All Entries Tagged With: "toys"

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Zombie Shooting Gallery: Target Practice For Future Survivors

Video games are evil.  Learn a real skill instead.  So quit that Left 4 Dead game for a minute and turn your attention to the Zombie Shooting Gallery, a tabletop shooting arena that lets you take out a never-ending supply of brain-eating villains.
We love video games just as much as the next guy, but we all have been spending an extended amount of time staring into rectangular boxes nowadays, aren’t we?  At the least, the game lets you play a quick round of blasting through zombies without having to stare into another LCD screen.  Plus, you get to hold a real gun and shoot at actual targets without mashing any buttons.

The Zombie Shooting Gallery consists of a mechanical building facade (17 x 8 inches), where zombies pop out of windows, and a laser assault rifle.  Shoot each zombie as they come into view, lest they feast on another human hostage’s [...]

Beer Blaster Liquid Shooter Arms With A 12Oz Can, Fires Carbonated Projectiles

Why play with water guns when you can blast each other with a full load of beer?  That’s right, bathe your enemies in a putrid stench of brew and smell like the morning after a wild keg party with the Beer Blaster Liquid Shooter, a water gun designed to draw ammunition from a 12-ounce can of ale.
Able to shoot carbonated liquids out to distances of up to 10 feet, it paves the way for nasty (and sticky) close-range combat.  Simply shake an unopened can of beer or soda, load it in the gun and fire away, just like you used to, back when firing water pistols made for a satisfying afternoon in the park.

The Beer Blaster Liquid Shooter is a plastic toy that uses the carbonated beverage as both ammunition and propulsion.  It’s shaped like a real toy gun, with a trigger (to activate the spurt of liquid) and a [...]

BristleBot With Controllable Directions, Plus Giant Bristlebot

Want the bathroom floor brushed, but too lazy to get down on your knees?  Put the robots to work.  More specifically, get the direction-capable BristleBot on the job.
Slap that little robot on the tiles, arrange the motor, flip the switch and unleash.  Let the BristleBot try its best to render your floor scrubbed, moving in whatever manner you configure it to (how you  arrange the motor determines the robot’s direction).  It can go left, right, straight, in circles or like a disoriented drunk in the middle of the desert with unpredictable paths.
Will it clean the floor?  Definitely not, since it’s just a modified toothbrush (sans the handle), fitted with a motor around the top.  At least, it will do its best, plus you can add soap all over the floor, so it might be a little bit cleaner than before.
Set includes the BristleBot motor and the brushing unit (2-inches long [...]

Voice-Controlled RC Chopper Forces You To Speak English Like A Japanese

Any voice-controlled toy is pretty cool.  R/C helicopters that respond to voice commands are even cooler.  The Voice Helicopter, which is made in Japan, should provide some amusement while watching someone who isn’t Japanese control it.
“Engine staato….,” that’s the command you’re supposed to say to get the Voice Helicopter to turn itself on.  ”Appu,” tells the toy to go higher.  Those of you with no Japanese accents, of course, should probably start learning a couple if you want to be able to commandeer the thing. It won’t be that hard, however, since it only accepts four voice commands for now.  Speaking into the special headset, you can tell it to start the engine, go up, go down and turn the engine off.  The rest of the actions, like turning left or right,  should be managed via the radio controller.
The Voice Helicopter sports a stacked-rotor design, which allows it to run [...]

Make Your Own Rainbow With The Handheld Rainbow Projector

Ever wondered what’s at the end of a rainbow?  It’s this thing, the Handheld Rainbow Projector, a little clamshell box that projects a bow-shaped display of colors onto a wall (which, if you do it right, will look like it’s actually floating on air, like in the photo above).
While real rainbows are caused by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays through rain, this one needs neither the sun nor the sky.  Instead, all you have to do is crack it open, push a button and voila – an amalgam of colors right before you.  Now, all you need is a unicorn and all your fantasies as a five-year old can finally come true.
Essentially just a $25 flashlight of sorts, the device uses a baffle board to mess with the light it sends out of its frame, throws it at some sort of projection box on the upper flap [...]

Fence Fort Gives Kids A Portable, Sturdy Fort

Ever built a fort when you were a kid?  I’m still not sure how cool the Fence Fort stacks compared to our makeshift one, built with Aerosmith and Def Leppard posters (aaah, those were the days), but it does look pretty dandy.
It’s basically a tent with one side designed to rest right up on the fence, allowing at least one side of the fort to foster an impenetrable barrier.  While it won’t be as fun as a tree house, it does give your kids a private space in the backyard that they can call their own (plus, it’s not as ghetto as making a fort from a blanket).  In case your wife kicks you out of the bedroom, you can even use it to camp out – just make sure to shrivel up your legs when you’re sleeping, cause it’s probably too small for you.
With the fun half-tent design, I’m [...]