Digger - by Pintoy

This is my favourite of the smaller vehicles in the Pintoy construction series. The scoop loader is easy to use and "digs" really well.

Very strong and the caterpillar tracks are put on in such a way that they dont fall off as its pushed along.

Toy Guru verdict: 4/5 Price about £25.00

International Airshow - by Le Toy Van


There havn't been that many toy airports on sale in the UK in the last few years and this product released mid 2008 certainly fills that niche very well.

Like all of the Le Toy Van products it is well made and brightly coloured (manufactured by Le Toy Vans own factory in Indonesia which has good quality control).

All the pieces pictured come in the box and they have also introduced an additional flight if you want to add to the range. As it is painted wood/toy grade mdf it is subject to some chipping (but then most things are) but overall it is a quality toy which will provide hours of fun for most 3 to 6 year olds.

The Toy Guru rating 4/5 nicely made bright colours - Price around £50.00

Todays Tip Selecting a Toy

Nothing beats being able to play with a toy before you buy it so still the best place to buy your toys is in a shop that has knowledgable staff and examples of the product on display.

But I here you cry shops are more expensive than the web. well this may be true to some extent but dont forget delivery costs, hanging around for the actual courier, problems if there is a faulty, spares and of course you can walk away with your item then and there.

Don't forget children love going to toy shops if you don't support your local one then it will close and you will deprive your children of an important part of growing up. Can you imagine no childhood memories of going to a toy shop I know I can't.

Wooden Fruits - by Wonderworld


Today I'll take a look at some more wooden play food this time by Wonderworld. Again made in Thailand these nicely made wooden fruits come in a small wooden crate. Some are cuttable (small wooden
knife included) pieces being held together by velcro.

The pieces are slightly smaller than the Santoy food and are aged appropriately at 3 plus.

Whilst being nicely made I can't help preferring the Santoy range especially as the price is broadly similar.

Toy Guru Verdict 3/5. You wont be disappointed but there are better choices avaliable. Price about £12.00

Pintoy Crane


Pintoy introduced their construction range in 2007 and the range has been developing ever since.

The most impressive piece is the crane. All of the range is made from durable rubber wood and the crane has a fully working pully system to lower and raise the cranes lifting platform.

Its worth mentioning that the range is the same saclae as the fire series by pintoy and most dolls house found in Europe. The range is very durable and a number of playschools and nurserys are choosing the range.

The Toy Guru Verdict 4.5/5 strong and great fun. Price around £36.00

Back from a few days away

Just got back from a few days away, back to more regular posting from tomorrow!!

Piro - by Haba


Haba really do make the most fantastic range of rattles and clutching toys of which Piro is a fine example. Strong colours on European hardwoods (Maple in this case), all laquers are obviously non toxic and are waterbased.

This has a nice forward and back movement and is fairly easy to hold. Age range is around 6 months through to around about 2.

Did you know that if you look inside the lid of a Haba box you sometimes see stamped on the inside of the box the name of the person at Haba who actually made this toy!

The Toy Guru verdict: 4/5 a really nice clutching toy .Price range around the ten pounds mark.

Todays Tip - Toy Cleaning

If a plain wooden toy gets marked or scuffed it can often be lightly sanded to remove the mark. Just use a good quality fine sandpaper.

Rubber Wood


Not all wooden toys are of the same quality. As with most things there are various qualities in the raw materials used.
Traditionally toys found in Europe where made from European hardwoods (some still are Haba and Selecta Toys spring to mind) but more and more toys are being soured from the far east where sometimes quality is questionable. It is therefore important to check from what wood the toy is made.

You may have noticed that alot of the quality toy manufactureres use rubber wood sourced primarily in Thailand. Why is this? Well rubber wood is already comercially grown to produce latex but after 25 years the latex production tails off and traditionally the trees were felled and used for charcoal creation and a new tree planted. Rubber wood however is ideal for toy production as it has a beautiful feel to it, hard to splinter (although can dent) and fairly easy to work. So through the 80's and early ninties more and more companies turned to rubber wood as their source material anf there is now a thriving toy manufacturing industry in Thailand. Companies using rubber wood include Pintoy, Plan Toys, Wonderworld, Voila, Santoys amongst others which enable sustainable managed forests.

Wooden Vegtables


Re-visiting one of the most popular imaginative play themes pretend cooking.

Today I'll take a look at another Santoy product the solid wooden vegtables which come in a net bag.

These are really nicely made and have a strong durable finish which doesnt chip easily. The Santoy food range always seems to hit the mark and along with the Haba toy food range is probably the best around.

These wooden vegtables obviously work just as well in pretend shop play, and can often be found in UK day nurseries and play groups.

The Toy Guru Verdict 4/5 - a really nice set of 17 vegtables, durable tough and colourfull.

Pullalong Alligator - Plan Toys


This pullalong has been around for a number of years now and is often mentioned as the best ever pullalong toy.

It makes a great clacking noise when pulled and moves really well. The mouth can also snap as the head is lifted and lowered in a quick movement.

Made from rubberwood in thailand it has won Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award among others .

Plan toys are less common in the shops today than they were a few years ago but they are well worth the effort in tracking down

Toy Guru Rating 5/5 - simply a great pullalong - age 19 months on the box - but anytime from steady confident walking would be fine.