Spinmaster Moon Sand Castle Play Set
by Spin Master
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Our Price: $59.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $54.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Spinmaster Moon Sand Castle Play Set
Customer Review: TAKES FOREVER TO FILL 1 MOLD & TO GET IT OUT. HORRIBLE TEXTURE.
Summary: 1 Stars
I thought this looked like the coolest product from the commercial. Regular sand is nice but it's difficult to get it to be a perfect consistency that molds well, so we couldn't wait to play with the moon sand.
Well, the texture of moon sand is HORRIBLE. Imagine playing with "sticky" sand or mini bits of dough that doesn't stick to itself.
To get the molds to look good when they come out you have to press AS HARD AS YOU CAN to fill in all the nooks and crannies. One mold can hold tons of sand because it holds a lot of air. So we crammed and crammed and crammed, seemingly forever, it took us each at least 10 minutes to fill a mold (NOT fun).
Then you spend another few minutes trying to get the mold OUT. You squeeze & tap repeatedly for a few MORE minutes. (NOT fun).
The finished pieces are nice. So you set them aside. It looks pretty, now what? After all that effort do you just crush it and put it away?
From the commercial it looked like it took 2 seconds to fill the mold and pop it out with ease.
Also, there isn't enough sand and I purchased both the main castle kit and the monster truck kit. The monster truck kit is a joke because it had such large cars to fill.
Although I didn't like the texture, if it had smaller molds to painstakingly fill and also if it was easier to come out it might be OK. Playdoh is nice and smooth, and doesn't feel icky and gooey. Playdoh DOESN'T dry out if you put it back it's original can.
They're both going back to the store.
Thanks a lot Spin Master. Who do you test your toys out on?
Customer Review: My Boy LOVES this stuff!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got despite what other have said about it being too messy, the stuff sticks to clothes, not enough sand, and what have you. Its my son, and you only can be a kid one time in life. My parents really never got much of what I really wanted and I wont be doing that with my boy. He wanted it, I got it for him, and he loves it. Every day I get to hear him yell out "ITS MOON SAND TIME!" and I get to go up in the living room and play with him. Yes they dont give enough sand with the product, BUT, there is nothing to stop you from buying more, which I did, and happy I did. YES it gets all over the place, its sand, nothing a broom wont clean up. Just seeing my boys face when we play with it for hours at a time, its well worth any mess he may make, the price I paid for this, more sand, and shape makers. Hes my Boy, my child, Id do anything for him. Id much rather see him playing with this then playing a video game, or watching Sponge Bob ;)
For those who say their child lost interest in it. Spend time and play with them. Im 37 and I have a blast making stuff with him, and then smashing it all down to yet build it again. Its not just a toy, or activity to keep your child out of your way as you do your thing, but its a toy for the both of you to play, make shapes, or what have you, and bond with your child as you watch him learn and be happy.
He has had his for 2 months now, and loves to play with it on his own, and loves it even more when I play with him.
And NO it doesnt stick to clothes or carpet, I have no idea as to why one even said that at all below. Just get it and play with your child, it really is a blast!
Customer Review: Great toy, not messy, easy to clean up.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have to wonder if some people do not know how to read instructions? I read some of these reviews before posting mine had had to laugh that people could not get the sand out of the mold. If you read the instructions that are included, it is really simple. All you have to do is give the mold a squeeze and give it a tap and out it comes, there is no need to dig it out. My 4 year old daughter just got the basic castle set as a present yesterday and we are playing with it today. So far my daughter is enjoying it very much (and so am I). The texture of the sand is really cool, sort of a mix between sand and a clay, but not moist. I also have no idea how some people are finding this product so messy? So far I find this product much cleaner than play dough (which my kids also love). It seems when my kids play with play dough, it gets all over the floor, under their nails, we all end up stepping in it and getting it all over our socks, my 2 year old son wipes it onto his clothes and I have a big mess when we are all done. With this, there is no mess at all. A quick dust back into the storage container and it is all done. I suppose at most a quick hand vac would be all you would need to clean up any left over particles. The only reason why I give this 4 stars and not 5 is that the basic set only comes with 1 pound of sand and it is not enough to really have fun with. But since I have seen this product in stores and on line it is not a big deal to buy more, but wish the original purchase came with at least 2 pounds so we could build a decent castle.Customer Review: Great fun, easy cleanup
Summary: 4 Stars
I was hesitant to buy this because of all of the mixed reviews, but decided to go for it anyway because I figured my daughter would love it if it worked ok. I found that the product was just as advertised, except that it does seem to be less sand than pictured on the box and the sand did not "expand to twice its original size" like the box says.
Anyway, this stuff has a fun texture, and it's very soft and easy to handle. We didn't have any problems with the molds - we squeezed them - just like it says to in the instructions, and the sand came out fine, although my five year old was not always able to squeeze them hard enough on her own. With a little practice (ten minutes maybe), we were able to strike a balance between packing the sand tight enough to reach all the crevices of the mold, but not packing it so tight that we couldn't get it out.
Our entire apartment is carpeted, and I've found this to be the best modeling compound that we've tried in terms of cleaning up the mess. The instructions recommend using the moon sand over a carpet rather than hard flooring. The moon sand did get on the carpet (it is a little more crumbly than some other clay-like products), but it doesn't dry out and it doesn't stick to the carpet, even when it was stepped on. I was able to pick it up by hand or vacuum it right up - even after leaving it on the carpet overnight.
Overall, the moon sand was fun and performed as advertised. My only issue with it is that it's a little expensive.
Customer Review: Overpriced, disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
We decided to get one of the 4 oz tubs of moonsand for $4. My son had been wanting it for about a year, so before making a bigger investment, thought it would be wise to give this more affordable (yet still expensive for what it is... $1 per OUNCE!!!) option. We used a big flat plastic bowl to contain it in, seemed to work pretty well to prevent a mess. My 5 yo son played with it for an hour, at the end of which he was very frustrated and disappointed. He was able to make the shapes using the molds on the lid, but they would crumble. We attempted to make a boat because the scant directions said that it could float on water, but everything just crumbled. I can imagine that if you had 3-5 pounds of this sand, that it would be much more fun... I would hate to mix colors, though, with the way it crumbles... and at $48-80 for that much sand... just too expensive for my taste with the limits on creativity and longevity, not to mention the extreme mess that much sand would make. And as someone else commented, the fact that you lose a little (or more than a little) with every use, with nothing to show in the end... I think I'll stick with good old reliable play dough and a splurge on real molding clay from time to time (the kind that stays soft until you put it in the oven, which you can also paint after baked). I'm tempted to make a video review, because I think I was looking forward to trying this product out almost as much as my son...