Virtual Reality Copter Shadow from Interactive Toy Concepts
I’ve never had any toy that could fly through the air when I was kid, and that was because they didn’t really have inexpensive ones back in the early eighties. You can imagine my thrill when Interactive Toy let me try out the Virtual Reality Copter known as the Shadow.
Of course, Interactive Toy has plenty of flying toys in their catalog. The Shadow is a tiny remote-controlled helicopter with dual blades that can fit in the palm of your hand.
Do not let the picture fool you, this is not made of plastic. In fact, the body of the helicopter flyer is made of Styrofoam. Some of you might think that this makes the toy of inferior design, but the Styrofoam makes the toy light so it can get off the ground. It makes it pretty much an indoor toy, as a strong wind could easily take this guy out.
It comes with a remote control that resembles the controller of a real helicopter, and it works by activating the trigger for lift. It requires a 9-volt battery for power. There are other controls for it, and I will have to admit that I had a hard time working them. In fact, it took me a few minutes before I could figure out how to get the copter off of the ground. I think this is one of those things that just takes a while to get used to, honestly.
Of course, control is one of the key features with thing. After all, it wouldn’t be called Virtual Reality control without some sort of “virtual” thing going on. In this case, it is the stick. There is a mode that allows the user to control the copter with motion. So leaning the stick forward means the copter will go forward, and so on.
The copter also requires some power, and this is accomplished with a charge base. It takes about 20 minutes for about 7 minutes of flight. There is a wire to attach it to the helicopter, but no wire to connect the charger to a wall outlet. I am assuming that you can probably get an AC cord, but if you have 6 C batteries, that is what charges it.
If you want to get the VRC Shadow as a gift, then I highly recommend that you get it for an older child rather than a younger one. As mentioned before, it takes some patience before the user gains control, and you don’t want to give it to a child who doesn’t have the patience for it. I would have to say that it is a pretty safe toy, as you’d have to be trying hard to do some damage with it.
You should be able to get it on the Interactive Toy site, but the price will vary.
