Archive for October, 2006
Toys have certainly changed during the last one hundred years but one thing that has not changed is the fascination of both old and young alike with wooden toys. Regardless of the newest gizmo that may be on the market, few can resist the timeless appeal of wooden trains, rocking horses and even abacuses.
Of course, the allure of wooden toys is nothing new. Children as far back as the Roman, Greek and Egyptian empires played with carved wooden horses, dolls and other creations that sought to imitate life around them.
Archeologicalstudies as well as examinations of tombs and crypts have revealed that even thousands of years ago children had a veritable wealth of wooden toys with which they could play.
By the 16th century German craftsmen sought to capitalize on the wooden toy allure. Sales representatives were hired to market the toys throughout Europe, often taking special orders to commemorate special occasions, particularly from the royal families in the region. By the beginning of the 17th century, German toymakers had gained a reputation for producing surprisingly life-like toy figurines of animals and figures.
Throughout the next century and beyond toymakers used their skills to produce toys that were increasingly more elaborate. Wooden trains and train tracks, toy soldiers, ornamental dollhouses and jack-in-the boxes were just a few of the toys to be produced during this time period.
The allure of wooden toys continued well into the 20th century; however, the interest in these toys took a nosedive following the end of World War II.
It’s no coincidence that plastic came into being about this time, making it easy to produce more inexpensive toys on a large-scale basis.
Still, it would seem that not even plastic could completely dim the appeal of wooden toys. Today, while it is certainly true that most aisles of toy stores are dedicated to plastic toys, there are more than a few toymakers making a go of it by producing high quality crafted wooden toys. With the advent of the Internet it has become even easier for parents to choose from a variety of wooden roleplay toys such as kitchens and tool benches as well as puzzles, pedal cars, train sets, dollhouses, forts, rockers and even outdoor toys.
While some wooden toys can cost significantly more than their plastic counterparts, many parents feel wooden toys still remain the best play options for their children, regardless of cost. In fact, many special needs educators as well as those who follow the Montessori school of thought tend to agree. Not only are wooden toys much safer than plastic toys (they do not contain dangerous levels of PVC which could be ingested by children) but they also provide numerous other benefits that plastic toys simply cannot offer.
One of the most important of these benefits is the invitation to touch, feel and explore; an important component of any education program. While children might play with a plastic toy, their interest can quickly wane and few, if any, plastic toys encourage children to actually learn through feel. Wooden toys; however, are much different. Though it certainly cannot be explained by anything scientific, wooden toys just seem to have the ‘magic touch’ when it comes to encouraging imaginative play through exploration and contact.
Even parents who may not necessarily be aware of the link between education and contact with wooden toys seem to feel that these rather simplistic looking toys provide numerous other benefits. In a day and age when video-games and highly complex electronic toys seem to be driving the minds of our children to places where we would perhaps rather they not go, traditional wooden toys offer the opportunity to enjoy a more value-driven type of imaginative play.
In addition, while wooden toys may not have all of the bells and whistles of modern toys they still allow children to engage in meaningful play, developing cognitive and problem-solving skills that will carry throughout the rest of their lives.
Durability is also a strong advantage for many parents and children. While modern plastic toys can frequently and easily be destroyed, wooden toys are designed to withstand damage much easier. Considering the fact that wooden toys tend to last much longer than plastic toys, this makes their cost more negligible than one might at first think.
While many modern toymakers may continue to bedazzle the world with their seemingly endless supply of computerized and electronic toys, there is little doubt that wooden toys will remain beloved favorites for many more generations to come.
About the Author
Wooden toys are a wonderful gift you can get any child. Best of all they are virtually indestructable. Traditional wooden toys have been a pushed aside for cheap plastic toys. Invest in your child and visit us
October 31st, 2006
Shiver me timbers! From the Summer 2006 release of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Jack Sparrow is ready to go into action as a poseable Collectible Replica Figure, created by renowned figure-maker Medicom Toy.
-Wide articulation range allows Jack Sparrow to be displayed -in a variety of swashbuckling poses
-Detailed fabric clothing
-Features replica gun, sword, and compass
-Comes with a clear display stand
-From Medicom Toy’s Real Action Heroes collection
Jack Sparrow stands approximately 12′ tall.
You can buy him on this site
October 23rd, 2006
If you are just becoming involved with dollhouses, it is necessary to keep in mind that they can be customized or personalized to meet your specific preferences. Some interesting designs can evolve if you let your imagination run wild and plan and design everything in the way you want them to be. There are many youngsters, including 17 year old guys, who simply like to construct and collect castle dollhouses, and finish them with dungeons as well as miniature guillotines even though they do not always like the term ‘dollhouse’!
The dollhouse has become an item of interest in the lives of adults as well as children. It is, and has always been a fun activity for girls and is great for stimulating their imaginations. A child building or playing with a dollhouse is, of course, involved in a more mentally stimulating and powerful activity than simply sitting down playing a computer game or watching television.
Creating a house for a doll has become an interesting hobby for adults as a recreational activity. In fact, there are numerous shows organized for adults and children interested in this recreational past-time. Here, people of like interest can gather together to swap ideas and buy additions for their creations. Making a house for your doll takes great care and an eye for detail, unless you are satisfied with a couple of boxes put on top of one another!
There are numerous kinds of dollhouses that people can buy and invest their time in. The most typical scale for children is 1:6. This ratio is also called ‘play scale’ in this industry. Adults generally use a 1:12 scale for their houses; however, 1:24 as well as 1:36 scales are increasing in popularity.
Children’s houses are usually made of plastic as it is very easy to clean. Sticky finger marks can easily be wiped off. For adults, wood is the most common used medium for the house but the accessories can be out of any other material. Accessories can be made out of most materials like plastic, wood, paper, metal, stone and cloth. Even specially baked play-dough is used to make tiny accessories like food.
One of the major delights of the dollhouse is that everything we have can be reproduced in miniature. For example, a miniature drawer will be filled with miniature silverware and this adds to the interest of the house. The main delight of this hobby is to create a sense of realism and detail in miniature, hence an amazing collection of accessories.
Placing or arranging the playhouse and decorating it is part of the enjoyment of the hobby, even as an adult. In many houses, the dollhouse takes pride of place. Some people even have specific doll-rooms that are housed in glass cases. To emphasize the architectural beauty of your completed house you may decide to landscape around it. Miniature landscaping is easily available at hobby shops often where you will find model trains and accessories.
If you are not interested with the traditional old Victorian dollhouse there are many other designs to choose from. You could create an ultra-modern piece or something totally different like a castle. Whatever style or design you like can be created if you are prepared to take the time and care with detail.
Summary:
Today, the dollhouse has become again something of pleasure in the lives of children as well as adults alike, and the thrill of collecting particular accessories has become quite addictive for many dollhouse enthusiasts.
About the Author
Brooke Hayles
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October 16th, 2006
Wind him up and run for your life!
Greetings, automaton connoisseurs - Professor Hubert Farnsworth here. Have you grown weary of trying to cope with your robot’s emotional ups and downs? Oh my, yes - haven’t we all? But you need never again be surprised by your robot’s unexpected mood swings, thanks to my latest invention. It’s a marvelous new coating that changes color depending on your robot’s state of mind. I call it Moodium. This miracle substance is made chiefly from a rare compound recently extracted from a long-buried costume-jewelry landfill, circa 1975.
Just refer to the handy chart on Bender’s box and your robot’s emotional state will be an open book! The Bright ‘N’ Shiny Bender Wind-Up Figure stands approximately 81/2 inches tall and comes with a can of oil, a cigar and a wind-up key. Wind him up and watch him go.
You can buy bender on this site!
October 10th, 2006
Introducing the next wave of classic Star Wars vehicles that are robots in disguise — Star Wars Transformers! These articulated figures transform from mechanized forms of your favorite Star Wars characters into the vehicles and back.
Fierce and relentless as a Predacon is Darth Maul, wicked Sith apprentice and whirlwind warrior. This mechanized incarnation of the dark duelist transforms into his signature Sith Infiltrator. Comes with two projectiles that really launch, and merge to become his double-ended lightsabers.
You can buy in on this site!
October 4th, 2006
