Category: Toys

Best Electronics have a new service which uses tech by the company Doob to 3D scan your full body and then print you out as a miniature figurine. The result looks pretty realistic and they have a lot of different examples on display for you to check out. I held one figurine and it felt light and fragile, so I wouldn’t give it to a kid to play with, they’re more for displaying not for playing with.

Although it’s pretty cool, especially if you end up getting a 3D scan of you and your friends together, there are two big negatives. The first is that they print these figurines in Germany, which means you need to wait around three weeks to see the results. The second thing is the cost. They can print different sizes figurines but the smallest one which is shorter than your iPhone costs KD40, while the largest size is KD230. If you and your friends get a group shot you have to pay per individual. So if you’re four guys and you want to print out the smallest size that’s 4 x KD40 for one copy.

If you’re interested to check this out, the “Doob” booth is located in Best Electronics at Boulevard in Salmiya. [Google Maps]

Thanks Sabah

Last week I posted about the LEGO store officially opening in Kuwait and a lot of readers were curious to know how the prices were compared to the U.S. So I decided to pass by the store and randomly pick out a few items from the different LEGO collections to compare. Below is a list of 18 different items with their prices in Kuwait as well as their prices on Amazon.

LEGO Star Wars 75095 Tie Fighter
Kuwait: KD149.950
Amazon: KD61

LEGO Star Wars 75059 Sandcrawler
Kuwait: KD159.950
Amazon: KD91

LEGO Star Wars 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter
Kuwait: KD129.950
Amazon: KD78

LEGO Star Wars 75054 AT-AT Building Toy
Kuwait: KD97.950
Amazon: KD48

LEGO Minecraft 21118 The Mine
Kuwait: KD73.950
Amazon: KD38

LEGO Pirates 70413 The Brick Bounty
Kuwait: KD72.950
Amazon: KD45

LEGO Architecture 21019 The Eiffel Tower
Kuwait: KD18.950
Amazon: KD10

LEGO Architecture 21017 Imperial Hotel
Kuwait: KD69.950
Amazon: KD39

LEGO City Police 60068 Crooks’ Hideout
Kuwait: KD32.950
Amazon: KD16

LEGO City Police 60047 Police Station
Kuwait: KD65.950
Amazon: KD24

LEGO City Space Port 60080 Spaceport
Kuwait: KD60.950
Amazon: KD29

LEGO Simpsons 71006 The Simpsons House
Kuwait: KD134.950
Amazon: KD61

LEGO Creator Expert 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper
Kuwait: KD69.500
Amazon: KD39

LEGO Creator Expert 10246 Detective’s Office
Kuwait: KD99.500
Amazon: KD48

LEGO Creator 10232 Palace Cinema
Kuwait: KD79.950
Amazon: KD45

LEGO Mindstorms EV3 31313
Kuwait: KD249.950
Amazon: KD106

LEGO Technic 42039 24 Hours Race Car
Kuwait: KD76.950
Amazon: KD33

LEGO Technic 42030 VOLVO L350F Wheel Load
Kuwait: KD169.950
Amazon: KD74

As you probably noticed, the prices in Kuwait are double that of Amazon and in one case triple. It’s pretty ridiculous considering this is an official store. One of my readers made the extra effort and contacted LEGO to complain about the prices. They replied to him with the following:

Dear Quintin,
Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I’m sorry you’re not happy with the price of LEGO® sets in Kuwait. We know we’re lucky to have so many loyal LEGO fans around the world and we’re always pleased to get feedback – especially when it’s about how we can improve.

Finding the right price for a toy isn’t easy and depends on a lot of considerations. To name a few, our marketing team looks at statistical data about a country’s population, transportation costs, currency exchange rates, local laws and taxes and the prices of other toys. No two countries are exactly the same, so the price may be different from country to country.

Futhermore, to date we do not have any official LEGO® stores in the either Kuwait and Dubai. Therefore, it is not the LEGO group who have set the prices in the particular stores you are referring to, but the individual stores themselves

Please let us know if you need anything else.

Kind regards,

Onno
LEGO® Service

What do they mean they don’t have an official LEGO store in Kuwait? My guess is the customer support person hasn’t been updated on new store openings. In any case, based on their response I’m guessing the reason LEGO costs twice as much in Kuwait is because people here can afford to pay that much. Sucks I know.

LEGO have just opened their first shop in Kuwait at The Avenues. According to my friend whom I stole the snapchat screenshot from, he spotted the LEGO Architecture, Star Wars, Friends and Elves series all on display at the shop along with the regular LEGO sets. They also sell LEGOs by the bowl where you get to pick different LEGO pieces and colors like you’re buying jelly beans. If you’re interested, the LEGO store is located in Phase II near the That Al Salasil bookshop.

Thanks @xxmrfarixx

With the release of Star Wars Force Awaken, a lot of new Star Wars merchandise has gone on sale like clothing, Lego’s (the Millennium Falcon is KD170!), new figurines and now a new addition, the Sphero BB-8. Being a big Star Wars I’m pretty much on cloud nine. Not only was The Force Awakens a great movie, the new toys look great and even the clothing isn’t bad at all. So I was excited to test out the BB-8 and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked.

So what’s so cool about the Sphero BB-8? You can control it using your smartphone and it’s compatible with both iOS and Android devices so no one is left out. This little guy can move fast and can take a beating. When I first tested it out, the first thing that popped into my head was that BB-8 would make a great (albeit expensive) toy for my cat. It was impressive watching it speed across the floor especially that the BB-8’s head is attached to the body using a magnet and two little wheels so it stays in place while the rest of the body rolls. It has barely fallen off, even as I’ve hit the wall multiple times and the legs of chairs. The body itself has an “upright” position that corrects itself with the help of the stabilizers that are part of the internal mechanism. There’s also a gyroscope and accelerometer that will assist in controlling BB-8 by being aware of its movements and make subtle and slight adjustments to help you out.

If you get tired of controlling it you can set it to patrol mode. Patrol mode works similar to the way a Roomba does. The BB-8 will roam around your room on its own and will move around objects, like chair legs or people. What’s cool is that there is an event log that that lets you know if BB-8 hit a wall or detected an object.

The price tag for the BB-8 is steep, it costs KD69. Ultimately, this is a cool piece of tech, but it’s not something I would play with everyday. Right now I have it on my shelf next to my Samus figurine and my Super Mario Amiibo and sometimes I’ll tease my cat with it once in a while, but at the end of the day it’s a glorified figurine. House guests will find it impressive and it makes for an interesting topic of discussion. I love the BB-8 and it’s unique in a world of cheap toys. It’s a Star Wars toy that can be enjoyed by kids and adults.

If you’re interested in the Sphero BB-8, it’s available at the Avenue’s branch of Fantasy World which has a new section catered towards adults called THE EDGE. Fantasy World also has the largest collection of Star Wars toys that I’ve seen in Kuwait so far, including nice figurines of Kylo Ren, Finn and Rey.

Post by Patrick

Full Disclosure: The Sphero BB-8 was provided by Fantasy World to review on the blog.

There’s a huge Lego store opening at 360 Mall on the top floor opposite the bowling alley. No idea when its set to open up but the first store in the Middle East just opened up in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Since they re-released the set the prices have dropped and I just found out Amazon is actually selling it for around KD60. It’s made out of die cast metal parts and it’s a limited re-release. This is a NEED to have if you’re a Grendizer fan. [Amazon Link]

Ever since I started this blog I’ve been searching and requesting photos of Kids ‘r’ us and I haven’t really had much luck until today. Awhile ago I received two really hi-res photos of Kids ‘r’ us Farwaniya taken right after the Gulf War. I thought I would be happy to finally get some pictures but looking at them actually depresses me. It really sucks how it got destroyed and it sucks even more that until today we don’t have a toy store that’s as big or as cool as Kids ‘r’ us was. Actually what also sucks is that we don’t have any pictures to show people how cool of a place it was!

Pictures were taken by Adel Al-Yousifi and a big thanks to Abdulaziz for sending me them. You can view larger versions of the pictures above by clicking the links below:

First Picture
Second Picture

Family Bookshop in Salmiya is sadly closing down for good. I previously posted that they had a court case against the owner of the building but it looks like they lost because they currently have a closing down clearance.

It’s worth passing by the store one final time as a farewell to what used to be one of the best bookshops in Kuwait. Bit by bit what’s left of our childhood is being eroded away which is depressing.

On a similar note Waleed toy store which is located in the same strip is also closing down. Like Family Bookshop, Waleed toy store has been there for over 30 years.

A new action figures shop is opening up in Rihab Complex in Hawalli this Friday. What makes this shop different from the rest is that they will be focusing mostly on Grendizer toys and merchandise. You can take a peak at the shop in the video above, I’ve already emailed the owner a few times already asking about different items in the video since sme of the items look very cool. The shop is called Mughamarat AlFathaa and they’re opening this Friday at 6:30pm. They’re located on the ground floor in the basement. [YouTube]

I noticed that Ace Hardware now has a small display of paintball guns for sale. They’re carrying the Tippmann brand along with gas canisters and paintball pellets. Imagine if kids started using them on National Day instead of foam cans…

According to Arabian Business, the British toy store Hamleys will be opening in Kuwait within 6 to 12 months. The article doesn’t say where it will open but my guess would be in the Avenues phase III. [Link]

A friend of mine shot the picture above while he was at the Lego store in New York. Cute. [Link]

Just an FYI to anyone planning to order the iPad Arcade Cabinet from Think Geek. Mine shipped a few days ago and according to UPS it weighs over 10lb’s, that means it’s going to cost around KD30 to ship from New York using Aramex! So just a warning to anyone planning on getting it, the thing is really heavy. [Link]

Yesterday I posted a video taken at Flight Experience in 360 Mall, well there is another place that’s officially opening tomorrow (April 20th) that has a wider range of flight simulators available. The place is called Kuwait Flight Simulation Center and they are located in the basement of Discovery Mall in Kuwait City. I originally passed by them yesterday to take pictures but wasn’t allowed to since there was a miscommunication but the owner told me I could pass by today and take pictures which I did except I didn’t have my camera with me today just my iPhone 4 so apologies for the quality of the shots.

The place looks like a large plane fuselage from the outside. Once you walk in you have 7 simulation capsules on the right hand side, 3 combat stations on the left and right next to them you have a large enclosed room which is a proper full scale flight simulator similar in style to the one at 360 Mall. You also have a small coffee shop, a small shop that sells scale models and another shop that sells flight simulator accessories for PCs.

Today the place is open but it’s invite only, starting tomorrow though it should be open to the public. For more information you could visit their website [Here] or Facebook page [Here]

That’s how the inside of the capsule looks like

The 3 machines on the left are the fighter plane simulators

I think the fighter plane simulators actually move and give force feedback

Thats the inside of the full sized simulator