Canal Toys Airbrush Plush: Magic Unicorn Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Mel Randle
When the Airbrush Unicorn Plush arrived, I knew immediately I was not the person for this review…… time to call for backup in the form of my 7 year old arty, unicorn loving daughter!
Her initial reaction was squeals of delight – packaging and plush are certainly pleasing to the eye and she wanted to make a start straight away! But now came the hard part for us parents – I had to make her PREPARE!!
This is an art product, therefore old clothes, table coverings etc are a must. It is not something you want to do sat on the carpet or sofa. I also made her sit and read the instructions with me so we knew what was included and how to make the best of it without making mistakes.
I warned her once we started spraying the unicorn plush, we couldn’t just wipe it off, so we practised making designs on paper first. This exercise in itself she found absolutely delightful and she could have carried on all day (which later she did)
The initial set up and learning how to change the pens in the airbrush did require supervision, however once my daughter got the hang of it (and I knew she wasn’t going to decorate the dog) I was able to leave her to it and it kept her amused for a long time .
First remarks from her…. ‘Awesome’ and ‘this is so much fun’. But now came the downside……
My daughter enjoyed this toy so much, once she had completed it she wanted to start all over again. In order to do this you have to wash the unicorn and wait for it to dry fully. What we parents know children DO NOT have is patience. To try to curb her enthusiasm to start airbrushing again, I allowed her to wash the unicorn herself (in cold water as instructed) like it was her baby. Again, this exercise in itself kept her amused for quite some time, but the plush needed at least 24 hours to dry and she gave it less than one! Therefore, I can confirm that this airbrushing does not work on a wet plush, and the instructions need to be followed. She started her design again and it just smudged and blurred and ended up in a dirty mess.
In order to give us time to wash the unicorn and dry it, she took her designs back to paper, which she continued to do for the remainder of the day. As a result, a new found love of airbrushing in her art has evolved.
The contents of the box are perfect, easy to use, and in my opinion, good quality. You have your unicorn plush, which is lovely with or without airbrushing, four colours plus your airbrush (which required 2x AA batteries not included) sheets of 100+ reusable stencils, gloves, instructions and a little magic torch because the unicorn’s wings and tail glow in the dark.
I have since discovered there is a pen refill pack available to buy with more colours which is brilliant because my daughter has and will carry on using them on paper as well as the plush.
Overall, I think this product is brilliant, well made, and has inspired my daughter above and beyond what it is actually for. It certainly isn’t a one-time product. Obviously the downside is the waiting for the plush to dry, but that’s life.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: 24.99 GBP
Available from here.