Customer Reviews

Hot Wheels Color Shifters OctoBattle Playset

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This toy is my 4 year old's first lesson about truth in advertising. After spending his birthday money on it, he found that it just plain doesn't work. We're familiar with the flimsy toys typically put out by Hot Wheels, and haven't had a problem with it in the past, but this thing will barely stay together. The car turned white the first time it was put in warm water and has stayed that way ever since. The launch button barely bumps the car. I pumped the tentacle for so long I am pretty sure I'm legally married to it in some states, and still no squirt. Frankly, I'm surprised this thing is still on the market. Mattel should be ashamed.

...but my younger son was begging for it daily. It was allll he talked about. Everytime he did something good it was followed by - "can we buy Octobattle now?"
Now, after having 2 boys you learn that Hot Wheels tracks are NEVER good quality. My older son needs toys that work - if it's not great quality and works that way it's supposed to work, he's done with it in less than 5 minutes. If your son is like this - do not buy this toy - you will be wasting your money.

My younger son (the one that wanted this), is the total opposite of my older son. He needs very little to stimulate his imagination. If anyone can make a lower quality toy work, he can! We cracked this puppy open earlier today and he has not left it in the 4 hours it's been open. In his world the Octopus is battling and the shark car is putting up a fierce fight - battling in the sky, changing colors - sound effects going left and right!!! For FOUR HOURS NOW!!!
If you have a son with a great imagination and loves Hot Wheels - go buy this right now!

Now as for the toy itself - I don't know if it was the luck of the draw or what but the squirters on our Octopus work. The first time you put water in it you have to pump it A LOT before the water comes out. But once we got it working, it works fine and squirts where it's supposed to. There is a leg on the side that you have to pump to squirt the water and if you get too excited about pumping it comes right off...but it goes right back in just as easily and keeps pumping.
I also saw comments about the launcher being bad and it really is not the best launcher. You have to really pound it to make the car go - and my son happily pounds on it. And you really have to guide the car along to make it go where it needs to - again, he happily does this.

As I said earlier, this toy really depends on the type of child you have. After being so hesitant, I am happy with this purchase and I know my son will be dreaming about Octobattling all night long. It is not great quality, but you should see how happy he is!

My grandson is 5 and has autism. He is completely connected to Hot Wheels Color Shifter cars and the toys. He had to earn this toy and waited 5 days until he could finally play with it.

My husband put it together. They both took it outside with all the water and nothing. NOTHING HAPPENED TIME AND TIME AGAIN! Well we dealt with the meltdown (people who know about autism and their meltdowns know how he reacted and the calming down we had to do). He was devastated that the toy he earned didn't work. The water did not spray; it kept falling apart, etc.

He was taught a good lesson - the way toys are advertised on TV and the PC do not work that way.

We are going to take the advice of another commentor and will call the company. The tentacles would not squirt water, kept falling off and then the head wouldn't completely open - half of the head stayed stationary.

This is not the only Hot Wheels toy that did not live up to its expectations.

Beware: if you have the money to throw away then buy the toy. If your money is tight, think hard, really hard about buying it. If it worked it would be nice. Then there's the THREE different temperatures of water needed. Oh, it is not worth the aggravation of constantly bringing water in and out of the house!

That child worked so hard earning that toy for 5 days. If you know about special needs children, patience is not their forte. Only to see that it doesn't work - what a let down.

We just bought this yesterday for my 3.5 yr old. I put it together and it is flimsy, as most of these car playsets are. Some parts didn't click together all the way, but they stay put well enough for a child who can be gentle. The squirting tentacles do not squirt. I followed the directions, read and looked at them over and over and they simply will not squirt. I think the little pump mechanism is either a bad design or we got a defective one. The rest of it is "ok", you have to move all the pieces/parts manually which is fine, but using some plastic bowls or other kitchen items would work just as well. The shark car that it comes with doesn't change color easily. It takes ICE cold water (I literally had to put an ice cube in the little container) and pretty warm water to make it work. I seem to remember old cars that changed color so much easier/faster than this?! Anyway, my 3.5 yr old is enjoying it as I type this, but I want to return it...we'll see. I paid $19.99 for this, and it is not worth that.

We have had two of these toys, and neither one sprays water. Not as well constructed as other Hot Wheels products. We ended up requesting a refund after the second one didn't work. I would recommend the Hot Wheels Color Shifters Custom Color Shop instead.

This toy is no good at all. My son and husband put it together correctly as the directions stated and the water does not squirt like it should - plus the "launcher" they have (basically a plastic button you push that supposedly "launches" the car barely moves the car 4 inches - even when an adult really whacks it hard, the car does not jump like it is supposed to. I wonder if Mattel tries these toys themselves before packaging them up and placing them on the store shelves for $20 or more! I'm returning it today!

I just wanted to let the other parents who bought this and found it didnt work to call Hot Wheels. My son spent his Christmas money on this last night, but when we go home, it wouldnt squirt the water....poor kid, water was EVERYWHERE!
Anyway, I called Hot Wheels at 1-800-524-8697 and spoke to a customer service representative (after I read reviews on here of parents having the same problem). The lady is issuing my son a credit voucher for any Mattel, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels purchase for the full amount we spent on it! ($21.00!)
Seriously, call and let them know about the defect! They want to know, and hopefully if they get enough, they will recall the toy and fix the problem!
Have a great day!

This is a typical Hot Wheels toy - not very durable and sort of hokey. However, my 6 year old loves it - the water turns the cars colors, just like it says, which is very cool. We read a review on this websight and found out if we pump the left tentacle (A LOT) then the sprayers will work, but you have to pump a lot to get the water to come out. Once you get the tentacles to spray it's a pretty neat toy. It is messy so you want to play outside or put a towel down.

We received this product as a present for Christmas, the product was put together according to the manufacutor's instructions. The playset would not function properly, the octopus's arms would not spray water and the launcher button barely moved the hotwheels car that came with the playset. When I called the Customer Satisfation support line (1-800-524-8697), the customer support agent was very friendly and we went through the lengthy process of trying to fix the toy using the manufacturer's guidelines.

1. Empty of water and remove the octopus's head and the water resivour from the base.
2. Bang the base of the octopus on a hard flat surface 4 times.
3. Reassemble and refill with water, pump the octopus's arm 20 times to prime the toy then attempt to spray water.
4. Remove the water resivour again and use a rubber mallet to bang the nipple that is under the water resivour, bang 4 times.

After this process the representative will issue you a $22 voucher for any Fisher-Price or Mattel toy, and you will receive it in the mail within 20 days. So you basically receive a refund, but you have to work a little for it. I am not satisfied with the toy but very satisfied with the Customer Support Service.

I bought this toy for my 5 year old son since he had been wanting it for quite some time. Let me tell all of you that are thinking of buying this toy, DON'T!!! It does not work, not at all, not in the slightest. The tenticles do not spray water. I pumped that tenticle over and over and OVER again, and not even a drop came out. The car does not move when you push the button down. I even pushed the button as hard as I could, and I think it moved about an inch. Hot Wheels usually makes decent toys, this is not one of them. I can't believe it is still on the shelves. Save your money, don't buy this crappy flimsy plastic garbage they call a toy.