Star Wars Toy Collection from Hasbro - Review

Star Wars has long been an obsession in our house, with my son loving the movies and getting most excited about the latest release. With the arrival of Episode VIII in Deecmber just gone, these toys couldn't have come at a better time.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny: Rey of Jakku and BB8 Set - £24.99

My daughter immediately bagged this doll and she absolutely loves it, especially as it comes with BB8 who is a great little character. The doll has a twist action similar to some of her Barbies which means she swipes her lightsaber just like in the movie.

She is very realistic and my daughter has been so in love with her that she came to watch The Last Jedi with us.  I love this character and it is great to have another strong female lead in a film. Princess Leia lead the way in the original trilogy and now we have Rey to carry on the torch of the Light Side. 

This figure is part of the Forces of Destiny range which accompanies a series of animated shorts showcasing heroic women from a galaxy far, far away. It's great to see these female characters from the Star Wars universe being given equal standing with their male counterparts.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny Rey of Jakku Extendable Staff – £29.95

My daughter instantly fell in love with the staff and has been wielding it just like Rey in the film, it is great she can battle against her brother with his lightsaber. The staff is sturdy to say the least, some might even say quite solid and heavy.  You would definitely know about it if you got thwacked during a energetic recreation and I've heard a few yelps to prove it.  The staff also connects with other items from the Bladebuilder range, which I also feature here.

Star Wars Bladebuilders Path Of The Force Lightsaber – £49.99

This Lightsaber switches between blue for the Light Side of the Force to red for the Dark Side, meaning you can fight for good or evil depending on what mood you’re in. I like that it converts and allows the role play to encompass all of the different elements of Star Wars.

Easily interchangeable even for the smallest of hands, it is super easy and comes with batteries already supplied so you can just start playing straight out of the box.

The lightsaber is part of the Bladebuilder system so it can be attached to the staff too to make one really huge lightsaber....um thing. 

Star Wars The Last Jedi Kylo Ren Interactech Figure - £24.99

I have to admit I am slightly disturbed by the voice on this toy, however after seeing the film it is true to the character. The removable helmet revealing Kylo Ren's scarred face is very realistic too, he is a really sturdy doll .

I love the fact then when you shake him the lightsaber glows red and makes those familiar swooshing/buzzing/humming sounds. My daughter and son have been having face offs with the two dolls, it has been great to see them playing together with all of these toys.

Star Wars The Last Jedi Force Link Starter Set – £24.99

The Force Link is described as an interactive play system, which in simple terms means it interacts with various figures vehicles and playsets within the Star Wars toy range that feature the special Forcelink technology.

The wearable wrist-mounted unit plays a variety of sounds and phrases that are triggered by the wearer's motion whilst playing with the linked figures. I can't pretend to understand how this works, but it really quite a unique feature they adds an extra dimension to creative play.

A huge thank you to the guys over at Hasbro for this selection of toys, they have really got the children excited about the new Star Wars films and have ignited their imaginations.

We were sent these toys for the purpose of this review, all words and opinions are my own.

Chad Valley Designafriend Amelia Doll & Fluffy Friends Sitting Dog Plush Review plus Win a £75 Argos Voucher

The children and I are excited to announce that for the next few months, we are part of the Chad Valley Play Panel and will be reviewing some of the fabulous toys they have to offer.

Chad Valley have been part of our lives for many years so we are really excited to have them on the blog. 

"Chad Valley is 150 years old, with a range of over 400 toys exclusively available at Argos. The majority of toys are for babies, toddlers and younger children. 

The really special thing about Chad Valley is that all the toys are designed and developed purely with play in mind. That’s it, just pure play and imagination! So, you’ll see hero products such as the Tots Town Pirate Ship and the incredibly life-like Chad Valley Tiny Treasures New-born Doll , which are incredibly popular as they allow younger children to submerge themselves in pure imagination, creating their own little worlds to play in. That said, older children are important too, which is why you’ll also find ranges like Designafriend and Chad Valley Double Sided Easel offering imaginative fun for children up to the age of nine."

We were sent a wonderful selection of toys to play with but the ones we are going to focus on are the Designafriend Amelia Doll and Fluffy Friends Sitting Dog.

My daughter gasped when she opened the box containing the doll, with long blonde hair it looked just like her, dressed in a super funky pair of leggings and leather jacket it looked the part too. It came with little accessories, including some super snazzy sandals, sunglasses and a little bracelet for my daughter to wear.

The box itself tells you all about the range which is a lovely touch and wrapped in tissue paper she reminds me of a doll from a book I had growing up.

The fact the dolls hair is just like my daughters is great and she was so excited to have a doll that looked just like her, the Designafriend range has dolls with all different looks and styles so whatever your little one is in to there is a doll to suit them.

The Fluffy Friends Sitting Dog has been a favourite with both my son and my daughter, it's been shared between the both of them, it has worn a hat and been covered in a blanket at bedtime. We have more soft toys than I care to remember, but this one has been loved and shared like no other before it. It is exactly as described... fluffy, so very fluffy!!

The whole Chad Valley ethos is "that just 15 minutes of imaginative play a day can make an enormous difference to a child's development". I love this sentiment and certainly feel that all of the toys we were sent enabled the children to do just that.

If you like what you see, then you too can get in on some toy action.  I have a £75 gift voucher to giveaway. The perfect little extra to put towards, dare I say it, Christmas this year.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a collaborative post, all words and images are my own.

Transformers: Power Surge Optimus Prime Review

If like me you are old enough to remember Transformers the first time round, then you’ll remember the excitement of watching them transform from a vehicle to a robot and back again. It was like nothing we had seen before and having a brother and two male cousins meant I often had to choose whether to be an Autobot or Decepticon.

My son has also become a fan and has enjoyed watching some of the newer films, so when we were asked if we’d like to review the Power Surge Optimus Prime I knew he’d love it (I was a bit excited too).

Optimus Prime is for me one of the best Transformers, with Bumblebee coming in a close second. I love the new films too and it is great to have a toy and character from my childhood that I can enjoy talking about with my son.

So, onto the toy itself, after undoing the packaging (which I will say was a lot better than usual toy packaging, with hardly any plastic) we got to trying to transform it. It did take us a few tries, even with the instructions, which to be honest we just put to one side and used the picture from the box instead.

It just came down to us not being tough enough with it and once we had done it the first time it was a breeze after that.

It has some great realistic sound effects and some awesome light effects too, with lots of add on weapons that really make it come alive. It also comes with a battery already in place, so for something like Christmas (sorry I said it) there is no need for extra batteries and the toy is ready to play with straight out of the box.

You can also purchase additional Mini-Con Weaponizer figures which activate different sounds, so it can be added to at a later date. It also stands at 11 inches tall, so it isn't a small toy.

My son has really enjoyed playing with Optimus and was excited about it from the moment he saw the box. I have to say it is a bit flimsier than I remember it's 80s counterparts being, however that is just how it is these days. It has stood the test of being driven around and changed from truck to transformer though, so hopefully it will be something we can pass on in the future.

I love Transformers and I think they will be here to stay with another film currently in the making, the RRP for this toy is £49.99 which is about what i'd expect for something this size, it is currently on offer in Smyths at £37.49.  

NB: We were sent this toy for the purpose of this review, all words and opinions are my own.