Have Some Shrinky Dink Fun With Nickelodeon’s Nick-Tivities 3-D Shrink-A-Toons
Written: May 13 '03 (Updated May 24 '08)
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Pros: Tons of images to color, fun designs, 3-D images, clearance price!
Cons: Comes only with a small pack of colored pencils.
The Bottom Line: More fun than I expected, I'm not sure this is worth the suggested retail price, but for .60 cents - how could I pass it up?
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| Freak369's Full Review: Flying Colors Nickelodeon Nick-Tivities 3D Shrink-... |
When it comes to toys and games that are on sale, I am a complete sucker. It doesn’t matter if the boys or I are into it or not, if it is on sale there is a good chance that I’ll check it out – but if it is on clearance – there is a great chance it will end up in my cart. That’s how I came across the Nick-Tivities 3-D Shrink-A-Toons activity set. Let’s not mince words here – it is a glorified Shrink Dink set that features characters from shows that are on the Nickelodeon network. When I picked up the box and looked at it I saw that it was marked $4.99 but on the reverse side it was marked .60 cents. Not knowing for sure what the price was and the fact that K-Mart doesn’t have price scanners, I tossed it in the cart to get a price check on it at the check out. Sure enough, it scanned at .60 cents and I was kicking myself for not going back and getting a few more.
Nick-Tivities 3-D Shrink-A-Toons
I’m not altogether convinced that this is really worth the suggested retail price of $11.99 since you don’t get a lot of stuff – there are tons of pop out plastic shrinky items to color but outside of the set of colored pencils – there aren’t any extras or perks like key chains or plastic stands. You get some green thin plastic string that can be used to hang your finished products or make a mobile from some of the pieces but since this comes tightly wound up and the finished ‘dinks’ aren’t that heavy – it looks a bit strange. I suggest that you unwind the string and try taping the edges down to get the kinks out of it. You also get three small suction cup hangers that you can use to hang up the finished items just make sure you cut out a hole large enough or use a hold punch before you shrink it down.
The plastic sheets [6 total] feature the following designs: Spongebob Jellyfishing [Spongebob, jellyfish, 3-D placard], Spongebob Bubbles [Spongebob, bubbles, 3-D placard], The Wild Thornberrys [various images of the kids], Rocket Power [various images of the kids, 3-D placard], Rugrats Playtime [Angelica, twins, Chuckie, 3-D placard] and Rugrats Outdoors [Angelica, twins, group image]. As a side note, there are eight colored pencils: flesh colored, brown, yellow, green, dark blue, pink, orange and neon pink. Given that there are a lot of different colors that can be used on the plastic images, you might want to pick up a set or colored pencils that give your child a little more to choose from.
Resist the temptation to open the package before you are inside the house or you might spend a little bit of time picking up the different plastic pieces since they pop off the sheets very easily. The designs are very nice and have a lot of detail but no so much so that you are coloring for a long time. The finished products are very nice and can be used for a lot of different things. In the case of the Rugrats Outdoors, there is a large piece featuring Angelica but you on it see part of her body and her face, this is to be used with the other piece on the sheet, color them in, shrink them down then glue them together to make a 3-D image!
Directions
These are made just like all other plastic shrinkable items so the directions are the same. Remove the plastic cut outs from the sheet, color them using markers or colored pencils, place in a preheated oven or toaster oven, bake and allow to cool. The box really pushes you to use a toaster oven and I am sure that this is because it is much safer for kids to use than an oven – but make no mistake about it - parental supervision is still a must when baking these. Since the oven needs to be set to 350 degrees F you are dealing with some real heat here, not just when baking them but also when they are cooling. This is designated for use by children 12 and older however younger kids can most certainly enjoy this set if they have an adult helping them with the baking and removing process.
Things To Know
Since you only get a handful of colored pencils with this, you might want to pick up a pack or two before you start coloring these. You can also use markers but I had the best luck with the Crayola Gel FX Washable Markers and for the smaller areas the Crayola Super Fine Markers but any brand will do. Make sure that you try out the different types of markers on the blank parts of the plastic sheets to see if they will bleed or the ink will spread.
When you are unpacking the kit, make sure that you check the white paper wrappers that surround the plastic sheets. There are paper bands that surround the sheets so that they stay together inside the box and the individual pieces don’t slide out. The box isn’t shrink wrapped, just taped so if these bands weren’t there – you could end up with a few missing characters. The colored pencils come in a small white box and the green plastic string and suction cups are loose inside the box. Make sure you have these accounted for before you toss out the box or you’ll be digging through the trash for them.
The Bottom Line
I’m really pleased that I was able to get this at such an insane price but in all honesty, I doubt I would have even looked twice at this has it been at regular price. There are a lot of different characters so even if a child doesn’t like one or two of the shows that are featured, there is still plenty to do with this set. When you finish the items you have the chance to make them in to 3-D pieces of art that kids can use for gifts, name plaques or on greeting cards. The boys initially turned their noses up at this but after I opened it and started to flip though the plastic sheets they warmed up to the idea and even pulled out the Spin Master Toys Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker that hadn’t seen the light of day for a few months. Not all of the pieces would fit inside the Shrink Dink maker but about 65% of them did. They baked the larger pieces in the oven and flicked the light on and off about fifty times to check on the progress. Sure this drove me crazy but it was entertaining to say the least. If you happen to come across this on sale or clearance it is a fun way to spend the afternoon but if you are paying full price for this, you better make sure that you are a complete freak for the Nick cartoon characters or you might be a little disappointed with what you get.
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
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Spin Master Nickelodeon Nick-Tivities 3D Shrink-A-Toons
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): .60 cents
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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