Toys

Robots made for kids tend to move in a way that can only be described as lurching. The 14-in-1 Educational Solar Robot Kit puts that expectation to good use with its shambling Zombie-Bot model, but with thirteen other forms, it can also mimic several animals, wheeled transportation, robots, and even multiple seafaring contraptions. As it's equipped with a solar panel you'll never have to have to find a battery charger.  Read More

Though it may bring to mind a Star Wars starfighter model, or perhaps a top-secret military jet concept, the futuristic-looking MusicMachine by Reuge and MB&F is in fact a fully-functional music box.  Read More

Good things may often come in small packages, but the Mammuth Rewarron sees the humble radio-controlled car supersized. Aptly referred to as “remote controlled testosterone” by manufacturer Mammuth Works, the gas-guzzling monster can reach a top speed of roughly 70 km/h (45 mph). It is also said to be the first production RC car built to a 1:3 scale.  Read More

While there are already a number of solar-powered model cars on the market, Toylabs’ new Volta Racer is unique in a couple of ways – you put it together yourself, and it incorporates a flexible polycrystalline silicon solar panel. Although my days of playing with toy cars are behind me (sort of), my days of tinkering with things aren’t, so I decided to check out one of the sun-powered autos for myself.  Read More

Smartphone-controlled toys: we are not strangers to them at Gizmag. Rocket launchers, drones and maze-solving thingummyjigs are all very well, but creative sorts may prefer something they can build from scratch. The new iPhone-controlled Mini Brick Car and Van from iHelecopters.net would seem to meet the brief, being brick kits with which one can build any number of wheeled vehicles to crash into the furniture.  Read More

If you want to teach children about hydrogen power, you can always buy them a fuel cell-powered toy car like the H-ROVER. Should you wish to show them the merits of solar power, there are also quite a number of solar panel-equipped cars from which to choose. ToyLabs’ new Volta Racer, however, is reportedly the first toy car to feature a flexible polycrystalline silicon solar panel.  Read More

Instead of shelling out for a complete radio-controlled plane, why not just add a powered propeller and steerable rudder to a paper plane of your own? That’s the thinking behind PowerUp Toys’ PowerUp 3.0 kit. Now, Canada’s Plantraco MicroFlight has applied that same sort of thinking to blimps. The resulting Nanoblimp, billed as “the world’s smallest RC blimp,” uses a plain ol’ party-variety helium balloon as its gas envelope.  Read More

Young children love playing with shapes, whether using them to complete a puzzle, building with them, or spotting them in the real world. But, while previous generations made do with wooden shapes and puzzles, toddlers nowadays have an iPad alternative. Tiggly Shapes is a set of four shape toys which interact with the iPad screen through a series of custom apps.  Read More

Earlier this month, we reported on the PowerUp 3.0 – a US$50 kit that lets you control a powered paper airplane via your smartphone. At the time, we were still waiting to hear back from its designer, regarding how a simple add-on motorized propeller could be used to actually steer the plane. Now we know.  Read More