Discount ALEX® Toys - Craft Fantastic Spinner -Art 161W

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List Price: $28.00
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We've had the older version for years the one with the heavy plastic dome and battery power. Below are some of the improvements they've made with this "lower tech" version:

Biggest improvment: the dome no longer touches the paper in any way shape or form so no matter how much paint the kids use it doesn't stop spinning and you don't have to wash the dome every time you put in a new piece of paper.

Caveat: It's a much flimsier dome so it may not last quite as long as the original. But it's so much less frustrating (and less likely to give the kids an incentive to pull the dome off so they can keep going, which creates a huge mess)

Next best improvement: no batteries! This means that the entire unit can be cleaned in the sink without having to be careful of the motor/batteries. Plus it gives more control over the spin so that if the kids do take the dome off you can immediately make it stop spinning... which leads to...

Caveat: someone has to make it spin. So it requires either cooperation between the siblings or a grownup willing to do the pumping. But for younger kids it's a chance for the grownup to do something other than hover over them trying to keep them from putting too much paint on the paper.

It also came with far more paint than the original set did. Better bottles easier to squeeze.

Overall if you are going to buy a spinner, this version is hands down better than the battery operated version especially for younger kids. For older kids who don't need supervision you may want the battery operated one because then it only takes one person (them) to operate. But if it's going to be a group activity this is far and away the best option.

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My 5 & 7 year olds love this, as well as Mom & Dad! Don't buy the refill pack with the 5 TEENY tiny bottles and paper that was too big and glossy black paper that the paint never stuck to (but the paper that came with this one was fine). I read reviews of all the other spinners that were battery-powered and I HATE battery-operated toys (I have 3 kids; I've learned my lesson!).

It can get a little bit noisey and your hand might tire a bit once they want to keep on adding more, and more, and more, more colors, LOL! Also, keep spinning it for a bit afterwards to spread the paint out more, and you don't have to keep it going; once every couple seconds actually catches the spinner faster.

They only complaint; the shield IS flimsy (like packing material) and I wish it could snap into the spinner instead of just laying on top. One bump, and there goes all your hard work. It is already bent after the 3rd use.

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We purchased this for my 5 year old daughter for Christmas and it was the first thing she wanted to do Christmas morning. She loves art and this was right up her alley. It was easy to get started and have success right away. The splatter cover is somewhat flimsy, and I didn't realize it was going to be a manual operation process, but I think that will help to make it last longer. Great fun for the price.

Honest reviews on ALEX® Toys - Craft Fantastic Spinner -Art 161W

Kids had fun eventhough the yellow paint bottle didn't work. In order for it to work the best, someone needs to be spinning the paper while another drips paint. It is very hard to do it by yourself and have much control.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The Alex Fantastic Spinner is a manually operated paint-spinning machine. If you read the package and know this going in, it reduces the likelihood that you'll be disappointed.

As compared to a battery-operated spinner it is more work but there are positives about this aspect. You don't incur the cost and inconvenience of having to replace batteries. The fact that you really need one person spinning the machine while the other person adds the paint makes it a more interactive toy but doesn't take it to a frustration level that make kids abandon it permanently. Finally, as compared to the battery operated paint machines I've had the manual aspect keeps the kids entertained for a decent amount of time and then when they get tired, they leave the machine BUT THEY COME BACK. With the battery operated machine, you tend to go through all the paint the first couple of times and not really come back to it. With the manually operated paint spinner the kids seem to remember the fun they had talking and working together and ask to use it again. The cover should snap on and it is flimsy but that doesn't have a huge impact on the finished piece and you can improvise.

So, this product is recommended as long as you know what you are getting and you aren't looking for the convenience of the "on" button.