Well, after working 12 hour days for six out of seven days a week for the last two months, yes I am very tired, I came home one day to a mystery! A box had arrived on my doorstep. A box I had not ordered—I check my tracking information on my incoming packages at least once a day—and yet was clearly addressed to me.
I knew it wasn't the rewards promised in the Might No. 9 kickstarter campaign… I already have all of those. And I hadn't kickstarted anything else recently. So what could it have possibly been?
Well, the answer lied in the name of the sender: K'NEX. As soon as I saw that, I knew what was in the box, and what I needed to do. For a free package of toys sent to the largest My Little Pony Fan Blog on the planet deserves only one thing.
An Unboxing and Toy Review! So strap on in folks, for after the break you'll see what I discovered when I opened up this box of My Little Pony Tinker Toys!
UNBOXING
I tried looking up the K'NEX item number featured on the box, but my google-fu failed me on this day.
For whatever is usually contained in this package, there is usually a count of 48 pieces. So I wondered, did I get 48 pieces of ponies? To answer that question, I took only the logical course of action.
I opened the box. And what did I discover?
KRAFT PAPER!!! A box full of Kraft Paper! Oh K'NEX you know just what to send me in terms of reusable shipping supplies! Kraft Paper doesn't make anywhere near the mess packing peanuts do! And it is far easier to store until I send my next MLP Convention Care Package to Ramivic in Chicago after NYCC next month! Just fold it up and place it on a shelf like an elf.
Easy! But what was under the Kraft Paper?
PONIES!!! In boxes! That I have to assembly myself!
And here we get a really good shot of the three MLP Tinker Toys which I was sent to review. I knoew these are CGI models presented on the front of the boxes, and not the actual toys themselves, however the toys inside the box really do look like what is presented here.
If you don't believe me, you'll be able to see for yourself and judge very shortly. However before we do that, I have a little bit of news!
K'NEX contacted me shortly after I received the box of ponies to let me know these toys are hitting toy shelves now! And apparently there is a forth set starring everyone's favorite rainbow maned pegasus out there as well.
Unfortunately said Pegasus will not be reviewed at this time. For she is awesome as she wants to be, and quite frankly deserves to have her own review post! So don't let the world get you down, there will be a time to be awesome later.
But for now it is time to review the single pony toys for Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity.
And Rarity would kill me if I didn't start with the most fabulous of ponies. And since Twilight is not here, I suppose I'll just have to settle for the white unicorn.
RARITY TINKER TOY REVIEW
While the box art for Ms. Rarity is as lovely as ever, the wonderful little "3+" sign at the has me visualizing Tabitha St. Germain saying "Ages three and up! It's on my box! Ages three and up! I'm not supposed to be babysitting Princess Flurryheart!"
Top of the box. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just Rarity standing in front of her vanity mirror.
The back however has a few more details. Product information, manufacturer support, copyright notices, etc. There is however the wonderful detail of Rarity looking into her mirror instead of standing in front of it.
It's cute, adorable, colorful, and totally in character for Rarity. After all Rarity doesn't wake up as her fabulous self every day. That level of fabulousity only comes from a huge amount of hard work and effort.
The left side of the box showcases the products which are available in this line.
The right side showcases a parts list/inventory.
And the bottom contains the UPC Code, and warnings in multi-languages.
Alright, enough about the box. Now for what's inside the box!
IT'S PLASTIC!!! Lots of plastic. In various, shapes, sizes, colors, densities, and—GOOD HEAVENS!!!
Rarity has been beheaded! This is a travesty which must be corrected immediately!
Also, yes. With the MLP Tinker Toy set, you get to assembly everything. Including the ponies!
So there are four parts needed to assembly Rarity. Her head, her mane, her body, and her tail. There are a set of instructions included with this set, however it shouldn't be difficult to put together a pony I have been watching the cartoon she stars on for the last seven years…
Dear lord, I'm starting to feel old. But no time to worry about the passage of time. There are ponies to assemble!
What? Rarity is channeling her inner Ruby Rhod. This is quite clearly the only way this pony can be put together.
…
Yes, I suppose she is missing her unicorn horn. But she is fabulous with this hairstyle.
…
Okay. Fine. I'll put her together the right way. I swear, it sounded like there was an apple loving pony telling me off when I had styled her like that.
SO here we have the fully assembled Rarity from the 3/4 angel as presented on the front of the box. Without the turned head. I have to say the quality of this toy is incredible. All the pieces felt very solid. Like they were designed for some rough play sessions with a three year old instead of a toy review session with an adult in his late twenties.
You could throw this toy across the room and, aside from separating into its basic four parts, the toy will not break upon impact with the wall. Mind you I am not advising anyone to attempt such a thing. The last thing you want is to put a hole in the wall the size of Rarity's head.
Even from side profile she is fabulous.
Fabulous, if slightly blurry, from the front.
Why yes she actually does look like a horse from the back.
Now examining the bottom of the Rarity toy reveals, aside from how the body of the pony is permanently assembled, the existence of a pony belly button! Which could potentially be used to connect the pony to a cart, carriage, or suitcase.
The amount of possibilities which opened up by including a way for the ponies to connect with the Tinker Toys themselves are limited only by the imaginations of the toddlers who play with it, and the toy designers at K'NEX.
Hopefully we'll see some fun uses for this feature later on in this line of releases or even in a potential second wave.
And speaking of the Tinker Toys…
Here are the 10 pieces contained in the box. Yes, the mirror is a sticker you place onto the vanity. Which isn't too hard for an adult to take care of for the child who will most likely be playing with this toy.
And no building toy would be complete with a set of instructions. The back of which, featured the cover, how to assemble the pony, the other toy available in the line—
LOOK! IT'S RAINBOW DASH!!! And I think she is in Cloudsdale. Either that or she is in her three story tower of a cloud house. Now as for the assembly instructions themselves…
D'OH! ENGLISH SIDE RUINED. MUST USE FRENCH SIDE! LE PONEY!? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?!?
Yes sir, that is one fine looking vanity.
RARITY: "WHY DOESN'T MINE LOOK LIKE THAT?!"
…
…
I am going to enjoy this.
See Rarity. The only thing wrong with the vanity happens to be I assembled it wrong. In actuality, it's a dress! Doesn't she look lovely?
… everyone's a critic.
Okay fine. I'll quite pretending to be inept and actually assembly this thing.
See? Even Rarity approves of this wonderful vanity mirror…
She's not going to move from that spot, is she. Oh well.
With 14 pieces, Rarity is a largest set of the three I received for review. The additional three pieces allowed for a little bit of extra creative freedom outside of what was presented in the instructions. The pony figure was spot on, and the vanity build kit was very appropriate for the character.
Great job on this first set. Perfect for the target audience of those ages three and up! On to the next toy.
APPLEJACK TINKER TOY REVIEW
I'm sensing a theme with this toy.
No don't tell me. It's on the tip of my tongue.
I'm clearly seeing a barn. Something orange…
Made up of eleven pieces.
Hello Rarity's friends! Fluttershy and…
Dang it. What is her name.
Can you give me a hand here Applejack? I'm stumped on this one.
…
Right. Perhaps I'll give you a hand first and get you out of those plastic bags.
So here is Applejack. Just look at this mare! I'm sure she'll look just like her box art once she is fully assembled.
See? Told you she'd look just like the picture of the toy on the box!
Though, like most of the Applejack products on the market today, she is missing one rather significant detail.
One which I am sure is on the top of her head. Or rather absent on the top of her head. And how can you possibly say no to that face?
Once again the Pony belly button is included on the underside of the toy. So perhaps it will get used in this set. Maybe?
Well, anything is possible.
So lets take a look at the pieces that came with Applejack. We have an apple cart, two oversized apples, a green thingamabob, and three standard Tinker Toy pieces.
So that's not much to work with, but maybe—
—I'll go take a look at the instructions and not get on the bad side of a pony who can knock down a tree in a single kick. Sound good?
The instructions included with the Applejack set are basically a straight up copy of the ones from Rarity's set. Advertisements for the other sets in the line—once again "HI RAINBOW DASH!!!"—an inventory of the parts included in this set, and basic instructions on how to assemble the pony on one side.
The back contains the steps needed to assembly the accessories for playtime. So let's begin assembling this mobile apple stand.
…
I JUST FIGURED OUT THE THEME!!!
Huh. Only four pieces needed to put together the sign. This shouldn't be too difficult.
See. Not hard at all.
There also really wasn't anything else which could have been done with it. Seriously it's a sign. Not a vanity mirror. There's no way I can make a dress out of that.
Though there are possibilities with the apple cart. So maybe—
…Applejack. you are no fun.
Yes, Rarity has not moved since her vanity mirror was completed. That is inconsequential compared to Applejack with her completed apple cart! Just look at how adorable she is! And the belly button on the pony is used to connect her to the cart.
This set is much simpler than Rarity's set. There's three less pieces to work with, however the vast majority of the pieces in this set are specific to it. Not a ton of wiggle room for additional creativity outside of what is presented in the instructions.
Though I get the feeling more possibilities will open up if more Tinker Toys are added. Like from the other three Pony sets, or perhaps from other Tinker Toys.
This set is perfect for kids who are right on the three year old mark. Not particularly difficult, but still a decent challenge for kids who are playing with their first building toys.
Now… time for the final toy!
FLUTTERSHY TINKER TOY REVIEW
So for this set we have Fluttershy, the evil pet rabbit, and… a tree. With a swing.
Okay, the toy designers who work on this line at K'NEX are definitely fans of the show.
I mean how else could they have possibly made a reference to the Fluttertree joke from season 1?
Just look at the set on the back of the box! It looks fantastic!
Of course we only have three pieces which were not specifically created for this set. Oh well, this is going to be fun to put together. Especially with all those holes in the tree's leaves!
I wonder what possible fun could be had when all three of the sets are combined. I guess we'll find out shortly.
I mean really, how could I not play with all three of the sets at once. I mean it's not like my sister has a three year niece who would be perfect for me to give these to after I finished taking pictures of all the sets individually.
…
Oh yeah. She does have a three year old niece.
Anyways, the contents of this set are stored in two plastic bags this time. As opposed to the usual three.
So, let's get to building that pony!
Oh! 5 pieces are dedicated to building Fluttershy! I wonder what I could possibly do to those wings…
Remind me again, why didn't I save Applejack for last? Clearly the orange pony is no fun and as such shall be ignored.
Now, where was I— Oh no. OH NO!!!!!
It's El Conejo Malvado!!!! And he's fallen down! But this can only mean…
…I seriously hate that rabbit. Look at that! He pretended to be in distress to force Fluttershy to pull herself together before I could do anything to mess with her. How dare he!!!
Anyways, the addition of the wings adds a new dynamic for the toy.
Just look at that front profile! Wings! She looks like she could fly!
…
I said could, not would. We all know she isn't Rainbow Dash.
And once again the pony belly button is present on this figure. I love the consistency on these figures. Nice strong plastic. Similar design choices made on all three figures. Build one figure and you've learned how to build all three of them.
Excellent design choices.
Oh no! Not the evil rabbit! You forced fluttershy to pull herself together before I had a chance to mess with her. There is no way I am building—
…you really are a killjoy, AJ.
The instructions included with Fluttershy are in the same format as the previous two packs . So no surprises there.
And here's the instructions on how to build a Tinker Toy Tree Swing. Looks simple enough.
There your swing you evil rabbit. Now go enjoy it.
Look. He's enjoying his new swing. However, he also ruined my fun. And I know just how to get back at him.
Oh Applejack! Look what Fluttershy built in one of your apple trees!
So apparently these two are going to hash out why Angel Bunny is an evil piece of… fluff while Rarity continues to admire herself in the mirror.
Somehow this does not surprise me at all.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Growing up, my favorite toys to play with LEGOs. And when I was three years old, I had my own set of building toying toys. Namely DUPLOS. I never had Tinker Toys as a kid. However I will say this, if I had actually had them when I was that young, I would have spent many years playing with them.These toys are easy to build, designed to take a beating from rigorous play, and—most important of all—fun! I honestly felt like I was a very little kid again when I was
I was more than happy to give these toys to my sister to give to her niece. Her niece is the prefect age for these toys. And really, these are meant to be played with, not sit on a shelf and look pretty while collecting dust.
This has been The Illustrious Q. Be sure to keep an eye out for another Tinker Toy review later on featuring the one, the only, Rainbow Dash! Catch you all later!
Twitter: The Illustrious Q
