Customer Reviews

Lite-Brite Cube

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I had a Lite-Brite as a kid and loved it, so I was enthused to pick this up for my kids (4 and 6). What a disappointment.

The only thing positive I'll say about it is that the 4-sided configuration, allowing more than one kid to play at once, is actually a very good idea Everything else about this Lite-Brite Cube is absolutely idiotic in terms of design for play value.

- The pegs fall out
- The pattern sheets, held only by pegs, fall off
- The letters on the patterns that tell you what color peg to use are too small to be seen by small kids
- The trays are too shallow and the pegs spill out
- The tray have no covers for storage (in the version I have)
- The frame is made of translucent white plastic that lets too much light through
- The device has no on/off switch, meaning you have to plug/unplug it for play
- The top is held with screws, making the bulb harder to tighten when the kids inevitably jiggle it loose

The thing that really burns me is that every point above could have been rectified very easily with just a little re-engineering. Flange the pegs slightly; angle the faces a few degrees; add clamps for the patterns; ;use a bolder font; use opaque plastic in the case; add a toggle switch to the chord; attach the top with latches instead of screws. A few simple modifications that any thinking person can come up with would make this an exponentially better toy without adding much to the cost of manufacture.

But no. The maker opted for the absolute cheapest properties and you get stuck with something more likely to frustrate than amuse your kids. Drives me bats. Cheaply made, poorly thought out. Doesn't have to be that way.

Don't know about you, but I'd gladly pay upwards of $25 for a toy like this that my kids would actually use. Instead, I paid ten bucks for a useless hunk of plastic. Sound like a bargain?

-- mm

Refills are available for this toy at Hasbro.com
They have refill pictures available at 12 pages to a pack for $5.99. The refills can be purchased for both types of light brites, the original and the cube.

I, too, purchased the Lite Brite Cube and am rather frustrated at the ignorance of Hasbro in not making refills available. I purchased this toy for my nephew's birthday in February (and I might add that it was his 4th birthday and he seems to understand the concept--I don't believe that 8 is quite an appropriate age) and now he is also awaiting the arrival of some refills. Aside from that fact, I think it is a great toy because it allows the little artists to keep at least 3 of their creations while still working on a 4th. I thought it would be a good idea to give my nephew what I consider to be an updated version of what I had as a child. As far as I understand it, he is enjoying the toy and plays with it often. I would recommend the toy, but only after refills are made available. Next time I will let the people at Hasbro tell my nephew that it is his tough luck that there are no more refills.

Liked the toy, but like many others, disliked the fact that I couldn't find picture refills. After hours of searching online(and finding that you have to print out a hard copy of an order form and mail it in with a check to hasbro to get refills directly from the company) I found an online store that has refills. www.zooscape.com has picture and peg refills for the lite brite cube. Mine arrived in good time and great condition.

My daughter received this for her 5th birthday. She loves it, and in fact her 3 and a half year old sister also enjoys playing with it, although the youngest one needs to be supervised a little more closely. Age 8 seems a little long to wait for this toy. The cube format is certainly well-suited to the younger set, more so than the original lite brite. I think any reasonably dextrous 5+ year old who knows his/her colors and can follow directions fairly well would enjoy this toy.
As for the lack of refills mentioned by others, it's true. However, one can easily get around this with cheap black construction paper cut to fit (inexpensive packs of black only paper are available from craft stores and classroom supply stores on the internet) Children can then create their own design. I've also used colored chalk to draw pictures for my daughter on the paper and she follows the lines with the pegs and enjoys "copying" my picture. I don't see the lack of refills as that big of a deal, although I'd certainly buy some if they were available.
Overall, a great toy.

I loved this as a kid in the 70's so bought it for my 4&6 year olds. The pros: cube design is great! Kids can work on separate pix simultaneously! Plenty of pegs are included! The cons:Pegs are smaller and can easily fall out of screen during a creation. Only 8 pre-printed pages included (spurring arguments over the butterfly design) Not as sturdy as I remember! Maybe Playskool can work on this! I can tell you that my girls were anxious to start new designs-- instead of turning on the tube and watching cartoons! (2 days in a row!)

This lite-Brite is a piece of junk! Don't wast your money! Maybe if I weren't comparing it to the older one I would think it was ok but even then I am not sure. I loved my lite-brite as a kid and wanted to get my daughter one so she could have as much fun as I did with mine.This has not left the box since the first day. First all of the screens where you stick the pegs are white not black like the old one so without the refill sheets it is useless.Also without the refill sheets the pegs are too big and they do not stay in.This was very frustrating! Even with the sheets sometimes they still fall out! I am really unhappy with this purchase and I can usually find something about a toy I like but not this one. I just didn't want anyone to be deceived into thinking that the screens were black and you could make your own "art".

I BOUGHT THIS FOR MY DAUGHTER LAST YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT HER THE ORGINAL LITE-BITE NOT THIS ONE. THE PEGS HAVE TO BE USED WITH THE BLACK PAPER ON BACK. IF NOT THE PEGS JUST FALL RIGHT OUT. AND WHAT FUN IS IT WHEN THE PAPER IS FALLING OUT OR TO GO BY THEIR DESIGNS ON THE PAPER???? I WOULD BUY THE ORGINAL WE USED WHEN WE WERE KIDS NOT THIS NEW HI-TECH ONE WHICH IS MORE MONEY!!!!!!

Where are the refills for Lite Brite Cube? I don't know - I wish I did! My kids love it . . . but you can only use those same sheets over and over again so many times before they fall apart. The toy is great - both kids can play at the same time . . . but you simply cannot find refill picture sheets for it.

This is good, educational and fairly durable. The kids enjoyed it. We only wish there were refill pictures. If you buy it see if you can copy the pictures before you use them.