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Casdon 580 Toy Little Henry Vacuum from Casdon
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Rating:  
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Our Editorial Review
Product Description This cute scaled down version of the ever-popular Henry vacuum cleaner includes the famous Henry eyes and smile! And it really works! Includes removable dust box and cleaning accessories. Requires 4 x C batteries, not included (Order 2 x MOE120522). 3 Years +
Customer Reviews
Kids love it, shame about the poor build quality Posted 15 November 2008
25-ish years ago, I used to love toy replicas of my mum's real domestic appliances made by Casdon. And 25 years on there is no doubt about it: kids ADORE this toy replica of the commercial/domestic Numatic 'Henry'. Even kids who are petrified of real vaccuums! From the moment I bought this, this has been one of the most popular toys with both my kids and their friends. The children wander round, happily vaccuuming the floor (with or without batteries), pulling or carrying 'Henry' along with them.
Unfortunately, the popularity of the toy is diminished by the poor build quality and some really daft design features. The 'body' and 'hat' of this toy Henry, though not what I'd call particularly solid, seem to be reasonably robust. However this is as far as it goes. The rest of the toy is poorly designed, poorly made and pieces are far too easily broken, damaged or lost.
The 'hose' is made from very thin plastic which damages easily, and the 'extension tube' and 'foot' don't attach to the hose well. These fall off easily and young children often need help putting them back. But probably the worst features of the toy Henry are the lead for the 'plug' and the magnetic winding mechanism on the 'hat' top.
The 'lead' for the toy Henry has been designed to conform to safety standards... and is made to break apart in the event that a child should put it around their neck. Whilst this is a good feature for safety, the narrow and fiddly design means that children will FREQUENTLY be applying to you to repair the cable on their toy - which breaks into several sections, including one which needs to be threaded through a hole in Henry's 'hat', none of which preschool-aged children have much chance of being able to repair for themselves.
The final problem with this Henry toy is the winding mechanism attached to the top of the 'hat'. The top plate for the winding mechanism is not permanently fixed, but instead attaches by means of small magnetic components (which merit a fairly scary safety notice on a slip of paper enclosed with the product re. the dangers of a child swallowing these). The magnetic fixings are necessary ONLY because of the design of the break-apart lead... and both problems could readily be fixed by changes to the design of this toy.
The easiest way Casdon could remedy the problem would be to eliminate the 'lead and plug' element altogether, and replace the detachable winding mechanism with a permanently fixed one (without actual function). This would only arguably reduce the 'realism' of the product: since electrical cables such as that being replicated here DO NOT fall apart! I would happily live without a suction cup in order not to be re-threading (or hunting for) sections of the cable every few minutes...
If the manufacturer were looking for a creative way around a safety dilemma, they could introduce a construction toy element to 'Henry', with perhaps an unscrewable winding mechanism and a fatter click-together cable that children could learn to put together with a bit of support. This might lack verisimilitude (but so does a pull-apart lead!), but would add educational value without diminishing safety. I know which I'd be happier to pay for!
Well-used and still going strong Posted 14 September 2008
My daughter (aged 4/5) chose this because she loved the Henry Hoover in a holiday home. Both she and her 2 year old sister have played with it frequently for over 18 months without it becoming broken or at all damaged. The dustpan and brush slotted inside Henry's head makes a great play along addition. Little Henry's suction isn't that strong (still on the original set of batteries, though!) but he makes a gentle humming noise and the girls happily accompany me around the house while I'm hoovering.
I'm sorry other reviewers' kids may have been tougher on their Henry toys, but ours has lasted well and is well-loved. Happy to recommend Little Henry.
My Kids Favourite Posted 04 May 2008
I bought this little vacuum for my son's 1st birthday and he loves Henry ever since. It really picks up small dirt and it isn't very noisy. Ok, the tubes come apart easily, but that's the only criticism I have. My 3 year old daughter fights with her brother to play with Henry almost very day. Happy play time.
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