Even though I’m well past the age where I should be wandering around a Toys R’ Us without kids in tow, I find the stuff being revealed at Toy Fair to be just as cool as the gear unveiled at CES. Mattel’s ‘Stealth Rides’ for example, which will be sold under the Hot Wheels brand, are fully functioning RC cars that fold down to a credit card sized package that’s about as thick as your average cellphone, making them extremely pocket-friendly.
They’ll be available in August for about $25 each in 5 different models including a couple of cars, a couple of tanks and the Tumbler from the recent Batman movies. And while usually these types of miniature RC cars that charge in the remote last for just a few minutes between charges, apparently the Stealth Rides will run for an impressive 30 minutes.
Alright, so you’ve got yourself a sweet remote controlled airplane. You spend hours just flying it around and having fun. In the back of your mind you know that this device has more potential, you could be doing so much more with it. Well that little voice in your head (no, not those voices) is right, you could be bombing things.
The Bombs Away kit is a small bomb that can be attached to any .25 size or larger R/C plane. The base connects to a spare servo channel, and can be triggered to drop the bomb with the simple push of a button. The bomb itself is a little over 9 inches long and 3 inches wide. It splits in half and can be filled with almost any solid substance down to a fine powder. Upon impact, it splits apart and releases its contents.
I never actually owned one, but the Big Trak (or Bigtrak for our European readers) is one of those toys that makes me long for the 80’s and what I consider to be the glory days of toys. (Yep, I’ve reached that age when things were definitely better when I was a kid.) The 6-wheeled Big Trak featured a displayless keypad on the back that let you program up to 16 different commands like go forward x number of lengths, pause and turn left or right x number of degrees. By today’s standards its functionality is a bit limited, but I’d wager that kids would still have fun with it.
And thanks to the company that brought back the Stylophone, today’s kids will have their chance to play with one! The new version will be known as Bigtrak Jr. and while it won’t be that different from the original model, it will be able to recall up to 32 different programs. It will also have an optional digital camera and rocket launcher accessory, though the latter won’t be available until 2011. The Bigtrak Jr., however, should be available this Summer for around $48 (£29.99) while the digital camera will be an extra $24 (£15).
If you think people spending thousand of dollars to add LED lighting systems to their cars is a bit absurd, then you might want to look away. According to a thread on the M3Post.com forums by ‘Big Windy’, a German by the name of Jakob Michel runs a private business called ‘Modell-Lichtsysteme’ which retrofits die-cast 1:18 scale model cars with complete lighting systems including everything from dashboards to headlights, taillights and turn signals, to even interior trunk lights if you so desire.
The full package installed on Big Windy’s BMW M3 model (pictured above) which includes interior and exterior lighting cost about $254, or 180 Euros, but cheaper packages that add just interior or just exterior lights are also available. I have to admit the attention to detail seen in the video I’ve included below is phenomenal, particularly given the car is less than a foot in length, but such luxury is just too rich for my blood. I guess any 1:18 scale drivers who take my models out for a spin will have to stick to well lit streets and highways.
Any kind of building block toy is OK in my books since it encourages kids to use their imaginations. And if someone manages to find a way to make them educational at the same time, like these clever Water Blocks, well then more power to you! Made in Thailand from sustainable rubberwood, the blocks each feature a window filled with red, blue or yellow water. When held together the blocks appear to change color, providing a useful lesson in color mixing without ever having to break out, and subsequently clean up after, the finger paints. Sadly, like most educational toys, the Water Blocks aren’t cheap, and a set of just 6 blocks which can barely produce the front wall of a castle will set you back $39.99 from ThinkGeek.
Because we as a society have become even too lazy to use our fingers, Nikko is coming out with a remote controlled miniature helicopter that can be controlled with your voice, including commands like “start engine”, “higher”, “lower”, “hold” and “stop”. It can also be controlled with a traditional dual-stick remote (which is used for charging the craft) if you want your fingers to get a real workout. The most useful feature though is a built-in sensor which stops the helicopter from hitting the ceiling, saving you from having to constantly say, “don’t hit the ceiling”. No word on pricing or availability yet.
Forget about heading to the Serengeti, or even your local zoo, if you were hoping to get some experience photographing wild animals to impress the editors at National Geographic. This Safari Photo Shoot simulator is as close as you can get to the perils of wildlife photography without ever getting up off the couch.
You don’t even need to spend the money on an expensive DSLR since it includes an infrared camera that keeps score of how many animals you shoot. Now real photographers who’ve been chased by elephants or attacked by cobras might scoff at the lack of any real danger in this simulator, but the warning on Buy.com(”CHOKING HAZARD Small Parts. Not for children under 3 years. CHOKING HAZARD”) makes it pretty clear the Safari Photo Shoot is not all fun and games. $28.47 from Stupid.com.
I hate sitting down at other people’s computers, because some keyboards are simply disgusting. Now it’s not the keyboards themselves that are gross, it’s the greasy keys and crumbs that inhabit the devices that get me. Sure, I eat at my desk, but I do it away from my keyboard and wipe my hands before typing again. Well if you’re one of those people that gets the munchies during 12-hour games of WoW, the engineers at Takara Tomy have a new gadget aimed at you.
The Potechi Hand is a rather simple-looking device that grabs chips for you. When I say “for you” I mean that you have to pick it up, then press a button that makes it grab hold of the greasy snack. This is designed to keep your fingers free of grease while at your PC. What’s amusing is that Takara Tomy looks to have actually put a good bit of thought behind this simple device. Read the rest of this entry »
Continuing in their thrilling line of everyday item simulators like the Beer Can and FedEx Envelope, Bandai will soon be releasing their new Mugen Chokoreeto or ‘Endless Chocolate Bar’ keychain thingy. Like its predecessors it simulates the oddly satisfying act of breaking off a piece of chocolate again and again, without any of the weight gain or pimples. Available in Japan starting January 30 for about $7 a bar.
Related Tags: Remote Control, Toys
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