Fuzzikins School Playset Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
This week, we have been lucky enough to have been playing with the Fuzzikins School Playset – a fabulous new toy range that combines imaginative play and story telling with design and craft, and we have had a ball! There are a number of sets in the Fuzzikins range, but we were sent the School Playset which includes the school building, four Fuzzikins pupils, a Fuzzikins teacher, stickers, pens and an instruction leaflet.
So what exactly is Fuzzikins? Well, there are four Fuzzi pupils in the set (mouse, hamster, lamb and monkey), as well as a Fuzzi teacher – the wise owl. But the difference with these little characters is that they are completely white and are literally a blank canvas. You get to colour them in yourselves with the five washable colouring pens that are included. The Fuzzikins are made from a firm but fuzzy material which feels very tactile and the kids thoroughly enjoyed stroking! But not only do you get to colour them in, you also get to change your mind or make mistakes! The characters are fully washable under the tap, and they come completely clean with only water and a cloth, so the kids can design their characters again and again.
In addition to the five characters, this set also includes the school building which comprises of three areas (school room, dining room and playground) as well as a bell tower and furniture. The building is made from a good quality, laminated card, which folds up to resemble a book for easy storage and unfolds into a surprisingly stable schoolroom playset. The schoolroom is secured into place with the plastic bell tower which clamps onto the top, and a white plastic picket fence to enclose the playground. The dining hall has its own popup dining table and shelving and the classroom has popup desks as well as a whiteboard. The three areas even have working doors between them, and the dining room has a moveable serving hatch!
The set comes complete with two sheets of stickers that can be coloured in and used to decorate the schoolroom, to put food on the dining table, pens and books on the desks and even a football or a ladybird in the playground. There is even a practice sheet so that you can try out your character designs before you commit them to the actual Fuzzi Friends!
We have had a wonderful time with this playset – I knew my youngest (aged 7) would love both the design and the imaginative play sides of the playset, but I didn’t realise just how much my 10-year-old would take to it! She has had a great time designing her characters and has come up with some really intricate styles. Being that little bit older, she also commented that it was good that there wasn’t very much plastic in this toy compared to lots of playsets which are totally plastic. From my point of view, I loved just how small it folded up and it will be very handy for taking with us when we are visiting friends and family over Christmas, as we will be able to take it with us; that obviously wouldn’t be an option with the vast majority of playsets like this.
One thing that I would say is that whilst this is made from good, thick card for the most part (the base is somewhat thinner), it is still cardboard. It clearly won’t be as durable as it would be if it were made from plastic. The box states that the set is suitable for ages 4+, I would say that for the most part, this is pretty accurate and I don’t doubt that 4-year-olds will love it, but I do know that at with it being made out of card, at the ages of four, my kids would both have managed to squash it within a few days! Having said that, I don’t think this matters – I don’t think Fuzzikins are supposed to replace plastic toys, and the collapsible-ness and customisable-ness of the toy is what it’s all about. The pen washed off the Fuzzis very successfully too, leaving no residue which I was really impressed with.
My girls have loved this toy – it has fuelled their imagination in more ways than one and the quality is fantastic. Yes, it does still contain plastic, but there is a lot less plastic than lots of similar toys, making it a nice choice if you are trying to cut down on your carbon footprint, and is a toy that lots of children would be delighted to find under their Christmas tree.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £24.99
For more information or to buy visit interplayuk.com.
