Sonic Boom Tail's Plane

**Disclaimer** I was provided a complimentary Sonic Boom Tails' Plane toy set from TOMY to review.  A positive review was not mandated to receive the products. Opinions are my own.

My children are really into Sonic the Hedgehog.  They read the comic books, play the video games on our family's Xbox and iPads, and watch the animated TV series on Cartoon Network quite a bit.  They hadn't played with any Sonic the Hedgehog toys though, in fact I didn't realize anyone made any, until our friends at TOMY surprised us with a few to review.  To say my kids were thrilled would be an understatement.

TOMY provided us with a package of toys based upon the Cartoon Network television series Sonic Boom.  It included a toy plane with lots of great interactive features that is piloted by Sonic's sidekick Tails plus two nice 3" action figures from TOMY's Sonic Boom line of characters.   Tails the fox comes along with the toy plane and additional figures can be purchased separately as a single figure for $5.99 (MSRP) or in two packs for $9.99 (MSRP).  We also received a Sonic the Hedgehog 3" action figure from TOMY to join Tails in some high flying adventures.

The Sonic Boom Tails' Plane has some really fun features to spur on imaginative play.  The plane shoots out "energy beams" in the form of plastic projectiles.  Those were a "hit" until they mysteriously disappeared.  My wife's not confessing but I think she got tired of the kids shooting the missiles at her when they were racing around the house one afternoon with the plane.  To activate the projectile option you just needed to load in the plastic missile and press down on the engine features located on the top of each wing to shoot them out.

Another neat feature to the plane is an ejector seat.  Place one of the action figures in the back seat of the plane and if he needs to escape in a hurry it is really easy to bail.

To use the ejector sheet just press a button located on the side of the plane under the rear fins.

The best feature of the plane though is the propeller and front lights.  By pressing a trigger on the bottom of the plane, kids can activate some stunning bright blue lights on the front grill, rotate the blade of the propeller, and hear engine sound effects.  A nice touch is these sound effects change depending on the angle of the plane.  You'll hear different sound effects if the plane is level, going straight up or plunging down to the ground.  This trio of actions really is impressive when you witness the propeller spinning with those lights ablaze and the sound effects alternating as the plane is whisked around.

Probably what I appreciated the most though was that you didn't need to put it together and the Sonic Boom Tails' Plane came complete with its own batteries.  All I had to do was open the box, flip an on switch located at the bottom of the plane, and sit back watching my children enjoy themselves playing with it.  MSRP is $29.99 which isn't bad for a toy with cool features that also comes with an action figure and batteries.

Sonic Boom Tails' Plane gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval because it is a durable toy with nice features to help stimulate imaginative play that doesn't take any work for a parent to put together.  Most importantly though it kept my kids amused and provided them with hours of fun which is what good toys are supposed to do.

You can pick up the Sonic Boom Tails' Plane at Amazon.com and Toys R Us.

Create Your Own Personalized INSIDE OUT Movie Poster

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias

It was a dreary summer day and the radar showed a series of storms was going to be rolling in and out of our neighborhood all afternoon and evening.  During a break in the rain, I dragged my kids out of the house as we headed to the bank, post office and Walmart getting some errands taken care of before the next bout of bad weather began.  As we were out and about, I was trying to think of something for the kids to do when we returned home that would keep them amused inside while it was storming outside.

As we passed a toy section in Walmart for the movie INSIDE OUT, I jokingly thought to myself how fun it might be to create movie posters that were customized to feature the Emotions (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Fear) actually pictured inside my kids' very own heads. Hey wait a moment we could actually do that and keep them amused for the rest of the afternoon.  Everything we needed was right here at Walmart! So before heading to the cash register we grabbed some construction paper, poster board, and glue sticks to use in constructing our very own movie posters, some #InsideOut toys for inspiration, and Kellogg's fruit snacks to keep us fueled and energized to get this project accomplished.  Walmart has a nice selection of plush Emotions from the movie that are nicely priced at $8.88 and are exclusive to the retailer.  My son picked out Fear and my daughter Joy to take home with them.

Once we got home I broke out a few Tomy Inside Out toys that we had also picked up while at Walmart and used them as a teachable moment with my children to talk about some of the Emotions that may be in their heads and how they may at times take control of how the kids act.  I mentioned how they may feel Angry or Disgust over something and those were a healthy part of coping with things in life, but like in the movie if they let those Emotions control their actions bad things could happen.  My daughter then mentioned that like in the movie we need to feel sadness, fear, anger, or disgust so that based on circumstances in life that may bring out those Emotions we'll be brought back to feeling Joy.  Sometimes those other Emotions protect us or balance our mental state during the rocky moments in life.  I then told my kids we were going to make silhouettes of the Emotions inside their own heads and they got pretty excited.

Here's an easy tutorial on how you can make your own personalized Inside Out movie posters featuring the silhouette of a child's head.

SUPPLIES:
Computer & Printer;
Scissors;
Glue Stick;
White or Colored Construction Paper for the Background;
Black Poster Board for the Silhouette;
Inside Out Printable to add Emotions to the Silhouette - preferably printed with color ink on a see through printable clear plastic sheet though standard white multipurpose paper will work fine too.

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Take a profile style picture of your son or daughter;
2. Print it out on a piece of white multipurpose paper in grey scale sized so that the picture takes up most of an 8.5" x 11" space;
3. Cut out the child's profile from the paper;
4.  Place the profile on top of your black construction paper, trace it, and cut out the shape carefully;
5. Print out the Printable of the Inside Out Emotions;
6. Cut out the Emotions so you can add them to the silhouette;
7. Find a black & white Inside Out movie logo on the Internet, download it, and print it on your white or colored construction paper.  Another option is to print the logo on multipurpose paper, cut it out, and glue to your background piece of construction paper;
8.  Glue down the black poster board silhouette of your child's profile onto the construction paper background for your movie poster;
9.  Select the cut out Emotion(s) to add within the silhouette and glue them on;
10. Voila! You have a personalized INSIDE OUT movie poster!

My kids were really amused to see the INSIDE OUT Emotion characters inside their own heads.  Once we wrapped up this craft project, the kids enjoyed those Kellogg's fruit snacks we'd bought at Walmart then spent some time playing with the Inside Out toys we brought home with us.  Next thing you know a few hours had gone by, the storms were gone and my kids had some time to go outside and play.

Dealing with emotions can be tough for kids which is the theme of the Disney PIXAR movie Inside Out.  The movie is an emotional journey within the mind of an 11 year old tween named Riley. How have you discussed emotions and how to handle them with the children in your life?  

Sometimes it takes a little imagination to get through to children.  That's why I believe Bing Bong was one of my family's favorite parts of Inside Out.  Bing Bong is the"Imaginary Friend" Riley had as a preschooler who is part elephant, chesire cat, teddy bear and dolphin made of cotton candy with a nougat filled center - how can you not love that!  Bing Bong turns out to be the hero that saves the day in this animated film and helps the emotions learn through their journey that joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin when it comes to helping steer Riley through the memorable moments in life.  Engaging in imaginative play with the exclusive Walmart Inside Out plush dolls along with the Tomy Inside Out musical Bing Bong toy and Emotions action figures and control board playset was a nice way to have a productive conversation with my children about emotions while keeping them amused and busy on a rainy day.  Combining that with a fun craft really sparked some productive yet lighthearted conversation on what can be a serious topic.