I wasn’t familiar with 3D pens when myFirst 3DPen came in for review, so I came to it as a complete newbie, which I find often comes in handy when reviewing children’s products. The pen essentially works like a glue gun, only it doesn’t get as hot because instead of activating the glue, it’s melting strands of plastic so they can be drawn into patterns. The patterns can then be assembled by snapping pieces together and “gluing” them into place with more melted plastic.
The myFirst 3D pen is in the shape of a cute dolphin. While I like the look, the fins and chunky shape make it hard to draw and I have big hands. I think it would be a challenge for smaller hands to hold and manipulate it accurately.
After charging the dolphin with a USB charger, you are ready to go. The tip doesn’t get too hot, so there’s no need to worry about your child getting burned, but supervision is never a bad plan when it comes to hot toys.
The pen comes with 10 different colors of filament, all of which slide easily into the dolphin pen. Additional filaments can be purchased from Oaxis. By pressing a simple power switch, the tip is heated and by pressing the large button on the back of the dolphin, the filament begins to advance. When you’re done with that color, two clicks on the dolphin’s back release the filament so it can be slowly pulled out.
Much of the sparse documentation is about not pulling the filament out, but you have to pull it out, you just shouldn’t pull it out without releasing it first. That could have been said more clearly in the instructions. The plastic filament hardens quickly and the booklet comes with several patterns that can be used as is since the plastic does not stick to the paper.
The only real problem was that when changing colors, some of the old color mixed with the new color. You can even see it in the video above. If you have a perfectionist child, that will drive him crazy. Cleaning the tip is not enough to remove the last color. Essentially you need to clean the tip and then use the next color for a while until it turns true. On the other hand, not all children will be bothered by that.
The pen is recommended for ages 8 and up, but it’s not that easy to handle, so I think it’s safe for ages 8 and up, but probably better for ages 10 and up in terms of effective use. If you have a myFirst 3Dpen, let us know what you think in the comments below.
Leave a Reply