Pros: Flat screen design, light on a timer, battery operated, peg storage on unit
Cons: Lightbulb must be purchased through Hasbro, not sold in any store
The Bottom Line: Overall, I am very happy with this clearance priced find. I would gladly pay full price for either one of the lite brites without hesitation.
oakleysmommy's Full Review: Hasbro Lite Brite Flat Screen
During a recent trip to Walmart, my son and I decided to cruise the clearance aisles looking for something that we just had to have. The flat screen Lite Brite was our find.
I was surprised to see the Lite Brite at all, to tell you the truth. I was unaware that Lite Brite's were still being made.
I found a great bargain it turns out in the Walmart aisle that day. The flat screen Lite Brite was packaged in a box that came with a free travel Lite Brite and was only $7.00 for the set. I have since seen the flat screen for $9.99 and the travel for $5.99 each.
The Flat Screen Lite Brite
The lite brite is completely different than what I remember as a kid. No more microwave size plug in to the wall and hope it doesn't overheat lite brite. Instead you get a flat screen battery powered light on a timer lite brite. Genius!
The whole unit measures about 10" X 12", the peg screen you create on measures 7" x 7" and the unit takes 3 "D" batteries that are housed in a screw-close compartment.
The light is on a timer, it turns off by itself after 3 minutes so the batteries have a chance of lasting a little. The light shines bright for about 1 minute and then slowly dims for another 2 minutes. Simply hit the light button again and start another 3 minutes.
The flat screen unit is all white, except for the peg storage that varies in color. Ours is blue, but I have since seen pink, green, and purple.
There is a built in storage compartment for the pegs that works great. I was a little unsure at first just how well it would hold up. The compartment rolls open and rolls shut and I had a picture in my head of my son picking up the unit and the compartment rolling open on its own and 200 little colored pegs flying everywhere. But, as of yet, no such disaster. I do not remember exactly how many pegs came with our unit, at least 200, probably more. They are the classic lite brite colors of red, blue, green, violet, pink, yellow, orange, and white.
The unit also comes with 10 picture sheets of designs to help you make your masterpiece. 8 with pictures and 2 blank to let you try on your own. The pictures are simple, ranging from flowers to sharks, nothing too complicated. You simply match the letter to the color of peg and insert the peg. It did take awhile for me and my son to get used to V for violet instead of P for purple. In lite brite land, P stands for pink.
The amount of pegs you receive per color are based on how many you will need to complete one of the picture sheets. This leaves little room for error or lost pegs. Refills, it seems, are almost a necessary purchase.
You can purchase refills that consist of more sheets and pegs. They come in sets like Shrek and My Little Pony that come with pegs that are geared towards that specific character (lots of green for Shrek, pinks and purples for the Ponies). I have seen the refill sets at Walmart for $6.97 each.
I have also heard that you can purchase refills of just pegs. However, I have yet to see just the pegs set in any store.
Although this toy is marketed for the 4 and up crowd, I purchased it for my son who will be three in two weeks. He has never been one to put any kind of toy in his mouth and he is watched very carefully when he plays with this toy just in case. I do not have any other children in the house and I do not think I would have purchased this at this time if I had smaller kids in the house or a child prone to toy eating.
My con list is fairly short for this toy.
You cannot purchase a replacement lightbulb in any store, you must contact Hasbro directly. There is an 800 number you can call (800-327-8264) to do this. I have not tried to purchase a replacement bulb yet, so I cannot tell you how much they cost or shipping time, but my son has taken to his lite brite and I might order one just in case. I will update if I do so.
I can see the peg storage compartment filling to capacity if refills are purchased. With the pegs that came with it the storage is almost full, add another 150 pegs and there could be trouble. I would rate this only as a half con, easy enough to fix with a Tupperware bowl as storage.
The Travel Lite Brite
The travel lite brite is just as cool as the flat screen, but is slightly different.
It is battery powered, 2 C's, and has the light on a timer. But it does not come with art sheets like the full size. The peg screen is black instead of white, allowing less light to come through and the pegs still to shine brightly. There is no need for the sheets to accomplish this.
It came with 180 pegs of its own, they are the same size as the flat screen pegs and therefore interchangeable. The travel also has its own compartment to hold the pegs, it can hold about 200.
The travel lite brite measures about 6 1/2" X 5", with the peg area being approx. 3 1/2" X 3 1/2". It is also white in color with a blue border around the screen.
It is easy to take along and provides fun and quiet in the car. It has the same cons for me as the flat screen does.
My son has mastered the art of lite brite-ing very well on both units. He gets the picture sheets and has no problem matching the letter to the peg color, although free form (no sheets) is the way he usually ends up playing. He has already asked to put refills for the lite brite on his birthday wish list, so I do not see this toy going away any time soon.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 7.00 Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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