SCHLEICH DINOSAUR RANGE - SKULL TRAP & VELOCIRAPTOR REVIEW

We are big fans of the Schleich toys and they have featured many times on the blog. Most recently we reviewed the brand new Thor figure from the Marvel range. Our next item to review was the Large Skull Trap with Velociraptor - a fantastic toy, perfect for any little dinosaur fans! This one was right up Elliot's street, he is obsessed with dinosaurs and has literally played with this everyday since it arrived!

The trap is a large dinosaur skull which has a moveable jaw that can be adjusted to open in two positions. When you press the snout, the trap snaps shut! I'm not an expert on dinosaurs but it looks pretty lifelike to me and even comes with a full set of teeth. These may look sharp but they are actually made of soft plastic which makes the skull nice and safe to play with and with no risk of getting nipped by a dinosaur.

The skull comes with a fearsome velociraptor who has moveable arms (and extra sharp claws!), along with a Compsognathus (a two legged carnivore around the size of a pheasant) and a small lizard.

As with all Schleich toys, the quality is outstanding and the dinosaurs and skull are so well made. The figures are all handpainted and feature so much detail, like the pattens on the back of the velociraptor.

Elliot has had lots of fun playing with this set and really enjoys getting all his dinosaur figures out and pitting them against the skull to see who gets trapped!

The Skull Trap is £24.99 and can be purchased from www.schleich-s.co.uk

*Disclaimer - We were sent these items in return for an honest review. All views are my own

SCHLEICH THOR FIGURINE - REVIEW

We are big fans of the Schleich toys in this house. Over the last few years Elliot has built up a little collection which includes zoo animals, farm animals and even dinosaurs! Recently we discovered that Schleich also make Marvel and DC Comic characters which was pretty exciting for Elliot who is a big fan of superheroes.

To coincide with the release of the new Thor: Ragnarok movie (out in cinemas on 27th October), Schleich have added a familiar face to their Marvel team - the mighty Thor!  Also part of this Marvel range are Spiderman, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Dr Strange, Venom, Falcon, Iron Man and Green Goblin. 

"Thor, the Viking god, is almost invincible. His mighty hammer, Mjolnir, allows him to control storms, thunder and lightning, and it always returns to the hand of its powerful master. He comes from Asgard. When his father Odin, king of the gods, sends him to earth, he becomes a member of the Avengers so that he can fight side by side with other superheroes against the forces of evil – above all, his hate-filled brother, Loki."

Schleich sent us out very own Thor to review so what did we think? Firstly, the quality of Thor is top class. All Schleich figures are lovingly handpainted with detailed modelling.  The figure has a nice heavy feel to it and feels very well made. Standing with his hammer raised in the air and ready for action, Thor looks just like he does in the film! 

The figure comes in a smart collectors box and wouldn't look out of place on a collectors shelf. However there was no chance of him staying in his box in this house! Elliot couldn't wait to start playing and immediately went to get his other figures from the superhero box. (Yes, we have a Superhero box!)

Thor standing tall!

He had a great time with all this figures and I'm sure Thor is going to be playing a prominent role in Elliot's playtime for the foreseeable future! He's already nagging me to get the rest of the Marvel gang for him....

The Thor figurine is priced at £9.99 and is available from www.schleich-s.co.uk (suitable for 4+)

*Disclosure - We were sent a selection of schleich figures for writing this honest review - as always, all thoughts are my own. And we genuinely love Schleich toys! 

Schleich Farm World Starter Set - Review

One of my favourite brand of toys for Elliot is Schleich and we have actually reviewed some of their figures on the blog last Summer. Schleich believe in educational play and I covered this in detail in my last review which can be found here.

Since our last review we have been adding to our Schleich collection, Elliot's most recent purchase being a dragon! However when we were offered some new farm animals to review, we didn't need asking twice and Elliot asked everyday when they would arrive :)

We were sent the Farm World Starter Set and included in this were a cow, lamb, rooster and donkey. Elliot was over the moon with this selection, he has alot of animal figures already but no roosters so this was a big plus point for him!

As with all Schleich figures, the quality is outstanding. The figures are handpainted and the attention to detail is second to none. I would say that the Schleich brand is easily recognisable with the weight and the feel of the figures.

Elliot adores playing with animal figures and he couldn't wait to take these new ones down to his Grandparent's house where they have a whole host of animal figures and farms. As you can see from the photos below, it didn't take the animals long to settle in!

Playing with toys such as these ones really fires up Elliot's imagination and he spends ages acting out life on the farm, complete with voices! The animals are easily recognisable for children of a pre-school age and it's a great introduction to Farm Life.

The Schleich figures are suitable for children aged 3-6 but I would say both younger and older children would enjoy playing with them too. The toys are very well made and sturdy and will last and last so I'm sure when baby Erin is 3/4 years old, Elliot will enjoy playing with them again!

The full collection can be found at www.schleich-s.co.uk and the price for the Farm World Starter Kit is £14.99.

*Disclosure - We were sent a selection of schleich figures for writing this honest review - as always, all thoughts are my own. And we genuinely love Schleich toys! 

Educational Play the Schleich Way

Elliot's most favourite thing to play with these days is figures - be that animal figures, Scooby Doo figures, people figures....anything goes as long as it's a figure!

Last year we were introduced to the Schleich brand when my Mum happened to buy Elliot some new figures for his collection and it's a brand that I will always look out for now if I'm shopping for toys.

Schleich have been making toy figurines and playsets for over 80 years and these toys can be played with by children around the world, irrespective of what language they speak or where they live. The figurines teach children about the diversity of nature from an early age and encourages creative and imaginative play. What I love about the figures is that they are created to be as realistic as possible and the quality is top notch.

As part of their "Educational Play the Schleich Way" campaign, they have created a brilliant 16 page brochure which is full of ideas to help your child get the most out of playtime and to maintain a healthy balanced play diet.

I'd not heard of the phase "balanced play diet" before but after reading the brochure it totally makes sense! Children need to spend their time enjoying many different areas of play and these can be broken down into the following: active play, creative play, social play and free play. It really made me think about the ways that Elliot plays and I do need to mix things up a bit and introduce a bit more variety. He loves free play where he can bring his characters to life and it's fascinating hearing his imagination run wild. Creative play is one we need to work on more I think as he would much rather be playing with toys than sitting down to draw or do something creative.

The brochure even includes some ideas for fun games to stimulate your child's imagination - we will definitely be making some time to recreate animal restaurant!

Elliot was sent three Schleich animals to test out and we received a horse, cow and zebra. All three figures were immediately recognisable as Schleich due to the amazing quality and weight - there really isn't another brand on the market that matches Schleich for quality animal figures.

Elliot's favourite game to play with his animal figures is to recreate Longleat Safari Park! He builds a train track and places all the animals around in their groups, and acts out a little story. The new Schleich animals were introduced to their new Longleat neighbours this week and have been settling in well! Elliot also took the animals to his grandparents house and spent ages playing with them in the garden.

I'm sure Elliot will be playing with this Schleich toys for many years to come and I'm also positive we will be adding to his collection soon!

Schleich toys start at £2.99 and can be found online at http://www.schleich-s.co.uk/ or at your local Smyths toystore

*Disclosure - We were sent a selection of schleich figures for writing this honest review - as always, all thoughts are my own. And we genuinely love Schleich toys!