Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Thought this would be cute for my daughter when she gets a little older, so I grabbed it when it came on my Vine. There's a lot of "Hype text" on the box and it can be confusing as to what exactly this is, what it makes and what's included. Allow me to explain what exactly you're receiving with this. In the box is 1 egg and base that hold the mold while the mystery foam cures, 2 mystery molds (they make different "Smooshin" bodies), 3 pouches of Smooshins (foamy stuff that you squeeze into the mold and let dry - one says it's a practice but it appears to be the same as the others), 2 stands for displaying finished Smooshins, A plastic stick to assist with squeezing the Smooshins into the mold, 2 sets of headpieces, faces and bellies (they're in the mystery mold egg things). So, when it says make 10,000+ collectible characters, that means that if you keep buying additional molds, foam pouches and accessories - you can probably make 10,000 different combinations. You can probably also file for Chapter 13 and take a long hard look at your ability to make intelligent financial decisions. With THIS box, however, you can make 2 complete Smooshins. Yes, that's $20 a piece for a little foam character that doesn't do anything. So, you open the box you put the base on the "Mystery Maker" which is the sparkly beige plastic egg sticking out of the cover. You then fit one of the white plastic eggs into it and close it. The mold is in the plastic egg thing. The color pouches have a little bag of color inside suspended in a clear liquid. You need to burst the color pouch and then vigorously mix it together, you then have to fit the nozzle into the Mystery Egg and use the squeeze tool to get it all into the mold. Oh, and you have 1 minute and 30 seconds to do this... Let's start at the beginning, squeezing the pouch. I'm a big strong man (read, I'm an adult and this toy was designed for 7 year olds) I figured I'd just pop the color pouch with my thumb and forefinger and get mixing, no problem. Nope, the color pouch is a major pain to pop. It's very resilient and slides around in the goo that it's suspended in. The best way is to lay it on the table and smash it with a book. I recommend a bible, or a dictionary or a cinderblock. Mix the color and goo vigorously. Again, this is also a pain. It's very thick and you will be struggling against the clock to finish getting it perfectly mixed in time. Fitting it into the mold is not so easy either, you really need to shove it down before it's in far enough to lock. The squeezing it in part isn't too hard. Then... wait four hours. Nope, not a typo, the number 4 - hours. I left it overnight because my daughter doesn't know what it is and girl toys are for sissies, so I wasn't exactly waiting with bated breath for this thing to finish cookin'. I leapt out of bed the next morning to go play with my new... er I mean, I randomly remembered that the Smooshin should be finished curing. So I took a break from weightlifting, fixing my motorcycle and catcalling random female passersby and went to check on it. You have to pull the plastic egg apart to get to the actual mold. The belly, face and headpiece are in little pouches taped to the inside. The mold is super locked down by 4 dial locks and 3 flip locks. It takes some coordination to get it out. I noticed that some of the color foam had overflowed out of the top. This is why I was surprised when I opened the mold and there was a chunk missing. I'm assuming that, even though I set the timer and thought I did everything in time, I probably didn't. The Smooshin wasn't smooth like on the box either, there are several air bubble type craters on the surface. It's VERY squishy. The face, head piece and belly just slide in to holes in the Smooshin body. The color pack; I'm going to let this excerpt from the manufacturer speak for the color pack and material contained inside. CAUTION • DO NOT puncture the color pouch or intentionally expose the contents in the pouch unless it is going into the mold. • Keep away from pets and sharp objects to avoid puncturing the pouch. • DO NOT eat the contents of the pouch. • DO NOT eat near the play area. • Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after playing or if product gets on your hands. • Keep the color pouch away from clothing and furniture to prevent staining. Color transfer may occur. • Keep pouch away from heat. • Some pouches might be harder to pop than others. Avoid using excessive force to pop the inner color. • DO NOT pop the color on a fragile surface such as a glass table. • DO NOT step on or do anything that might damage the pouch. Overall, this is a "toy" for a 7 year old (or older) that a 7 year old probably won't be able to successfully make themselves and once it is made, it doesn't actually do anything. It's just a weird foam figure they can put on their shelf that will probably kill their pet if it eats it. From the parent perspective it's little bang for a lot of buck. I can't find any place that sells the refills. They list Amazon, Target, Wal-mart and Toys R Us as retailers, but each only have this kit for sale and no additional mystery pouches or anything. Even if you do buy this for your child AND they end up liking it, who knows when they'll be able to buy more molds. In my opinion, there are much better things out their for your child and your forty bucks.