It's Spring and the new Nerf are out! Hasbro have sent us their latest Nerf Rukkus ICS-8 Nerf N-Strike Elite blaster for review and we made the most of it by organising a Nerf War at Heaton Park with one of our favourite local families - Jane and the gang from Hodgepodgedays.

Because we've only got 2 Nerf Rukkus ICS-8 Nerf N-Strike Elite blasters and 7 people, we took other Nerf blasters for support - and fairness...


This is a mid-sized manually powered pump action blaster which has an integrated cartridge and is built for accuracy. Packaging is the now standard minimal with hardly any plastic at all - I love this Earth-friendly boxing and it's easy to get into. No batteries and 8 Nerf Elite darts are included, so you are ready to go immediately. Christmas morning-friendly.

Obviously we are Nerf addicts here and we accepted the offer from Hasbro to review the new Nerf Modulus with a large amount of pleasure. This is a huge Nerf Dart Blaster which can be adapted in a huge array of ways to make a really personal blaster.


The Modulus is a fully motorised blaster which requires 4 x C batteries - not included. Removal from the packaging is super easy and it's almost entirely recyclable card with a few rubber band ties.

The Zombie Strike Outbreaker Bow from Nerf is very different to your usual dart shooter. Suitable for children aged 8+, it has crossbow design with a pull back string and manual action - and a 5 dart rotating drum! I can honestly say I love this - the kids like it too.


We like Nerf and we've reviewed a couple of their products in the past, as well as buying many over the years for our children. Nerf make reliable and effective dart shooters that always have plenty of power to impress and an aim straight enough for truly competitive target battles. The Outbreaker Bow is a fine example.

Nerf have branched out and the Nerf Nitro range doesn't fire darts or water, instead it blasts foam cars. Still with the power we've come to expect from Nerf, it's just as impressive as it sounds and works incredibly well. We've been sent the MotoFury Rapid Rally Set and Foam Car 3-Pack to review.


Included in the Nerf Nitro MotoFury Rapid Rally set are the blaster, 9 foam cars with plastic wheels, including 3 that are exclusive to this set. 12 obstacles (tyres, barrels and crates), a high-jump ramp, a long-jump ramp and instructions.

The Nerf N-Strike Elite SurgeFire is a great manually powered blaster with the option of single shot or slam fire. It has full Nerf power, a rotating 15 dart cartridge and great accuracy. Three of us were excited about opening this one and none of us were disappointed.


There is minimal assembly required because you have to fit the 15 dart rotating drum - which just slots in until it clicks and then can't be removed. The box is cardboard and simple to open, there are no batteries and you can be playing with your blaster in seconds - Christmas morning friendly.


15 of the Elite Darts are included - a good amount for a battle and it's quick to reload, although the design means you can only insert 14 darts without rotating the cartridge.

The SurgeFire has a range of 27m - we haven't tested that, but it seems true and is plenty for a good battle. For such a big and clunky blaster it's incredibly accurate, even over fair distance - we've all had been pleased with that.


Power is by pump-action and you can choose to use the trigger for single shots or just keep pumping the barrel for slam fire. The drum rotates automatically after each shot. It's almost impossible to get any darts stuck inside the barrel, another impressive design feature to prevent frustration.


This is a large blaster, but not massive and it's pretty light because there are no batteries or motors. The pump-action doesn't require a lot of hand and arm strength, so it's a great one for younger Nerf fans aged 8+.

The Nerf N-Strike Elite AccuStrike RaptorStrike is one of the most powerful and accurate Nerf Blasters I've ever used. It's also the biggest, yet weighs very little! A manually operated bolt-action blaster which is incredibly simple to use, this is one of my new favourites. My 9 year old is a big fan too!


This huge box is almost entirely cardboard and very eco-friendly as well as being super simple to open. The rubbery fastenings around the blaster do need cutting because if you pull them and they snap back, they really sting! Everything else goes straight in the recycling though.

The Nerf N-Strike Elite AccuStrike Series FalconFire Blaster isn't only about the long title and the blaster, this is as much a review of the new AccuStrike darts with a rifled tip to make them the most accurate Nerf dart yet.


There two new AccuStrike blasters. We've been sent the FalconFire Blaster which comes complete with 6 of the new Elite AccuStrike Darts.

We are huge Nerf fans, so I was more than happy to accept another for review from Very, the home shopping site. This is my first try of the Nerf arrows, with the huge and impressive, yet ridiculously light, Nerf Zombie Strike Dreadbolt crossbow.


Firstly, this was the most minimal packaging I've ever had on anything sent for review. I can't fault the Nerf crossbow because it survived the UK postal system, despite only being protected by a magic address label. Lightweight yet robust certainly!

We love Nerf and their latest release is the Laser Ops Pro range. Brand new laser battling blasters which bring Nerf, Laser Tag and augmented reality together in a brand new and very different type of battle to any other Nerf we've ever played with... and it's really rather fun.


In the box are 2 x Nerf Laser Ops Pro blasters and 2 x rubbery armbands to hold smartphones - which are optional. You will need 8 x AA batteries - 4 for each blaster. The packaging is great. Plastic-free and you have storage for your set afterwards to keep it all safe.

It's Nerf time again and this review does not fire darts, Summer is coming and Hasbro are bringing out the Super Soakers. The Nerf Floodinator Water Blaster is a really huge pump action water pistol with a 2 litre tank and it claims to shoot up to 38 feet...


Unpacking is brilliant. I love the packaging, it's entirely card and paper string and can be recycled in the paper bin. It took seconds to cut the strings and release the blaster.


I was stunned at just how light the Floodinator is. Compared to dart blasters and powered Nerf I'd expect it to be light, but it's very impressive indeed. Filling the 2 litre tank does ofviously change that, giving you a load that is just manageable for my 7 year old.

We really like the Nerf Nitro car launchers and the AeroFury Ramp Rage is a very neat set with a compact battery-operated launcher, 2 beautiful foam cars and the all important ramp for launching your vehicles as high and as fast as possible.


Packaging is almost entirely card and recyclable. It's best to cut the straps with scissors and unboxing only takes a couple of minutes. You will need 4 x AA batteries which aren't included, so don't forget them if giving as a gift. Inside the box you have the launcher itself, 2 awesome camouflage cars and one big yellow ramp.

One of the most popular items we've ever been sent to review arrived a fortnight ago. The Nerf N-Strike Elite Hyperfire Blaster from Hasbro takes dart firing to a whole new level with a 25 dart cartridge and staggering 4 x D cell battery level of power.


Baby and infant toys are great, but as your children get older they move on, and if they're anything like my boys then it won't be long before they are drooling at the big kid toys. Nerf are definitely a big kid toy, and with our oldest being 22, they're a long-time firm favourite in our house.


Your blaster arrives in a box which is large enough for storage afterwards, there's a pull out drawer and it takes very little time to remove.  Set up is quick - insert the 4 x D cell batteries, load the cartridge, insert the cartridge, shoot.

The first Christmas I was with my.partner, I bought him a PSP. He bought me a coffee machine. That's the only time he's ever bought me kitchen equipment for Christmas. I tried to be very polite, but it was probably quite obvious I was a teensy bit disappointed. I simply didn't enjoy playing with my coffee maker as much as he enjoyed playing with his PSP.


Truth is my partner hadn't even considered to buy me toys for Christmas and to me that was very strange. It didn't occur to me that you bought people sensible presents at Christmas. Rightly or wrongly, he was happy to agree my way was best and we've never looked back. I've had a LEGO Creator House for Christmas each year since, and the Christmas Village LEGO set for my birthday in November.

Black Panther is an upcoming movie release and will be the 18th film in the incredibly popular Marvel Avengers series. We've been sent two of the brand new Hasbro Marvel Black Panther toys for review - the Vibranium Strike Nerf Gauntlet and Vibranium Power FX Mask.


The Vibranium Strike Gauntlet is quite an exciting toy for a Nerf fan like myself, so I played with this first. It comes complete with 3 x Nerf Elite darts and is manually powered, so doesn't need batteries. Packaging is almost entirely string and card, you can undo it, or cheat with scissors.



The Vibranium Strike Gauntlet is designed to look like head of panther and takes a little assembly as it arrives in two parts. You don't need any tools, it just slots together and it's obvious how to do it.

We've reviewed tons of items, activities, movies, games, toys and foodstuffs over the past few years. Some things stand the test of time and prove themselves worthy of another mention. I've gone through my February posts from 2013 to 2018 and chosen a few of our favourites. I've split each month into two halves, this is everything we really liked from the first half of February...


February 2014 saw us film our most popular ever You Tube video. It's really pretty dire and not at all professional. His Dad still slept a lot after his Meningitis, but my 5 year old was desperate to show off his magic tricks, so I filmed him. The magic set was designed for age 8+, but I put the video on You Tube anyway. Some of the comments really do give you an insight into the less intelligent members of the public... Here is Drumond Park's Gross Magic....

Smyths Toys have just announced their Top Toys List for Christmas 2017 and it's a really interesting selection. These are the toys predicted to sell incredibly well and judging by the number which are currently out of stock, I think the public are already buying.


This year the list includes a good mix of pre-school, early years and toys for older children, with a range of prices from £19.99 to £199.99. Modern electronics feature heavily, with most toys battery operated and some of them streets ahead of technology available even a couple of years ago. Personally I'm a bit disappointed to see STEM skills poorly represented, with only 1 science toy among the list - it is a beauty though!

Summer is nearly here! Yeeeay! Here are loads of events and activities to keep the family amused rain or shine over the Summer holidays in Manchester Central, Wider Manchester, Liverpool or the North West UK. I try to collect as many cheaper ideas as possible, never overlook your local library and museum as they often have special events and a lot of them are free!

Manchester Central

THE LOWRY

It's that time of the month again and I think most of us in the UK can just about manage a smile, in spite of the weather, Brexit and the whole state of the UK. Politics eh, maybe we should just focus on the weather - and the smiles!

We've reached a really special milestone today and I'd like to thank every person who has ever added the hashtag #TBCSmiles to a photo. The hashtag has been going for a while now and when I started I never anticipated I'd ever be able to say we'd reached 6000 of your grins, laughter and happy moments, but as I looked this morning, that's where we are! It's got to be one of the best and happiest hashtag collections on Instagram and it really does make my face sore from grinning.