Casdon Little Henry Toy Vacuum Cleaner

My daughter had a toy vacuum cleaner and it broke and she was pretty upset as she loved playing it. Well along comes Christmas and my daughter is opening her presents when she gets to the one from my aunt and it was a vacuum cleaner, but not any vacuum cleaner but a Henry vacuum cleaner. My aunt then explained that she was buying a vacuum cleaner for herself, a Henry of course and as she left she spotted this little version in the window so rushed back in and asked if it was for sale. The sales assistant explained it was a toy and not a mini version, she informed in she knew it was and just wanted to know if they sold them, which they did. You guessed it she brought it so that was why my little girl got one.

What do you get?
A Henry vacuum cleaner, the obvious item, which looks exactly like the proper Henry. Inside you get a dust pan and brush, bendy pipe, two stiff pipes and one nozzle. On the top like a normal Henry there is a plug which can be wounded in and out. The plug has a suction pad on it so it can be stuck on a surface. So you know where to put each section inside, if you look carefully there is a small picture next to the holes to tell you what goes where. The fact that everything can be stored within the vacuum cleaner is very handy, once everything is inside it measures about 24 x 24.5 x 23.5 cm overall.

The catches on the side to take the lid on and off are very easy to use and my little girl can do it with easy though she does sometimes have problems lining it up correctly.

There are four castor wheels underneath so can easily be moved around the room by dragging it or by lifting the handle up and carrying it around. There is two little ones on the front and two big ones on the back. It is not that heavy and 2 or 3 year old could easily lift it, according to the website it weighs 6kg.

On the top is a rocker switch, which has three positions, on, off and on. This means that you can push the switch down either side to turn it on to vacuum things up. It can be annoying and fiddle for the little ones to turn off as you might accidently turn it on when trying to turn it off. Once your little one has finished vacuuming up it is now time to empty the little fella. At the back there is a little draw that can be pulled out by just pushing a piece of rotating plastic out of the way, and once emptied in it goes back in ready for you little one to do the rest of the house work.

Batteries
This toy does require batteries, what toy now a days doesn’t, but you can get away with not putting any batteries in at all. The batteries are only required if you want the Henry to suck things up. It requires 4 x C batteries.

Cost
This toy cost £19.99.

Where to buy it
The only place I have seen it for sale on the high street is the The Entertainer and Argos, though if you browse the net you can find it and maybe in independent toy shops.

Opinion
Personal I think this toy is a bit on the expensive side, I feel it is just the name which has pushed up the price, though I do find it is a well made toy. I also think this as it was played with for a few months and is now hardly played with. If you little one plays with it for longer then may be it might be worth the money. It is made of strong plastic but the suction on the vacuum cleaner is not that strong and I so I was not that impressed and neither was my daughter. I am for ever searching for the plug cable, this is because of a safety feature, a child can not wrap it around them selves properly as it is made of short section that can easily come part but can easily be put back together by just pushing them back together. This also means I am often searching around her bedroom for them.

This product is made by Casdon who also make toys other house hold items, like the Dyson vacuum cleaner, Morphy Richards iron and even a Hotpoint washing machine. They do seem to get the proportion right on these items and they do look like the really thing in every way. So if you have a Henry vacuum cleaner and your little one loves it then get one other wise just get a different one that is cheaper.