*I was provided with product from Manhattan Toy. All opinions are my own.
Drew isn’t quite 4 yet, but he’s absolutely loved cars for over two years already. From matchbox cars to ride in pedal cars, and of course, real cars, he loves them all. His absolute favorite type of toy car is any type of race car. His grandpa races stock cars, so he regularly gets to go to the local races and watch. Drew considers any toy car that has a number on the side to be a race car, but I was excited to discover the OSX open wheel speed 3.0 car from the Manhattan Toy Motorworks line because he didn’t have any dragster-style toys – I knew he would love it.
My expectations were right – he absolutely loves the OSX open wheel speed car. It’s one of the first toys that he asks for help finding when he comes over. It’s larger than a lot of his other toy cars so its easier for small hands to grasp and allows for different types of play. For example, it’s large enough that he can easily crawl on his knees and push it along as he crawls.
Motorworks cars are designed with interchangeable parts such as their wheels and body. For boys who are interested in the shape and specific features of a car, this can greatly extend their play. I was surprised that the pieces come off fairly easily, so even younger children can swap parts without much (if any) help. Right now, Drew isn’t too interested in this part of the car but I can see him gaining an interest in it as he gets a bit older. I love toys with multiple purposes or multiple ways to play with them as it has the potential to make the toy more valuable if it extends the play or use of the toy.
For kids who love racing or race cars, the Motorworks Slingshot Speedracer is a really cool toy to use with the motorworks cars. It’s pretty much how the name makes it sound – a device similar to a slingshot that is designed to propel the cars forward. I didn’t pay much attention to the website photos at first, and was putting the bands onto the Slingshot like the photo below. As you can see, I used one band to create a triangular shape.
This puts a fair amount of tension into the band so the slingshot snaps pretty hard and really sends the car quite a distance. I showed Drew how (I thought) it worked and he quickly grew frustrated because he didn’t have the coordination and/or fine motor skills to hold the car in place, hold the slingshot against the surface of the floor, and to pull the slingshot back. I’ve always had great experiences with Manhattan Toy brand toys so I knew I must be doing something wrong. After checking the website, I realized that the bands can be used in another position, like below. This way uses two bands, one on each side-hook that connects to the handle of the slingshot.
This position puts a lot less tension onto the bands, so the slingshot doesn’t shoot as hard, but it’s also a lot easier to pull back. In this position, Drew is able to easily pull the slingshot back while holding the car in place. With this positioning requiring less “pull’ to get the slingshot back, the toy stays against the floor much easier so it’s not necessary to hold it to the ground. Drew is only 3.5 and hasn’t been in daycare or preschool, so he hasn’t practiced writing or other fine motor skills as much as other kids his age may have. As a result, he probably has less fine motor ability than others his age. However, with this position of the bands, he’s successful at getting the car to propel forward probably 3 out of 5 attempts. At this level, he’s happy to keep trying and playing without getting too frustrated. Once he gets this down, then we will move on to the other position but he’s content with this one for now.
As a car-loving boy, I can just see how deep inside of him something lights up when he’s able to use this neat slingshot contraption to “fling” a car across the floor. Drew will play with these two toys for 15+ minutes at a time, and will come back to them multiple times in a day while he is here. Each time that he successfully gets the car to “take off” he gets so excited that he feels compelled to do it over and over again.
Win it: The OSX open wheel speed car & Slingshot Speedracer from Motorworks toys. The photo below shows a vehicle on the slingshot, that car is not included in the prize pack.
To enter: Fill out the Giveaway Tools form below by 11:59pm EST on 7/3. Giveaway is open to the US.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
All the boy cousins loved cars in our family and so the girls played with them too. I like how unique these are and not so tiny. And yay, no batteries to buy either!
Deb E
I like the Motorworks STS Stealth Police Cruiser. Thank you for the fun giveaway 🙂