I can recall a time when all of my boys would race for the television, fight over the remote control and ultimately decide that Scooby-Doo was the best show to watch. When cartoon Network started airing more of the older episodes [pre Scrappy Doo, the downfall of the series] they got hooked on it and we ended up with a lot of Scooby related merchandise, most of which was discarded during our recent move. When we were hooked on Shrinky Dinks after being sucked into getting one of the SpinMaster Shrinky Dinks Oven and this was one of the first sets that we picked up after we mastered using it. If their fighting over the remote control wasn't enough I now had to contend with them bickering over who got to color Scooby and who was stuck with Fred. Lucky for me I was able to go back to the store and pick up a few more sets on sale so everyone could get to color in their favorites without a war breaking out.

If you've never worked with Shrinky Dinks before you are in for a real treat! These are very easy to work with and if you can hold a pencil, color within the lines and use scissors [or have an adult help] then you are on your way to Shrinky Dink heaven. Shrinky Dinks are essentially plastic sheets with printed images on them; you color the pictures then cut them out [some are precut so all you have to do is punch them off the sheet], place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in your oven. You can also use a toaster oven or embossing gun but if you are a first timer, stick with the oven. Five to eight minutes later your Dinks are done, remove them from the over and you'll see that they are one third smaller and almost three times as thick as when you started. Once you get the hang of using them you can branch out and make your own by purchasing blank Shrinky pages and tracing on your own images or running them through your printer to make your own designed, messages or even greeting cards.

What You Get

This description is only for the activity set, not the smaller basic kit of twelve figures. You get several of each of the characters from the hit television show including Velma, Scooby, Shaggy, Fred and Daphne. Three of them [Scooby, Shaggy and one of Scooby and Shaggy] can be made into key chains by cutting out the hole that is above them. I highly suggest that you make the hole a little larger than suggested [a hole punch works great to start it out] so that you can slip the key chain into the hole easily. You also get six short colored pencils but you can use any type of art supply you like [except paints]. Markers and crayons work well but you might want to practice with these one some scrap pieces first. Also included are six stands that you can snap the figures in to. These are pretty useless unless you use the smaller figures; the larger ones tend to make the stands tip over. If you are determined to snap these into the stands and they fall over, roll up a piece of poster putty and press it under the base of the stand.

My biggest gripe about this activity kit is that the colored pencils are the half sized ones so if you are an adult or teen, chances are you aren't going to be able to handle them as smoothly as a smaller child would. You can use any type of colored pencil or marker you like on them but as I mentioned, type them out on a scrap piece first to make sure the ink or pencil is going to stay on the plastic when you bake it. If you want to really go crazy you can add glitter to it too. Just sprinkle it on after you have colored it but don’t over do it; remember that the design is going to shrink and if you use too much it will get too saturated and look, well, tacky. When it's all said and done you will end up with some really nice looking figures if you take the time to make sure that there are no empty spaces on the images. Hold the plastic up to the light to see if the color is even or if there are any spots that need a touch up. Once it’s baked there is really no easy fix for these types of errors.

Things To Know

• There are two different Scooby-Doo Shrinky Dink kits on the market. One has 12 images to work with and the other 15. The larger set of 15 includes three that can be made into key chains while the one with 12 images lacks that perk. The larger one [15 images] is the activity kit, the 12 piece set is just called "Scooby-Doo Shrinky Dinks". This is an important thing to know if you are going to order this online; remember to read the fine print and the piece count before you order. The kit [twelve pieces] should be a few dollars less than the larger activity kit.

• Parental supervision is highly suggested when working with Shrinky Dinks. The plastic is extremely hot when it comes out of the oven and there have been more than a few times that I had to tell kids to not open the oven door while they were baking. They would see the edges rolling up on the sides and start to panic. This is a normal process when working with Shrinky Dinks and most of the time it fixes it self as it starts to shrink.

The Bottom Line

We had a great time working on this activity kit and the key chains came out looking great. This set is pretty easy to find at places like Wal-Mart and Target and depending on which one you choose [the 12 or 15 piece set] you can look at spending about $5.99 to $6.99 for it. That's a small price to pay for a few hours of entertainment these days and you get some great looking figures when you are done. If you have a Scooby fanatic in your midst this would make for a great rainy day activity or a super birthday present! For more information about this and other Spin Master Shrinky Dinks sets, visit their official site at www.spinmaster.com.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $5.00
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Whole Family