family

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First of all, from my house to the exhibition center takes at least an hour and a half so if I have to pick up my four-year-old from school mid-afternoon, that gives me only about two hours at the Fair (and three-plus hours commuting) each day on the safe side. The other option is to bring my son since press are allowed to bring their children, but that would mean I’d have to keep an eye on him instead of taking as many pictures or talking to as many people as I would like. And, of course, if he were in a bad mood that day, it wouldn’t be any fun at all. Although how could he be in a bad mood when surrounded by the newest and latest toys?!

In any case, I seem unable to register via their online form right now. If I can’t manage to do that then all bets are off. Not to mention that since all my work with toys is online here at Play Library, I’m not sure they’d be enlightened enough to let me in on a press pass. Although, bloggers were treated as press at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show.

I really feel that I must take advantage of being in London (since my family will be moving again in a few years’ time) and shouldn’t let silly things like bureaucracy and other nonsense get in my way. On the other hand, how devoted am I to the whole toy scene? I’m just a scientist for goodness sakes!

So what do you think I should do? Help me decide by taking the poll below!

Update: I registered online successfully for both my son and me! But I still don’t know if I should bring him.

HT: Toyology

Tags: toys, london, toy fair, children, kids, parenting, family

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