All Entries Tagged With: "cool toys"
Chip Shotz Golfer Puts A Golf Game In Your Office Cubicle
If this were the 80s, the Chip Shotz Golfer is how we’d play golf indoors, not with Tiger Woods on the Xbox 360. Since it’s 2010, this is how we’d play golf inside the office, where video games aren’t allowed.
Yes, it’s a tabletop golf course that looks stupid enough to be entertaining. A perfect fare for cubicle-dwellers who want to kill some time while the supervisor isn’t looking, you can play one hole or 100 holes – just rearrange the course to your liking.
The Chip Shotz Golfer is a complete miniature desktop golf set, complete with a player holding a club, three balls and various course elements (one green, two trees, one pin, one sand trap, one water hazard). You arrange the pieces to roll out your own dream hole, even adding your own obstacles as you see fit. Then, you pull the lever mechanism on your mini-golfer to unleash [...]
Forget Cops And Robbers, Get Your Kids Playing Sellers And Suckers With The Kaufladen
Want your kids to grow up filthy rich? Get them started early with the Kaufladen, a mobile kiosk stand marketed to German kids. That way, they can steal stuff from your fridge and sell it back to you for a profit. Clever.
Anywhere you go in the world, it’s always the business owners raking all the money. Forget having your children play cops and robbers – nobody makes real coin from that deal. If they’re going to roleplay, they might as well do seller and sucker because that’s where all the money is. Five hundred percent markup, baby.
The Kaufladen is a mobile stand, consisting of a kiosk with wheels, storage compartments and a removable cotton cover with awning. It’s made up of three main sections – a wheeled base (with two rows of shelves and pull-out display areas), a tabletop (with the sunshade attached) and a middle section consisting of one [...]
Kettler Kettquad Brings Quad Racing To Kids
How do you trick your Wife into letting you buy an ATV or a Quad for that matter? Rather than reason your way into getting one, go the irresistible route: get your kids hooked to the hobby. How? By buying them the new Kettler Kettquad, a pedal-powered quad racer made specially for kids, aged 5 to 12 years old.
Once your five year old’s off hitting the rocky mountains, sandy deserts and dusty trails all by his lonesome, just wait till the wife begins to worry and begins thinking up a solution. Voila! You can now get your own badass, motorized quad – so you can bond and look after your precious little outdoorsman.
The Kettquad isn’t just a quad-like kid’s toy designed to run on asphalt. Instead, it’s a real quad racer, propped up on four pneumatic tires with lug tread for taking on difficult terrain. Boasting a sporty and durable [...]
Flexdex Photon Light Board Confirms It – Everything Looks Cooler With LEDs
If you were a kid in the 80s, the Flexdex Photon Light Board is probably how you’d imagined skateboards to look like in 2010 – riddled with plenty of electronic lights. Except they’re supposed to be hovering in the air, instead of just rolling on small wheels like they always did.
Where’s the jet motor, the vertical take off and all that? Well, that will have to stay in your imagined future for now. Instead, you’ll have to console yourself with a gorgeous bevy of UFO-style lights shining under your feet. Slide quickly down the street and, with a lot of imagination, you could look like you’re floating on air anyway.
Like the rest of the Flexdex longboard line, the Photon Light Board boasts the same improved engineering that sees you accelerate through turns (carving transmits 30% more power to the wheels) and absorb road vibrations. It’s made from a clear plastic [...]
Paper Jamz Crams Working Electronic Instruments Into Cardboard-Like Frames
When I started playing drums, my home practice was accomplished by laying down a line of notebooks and pounding out beats with plenty of imagination. Your own budding rockstar won’t have to be so downtrodden with Paper Jamz, a set of cardboard-like electronic instruments that let them crank out real music.
So, how are cardboards going to be better than my old drum kit built out of school supplies? Well, for one, it comes with embedded electronics that let it play realistic-sounding tunes. Yes, your cymbals will actually sound like a crashing heap of tin, instead of a stack of paper.
Created by WowWee Toys, the Paper Jamz line will have six guitars and six drums to choose from, along with one similarly flat amplifier (albeit with a thicker base, so it can stand). They’re not really cardboards, although each piece is approximately one inch thick (the guitar’s a little thinner, while [...]
The Tomy Ene Bio-Engine RC Car Runs On Juice…Orange Juice
My RC car runs on juice – orange juice. That’s the spiel you’re going to make when you’re driving the Tomy Ene Bio-Engine pocket car, a remote-controlled vehicle that runs on sugar power.
Your soda, iced tea and orange juice literally substitutes for fuel, as the toy uses Sony’s Bio Battery to draw power. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s a liquid battery technology that uses enzymes to digest glucose, converting it into usable energy (the last demos Sony showed had each cell putting out 50mW) that can then be fed to small electronic items.
The Tomy Ene Bio-Engine is currently in the prototype stage but was shown off a couple weeks ago at the Toy Forum 2010. A working model of the vehicle was available, which they showed off running on nothing but Coca-Cola (wow, sponsorship opportunities). Both the speed and driving range of the model car will depend on [...]
Plen Robot Is A Droid For Your Android
Got an Android-powered phone, want your own robot? Akazawa Japan’s Plen robot literally writes its own pun: it’s an Android Droid – a droid that can be controlled using Google’s Android OS and he looks awesome.
Billed as the world’s first “Desktop Hobby Robot,” Plen can be controlled over Bluetooth using a bundled app designed to run on smartphones with the open-source OS. It won’t destroy your enemies, take out the trash or do anything useful, but it can perform a bunch of actions that should deliver some entertainment your way.
Plen stands just a little under 9 inches and weighs a little over 1.5 lbs. Boasting 18-degrees of freedom, it can manage some nifty actions. It maintains balance using built-in gyro sensors, allowing it to skate and dance without risk of falling over. Getting it to walk right into a wall not fun enough for you? Slap on the included skates [...]
BigTrak Jr. Revives The Programmable Moon Rover
Remember the BigTrak? Neither do I. Apparently, it was huge in the early 80s. Being a programmable lunar vehicle (you can preset it to run specific routes), I can understand why.
The 21st century remake will be called the BigTrak Jr. and will measure half the size of the original model. As with the previous version, the more compact replica can be programmed to run specific routes. Instead of 16 preset movements like its predecessor, though, the reboot can be programmed to perform up to 32 different steps. Yes, it can still shoot light right from its nose just like your toy used to do, old man.
Rather than merely going from point-to-point on its own, the self-directing six-wheeler includes an “active” port to fit in two optional accessories – a rocket launcher and a digital camera. The former is obviously for waging moon buggy battles, which could be fun. The latter, [...]
Bombs Away Is An Air-Dropped Explosive For Your RC Plane
How could a Bomb be something cool? Well, if it provides fun and laughter rather than carnage, why not. Quanum’s Bombs Away, an air-dropped toy bomb is a cool accessory to pair up with a sufficiently-powerful RC plane. Even if it doesn’t explode, you can drop it over someone’s head for a brief bout of hilarity (or a lawsuit, depending on how it ends).
A plug and play system, the bomb can be installed to work with any of your 1:4 scale or larger RC planes. It can be filled with any payload that you like, which it will deliver by splitting in two the moment it hits a solid surface.
The main Bombs Away component is a collapsible 1:6 scale bomb (235 x 81 mm) with a durable nylon shell and an impact protector, allowing you to use it multiple times. It weighs light enough at 103 grams, but should gain [...]
Siftables: Bite-Sized Toy Computers With Limitless Possibilities
Think kids already spend too much time staring at screens now? Wait till Siftables, a new set of cookie-sized computers with near-limitless interactive possibilities, come out. Then you will really start to worry.
Now, enough of the doomsday pronouncements. This thing is really way coooool. First seen as a project out of the MIT Media Lab, the toy has garnered so much interest that the researchers behind it have now founded a startup company, Sifteo, to produce them.
What exactly does it do? Siftables are computerized blocks that have a screen on one side. Yep, they can display pictures. Whoooppppeeeee. What makes them exciting, though, is that each one comes equipped with the ability to detect motion, sense other Siftables in their proximity and communicate wirelessly. While those capabilities sound simple, they do endow the toy with a seemingly endless range of possibilities.
To put it simply, you can program them to become [...]
Hate The Outdoors? Blast Away At Flying Discs With The Indoor Skeet Shooter
Like Skeet Shooting, hate leaving the house? No need to force yourself to soak in sunlight with Interative Toy Concepts’ upcoming Indoor Skeet Shooter, which lets you play the gentlemanly English sport right in your living room. That’s if you have the headroom to accommodate flying discs, of course.
Sounds ridiculous? Yes it does. They use real shotguns when playing the game outdoors, so bringing it inside might seem like a recipe for disaster. Of course, the game replaces bullets with infrared, so you avoid the almost-guaranteed results of blasting the lighting system, the ceiling and the roof when you use a real pistol.
Currently in prototype stage, the game includes a device that sends three collapsible discs soaring through the air. You shoot at them with your IR gun. Once you hit a disc (i.e. your sensor connects with its sensor), it breaks apart. Since it’s only pretend shooting, the discs [...]
Have Famous People At Your Fingertips With The Mullish Muse Finger Puppets
We don’t know how you’re supposed to pull off putting Chuck Norris on your finger without having him break it, but you can try anyway with the Mullish Muse Finger Puppets. Featuring the bearded action hero, along with a whole slew of celebrities and other pseudo-famous folks, the awesome collection should be the fastest way to your own YouTube comedy special (well, next to lip-synching Lady Gaga while looking like an idiot, of course).
Made out of felt paper, glue and some handmade stitchwork, the goofy-looking puppets come with detailed looks that make them easily identifiable. The roster runs the gamut from actors (The Dude from Big Lebowski, Mr. T) to politicians (Angel and Devil Obamas) to rockstars (Dave Grohl, Bono) to fashion icons (Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour). Sure, it feels kinda stupid having to shell out money for puppets of D-List celebs like Christian Siriano, but the awesome construction (plus [...]
Make Your Own Edible Insects With The Gummi-X
Want to eat insects? Okay, I can understand the horror in your face. How about candy that just looks like one of those little critters? Sounds more palatable for you? Japanese toy company Megahouse is offering a new kit, called the Gummi-X, that lets you make exactly that – insect-shaped candies with that oh-so-fun Gummi bear consistency.
Young boys (and some grown men I know) generally love gross stuff and this candy-making set is definitely a reprehensible treat. Even better, since you mix the contents yourself (using whatever liquid you want – such as coffee or chocolate milk), you can probably make it look like the real thing. Guaranteed fun at the dinner table, ain’t it?
The Gummi-X is a set of casting molds with complete paraphernalia (such as flasks and tongs). Each box will contain shaping implements for four yucky-looking animals, namely a stag beetle, a Japanese rhinoceros beetle (yes, it [...]
Samurai Air Sword Lets You Slay Imaginary Dragons With Real Sound Effects
Ever used the Lightsaber app on the iPhone? I know, it’s stupid (but hella fun). The Samurai Air Sword does the same thing, performing sound effects every time you swing the hilt (and it’s really just a hilt). You’ll have to imagine the invisible blade slicing through your opponents (yep, that invisible dragon), of course, before ending their life by thrusting it into their heart. Haiii.
Who says only air musicians get to have invisible fun? Swashbuckling wannabe-samurai warriors like you deserve love too. And this “all bark, no bite” sword can now be your weapon of choice.
The Samurai Air Sword is actually just a sword handle with a design that stays close to the familiar bladed implements used by them noble Japanese warriors. Equipped with a gyroscope inside, it can detect a bevy of movements, playing one of 48 swooshing, swiping and thrusting sound effects to accompany your attacks. Based [...]
Gentle Giant’s R2D2 Statue Comes With Actual Removable Tools, Can Double As Robotic Toolkit
I’m not sure how functional its tools are, but Gentle Giant’s Star Wars R2-D2 Statue comes with eight of them. That’s right, the beloved helper robot gets a 1:6 replica that can actually repair stuff (if a magical genie suddenly decides to breathe life into it, that is).
While carrying eight thingamajigs probably doesn’t cover Artoo’s versatile mechanical-fixing talents, it’s better than having an inanimate robot that just stands there doing nothing. Yeah, I’m talking about that R2D2 statue you have sitting on your shelf. It sucks.
Gentle Giant’s version of the helpful, three-legged droid features an accurate polystone rendition of the popular robot, including precise physical details and a hand-painted body. It comes with removable arms, along with exposed chest and dome panels where you can stick the bundled tools in. Equipment you can put in the holes include a mechanical gripper, a periscope scanner and a utility saw, among others. [...]
Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots Get A Modern, Motion-Mimicking Twist
Robots that do nothing but bash each others’ heads are always fun. It fulfills the bloodlust without any blood. Heck, they’re robots – they can take the beating. The good old Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots of yesteryear gets a modern twist with the Motion Mimicking Robotic Pugilists, fighting piles of plastic and electronics that mimic the motions of their human masters.
Just like Wii Boxing, you hold on to sensor-equipped controllers on each hand, performing attack motions that your robot toy faithfully mimics. Instead of having to watch the ensuing mayhem on a TV, though, it happens right in front you – with real robots to boot.
Each of the controllers (two for each robot – one left, one right) are fitted with accelerometers and tilt sensors, ably detecting every punching movement you perform. You can have your Motion Mimicking Pugilist throw a 1-2 combo, parry with the left and deliver [...]
