I love toys. Especially those that allow me to construct random objects.
Growing up, I had a moderate-sized collection of Legos with a few Tyco blocks mixed in. I built my fair share of multicolored buildings and guns.
Lego rival Mega Blocks just released its MagNext (or is it MagneXt?) construction set.
We received a sampler package which consists of six ball magnets and five construction pieces. Within minutes we were able to construct many different objects such as a 3D trianglular prison, a grate floor and an unstable hollow RV.
Sure the pieces are small and are choking hazards to young children, but the most important question is, will kids enjoy playing with it?
Being a former child myself, I thought back to my early days – would young Joe like MagneXt?
The answer is an underwhelming yes, but only for a little while. I loved building things and playing with toys that clicked, but MagneXt would probably have only held my attention temporarily before I would become bored and returned to my action figures.
The unique build style would have been fun initially, but without the ability to construct something less abstract, I would have lost interest.
The small pieces are a pain to keep track of. Sure, some kids are able to keep their toys in a place where they would find everything, but I wasn't one of them. I would have lost the magnet balls, especially since they roll.
Final analysis: It's an interesting idea, but not something that's worth getting for kids. Save the money and get some Legos instead.
2 comments:
Joe - I would like to point out a few inaccuracies in you review.
1. The balls are not magnetic. Only the plastic building parts have magnets, which are encased in the plastic.
2. This toy is age graded 6+ and contains no small parts with magnets that can be swallowed and they are definitely not a choking hazard for a child six years and older.
3. The sample pack you received was a media sample, not a retail sample. Obviously the packs sold at toy stores contain enough pieces for a child to build Bigger, Stronger and Faster than ever before.
I promise you on behalf of MEGA Brands that we will no longer send you "Random things to review" since our proucts are not being reviewed accurately
Interesting...MEGA Brands of Canada and the company it bought the Magnetix line from, Rose Art Industries, have recalled toys from their magnetic line three times, in 2006, 2007 and 2008 after a toddler tragically died and many other children of varying ages had to have intestinal surgery. If magnets fall out the ends of a defective toy, it is possible for a child to swallow the magnets and they can reconnect to each other across tissue, twisting the intestine and causing it to perforate. The toy industry has voluntarily adopted new standards to improve the safety of magnetic toys so that (1) small NIB magnets won't dislodge from the pieces and (2) the pieces that contain magnets aren't small enough to be swallowed.
So if parents are shopping for magnetic construction sets for their kids this year, they might want to avoid used or old sets that could have been included in the previous recalls and make sure they feel good about the quality of the design and manufacturing of the toy they are purchasing for their youngster.
This package may have a warning label that says:
"WARNING:
CHOKING HAZARD:Small Parts.
Not for children under 3 years.
THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS SMALL MAGNETS
Swallowed magnets can stick together across intestines causing serious infections and death. Seek immediate medical attention if magnet(s) are swallowed or inhaled."
It is of course legal to sell toys with small metal balls for kids age 6 and over, however plenty of children, from younger siblings to older youngsters have been tempted by the shiny Magnext/Magnetix balls and have swallowed them. Over at the blog PlayLibrary literally dozens of frantic parents have written in as they wait for the ball to "pass" and hope that they child didn't also swallow a magnet.
Personally I agree with Joe...maybe it's time to get more back to basics and instead of buying whiz-bang snap-to or electronic toys made in China, stick with low-tech made-in-America sets that are unstructured and encourage children to use their imaginations.
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