Review: Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear

With the recent release of the Marvel Avengers Infinity War film, everyone including my son is once again talking about the Avengers. Like previous Marvel films, they have released lots of products to tie in with the film. My son already has two Marvel Avengers Nerf blasters – the Marvel Avengers Iron Man Slide Armour and the Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield and we’ve just added the Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear to his collection. But what do we think of this new style Nerf blaster?

Review: Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear

The  Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear is part of a collection of sets which you can collect and combine, then build customisable blasters. There are over 100 combinations of blasters with multiple sets. Nerf blasters to collect in the series are – Star-Lord, Hulk, Captain America, Iron-Man and Spiderman (Iron-Spider) blaster.

Each Assembler Gear set features different blaster combinations and can be combined with other Assembler Gear sets. The Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear set is unmistakably an Iron Man design and includes a gauntlet, two connectors, three darts and a set of instructions.

Because there are three pieces of blaster in the set, you can slot them together in several different combinations. If you want to mix and match your Nerf blaster with another one in the Infinity War range, this is easily done, but you will have to buy more blasters to do this.

Review: Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear

The Nerf blaster comes with 3 darts, which is never really enough. Plus, there’s a slightly different mechanism for loading the dart. The blaster is both single shot and front-loading and you can only prime the blaster after the dart has been inserted. This is really different to the other Nerf blasters we’ve had, and for a little while my son thought he had broken it. You do need to make sure you insert the dart before you prime it and pull the trigger.

It’s solidly built and easy to slot together. I don’t think it’s quite as fun on its own as the other Marvel Nerf blasters we already have. Though I think it might come into its own if you have a few different blasters from the Infinity War range.

The Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear is sutable for ages 5+, costs around £23.99 and is available from good toy shops and online.

Review: Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear

Disclosure: We were sent the Marvel Avengers: Infinity War Nerf Iron Man Assembler Gear for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Toy Reviews: Hasbro Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys

With the new Marvel film, Thor: Ragnarok being released later this month, we’ve been taking a look at some of the toys and merchandise from the film. Hasbro have recently unveiled their range of toys to coincide with the release; including the Hulk Out Mask, Hulk Smash Fx Fists and Thor Rumble Strike Hammer.

Toy Reviews: Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys from Hasbro

The Thor: Ragnarok Hulk Out Mask (£24.99) is a heavy duty Hulk mask with chin activated eyebrows. The mask has really good adjustable straps and is suitable for children aged 5+. I have quite a small head so it could fit me too. There is padding around the eyes and a chin paddle which you operate by opening your mouth. Pressing the paddle down with your chin opens the mouth and wiggles the eyebrows.

The wiggly eyebrows are what makes this mask for me. When you wiggle them, Hulk looks really angry, which makes me giggle. The mask doesn’t make any noises and doesn’t require batteries, so you do need to make your own Hulk sound effects, which is the best part.

My son (aged 6) loved the look of the mask but wasn’t that keen on wearing it, saying it squashed his nose a bit. I tried it on and it was fine for me and I have a much bigger nose and face than him. I do think it looks cool and would look brilliant if worn as part of a Halloween costume.

Toy Reviews: Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys from Hasbro

The Thor: Ragnarok Hulk Smash FX Fists (£33) set includes 2 fists which are perfect for Hulk smashing. There is one standard fist and one electronic fist which has three ways to smash and activate Hulk sound effects.

You can punch the air to set off the motion-activated whooshing and punching sounds, or punch down on a hard surface to activate the smash sounds and growling. If you continue to punch the surface repeatedly you will make the smash and roar effects noisier and wilder.

The Hulk Smash FX Fists are suitable for ages 5+ and come with demonstration batteries included, so they’re good to go as soon as they’re out of the box (you’ll need 2 AA batteries at some point to replace them though).

There is a warning (which bears repeating), not to punch or swing at people or animals and to use away from breakable objects. Although these are made from robust foam, if swung with enough force they could do a bit of damage. The battery compartment on the electronic fist is disguised as a glove which Hulk wears in the Thor: Ragnarok film

The fists come with an internal strap which you grip. Obviously they’re designed for children, but I had no trouble using them and didn’t find them too small (maybe I just have tiny presidential hands). The Hulk Smash FX Fists were a really big hit and we all really enjoyed playing with them. Out of the three Thor: Ragnarok toys, this was by far our favourite!

Toy Reviews: Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys from Hasbro

Lastly there is the Thor: Ragnarok Thor Rumble Strike Hammer (£19). This hammer is designed to look like the mighty Mjolnir from Thor: Ragnarok. It features spring-activated sound effects, which means there are no batteries required.

The Rumble Strike Hammer looks very similar to Thor’s Hammer but has rubber ends; so in theory it should do no damage if you get bashed with it. However if you get accidentally thwacked with the hard plastic sides of the hammer, it does hurt (speaks from experience).

The hammer is really sturdily made and the crashing sound effect is good, if a little samey. It is great for role playing and my son loved it; I just felt it was a little one dimensional, especially for the price.

Hasbro have some really interesting Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys available. Each of us liked different toys for different reasons. I loved the mask and my son and husband loved the Hulk Smash fists and Thor’s Hammer, so there really is something for everyone. Any one of these would make a great present for a Thor or Hulk fan this Christmas.

If you love Thor, you might also like this – Meet the new Schleich Marvel Thor Figurine.

Disclosure: We received these Hasbro Marvel Thor: Ragnarok Toys for the purposes of writing this review, all opinions and images are our own. Contains Amazon affiliate links.

Review: Meet the new Schleich Marvel Thor Figurine

In my son’s school the boys fall into two tribes, the football tribe and the superhero tribe. My son dips into both of them, but at heart he loves superheroes the best. Father and son are cut from the same cloth and they both just love superheroes (me too, but no one ever asks who my favourite is). Ask my son for his top three and they will always be Spider-man, Hunk and Thor. Who are your favourites?

This week we’ve been playing with the new Marvel Thor Figurine from Schleich. This new figurine looks exactly like the character in the new Thor: Ragnarok film which is in cinemas from 27th October.

Meet the Thor: Ragnarok Figurine from Schleich Marvel

The figurine is so realistic looking. He’s been hand-painted and the modelling is so detailed, right down to his piercing blue eyes! The detail on him is fantastic which makes him ideal if you’re recreating scenes from the film in the comfort of your own home.

He’s a reasonably tall figure, standing at 18.5 x 14 x 8.5cm, and he’s made from plastic. The Thor figure, like others in the range is priced at around £10 and is suitable for children aged 4+.

Thor Figurine from Schleich Marvel

Other figures in the Schleich Marvel range include –

⊗   Hulk
⊗   Captain America
⊗   Iron Man
⊗   Spider-Man
⊗   Dr Strange
⊗   Venom
⊗   Green Goblin
⊗   Black Goblin
⊗   Black Widow
⊗   Falcon

Thor just seems to be getting more and more popular, especially with the release of the latest Thor film in October. For Marvel fans, big or small this would make a really lovely Christmas present. The Schleich Marvel figures would be really great to collect or just to play with. The detailing is so good though that I can see these being really sought after collectors items in a few years.

The Thor Figurine and the other figures in the range are available from www.schleich-s.co.uk as well as from a range of other retailers including Amazon.

Meet new Thor Figurine from Schleich Marvel

We were sent the Thor Figurine from Schleich Marvel for review purposes. All opinions are our own. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Review: Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders Socks

We were sent these Marvel Heat Holders for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own. This blog post contains affiliate links.

Now that the nights are drawing in and summer is giving way to autumn we are starting to wrap up a bit more against the autumn chill. The small-ish boy has a good selection of slippers and slipper-socks in various styles and with different characters on them. He loves them and so do I because they keep his toes warm on our cold floors. We’ve spent the last few days on holiday at Ribby Hall in Lancashire and whilst we were there we put a pair of Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders Socks to the test.

Review: Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders Socks

This newly licensed sock range from Heat Holders includes two Marvel favourites – Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk. The Spider-Man socks are bright red with a fleecy brushed lining on the inside. They are adorned with the spidery superhero’s famed iconic spider symbol. They also have grippy Spider-Man symbols on the soles of the socks which provide extra grip for kids who like to run about on my wooden floors.

Look at these cosy feet…

Review: Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders Socks

The boy really loved these. He’s a big Spider-Man fan so they hit the spot before he’d even put them on his feet. He really enjoyed the grippy soles and put them to the test in our holiday cottage. I knew they were a hit when I discovered him wearing them in bed. Plus they were the first thing he put on his feet when we got back to the cottage after a busy day.

These Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders socks are available in kids sizes and cost between £7.99-£9.99 (on Amazon) depending on the size you need. Heat Holders are supposed to be the warmest socks in the world. They have a tog rating of 3.1 which is pretty cosy!

Review: Spider-Man Marvel Heat Holders Socks

With the release of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” over the summer; these cosy socks are the perfect present for spidey fans. Now there’s an autumnal chill in the air, everyone needs cosy toes!

Find out more about Heat Holders on their website.

Review: Marvel Avengers Iron Man Slide Armour

We recently put the Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield to the test and it was a roaring success. The small boy and his superhero loving friends loved pretending to be Captain America and I had a hunch they’d enjoy pretending to be Iron Man too. Thankfully we were sent the Iron Man Slide Armour from the same range to try out, but what did the super-boys think?

Iron Man Slide Armour

The Marvel Avengers Captain America Iron Man Slide Armour is really cool. It really is. It is in Iron Man colours and is instantly recognisable as an Iron Man product. With the press of a button on the handle, the armour opens and expands up your arm revealing a hidden Nerf blaster. Press the other button and the blaster fires one of the two Nerf darts.

The armour comes with two Nerf darts, which isn’t enough, but they are widely available and we picked up an extra pack from our local toy shop for a few pounds.

Marvel Avengers Captain America Iron Man Slide Armour

The Iron Man Slide Armour also has space to store two additional darts, but we found them rather flimsy and one fell off and got lost in the park. Which is a shame because otherwise this is a really sturdily made and robust toy. Thankfully the bit which fell of is completely non-essential so we’ve not missed it.

It feels really cool to use, I tried it out myself and the armour fit well across my arm and was quite lightweight. My son loved it and had to be talked out of going to bed wearing it. 

Avengers Captain America Iron Man Slide Armour

The Iron Man Slide Armour is suitable for ages 6+. My nearly six year old and his slightly older cousin loved play fighting with it and the Captain America shield. It’s a great toy for superhero role play and I can say from experience that the Nerf darts don’t hurt you if you do stray into the line of fire. 

The only real issue I have with it is that it’s only suitable for right handed people. Left handed people would have to use their right hand and they could struggle with that. 

Just like with the Captain America hidden blaster shield, the boys role played brilliantly with this Iron Man armour with blaster. We were impressed by how much something like this enhanced their superhero play and kept them entertained and actively running about. I can see both boys being fully decked out like Captain America and Iron Man by Christmas, complete with shield and armour!

Disclosure: We received the Avengers Captain America Iron Man Slide Armour for the purposes of writing this review, all opinions and images are our own. Contains Amazon affiliate links.

Toys: Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield

When the small boy and his friends play together, these days invariably they pretend to be superheroes, usually fighting a baddie and saving the world. To begin with it was mainly Spiderman and Batman, but increasingly different characters are being brought into play. Lately Iron Man and Captain America have been putting in an appearance, so the boy was delighted to be given a Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield to put to the test.

Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield

The Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield is, well, it’s a Captain America shield with a hidden Nerf blaster. It’s a smaller, but faithful replica of Captain America’s actual shield, but made of plastic.

The Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield is really easy to use. Just press the star button and the shield opens revealing a hidden blaster. Slip the darts into the slot, pull the trigger back and press the button on the handle to fire. The shield has space to store two extra darts for when you are doing battle. 

The shield comes with two Nerf darts, which isn’t enough, but they are widely available and we picked up an extra pack from our local toy shop for a few pounds.

Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield

It is made from plastic and seems to be pretty robust. It’s survived some fairly rough play over the past week or so. The worst that has happened to it is we’ve lost some of the darts, but that’s poor aiming, not poor construction.

The Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield comes in a sturdy cardboard box and is well secured with ties which an adult should remove with scissors. I always end up having a bit of a fight to get toys out of their packaging. At least you know it’s not going to fall out of the box and get bashed about in the toy shop. The shield does require an adult to attach the handle securely, but once that is done it is good to go.

The Captain America shield is for children aged 6+ and my nearly 6 year old and his slightly older cousin really enjoyed playing with it. 

Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield

Interestingly, although they enjoyed the blaster element, they played with the shield, just as a shield as much, if not more. I think the retractable shield is a really cool feature and their faces lit up every time they pressed the star button.

This is our first Nerf product, I’ve always been wary about having Nerf in the house (partly for fear of being a target) because I was concerned about people being hurt, but the darts are quite soft and fairly innocuous. We tried firing them at ourselves and it felt like someone was flicking you fairly gently. I wouldn’t like to take a dart to the face so we drummed in a health and safety message to be sure, and there is a warning on the box too.

The small boy and his friends have great imaginations. It’s interesting how a superhero toy like this Marvel Civil War blaster can really enhance their play and help bring it to life for them. I like that the shield isn’t just a shield, that it has the hidden blaster and when it retracts it’s pretty cool. What I like best about it is that it encourages my son to dodge the baddies, save the world and run about, far far away from a TV screen or iPad.

Disclosure: We received the Captain America Civil War Blaster Reveal Shield for the purposes of writing this review, all opinions and images are our own. Contains Amazon affiliate links.