Pink Super Studio PixOs Art Play Set
by Spin Master
Our Price: $13.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Toy
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: Spin MasterBrand: SpinMaster
Toys and Games Reviews of Pink Super Studio PixOs Art Play Set
Customer Review: Great for fine motor skills
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this for my daughter's 4th birthday. After figuring out how to use it, it was actually fun and I wanted to try make some when she wasn't around. My daughter has long fingers and has always been great at the fine motor skills. The kit we got was a special version that had more beads than this one has. The downside was that the storage/dispenser thing on top the unit only accommodated 6 colors, and we had 8 colors. It came with a little sticky nub thing to pick up wayward beads, or the wrong color one that is in the middle of the design. This little thingamabob lost its stickiness the first day when my daughter rubbed it around on the table, saying it was "gum" and then it eventually fell out of the plastic holder. We managed to get it back in a couple times, but then it wasn't tacky at all. It was easier to use a slightly damp fingertip to move a bead out.
My daughter initially struggled with using the pen to place the beads in the right spot, it tended to roll away or more than one bead came out of the pen. Within the first day, she figured out to hold it closer, and used better finger control to have it dispense only one bead at a time and in the right place. The dispenser is interesting...you turn the container thing so that the color you want is in the front, and then you press the button on the left side to have one roll down the tube into the pen. This teaches your kid to count how many beads of that color they need. Then you position the pen where you want the bead to go, and press a little button on the pen to release the bead. At first, more than one bead fell out at a time, which was frustrating. I wanted to just have her use her fingers, but she was determined to figure out how to use it right, and she did within the same day. Also, the pen tube is a little stiff, so when you move it, you can accidentally move the whole unit and mess up your design. Also, the way it is configured, you need a lot of overhead lighting to see the template under the tray. It also helps to look from directly over the template to see where each color bead goes. We had a couple of jams with the beads not going down the tube when you press the button, but we just cranked the bead spindle a few times back and forth and then the beads came rolling down the tube.
Also, the tray slides around and moves around, so you have to kind of hold it down on the side, there are little grab tabs on the sides, when you are working, or you might move the tray and mess up the design. The trays, there are two and you have to look carefully at the template to know which tray to use. One is for straight and the other is diagonal (like the beads are either stacked neatly, or diagonal to each other.
Also, the cover for the bead storage dispenser is very hard to remove to put back extra beads. You have to hold down the unit while prying it off, otherwise you might mess up the design.
After you've made your design, you need to spritz the whole thing with water. The sprayer is a small little spray bottle, kind of like a perfume bottle. My daughter had trouble spraying it evenly, so I had to do it most of the time. Though the directions say to only spray four times, I made sure to spray it where you can see the water touching between each bead, otherwise it breaks apart later. The directions say to flip it and spray again to make it more durable. The flipside of doing this is that you can't use the tray to make another design while waiting for it to dry. You could use the other tray, but then you are limited to which templates use each tray.
The fan battery died within a couple weeks of getting the unit, but we did move the design to the windowsill to finish drying. Most designs dried within a few hours. I wish they sold extra trays so you can make more. We ran out of beads within those two weeks, and my daughter substituted colors with her designs as they ran low. We have since bought some refills and also a different kit to make our own templates using a dry erase type pen and board. I don't even have to supervise now as she knows all the steps in how to make the designs.
There were some 3d designs that you had to make each layer, then spritz them and hold them together. It didn't always work if one of the layers wasn't completely flat, but the nice part was that you can have the designs stand up by themselves. If you put too much water, the layers start to come apart. All in all, practice makes perfect.
Overall, this toy is a lot of fun and kept my daughter occupied for most of Spring Break week. She did get frustrated here and there when the design got moved and messed up (the beads moved around and had to be carefully placed one at a time back in the right spots), but she likes it a lot and still uses it practically daily. The unit could have some improvements, but we managed to work around them.
One downside was that she left a small part that had about 5 beads stuck together where my 9-month old son got them and ate them. He promptly threw up the beads plus his dinner, and I had wiped up the mess and the beads were caught in the sink drain. After rinsing and washing the washcloth, I noticed the beads eventually shrank (melted) and went down the drain. We then talked about what we can do to make sure baby brother doesn't get his hands on the beads. My daughter suggested we work in a box so the beads don't roll away and get lost. A shallow tray works great for this.
Pros: fun, fine motor skills practice, creative with designs, keeps kid occupied for a long time
Cons: smells like Elmer's glue, beads can get lost, refill beads are expensive
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