Shrinky Dink Maker - A Truly Guilty Pleasure
Written: Dec 23 '02 (Updated Jun 14 '07)
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Pros: Entertaining for kids, a safe alternative to using the oven or heat gun.
Cons: Bulb not provided, 20 minute 'warm-up time', a little on the girlie side.
The Bottom Line: If you have the time to kill, the cash to spend and can't think of something better to buy –knock yourself out with the Spin Master Incredible Shrinky Dink Maker.
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| Freak369's Full Review: SpinMaster Shrinky Dinks Oven and Accessories |
I knew that I would have to buy this - for no other reason than to see if it actually worked. I've been a fan of Shrinky Dinks for a long time - peering into the window of the oven, nervously watching my artistic endeavor curl, roll and eventually flatten and burning my fingers almost every time when I reached for them before they cooled off. But that's half the fun :] Spin Master has taken a great concept - the Shrinky Dink- and expanded upon it. The concept is still the same, but its bigger and bolder than ever before - and safer for kids to use providing that they have proper parental supervision. I’ve loved Shrinky Dinks for a long time and as much as my kids hate to admit it – I’m the kind of person that stands in front of the oven drooling – waiting for my creation to be completed. They, on the other hand, they don’t “get” the appeal of Shrinky Dinks. My oldest son said “Why not just draw your goofy little star on a piece of paper instead of drawing it on the Shrinky paper, baking it and complaining that it doesn’t look good?” Yes, these are my kids – little freakin’ “no-fun” eggheads.
The Basics
The Incredible Shrinky Dinks Maker was designed to be safe, fun and entertaining for the younger crowd. No longer needing to use an over, embossing gun or toaster oven, this nifty little gizmo takes away a little of the danger, but not all of it. Parental supervision is still required and highly suggested since you are still dealing with something that gets extremely hot. The unit itself is pretty cool looking - with the awesome atomic purple color to catch your eye you are sucked into checking it out - whether you want to or not. Whoever coined the term creative marketing must have been thinking about this toy since it appeals to both boys and girls, requires additional purchases [light bulb, refill packs etc] and has all the kids saying, “I nnnnneeeeeddddd this”.
Aesthetically, the unit is very easy on the eye. The contrast between the clear yellow window and the overall ‘smurple purple’ makes it 'hip' without dating itself - making sure that it will still be cool next year when the cool color with be 'nuclear lime' or 'blazing blue'. The Shrinky Dink Maker gets a seven out of a possible ten for construction. It’s sturdy but you just know that the something is going to get broken within the first few weeks that this is in use. It’s easy enough to use but make sure you read the instructions from start to finish to make sure that you know what you are doing.
To make a ‘Dink’ in the Shrinky Dink Maker all you have to do is draw your design on the special paper [you get a few starter sheets in the kit], color it in with colored pencils, trim it to the desired size and if you like – punch a hole it in if you plan on using it for a key chain or mobile. I made a cute angel and bear mobile for my neighbor a few years ago and it turned out great! There are some paints and other mediums that you can use to color in the design but I found that the colored pencils work best. Once you have your unbaked creation ready to go all you have to do is pop it on to the provided tray, slide it into the oven and sit patiently while it bakes. Make sure that you have preheated the Shrinky Dink Maker for the appropriate amount of time or your design might not completely bake. Wait for the timer to sound off and carefully remove the baked ‘Dink’ from the opposite side of the unit. Use the provided tool to remove the tray and place it on a ceramic divot or cooling rack. Resist the temptation to pick up your Shrinky Dink or you’ll find yourself playing an impromptu game of Hot Potato.
What You Get
Included with the Shrinky Dink Marker you also get three full-sized sheet of plastic [the Shrinky Dink magic paper as I call it], a nice art booklet that gives you some basic designs to work with, three small colored pencils, magnetic strips that have a double sided adhesive [these are used to make your designs magnetic] and three key chain assemblies - however my box only had two. There are a number of refill packets that are available – from cute girlie butterflies and dolls to mainstream themes such as Scooby-Doo, Monsters Inc. and other popular characters. One refill pack I did pick up was the Shrinky Dinks Dollhouse Activity Kit that not only has a cool dollhouse preprinted pages that you cut out and bake. My neighbors’ daughter spent about three hours carefully and painstakingly assembling the house, working on the designs and eventually baking them. Since my boys had absolutely no interest in this I had to sit through three hours of hearing about dolls, dresses and tea parties while my eager little assistant helped me test drive this with an officially licensed Spin Master set of Dinks.
The Drawbacks
Since the oven door is only about four inches wide, you need to make sure that your design will fit. If you want to make larger designs I'm afraid you will have to do it the old fashioned way - in the oven. If you have a heat gun used for embossing you can use that to heat the Shrinky Dink but for larger images and designs you really have to keep an eye on it and make sure that you distribute the heat evenly or you will end up with the edges rolling over and sticking to the middle. In Shrinky Dink terms - that is something that you pretty much can't recover from since if you try to pull on it - you run the risk of distorting the image.
Make sure you pick up the appropriate light bulb that is needed for this toy. You do not get it with the set up so make sure you hit the hardware section of the store or stop by Home Depot and pick one up. The Shrinky Dink Maker requires a 60 watt bulb - but not just any 60 watt bulb - this one is short and fat and is often times referred to as a "candelabra base”. It is extremely important that you use the correct bulb for this or you might just melt the entire thing or worse - run the risk of starting a major fire. I picked one up at Wal-Mart for $1.49 and was a little ticked that it wasn't included with the unit. The only reason I could possibly see that it wasn't included was the possibility of it breaking during shipping.
If you are pressed for time, this might not be the toy you'll want to drag out for a few minutes of fun. You will need to preheat the unit for about twenty minutes to make sure that it is nice and hot - and yes - this gets hot so make sure that you and your children are fully aware that this is a toy – but a potentially dangerous one. In most cases it’s easier to just heat up the own and do it the “old fashioned” way but if you are looking to kill an afternoon this makes the perfect toy to fill your time.
Reordering Parts
In case you should need to order parts for your Spin Master Shrinky Dink Maker you can call the toll free number [800] 622-8339, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm EST for assistance. If you prefer, you can order the parts online at the official Spin Master website located at this URL: http://www.spinmaster.com/customerCare/orderParts.jsp
To see the complete instruction page for creating your own Shrinky Dinks, you can view them here http://www.spinmaster.com/toyData/1/0/1/3/Oven%20Instr.pdf. Please note, you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view the instructions. If you aren't sure if this would be a suitable project for your family, read over the instructions to see if this is something that would be of interest.
The Bottom Line
The Shrinky Dink Maker isn’t a necessity. If you have a toaster oven, embossing gun or oven you can still make your Shrinky Dinks using these options. For me, it was something that I simply had to purchase since I missed out on the whole E-Z Bake Oven craze when I was a kid – so there was no way I was going to miss out on this. My boys had absolutely no interest in using this since the baking tray could only accommodate small pieces and they were interested in making larger designs. My neighbors daughter had a great time using it and after her and I read through the instructions [I read, she listened] we had a ball making cute little girlie designs. I recommend this for small families since you can only bake a few pieces at a time. If you have a big crowd of kids making designs you are better off sticking with an old cookie sheet and the oven. Perfect for rainy day projects too – this will easily amuse kids for hours since it takes time to heat up the oven, create the images, bake them and allow cooling time. If you have some extra cash and can’t seem to find a unique gift – this might just something to check out.
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $19.99
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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