Pixos Ultimate Design Station
by Spin Master
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Category: Toy
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: Spin MasterBrand: Pixos
Model: 6009720
Product features:
- With a built in fan and a suction tool, you'll get everything you need for a total Pixos experience
- Create 2D designs
- Create 3D designs
- Moving parts, hinges and wheels
- 500 Pixos, 1 2D Design Tray, 1 3D Design tray with 4 3D Shapes, 3 Double Sided Templates, 1 Instruction booklets
Toys and Games Reviews of Pixos Ultimate Design Station
Customer Review: Without question - the worst toy ever ...
Summary: 1 Stars
Admittedly, my four-year-old is too young for this toy. I know that; I knew it going in and don't want to mislead you - she's too young for this. She does well with many, many toys that she's too young for and I knew this would be a stretch. All of that aside, though, this junk has some very serious issues with it.
The person who thought this was a good idea should be fired and returned to being an after-hours janitor, after being punched in the neck by every parent who spent money on this garbage.
This is about as much fun as soldering. Put beads in a tray, wet them, wait for them to dry and, then, the next day, you've got ... nothing! or, a thing that is unrecognizable as what it's supposed to be. I doubt that even the biggest fan's creations linger around the house for more than a day. We made the "fish" and "fishing pole" ... 'cause that, at least, had the potential for fun over options like "a square" or "a large glob of balls." The thinking on the fish/fishing-pole is that you can "play" with it ... one problem, the FLAT fish can't be hooked, 'cause it's laying flat on a surface and the "hook" of the "pole" requires that pesky 3rd dimension to function.
But, that, my friends, assumes that you've put the kids to bed and are willing to make the pole yourself and then hide your creation until it dries.
Spray bottle ... this thing has a spray bottle in it! At what age do you let a kid have a spray bottle among their play things? 22? So, be wary of that, if you've got a kid that doesn't do well with spray bottles.
Drying time ... one word - horrendous. Seriously, it's longer than you can imagine. So, here's what's going to happen. You're going to spend 30 minutes making your first amorphous ball-art. Then, spray it and walk away. You'll wait a long time, 'cause you've read my review. Then, you're going to touch it to see if it's dry ... BOOM! You just ruined it! See, what happens is that, as the balls dry, they get sticky - very sticky - like, stick-to-you-immediately-on-contact sticky. So, you've gone and touched it, and half of the balls are now stuck to your finger as you withdraw ... and, so you pull it apart and, in the process, take a few stragglers that gravity and stickiness seem to collaborate and make stick to balls that they shouldn't have been stuck to in the first place. Maybe you'll try again, maybe you'll wait longer ... or, maybe you'll throw this in the trash, where it belongs.
The balls ... unless you've got an empty kiddie pool with which to play with this, don't buy it. You might as well give your kid a bag of dry sand to play with in the house. The balls go EVERYWHERE. Sure, this thing comes with a fancy "dispenser," but that's part of the problem, not the solution. See the dispenser has about 8 compartments ... the toy comes with about 14 colors. So, when your child (or you) wants to make something that uses one of the colors that isn't in the dispenser, guess what happens? That's right, there's a transfer involved. But, this doesn't come with a container for the "extra" balls. Luckily, your child will simply store them in the carpet or under the sofa after you've stepped on them while trying to chase them down like ants in a pantry.
The dispenser ... already discussed, but I didn't have a chance to mention that it is held in place by friction - no screw or locking mechanism. My wife knocked it off of the green base ... at which point the mildly locked lid opened and spilled everything. That wouldn't be too bad, maybe, if it worked well. In theory, you're supposed to press it down and it drops a ball ... and, it does, sometimes. But, if your kid gets frustrated ... get the broom.
The fan ... the fan puts out almost no air. But, that's not a big problem, because your sighs of frustration will provide ample airflow as you wait no less than a full-day for your creation to dry.
The ball-picker-upper ... there's this little thing that works like tweezers but uses suction to pick up a ball. This is like trying to eat peas with a straw. I don't know how I would have done it differently, but this picker-upper-thing is tortuous.
Seriously, do not buy this. It is a parent's nightmare, not to mention the fact that there are superior toys that don't require the ongoing expense of replacing balls.
Description of Pixos Ultimate Design Station
The Spinmaster Pixos Ultimate Design Station allows young children to make a wide variety of two- and three-dimensional sculptures and designs with no ink or mess. Designed for kids age four and older, the PixOs Ultimate Design Station is a clean and easy way for children to explore their artistic sides as they create original sculptures.Note: Because of its many small pieces, this toy is not appropriate for small children under the age of four.
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 This PiXos design station allows your kids to create unique 2-D and 3-D sculptures. View larger. |
An Easy, Clean Art Studio
PixOs are tiny, colored beads that adhere together when lightly sprayed by water and allowed to dry. The premise is simple, but it allows kids to create fairly complex sculptures in a non-toxic and mess-free way. Using PixOs, children create designs by placing the beads on a grid-like tray. To place PixOs, kids can use either the provided "pen," or use their fingers. Once the PixOs have been placed, the child sprays them with water using the included spray bottle and allows them to dry. Once dry, the PixOs sculptures can be removed from the tray and placed anywhere.
The Ultimate Design Station requires some assembly, which a parent should be able to quickly do. Once assembled, the station provides many tools that make playing with PixOs even easier. It includes a PixOs sorter and dispenser, which is helpful since the tiny beads are often easy to lose track of. It also features a bendable hose fan, which can help speed up the drying process. This hose fan can also function as a clamp, allowing kids to hold their creations in place and work on them piece-by-piece.
Please note that the PixOs are tiny. Although the recommended age on the box says four and up, younger children may require close supervision.
Templates and Accessories Expand Creative Options
Included with the Ultimate Design Station are four template designs of varying difficulty that will help children get accustomed to using PixOs. With these templates, kids can make dinosaurs, cars, fish and more. Once these templates have been mastered, kids can create whatever they want and will only be limited by their imaginations. Also included are two wheels and two hinges, which are designed to clasp onto PixOs beads. With these accessories, you can make cars, crocodile jaws, or anything else one can think of.
What's in the Box
500 PixOs, PixOs Sorter and Dispenser, hose fan, six template designs, two trays, water sprayer, standard instructions, 3D instructions.
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