The lovely on-line toy shop The Toadstool decided that Monkey needed a new challenge for his construction skills!
We recently received the newly launched (January 2013) Wonderworld Trix Track – 2 Way Flipper – a wooden ball track. Along with the 2 Way Flipper the range features Spin & Swirl, Throw & Roll, Hammer Slammer and an additional track set. The main sets can be used independently or joined together in any number of combinations for extended play.
http://www.over40andamumtoone.wordpress.com Trix Track 2 Way Flipper
The 2 Way Flipper is aimed at children over the age of 3 years, so perfect for my little Monkey 3 and half-year old son. The set comprises of 11 separate rubber wood trix and track components which slot onto 41 orange blocks made of recycled wood and plastic and 4 wooden coloured balls. All the paint is non-toxic and water based. I was rather surprised by the size of the storage box! Wonderworld is a Thai company who have a great Eco-friendly ethos so it didn’t make sense to me that the box was at least a third bigger than it needed to be, which is a bit of a pain when storage space is at a premium in this household!
You can see from the photos and our Vlog that the rubber wood is brightly coloured and has a lovely finish. I love the feel of Wonderworld products and this is no different to the other items we own.
I decided to construct the 2 Way Flipper myself and have it ready for when Monkey returned from pre-school. I have to say that the first time I built it using the instructions, it took me 10 minutes and it did collapse on me too, but I soon realised that you do need to ensure that all the blocks are really straight and well-connected to ensure better stability. Having now played with the 2 Way Flipper a number of times I can build it from memory in a couple of minutes. In time I’m sure Monkey will be able to build it himself without any help, but he’s still a little young for that.
http://www.over40andamumtoone.wordpress.com All ready for Monkey to find 🙂
As usual Brewster had to come and see what all the fuss was about and he loved watching me ‘test’ it before Monkey got home.
http://www.over40andamumtoone.wordpress.com – Brewster is ready for some Trix Track 2 Way Flipper action!
As you can see if the photo above I hadn’t quite got all the columns straight! I’m now much better at the initial construction.
So what did Monkey think …… he liked it, he’d never seem a ball track before so it was a totally new concept for him. As with all toys and games he finds his own way of playing with it. Rather than let 1 ball loose from the top of the track, through the 2 way flipper and then see if the ball went down the stairs or down the shoot, he decided to let all 4 balls go at once. He thought it was great. It certainly kept him amused for a long time. As he gets older he’ll really grasp the idea of gravity and that having the track on different levels helps the balls roll through the flipper and other ‘trix’ components. At the moment it’s just fun.
http://www.over40andamumtoone.wordpress.com 2 way Flipper
A couple of his older cousins aged 5 and 7 visited him and the three of them enjoyed playing with it together. The eldest could definately construct it by himself. Monkey has also ‘constructed’ his own Trix Track as you can see at the end of our Vlog …..
http://www.over40andamumtoone.wordpress.com Which set to buy next then Mum?
As I mentioned earlier, and you can see in the photo above there a number of different additional sets. You can join anything from 2 to 5 sets together to make all sorts of interesting combinations and I’m sure we’ll be adding to the collection over the next few years!
The 2 Way Flipper is available through The Toadstool and retails at £35.00 which I consider to be good value for money. We would give this set the thumbs up with a score of 8/10.
Over 40 and a Mum to one 
This looks like such a great toy. I’ve seen it around quite a bit with the Toadstool recently.
It’s different from anything else we have, I like the idea of adding sets to extend the play potential too
It’s different from anything else we have, I like the idea of adding sets to extend the play potential too 🙂
I really like seeing his own set-up! He can build it! just needs some more practice to understand all the Trix!
Yes, he grasped the connection idea really quickly by himself. I’m sure over the coming months as he grasps the engineering idea behind it, he’ll be away. He’ll be sending his ideas to Wonderworld!!
I think that looks fantastic, I really do. Incredible fun 🙂
It has a lovely feel to it too, just like the parts of the Eco House we both have. It’s lovely, his cousins were rather jealous.
ooh I like the look of that, not seen this before. but my boys love marble run or anything with balls going through tunnels or tracks so i think it would be there cup of tea. really like the look of it
it’s lovely, Monkey doesn’t have a marble run so it was a perfect addition for him.
Love the look of yours too its nice to know about the stability issues.
It’s lovely, we did have a few wobble issues to start with, but you just need to make sure all the columns are straight and then it’s fine 🙂
This looks great – and really well made!
It’s lovely 🙂
Also good to know the cousins could set it up themselves! and they like it. It shows it has got a broad age range!