Menkind Red5 Motion Control UFO Review
Reviewed by Paul Magnan
Whenever I visit a shopping centre, I tend to gravitate towards any stores selling boys toys. I have wandered into several Menkind stores in the past, to then have a Christmas List in my mind of all the toys and gadgets I wish to try out. It was like Christmas came early in my house when the Red5 Motion Control UFO arrived. Whilst I am a 40 something big kid at heart, this UFO is suitable for anyone aged 8+ and I think would be especially perfect for those hard to buy for teenagers you may have in your life.
Because I did not want there being any delays to being able to try out this little beauty, I went out and purchased 3x AA batteries for the controller. Batteries are not supplied with the item, but the UFO itself uses a rechargeable li-po battery and is supplied with both the battery and charging cable. I was chomping at the bit for the UFO to arrive and am delighted to say that it did arrive really quickly. It was well packaged, but not over packaged. There is nothing worse than receiving small items in a large amount of packaging. It feels like a waste. Thankfully this was not the case here.
The box looked attractive and had lots of useful information on it. The item did not stay in its box very long. I read the well written instructions through and then put it on charge as quickly as I could. A full charge took around 30 mins and then flying time tended to be around 5-8 minutes. It was well worth the time taken to wait for it to fully charge.
What I like most about the UFO is that you control it with hand gestures. This has taken some time to master, but I think that the learning process is all part of the fun. There was a very amusing moment the other evening when the UFO shot off out of my lounge onto the landing and then landed in the hallway downstairs. I am getting to grips with it now and look forward to mastering the 360-degree stunt feature in the coming weeks. I have had some remote-control flying toys which are not very stable. This is so stable, I think due to the 6-axis gyro control. I love the blue and red lights. They flash and look stunning when the UFO is flying around.
The UFO is small enough to be portable – approx. 16cm deep and 5cm high. I have taken it away on a couple of overnight trips.
It seems to be very well made and has stood up to several falls and crashes.
The controller feels comfortable to hold in your hand, which was a relief as I tend to struggle with cumbersome controllers.
I love this toy so much, as does everyone else who has tried it. I now have the Menkind Red5 Flying car on my very long wishlist.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £30
For more information or to buy, visit www.menkind.co.uk.
