pippadaisy's Full Review: Play Doh Play-doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shop /
In case I wasn't sure letting my older kids have access to Cartoon Network during this rainy summer was a bad idea, my youngest, Butter, latched on to the commercial for the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe, begging for it incessantly, even when she hadn't seen the commercial in days. Since I'm nothing if not a guilty mother, I figured $16 was a reasonable expense for making her happy, and got it for her birthday, reminding myself why it's so seldom that I cave and buy Play-Doh sets. ::: Objects in the Mirror May Be Smaller Than They Appear :::
Hasbro must find the smallest children possible when it comes to making commercials, because opening the set is always a shock when it comes to scale. Included are four half-sized tubs of Play-Doh (in bright pink, pale brown, mint green, and white with sparkles), two spoons, an ice cream "scoop," two clear plastic sundae cups (about the size of a shot glass), and two plastic ice cream cones, along with the mechanism: a base with 40-odd shaped molds, a small plastic mold for making a "cake," and three extruder tools. The two side extruders are hand-operated: a crank for churning out "sprinkles," and a press for adding "toppings" which really amounts to whipped cream.
The center extruder is actually fairly ingeniuous; you fill the hopper, place a sundae cup or cone underneath on the peg, and press the extruder down, selecting one of the three shapes for the ice cream. As you press down, a disk spins, creating the familiar "spiral" shape for soft-serve ice cream.
The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe requires almost no assembly (the two side extruders just slide right in), and is recommended for ages three and up. As with all Play-Doh, the product is not edible, and contains wheat, for those with food allergies.
::: The Mint Green Has Me Thinking Margaritas :::
Once again, the number of brain cells I lost in pregnancy comes back to bite me. I forget every single time why I don't buy Play-Doh sets, only to be reminded when I break down. It's rather nice that the tall sundae cup is the size of a shot glass, so I can drink while playing with Butter.
To start with, Play-Doh always includes some esoteric colors that are irreplaceable, which completely sucks if you have little ones who tend to mix colors accidentally or drop large chunks which dry out and crumble. I did remember this much and was sure to purchase another set of four full-size tubs in pastel colors to hopefully offset some of the loss, but it would be really nice, Hasbro, if you could offer refill sets or just use regular colors for the sets.
My biggest beef with the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe, however, is that it's always a mess when it comes to the actual mechanics. The main extruder is shoddily designed, so Play-Doh oozes out around the dial that spins to select the shape of the ice cream, making an extra-fun clean-up disaster, since the dial is not removeable. In addition, the hopper is too small to put enough Play-Doh in to get a decent swirl, especially with the cones and the tall sundae cup, meaning everything looks cut off. Adding more Play-Doh part-way doesn't help much, as the spinning gets off-pattern, and you may as well do it by hand.
Butter, however, loves the thing, and has already spent hours playing with it. At four, all the failings don't faze her a bit. As a parent, however, I never fail to be boggled at getting snowed out of another $16 for something I hate dealing with.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 16 Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
Create some of the most colorful “treats” you can imagine with this whimsical sweet shoppe Swirl, scoop and mold lots of pretend goodies, in...More at Amazon Marketplace
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