Customer Reviews

Marky Sparky Faux Bow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We sure did a lot of searching trying to find something like a real shaped bow, but with foam-tipped arrows for our soon-to-be-8-year-old. Seems like most of the bow & arrow toys shoot multiple arrows (lame!), or fire from a trigger. This toy seemed to be the closest we could come.

Wow! It really does fly. My husband was pretty impressed at how fast and far it could fire the foam arrows! The posture required is similar to real archery, so that was fun. We sure enjoyed playing and aiming for different targets. We were always cautious however to immediately retrieve the arrows since the arrows could be easily damaged by being stepped on.

However, one week after his birthday, we had a party with his friends, and one reckless guest broke- not the arrows- but a part of the bow. We didn't see how it happened, but it appeared the guest was standing over the bow and pushing it into the ground, thereby breaking one of the red flexible ends of the bow. I called the company to see if I could order replacement parts. The customer service was very friendly and sent me the replacement part right away, no charge! So glad we can continue to have fun with this new toy! Best archery toy we could find!

This bow is impressive - the arrows really blast off the bow with a nice audible "poof" sound. It's strong enough to leave a sting short range, and the arrows fly straight and level. I took it outside and flexed it all the way and it really sailed. It's advertised as going up to a hundred feet. I didn't measure it, but it was a good distance.
One strange feature is the blue "quiver" that holds the other two arrows while not in use. the weird thing about is that you have to squeeze the arrows out of shape to get them in and while they're clipped in, the shaft of the arrow remains squeezed out of shape, so that the arrows will not stay perfectly cylindrical if you use the clip. But so far I can't detect that this has affected the performance of the arrows' flights. It just seems a bit odd that the clip is too small for the arrows. But we're still going with five stars because everything works fine. it has kept my 8 year old very entertained. Highly recommend.

My 7 year old grandson went absolutely bonkers over this toy. He had no problem adjusting to it. My only "criticism" is that I felt it should come with more "arrows", so I bought additional ones.

Cause and effect toys are always big winners, my kids 8 and 5 love this toy. Get the extra arrows, it's worth it to increase the fun quotient.

Know that:

-- If you allow this to be used in the house, the arrows will probably *not* make marks on your walls or furniture. For the 15 minutes before we made this an outdoor-only toy, the arrows were bouncing off of everything and were a cause for concern until we noticed that the walls and furniture weren't really getting roughed up. The force *could* break anything that's loose though (think lightbulbs, or vases, or anything else that can fall over). As a result: NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE INSIDE. Unless you have a shooting range inside, that is. ;)

-- The cord that attaches to the top and bottom of the bow is held in place with a KNOT. This knot may SLIP through the hole, and then the fun is over until you fix it. TO AVOID THIS, just tie a couple of extra knots on each end so the cord can't slip through. Or if you're more industrious, untie the knot, slide the right size washer on the cord, and then tie the knot again. This is an oversight by the designer/manufacturer and it is easily corrected.

-- REPEAT: Add a KNOT to the top and bottom of the cord to prevent it from falling through. Here's why: if it does, and the cord slides through the center handle, it is a royal pain to get it back through that handle. I had to fashion a paperclip hook and thread it through to get the toy back in working order.

-- If you have two kids you might want to buy two! Unless they share well (or you are teaching them to share), it is tough for one kid to have a "shooting toy" and the other one to just watch. One way to alleviate this is to treat it like darts -- set up a target, and have them take turns aiming for the target and counting their hits.

-- Also, this toy does not come with a target (e.g. bullseye). The kids cut out the side of a big cardboard box and made their own target, and it's fun to aim at it. Having a target also reduces the number of arrows that end up in the neighbor's yard or on the roof. ;)

All in all, great fun for kids and grownups alike. Recommended.

I used the Faux Bow at a school program. After over 70 kids shot the bow, the only damage was that the plastic fins on one arrow started to slip off (the kids easily fixed this with tape). Everyone from age 6 to adult was impressed with how far the arrows flew and how cool the bow is to use. Totally recommend this!

We purchased this for our twin 7-year old boys, who LOVED it and used it several times a week with adult supervision. Unfortunately the bow broke after 1 month's use. So for one boy it would work out to a two-month life span. All too short....we will try another manufacturer, but are grateful to have discovered that toy bows and arrows are much better than when I was a kid.

The "feathers" fall off the arrows easily...but, the bow is SO cool. Both adults and kids (ages 5 and 6) can use it. It is made by the guy who invented the nerf bow/arrow (that is no longer made). Takes some coordination and strength to fire it (unlike the trigger kind of crossbows).

My son received this toy for his birthday. It was easy to assemble(in a matter of seconds) and after several months, there are no problems with broken parts. He has only used it indoors so far because of the weather and the darts are not leaving any marks on walls or furniture. As other reviewers mentioned, one downfall is the clip for the arrows. You have to distort the arrows to squeeze them into the slot on the clip. I'm not sure if this has affected the accuracy or distance that the arrow flies. He is looking forward to using this outside with a bullseye target.

Overall this was a good purchase. The first one we received had a broken handle. The return process through Amazon was easy and smooth, and the replacement is holding up just fine to use so far. I worry a little about the red parts breaking due to the tension of the string pulling at them, but so far so good (we've had it 3 months and it gets used a lot). My kids have a GREAT time with it especially because of how far the arrows will fly. It's easy enough even for my 4 year old, although the arrows don't go as far when she uses it; the 6 yo is definitely strong enough to use it and make them fly super distances. The drawback to this is they have all flown over the fence now. :) That's okay, though, I came to Amazon right now to order a pack of the replacement arrows, no big deal.

The grandchildren (ages 8 & 11) seemed to like the toy okay. I think they will have some fun with it, but I also think they might be a little too old for the set. It's pretty suitable for indoor use, but if used outside, may not survive as long.