11 November, 2017
Height Challenge: Girl v Life Size BB-8 Radio Control Toy from Star Wars
Here’s our demo and review of the life-size radio controlled BB-8 from Bladez Toyz! This HUGE remote control inflatable BB-8 is a whopping 67cm tall and 47cm wide/deep. It’s sensibly priced at £40 from places like Maplin.
Phoebe is a huge fan of BB-8 and R2-D2 from the Star Wars franchises so she took over for this review – although you’ll see that Oscar couldn’t keep his hands off the controller either. It’s really easy to set up and needs 4x AA and 1x 9V batteries to get going. Once the batteries are in, the body attached to the wheels and BB-8 is inflated then you’re ready to go.
We only have a small house and I was surprised at the size – luckily BB-8 is suitable for both indoor and outdoor play. It uses 2.4GHz for the radio control which means there is no interference from other radio controlled toys and it also has a brilliant range. The box says it has a range of 30m but, outside, we actually easily managed 50m with full control.
The controller itself does feel a little lightweight and cheap, but it works very well and is a good size for both young and old. There is full control with forwards, backwards, left and right and he can spin round on the spot too. As BB-8 is driving he makes various noises which you can hear in the video. If these annoy you there is a switch on the base to disable the sounds but still be able to drive.
One feature we liked about BB-8 was it does a very good job of self-righting. He managed to survive a boxing match with Oscar, get down steps and drive off the curb and wobbled himself back upright to carry on driving.
A word of warning – don’t play with BB-8 outside if you don’t like drawing attention to yourself! We had cars slow down and passers by stop to take a look at him driving around! He is life-size after all and with all the hype for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” you can’t help but be in awe when you see him in action.
BB-8 from Bladez Toyz has an RRP of £49.99 but you can pick them up in Maplin, and other stores, for around £39.99. They also have a range of other radio controlled Star Wars toys too.
Disclaimer: We were sent BB-8 free of charge for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.