Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Well it's a pen. D'oh!, 09 Aug 2008
Didn't think it would be a pen. And not a very good one at that, the pen ran out within 5 hours! Still it keeps my brother entertained and I didn't think he minded much about the pen it's just not value for money...

At least a pen would have been useful, 24 Apr 2008
Have you ever opened a gift to find it is totally not the sort of gift you liked to receive. You wonder who bought it you and why ? Then you get that feeling of embarrassment. Well, this is how I felt when I saw this item. Firstly, it looks so much like a pen, it really needed to have one built into it, to make it worth its while. The LED flashlight is pretty hopeless, the item looks cheap and plasticy because it is just that !

Most of the Dr. Who tie in stuff I've seen has been pretty well finished, epsecially the Daleks. This item is far from that and if you were considering buying one for a kid, I'd forget it and opt for one of the other sonic screwdrivers on the market.

A cheap bit of plastic with a rubbish torch!, 15 Feb 2008
Bought the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Torch as a prezzie for my little brother. What a dissapointment, brocken within a few hours. (The black bit on the end came off!) As for the torch!! Yes i know its for kids but what a sorry excuse for a torch. Sorry but this is just another money hungry company selling cheap tat at stupid prices just because of the Doctor Who name. Even at the reduced price its now at....NOT WORTH IT!

It's not a screwdriver!, 14 Jan 2008
Quite simply it's a torch. I too thought it was a screwdriver and my 5 year old grandson would be happy with that, but we will see. I haven't given it to him yet.
I wish Amazon would put more info on their products.
At least reading the reviews helped on this one.

happy father, 09 Aug 2007
you buy toys and buy toys and buy toys to try and keep them happy then you buy this and you can't wipe the smile of their faces if i knew it would have kept them so happy over the summer holidays ( fingers crossed )i would of paid a lot more if your kids like doctor who they will love this ( just wait till they get to some lift doors and pull out their sonic screwdriver )

Be warned. This is no ordinary radio controlled helicopter. This is the TandemZ. A full three channel, auto stable system with twin propellers and an advanced multi-role set-up that requires skill, brains and determination to master. In appearance, the TandemZ closely resembles the iconic Sea Knight Helicopter, a vehicle famed for its assault transportation of combat troops and its ability to land on aircraft carriers. The twin propeller system is a striking feature of this unique style of helicopter, and providing greater stability, greater control and added power when airborne. With the TandemZ being a full 3 channel radio controlled unit, users are able to control the flight altitude, forwards and backwards movement and the direction of flight. Easier said than done. The handheld control unit (which doubles as the charging base for the TandemZ) is more complex than the standard R/C chopper, incorporating controls for Yaw trimming (direction), Pitch trimming (hovering angle), Throttle (altitude), Direction (forward/backward movement) and an additional headlight switch for flying in the dark. With guidance from the instruction booklet and a little practice, users will quickly appreciate the added control that the TandemZ offers and once mastered, can attempt more challenging stunts than ever before.

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Well it's a pen. D'oh!, 09 Aug 2008
Didn't think it would be a pen. And not a very good one at that, the pen ran out within 5 hours! Still it keeps my brother entertained and I didn't think he minded much about the pen it's just not value for money...

At least a pen would have been useful, 24 Apr 2008
Have you ever opened a gift to find it is totally not the sort of gift you liked to receive. You wonder who bought it you and why ? Then you get that feeling of embarrassment. Well, this is how I felt when I saw this item. Firstly, it looks so much like a pen, it really needed to have one built into it, to make it worth its while. The LED flashlight is pretty hopeless, the item looks cheap and plasticy because it is just that !

Most of the Dr. Who tie in stuff I've seen has been pretty well finished, epsecially the Daleks. This item is far from that and if you were considering buying one for a kid, I'd forget it and opt for one of the other sonic screwdrivers on the market.

A cheap bit of plastic with a rubbish torch!, 15 Feb 2008
Bought the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Torch as a prezzie for my little brother. What a dissapointment, brocken within a few hours. (The black bit on the end came off!) As for the torch!! Yes i know its for kids but what a sorry excuse for a torch. Sorry but this is just another money hungry company selling cheap tat at stupid prices just because of the Doctor Who name. Even at the reduced price its now at....NOT WORTH IT!

It's not a screwdriver!, 14 Jan 2008
Quite simply it's a torch. I too thought it was a screwdriver and my 5 year old grandson would be happy with that, but we will see. I haven't given it to him yet.
I wish Amazon would put more info on their products.
At least reading the reviews helped on this one.

happy father, 09 Aug 2007
you buy toys and buy toys and buy toys to try and keep them happy then you buy this and you can't wipe the smile of their faces if i knew it would have kept them so happy over the summer holidays ( fingers crossed )i would of paid a lot more if your kids like doctor who they will love this ( just wait till they get to some lift doors and pull out their sonic screwdriver )

Big Boys Toy, 26 Aug 2008
I bought this as a birthday present for my husband and have had great fun watching him trying to master the art of flying!! We've both been amazed at how the helicopter has stood up to the number of crash landings and bouncing off walls and ceilings. Now he's getting the hang of flying it's been quite interesting to see how the helicopter works and responds to the controls, such as hovering for instance.
Highly recommended; in fact, it looks like his work mates are starting to drop hints to partners ready for Christmas.....

Second helicopter- early report, 20 Aug 2008
Hello again,

here's my early review of the TandemZ twin rotor Sea knight/Chinook from Picoo.

As with the first report I would qualify the various star ratings ive given with further detail but since ive done this already in the PicooZ Metro City and they remain the same- just have a look at the first bit of that one for further explination.

As with the first, if you want a quick snapshot review here it is:-

Great fun, more visually imposing, louder and powerful than the PizooZ chopper but much less forgiving thrust/lift when your not on your game. Easier to point and shoot when the trim is sorted out. A longer learning curve involved to master and expect more catastrophic crashes while you get to grips with it but that's why you want one isn't it?

Ok, so I got the PicooZ Metro City a couple of days ago and i'm clearly no master pilot but what follows is the thoughts of someone who's had 24 hours with a Tandem and 72 with a PicooZ.

Hardware- the 'copter you know all about if youve read the other reviews here so i'll just add a bit about the RC unit. Instead of a single trim toggle just under the direction(right hand) stick as with the PicooZ we get two seperate trims in the form of circular dials which are positioned to fall naturally under your index fingers when you hold the unit. This means you dont have to remove your right thumb from the right stick to trim the 'copter- just dial in your trim and away you go. The left trim controls static pitch - i.e how quickly the copter moves forward/backwards without additional input from the right stick(which has a removable idiot grid over it when it arrives- stops all the scary advanced diagonal turn and move combinations that a beginner should be wary of)

Start-up - ive had a few problems with this. Power up RC Unit then power up 'copter at which point the rotors go crazy and the landing light comes on. This can be corrected by holding the copter in your hand, switching on then pressing the landing light button which cuts the light and for some reason the power .From there put it down and crack on as normal. Weird but there you go.

Thrust/lift- personally I find this a lot harder to get right. The toy weighs much more so needs a more positive and progressive punch of power to get airborn. Having done so you need to ease off quite quickly (unless you use it in a church or somewhere with loads of verticle space) as it rockets up quite rapidly. It really requires quite some practice and skill in a normal height room to lift it , ease off but without killing it and then easing the throttle back in to keep height. The weight of it means that if your a bit jerky with it you've had it and the floor beckons!

The single blade PicooZ will forgive you far more lapses of concentration with thrust than the Tandem Z will and I can only put this down to weight.

Trim- because of the additional concentration required to get airborn and stable the trim is going to have to wait a second longer. That second can be catastrophic though as constant crashing and a more sophisticated front rotor action means you have to get the trim sorted qucker or you'll bin it!...again.

Untrimmed, the Tandem has a propensity to yaw and pitch off after liftoff very quickly and this, as already suggested means, the Tandem favours a larger area to get it sorted out in.

I'm afriad I can only give scant report of the third channel- i.e. forward as I crashed so much I think ive upset the front servo in it's casing so that even a fully retarded trim has it dashing forward and the turning control barely works at all.

What I can say though is that I can see how this offers more of a challenge and a reward if you can get it going well. It doesn't do the dip-a-bit-move-a-bit-spin-a-bit repeat that the single does and even though I virtually destroyed mine in one single day I can't really fault it.It's my lack of skill and finess and not the models failures that have caused it.

Am I going to get another and try again?




Does night follow day?

TandemZ, 29 Jul 2008
Having owned 3 PicooZ helicopters, I thought I ought to give the TandemZ a try. It's more versatile than the PicooZ in terms of control, although trickier to master. I found that in a small room, it's easier to control forward motion using the forward/backward trim than with the joystick. The experience is somewhat more exciting for the addition of forward motion to this model; whereas the PicooZ kind of randomly hovers forward, the TandemZ zips around the room. Expect more extreme crashes when it goes wrong!

better than most !!!, 04 Jul 2008
i have purchased several r/c helicopters/aircraft. this rates the best, i can control this better than the others. i am now looking for a larger outdoor model.

hours of entertainment.

i managed to dislodge front stabaliser within minutes, no need for this as i then found it much easier to control the helicopter. this is my favourite SO FAR!!!!!

Two rotors can double your fun!, 10 Jun 2008
This is a logical evolution of the original single-rotor Picoo Z, which set a new standard for remote control helicopter price/preformance. Its design is a fascinating departure from conventional solutions, and has great educational merit.

With helicopters, performance means stability, not speed. It is said that aeroplanes want to fly, helicopters want to fall..... And that is doubly true of models, which are much twitchier than bigger ones.

Full-scale twin-rotor machines like the military Chinook demonstrate much improved pitch stability over ordinary single-rotors, and the twin-rotor Picoo benefits from this. If you have tried the single-rotor Picoo-Z and found it a bit lively, this is much more stable and easier to fly, especially for beginners. There are also some clear fins (not shown on the illustrations) which increase the damping in yaw, so that the aircraft is less nervous when turning. The fins also help with anti-torque. Nice one.

Chinooks use contra-rotation to cancel the torque from the engine - front rotor turns one way and the back one turns opposite so the helo does not spin around. No need for a Sikorsky-style tail rotor.

But this 2-rotor Picoo uses a novel approach - both rotors turn the same way and appear to be identical to the rotors on our 1-rotor Picoos. That ensures that spares are available and will have saved a few bob developing a rotor that turns the other way. So to stop it spinning they have leaned the front rotor to one side, the back rotor to t'other side. Clever.

This cancels the torque quite effectively, and the 'rudder' control tilts the front rotor assembly left and right in order to steer.

With the second rotor we gain some 'pitch' control - moving the right stick forwards now makes the aircraft fly forwards. Moving it right and left initiates a turn, and it will turn quite tight but well controlled.

The left stick is the up-and-down control and there is power to spare - on one trip outside it went up like a Guy Fawkes rocket. Scary.

But.... Outside is not the best place for most of these small, light models. Any air movement at all will blow it away, and the sun can interfere with the Infra-Red remote control, trust me, you don't want that! On a dead calm overcast day you might be OK, but....

Fortunately this model is steady enough and controllable enough to fly well indoors. Taller rooms are best, and less furniture is obviously better - we find bedrooms can be good for soft landings on the bed.

It's quite tough, no breakages yet, but the paint suffers from impact with hard stuff, so it does pay to pick a soft surface to fly from.

We would recommend setting up the two trim controls so that it flies forward very slowly whilst circling gently. This means you can concentrate on getting the hang of the up-down control without worrying too much about walls and things. Then maybe try some tighter circles, figure-8s and finally some more speed. It is fast enough to get out of hand if you are not on top of it.

Over a couple of years we have bought lots of these small models in the family - the Picoo, the Alany Mosquito, the newer Mosquito with 2-blade rotors, many derivatives of these designs. they are all great fun, but this Picoo is even better than the new 2-blade Mozzie.

Strongly recommended for model flyers of all ages - ideal for beginners too.

Hand held 20Q is back with a new look. Players still think of something then answer a series of 20 questions until 20Q guesses what it is! Colours vary.

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Well it's a pen. D'oh!, 09 Aug 2008
Didn't think it would be a pen. And not a very good one at that, the pen ran out within 5 hours! Still it keeps my brother entertained and I didn't think he minded much about the pen it's just not value for money...

At least a pen would have been useful, 24 Apr 2008
Have you ever opened a gift to find it is totally not the sort of gift you liked to receive. You wonder who bought it you and why ? Then you get that feeling of embarrassment. Well, this is how I felt when I saw this item. Firstly, it looks so much like a pen, it really needed to have one built into it, to make it worth its while. The LED flashlight is pretty hopeless, the item looks cheap and plasticy because it is just that !

Most of the Dr. Who tie in stuff I've seen has been pretty well finished, epsecially the Daleks. This item is far from that and if you were considering buying one for a kid, I'd forget it and opt for one of the other sonic screwdrivers on the market.

A cheap bit of plastic with a rubbish torch!, 15 Feb 2008
Bought the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Torch as a prezzie for my little brother. What a dissapointment, brocken within a few hours. (The black bit on the end came off!) As for the torch!! Yes i know its for kids but what a sorry excuse for a torch. Sorry but this is just another money hungry company selling cheap tat at stupid prices just because of the Doctor Who name. Even at the reduced price its now at....NOT WORTH IT!

It's not a screwdriver!, 14 Jan 2008
Quite simply it's a torch. I too thought it was a screwdriver and my 5 year old grandson would be happy with that, but we will see. I haven't given it to him yet.
I wish Amazon would put more info on their products.
At least reading the reviews helped on this one.

happy father, 09 Aug 2007
you buy toys and buy toys and buy toys to try and keep them happy then you buy this and you can't wipe the smile of their faces if i knew it would have kept them so happy over the summer holidays ( fingers crossed )i would of paid a lot more if your kids like doctor who they will love this ( just wait till they get to some lift doors and pull out their sonic screwdriver )

Big Boys Toy, 26 Aug 2008
I bought this as a birthday present for my husband and have had great fun watching him trying to master the art of flying!! We've both been amazed at how the helicopter has stood up to the number of crash landings and bouncing off walls and ceilings. Now he's getting the hang of flying it's been quite interesting to see how the helicopter works and responds to the controls, such as hovering for instance.
Highly recommended; in fact, it looks like his work mates are starting to drop hints to partners ready for Christmas.....

Second helicopter- early report, 20 Aug 2008
Hello again,

here's my early review of the TandemZ twin rotor Sea knight/Chinook from Picoo.

As with the first report I would qualify the various star ratings ive given with further detail but since ive done this already in the PicooZ Metro City and they remain the same- just have a look at the first bit of that one for further explination.

As with the first, if you want a quick snapshot review here it is:-

Great fun, more visually imposing, louder and powerful than the PizooZ chopper but much less forgiving thrust/lift when your not on your game. Easier to point and shoot when the trim is sorted out. A longer learning curve involved to master and expect more catastrophic crashes while you get to grips with it but that's why you want one isn't it?

Ok, so I got the PicooZ Metro City a couple of days ago and i'm clearly no master pilot but what follows is the thoughts of someone who's had 24 hours with a Tandem and 72 with a PicooZ.

Hardware- the 'copter you know all about if youve read the other reviews here so i'll just add a bit about the RC unit. Instead of a single trim toggle just under the direction(right hand) stick as with the PicooZ we get two seperate trims in the form of circular dials which are positioned to fall naturally under your index fingers when you hold the unit. This means you dont have to remove your right thumb from the right stick to trim the 'copter- just dial in your trim and away you go. The left trim controls static pitch - i.e how quickly the copter moves forward/backwards without additional input from the right stick(which has a removable idiot grid over it when it arrives- stops all the scary advanced diagonal turn and move combinations that a beginner should be wary of)

Start-up - ive had a few problems with this. Power up RC Unit then power up 'copter at which point the rotors go crazy and the landing light comes on. This can be corrected by holding the copter in your hand, switching on then pressing the landing light button which cuts the light and for some reason the power .From there put it down and crack on as normal. Weird but there you go.

Thrust/lift- personally I find this a lot harder to get right. The toy weighs much more so needs a more positive and progressive punch of power to get airborn. Having done so you need to ease off quite quickly (unless you use it in a church or somewhere with loads of verticle space) as it rockets up quite rapidly. It really requires quite some practice and skill in a normal height room to lift it , ease off but without killing it and then easing the throttle back in to keep height. The weight of it means that if your a bit jerky with it you've had it and the floor beckons!

The single blade PicooZ will forgive you far more lapses of concentration with thrust than the Tandem Z will and I can only put this down to weight.

Trim- because of the additional concentration required to get airborn and stable the trim is going to have to wait a second longer. That second can be catastrophic though as constant crashing and a more sophisticated front rotor action means you have to get the trim sorted qucker or you'll bin it!...again.

Untrimmed, the Tandem has a propensity to yaw and pitch off after liftoff very quickly and this, as already suggested means, the Tandem favours a larger area to get it sorted out in.

I'm afriad I can only give scant report of the third channel- i.e. forward as I crashed so much I think ive upset the front servo in it's casing so that even a fully retarded trim has it dashing forward and the turning control barely works at all.

What I can say though is that I can see how this offers more of a challenge and a reward if you can get it going well. It doesn't do the dip-a-bit-move-a-bit-spin-a-bit repeat that the single does and even though I virtually destroyed mine in one single day I can't really fault it.It's my lack of skill and finess and not the models failures that have caused it.

Am I going to get another and try again?




Does night follow day?

TandemZ, 29 Jul 2008
Having owned 3 PicooZ helicopters, I thought I ought to give the TandemZ a try. It's more versatile than the PicooZ in terms of control, although trickier to master. I found that in a small room, it's easier to control forward motion using the forward/backward trim than with the joystick. The experience is somewhat more exciting for the addition of forward motion to this model; whereas the PicooZ kind of randomly hovers forward, the TandemZ zips around the room. Expect more extreme crashes when it goes wrong!

better than most !!!, 04 Jul 2008
i have purchased several r/c helicopters/aircraft. this rates the best, i can control this better than the others. i am now looking for a larger outdoor model.

hours of entertainment.

i managed to dislodge front stabaliser within minutes, no need for this as i then found it much easier to control the helicopter. this is my favourite SO FAR!!!!!

Two rotors can double your fun!, 10 Jun 2008
This is a logical evolution of the original single-rotor Picoo Z, which set a new standard for remote control helicopter price/preformance. Its design is a fascinating departure from conventional solutions, and has great educational merit.

With helicopters, performance means stability, not speed. It is said that aeroplanes want to fly, helicopters want to fall..... And that is doubly true of models, which are much twitchier than bigger ones.

Full-scale twin-rotor machines like the military Chinook demonstrate much improved pitch stability over ordinary single-rotors, and the twin-rotor Picoo benefits from this. If you have tried the single-rotor Picoo-Z and found it a bit lively, this is much more stable and easier to fly, especially for beginners. There are also some clear fins (not shown on the illustrations) which increase the damping in yaw, so that the aircraft is less nervous when turning. The fins also help with anti-torque. Nice one.

Chinooks use contra-rotation to cancel the torque from the engine - front rotor turns one way and the back one turns opposite so the helo does not spin around. No need for a Sikorsky-style tail rotor.

But this 2-rotor Picoo uses a novel approach - both rotors turn the same way and appear to be identical to the rotors on our 1-rotor Picoos. That ensures that spares are available and will have saved a few bob developing a rotor that turns the other way. So to stop it spinning they have leaned the front rotor to one side, the back rotor to t'other side. Clever.

This cancels the torque quite effectively, and the 'rudder' control tilts the front rotor assembly left and right in order to steer.

With the second rotor we gain some 'pitch' control - moving the right stick forwards now makes the aircraft fly forwards. Moving it right and left initiates a turn, and it will turn quite tight but well controlled.

The left stick is the up-and-down control and there is power to spare - on one trip outside it went up like a Guy Fawkes rocket. Scary.

But.... Outside is not the best place for most of these small, light models. Any air movement at all will blow it away, and the sun can interfere with the Infra-Red remote control, trust me, you don't want that! On a dead calm overcast day you might be OK, but....

Fortunately this model is steady enough and controllable enough to fly well indoors. Taller rooms are best, and less furniture is obviously better - we find bedrooms can be good for soft landings on the bed.

It's quite tough, no breakages yet, but the paint suffers from impact with hard stuff, so it does pay to pick a soft surface to fly from.

We would recommend setting up the two trim controls so that it flies forward very slowly whilst circling gently. This means you can concentrate on getting the hang of the up-down control without worrying too much about walls and things. Then maybe try some tighter circles, figure-8s and finally some more speed. It is fast enough to get out of hand if you are not on top of it.

Over a couple of years we have bought lots of these small models in the family - the Picoo, the Alany Mosquito, the newer Mosquito with 2-blade rotors, many derivatives of these designs. they are all great fun, but this Picoo is even better than the new 2-blade Mozzie.

Strongly recommended for model flyers of all ages - ideal for beginners too.


Family fun for a short time, 28 Aug 2008
I got this for Christmas for the whole family to play with and it is fun and amazingly works most of the time unless you pick something really obscure. The only real problem with this is that it can grow old very quickly and within about ten minutes the 20Q will be collecting dust in the corner. Not so good if you have a short attention span.

Get outta my mind!, 28 Jul 2008
...says a bloke on the current 20Q TV advert. And yes, it appears for most of the time this little round gadget is reading my mind, as long as I'm thinking simple thoughts...

Okay, this little beastie tries to guess what someone is thinking about by asking a series of questions that can be answered by a simple yes/no/maybe. After 20 questions it tries to guess what you thought of with varying degrees of success. For example, think of cola and it might guess a can or a bottle; which to be honest isn't too far from the truth.

Personally, I think it's one of those "coffee table" objects; something that would sit on a table and maybe once in a while you'll try it out. Mind you, the expressions on people's faces when it guesses correctly is priceless!

Mind reader?? Er...nope!, 09 Jul 2008
I bought the Harry Potter version of this for my son and we really enjoyed it for a while, then it kind of lost its appeal and we could outwit it most of the time. So I thought I'd get this and see how we got on. The first ten items I thought of it didn't guess!! And they were pretty obvious things... picture frame, domino, sweetcorn, golf club etc I was trying to answer them very obviously but some of the questions it asked were pointless and we were really disapointed. I don't think the aim of this is to try to thin of things it WILL get rather than what it WON'T! Big disapointment I'm afraid after the Harry potter one!

stocking filler?, 27 Jun 2008
Quite a clever little toy! Its fun for a while and will amuse the kids but gets boring within an hour or two. Makes for a good little present for someone who likes silly thing :)

Loses its charm quickly, 22 May 2008
You can play with this for about an hour, show it to your freinds to have a go...and then, it sits somewhere gathering dust.

More control than ever before, the PicooZ Atlas offers speed and manoeuvrability like no other flier. Regular 2 channel remote control helicopters can be only be flown upwards, downwards, or to the left and right. But with the Atlas 3 Channel flight controller in your hands, the helicopter can fly up, down, left and right, forward and backward and it can even hover. With flexibility like this, you can hone your control skills and become an expert flier. With capabilities just like a real helicopter, the Atlas is remote control flying like you've never seen before.

Features:
Super wide infrared control.
Built-in Li-Poly battery.
Strong EPP foam body.
Gyroscopic auto-stability for an even smoother flight.

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Well it's a pen. D'oh!, 09 Aug 2008
Didn't think it would be a pen. And not a very good one at that, the pen ran out within 5 hours! Still it keeps my brother entertained and I didn't think he minded much about the pen it's just not value for money...

At least a pen would have been useful, 24 Apr 2008
Have you ever opened a gift to find it is totally not the sort of gift you liked to receive. You wonder who bought it you and why ? Then you get that feeling of embarrassment. Well, this is how I felt when I saw this item. Firstly, it looks so much like a pen, it really needed to have one built into it, to make it worth its while. The LED flashlight is pretty hopeless, the item looks cheap and plasticy because it is just that !

Most of the Dr. Who tie in stuff I've seen has been pretty well finished, epsecially the Daleks. This item is far from that and if you were considering buying one for a kid, I'd forget it and opt for one of the other sonic screwdrivers on the market.

A cheap bit of plastic with a rubbish torch!, 15 Feb 2008
Bought the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Torch as a prezzie for my little brother. What a dissapointment, brocken within a few hours. (The black bit on the end came off!) As for the torch!! Yes i know its for kids but what a sorry excuse for a torch. Sorry but this is just another money hungry company selling cheap tat at stupid prices just because of the Doctor Who name. Even at the reduced price its now at....NOT WORTH IT!

It's not a screwdriver!, 14 Jan 2008
Quite simply it's a torch. I too thought it was a screwdriver and my 5 year old grandson would be happy with that, but we will see. I haven't given it to him yet.
I wish Amazon would put more info on their products.
At least reading the reviews helped on this one.

happy father, 09 Aug 2007
you buy toys and buy toys and buy toys to try and keep them happy then you buy this and you can't wipe the smile of their faces if i knew it would have kept them so happy over the summer holidays ( fingers crossed )i would of paid a lot more if your kids like doctor who they will love this ( just wait till they get to some lift doors and pull out their sonic screwdriver )

Big Boys Toy, 26 Aug 2008
I bought this as a birthday present for my husband and have had great fun watching him trying to master the art of flying!! We've both been amazed at how the helicopter has stood up to the number of crash landings and bouncing off walls and ceilings. Now he's getting the hang of flying it's been quite interesting to see how the helicopter works and responds to the controls, such as hovering for instance.
Highly recommended; in fact, it looks like his work mates are starting to drop hints to partners ready for Christmas.....

Second helicopter- early report, 20 Aug 2008
Hello again,

here's my early review of the TandemZ twin rotor Sea knight/Chinook from Picoo.

As with the first report I would qualify the various star ratings ive given with further detail but since ive done this already in the PicooZ Metro City and they remain the same- just have a look at the first bit of that one for further explination.

As with the first, if you want a quick snapshot review here it is:-

Great fun, more visually imposing, louder and powerful than the PizooZ chopper but much less forgiving thrust/lift when your not on your game. Easier to point and shoot when the trim is sorted out. A longer learning curve involved to master and expect more catastrophic crashes while you get to grips with it but that's why you want one isn't it?

Ok, so I got the PicooZ Metro City a couple of days ago and i'm clearly no master pilot but what follows is the thoughts of someone who's had 24 hours with a Tandem and 72 with a PicooZ.

Hardware- the 'copter you know all about if youve read the other reviews here so i'll just add a bit about the RC unit. Instead of a single trim toggle just under the direction(right hand) stick as with the PicooZ we get two seperate trims in the form of circular dials which are positioned to fall naturally under your index fingers when you hold the unit. This means you dont have to remove your right thumb from the right stick to trim the 'copter- just dial in your trim and away you go. The left trim controls static pitch - i.e how quickly the copter moves forward/backwards without additional input from the right stick(which has a removable idiot grid over it when it arrives- stops all the scary advanced diagonal turn and move combinations that a beginner should be wary of)

Start-up - ive had a few problems with this. Power up RC Unit then power up 'copter at which point the rotors go crazy and the landing light comes on. This can be corrected by holding the copter in your hand, switching on then pressing the landing light button which cuts the light and for some reason the power .From there put it down and crack on as normal. Weird but there you go.

Thrust/lift- personally I find this a lot harder to get right. The toy weighs much more so needs a more positive and progressive punch of power to get airborn. Having done so you need to ease off quite quickly (unless you use it in a church or somewhere with loads of verticle space) as it rockets up quite rapidly. It really requires quite some practice and skill in a normal height room to lift it , ease off but without killing it and then easing the throttle back in to keep height. The weight of it means that if your a bit jerky with it you've had it and the floor beckons!

The single blade PicooZ will forgive you far more lapses of concentration with thrust than the Tandem Z will and I can only put this down to weight.

Trim- because of the additional concentration required to get airborn and stable the trim is going to have to wait a second longer. That second can be catastrophic though as constant crashing and a more sophisticated front rotor action means you have to get the trim sorted qucker or you'll bin it!...again.

Untrimmed, the Tandem has a propensity to yaw and pitch off after liftoff very quickly and this, as already suggested means, the Tandem favours a larger area to get it sorted out in.

I'm afriad I can only give scant report of the third channel- i.e. forward as I crashed so much I think ive upset the front servo in it's casing so that even a fully retarded trim has it dashing forward and the turning control barely works at all.

What I can say though is that I can see how this offers more of a challenge and a reward if you can get it going well. It doesn't do the dip-a-bit-move-a-bit-spin-a-bit repeat that the single does and even though I virtually destroyed mine in one single day I can't really fault it.It's my lack of skill and finess and not the models failures that have caused it.

Am I going to get another and try again?




Does night follow day?

TandemZ, 29 Jul 2008
Having owned 3 PicooZ helicopters, I thought I ought to give the TandemZ a try. It's more versatile than the PicooZ in terms of control, although trickier to master. I found that in a small room, it's easier to control forward motion using the forward/backward trim than with the joystick. The experience is somewhat more exciting for the addition of forward motion to this model; whereas the PicooZ kind of randomly hovers forward, the TandemZ zips around the room. Expect more extreme crashes when it goes wrong!

better than most !!!, 04 Jul 2008
i have purchased several r/c helicopters/aircraft. this rates the best, i can control this better than the others. i am now looking for a larger outdoor model.

hours of entertainment.

i managed to dislodge front stabaliser within minutes, no need for this as i then found it much easier to control the helicopter. this is my favourite SO FAR!!!!!

Two rotors can double your fun!, 10 Jun 2008
This is a logical evolution of the original single-rotor Picoo Z, which set a new standard for remote control helicopter price/preformance. Its design is a fascinating departure from conventional solutions, and has great educational merit.

With helicopters, performance means stability, not speed. It is said that aeroplanes want to fly, helicopters want to fall..... And that is doubly true of models, which are much twitchier than bigger ones.

Full-scale twin-rotor machines like the military Chinook demonstrate much improved pitch stability over ordinary single-rotors, and the twin-rotor Picoo benefits from this. If you have tried the single-rotor Picoo-Z and found it a bit lively, this is much more stable and easier to fly, especially for beginners. There are also some clear fins (not shown on the illustrations) which increase the damping in yaw, so that the aircraft is less nervous when turning. The fins also help with anti-torque. Nice one.

Chinooks use contra-rotation to cancel the torque from the engine - front rotor turns one way and the back one turns opposite so the helo does not spin around. No need for a Sikorsky-style tail rotor.

But this 2-rotor Picoo uses a novel approach - both rotors turn the same way and appear to be identical to the rotors on our 1-rotor Picoos. That ensures that spares are available and will have saved a few bob developing a rotor that turns the other way. So to stop it spinning they have leaned the front rotor to one side, the back rotor to t'other side. Clever.

This cancels the torque quite effectively, and the 'rudder' control tilts the front rotor assembly left and right in order to steer.

With the second rotor we gain some 'pitch' control - moving the right stick forwards now makes the aircraft fly forwards. Moving it right and left initiates a turn, and it will turn quite tight but well controlled.

The left stick is the up-and-down control and there is power to spare - on one trip outside it went up like a Guy Fawkes rocket. Scary.

But.... Outside is not the best place for most of these small, light models. Any air movement at all will blow it away, and the sun can interfere with the Infra-Red remote control, trust me, you don't want that! On a dead calm overcast day you might be OK, but....

Fortunately this model is steady enough and controllable enough to fly well indoors. Taller rooms are best, and less furniture is obviously better - we find bedrooms can be good for soft landings on the bed.

It's quite tough, no breakages yet, but the paint suffers from impact with hard stuff, so it does pay to pick a soft surface to fly from.

We would recommend setting up the two trim controls so that it flies forward very slowly whilst circling gently. This means you can concentrate on getting the hang of the up-down control without worrying too much about walls and things. Then maybe try some tighter circles, figure-8s and finally some more speed. It is fast enough to get out of hand if you are not on top of it.

Over a couple of years we have bought lots of these small models in the family - the Picoo, the Alany Mosquito, the newer Mosquito with 2-blade rotors, many derivatives of these designs. they are all great fun, but this Picoo is even better than the new 2-blade Mozzie.

Strongly recommended for model flyers of all ages - ideal for beginners too.


Family fun for a short time, 28 Aug 2008
I got this for Christmas for the whole family to play with and it is fun and amazingly works most of the time unless you pick something really obscure. The only real problem with this is that it can grow old very quickly and within about ten minutes the 20Q will be collecting dust in the corner. Not so good if you have a short attention span.

Get outta my mind!, 28 Jul 2008
...says a bloke on the current 20Q TV advert. And yes, it appears for most of the time this little round gadget is reading my mind, as long as I'm thinking simple thoughts...

Okay, this little beastie tries to guess what someone is thinking about by asking a series of questions that can be answered by a simple yes/no/maybe. After 20 questions it tries to guess what you thought of with varying degrees of success. For example, think of cola and it might guess a can or a bottle; which to be honest isn't too far from the truth.

Personally, I think it's one of those "coffee table" objects; something that would sit on a table and maybe once in a while you'll try it out. Mind you, the expressions on people's faces when it guesses correctly is priceless!

Mind reader?? Er...nope!, 09 Jul 2008
I bought the Harry Potter version of this for my son and we really enjoyed it for a while, then it kind of lost its appeal and we could outwit it most of the time. So I thought I'd get this and see how we got on. The first ten items I thought of it didn't guess!! And they were pretty obvious things... picture frame, domino, sweetcorn, golf club etc I was trying to answer them very obviously but some of the questions it asked were pointless and we were really disapointed. I don't think the aim of this is to try to thin of things it WILL get rather than what it WON'T! Big disapointment I'm afraid after the Harry potter one!

stocking filler?, 27 Jun 2008
Quite a clever little toy! Its fun for a while and will amuse the kids but gets boring within an hour or two. Makes for a good little present for someone who likes silly thing :)

Loses its charm quickly, 22 May 2008
You can play with this for about an hour, show it to your freinds to have a go...and then, it sits somewhere gathering dust.

Huge fun, but slightly erratic, 04 Sep 2008
Technically very clever, this is an evolution of the tiny Picoo Z 2-channel machine that has taken the world by storm.
What they have added to this is a 'Forward' button that gives a surge of forwards movement to the otherwise very slowly moving helicopter.
But....
This surge forward comes after a slight but unpredictable delay, and the yaw control (left/right steering) on this machine is less good than on the Picoo Z.
So you might have this little machine hovering, and want to buzz it across the room, but it is twisting to the right, OK?
If you try to stop it twisting the sticky yaw control can set it spinning left, and the trim is not a lot of help in this - unlike the older Picoo Z. If you take pot luck and wait until it lines up on your destination, the forward button may delay enough until it aims you at the wall!
So it can be a bit of a lottery, but still great fun.
Fortunately it seems just as tough as the Picoo Z.
The tiny actuator mechanism for the 'Forward' control is jewel like and a very neat bit of model engineering, significant educational value, as always - but the way the whole machine flies is not so good in the ways described. Pity.
Oh, and it has a remote controlled light on it. Might add fun to the arrival of the Xmas pud? Just don't get too near the flames!
Still recommended, but for fun rather than precision flying.

Now pay attention. If you're as serious about gadgets as we are, there isn't a great deal about the MX-1 that you won't be impressed with. First off... It's size. At an incredible 4 1/2 inches in length this is the smallest remote controlled helicopter you're ever likely to see, yet within its lightweight outer shell this helicopter houses a rechargeable battery pack and a minuscule propeller motor that enable it to fly around for approximately 10 minutes from a single charge. Charging the MX-1 is simple. Connect the helicopter to the hand held remote control unit and wait for the charging indicator to signify the on board battery is being charged. The hand held remote control doubles as a handy storage unit for the helicopter when not in use, enabling easy and damage-free transportation and simultaneous charging. Due to its size and weight the MX-1 is most suited to indoor flight and is ideal for flying missions around the office or in the home. Joysticks on the remote enable control of altitude, direction and trimming making airborne navigation as simple as possible.

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many other things, you really need a lot of time to be able to enjoy it to the full. I'd say a group of young students would be able to get the most fun out of it as everyone can take it in turns whereas families with young kids will find it has limited appeal.

Helicopters for dummies, 12 Feb 2008
I got given one of these for Christmas and it has taken everything I have thrown at it: Attacks from other flying objects, being flown into walls, 40ft freefalls onto concrete and more. Having said that my brother broke his within a day so there seems to be some variability in build quality. Having said that he's a bit of a neanderthal and could probably break an aircraft black box within a few seconds. All in all these are cracking little toys and for the modest price you can't go far wrong.

Well it's a pen. D'oh!, 09 Aug 2008
Didn't think it would be a pen. And not a very good one at that, the pen ran out within 5 hours! Still it keeps my brother entertained and I didn't think he minded much about the pen it's just not value for money...

At least a pen would have been useful, 24 Apr 2008
Have you ever opened a gift to find it is totally not the sort of gift you liked to receive. You wonder who bought it you and why ? Then you get that feeling of embarrassment. Well, this is how I felt when I saw this item. Firstly, it looks so much like a pen, it really needed to have one built into it, to make it worth its while. The LED flashlight is pretty hopeless, the item looks cheap and plasticy because it is just that !

Most of the Dr. Who tie in stuff I've seen has been pretty well finished, epsecially the Daleks. This item is far from that and if you were considering buying one for a kid, I'd forget it and opt for one of the other sonic screwdrivers on the market.

A cheap bit of plastic with a rubbish torch!, 15 Feb 2008
Bought the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Torch as a prezzie for my little brother. What a dissapointment, brocken within a few hours. (The black bit on the end came off!) As for the torch!! Yes i know its for kids but what a sorry excuse for a torch. Sorry but this is just another money hungry company selling cheap tat at stupid prices just because of the Doctor Who name. Even at the reduced price its now at....NOT WORTH IT!

It's not a screwdriver!, 14 Jan 2008
Quite simply it's a torch. I too thought it was a screwdriver and my 5 year old grandson would be happy with that, but we will see. I haven't given it to him yet.
I wish Amazon would put more info on their products.
At least reading the reviews helped on this one.

happy father, 09 Aug 2007
you buy toys and buy toys and buy toys to try and keep them happy then you buy this and you can't wipe the smile of their faces if i knew it would have kept them so happy over the summer holidays ( fingers crossed )i would of paid a lot more if your kids like doctor who they will love this ( just wait till they get to some lift doors and pull out their sonic screwdriver )

Big Boys Toy, 26 Aug 2008
I bought this as a birthday present for my husband and have had great fun watching him trying to master the art of flying!! We've both been amazed at how the helicopter has stood up to the number of crash landings and bouncing off walls and ceilings. Now he's getting the hang of flying it's been quite interesting to see how the helicopter works and responds to the controls, such as hovering for instance.
Highly recommended; in fact, it looks like his work mates are starting to drop hints to partners ready for Christmas.....

Second helicopter- early report, 20 Aug 2008
Hello again,

here's my early review of the TandemZ twin rotor Sea knight/Chinook from Picoo.

As with the first report I would qualify the various star ratings ive given with further detail but since ive done this already in the PicooZ Metro City and they remain the same- just have a look at the first bit of that one for further explination.

As with the first, if you want a quick snapshot review here it is:-

Great fun, more visually imposing, louder and powerful than the PizooZ chopper but much less forgiving thrust/lift when your not on your game. Easier to point and shoot when the trim is sorted out. A longer learning curve involved to master and expect more catastrophic crashes while you get to grips with it but that's why you want one isn't it?

Ok, so I got the PicooZ Metro City a couple of days ago and i'm clearly no master pilot but what follows is the thoughts of someone who's had 24 hours with a Tandem and 72 with a PicooZ.

Hardware- the 'copter you know all about if youve read the other reviews here so i'll just add a bit about the RC unit. Instead of a single trim toggle just under the direction(right hand) stick as with the PicooZ we get two seperate trims in the form of circular dials which are positioned to fall naturally under your index fingers when you hold the unit. This means you dont have to remove your right thumb from the right stick to trim the 'copter- just dial in your trim and away you go. The left trim controls static pitch - i.e how quickly the copter moves forward/backwards without additional input from the right stick(which has a removable idiot grid over it when it arrives- stops all the scary advanced diagonal turn and move combinations that a beginner should be wary of)

Start-up - ive had a few problems with this. Power up RC Unit then power up 'copter at which point the rotors go crazy and the landing light comes on. This can be corrected by holding the copter in your hand, switching on then pressing the landing light button which cuts the light and for some reason the power .From there put it down and crack on as normal. Weird but there you go.

Thrust/lift- personally I find this a lot harder to get right. The toy weighs much more so needs a more positive and progressive punch of power to get airborn. Having done so you need to ease off quite quickly (unless you use it in a church or somewhere with loads of verticle space) as it rockets up quite rapidly. It really requires quite some practice and skill in a normal height room to lift it , ease off but without killing it and then easing the throttle back in to keep height. The weight of it means that if your a bit jerky with it you've had it and the floor beckons!

The single blade PicooZ will forgive you far more lapses of concentration with thrust than the Tandem Z will and I can only put this down to weight.

Trim- because of the additional concentration required to get airborn and stable the trim is going to have to wait a second longer. That second can be catastrophic though as constant crashing and a more sophisticated front rotor action means you have to get the trim sorted qucker or you'll bin it!...again.

Untrimmed, the Tandem has a propensity to yaw and pitch off after liftoff very quickly and this, as already suggested means, the Tandem favours a larger area to get it sorted out in.

I'm afriad I can only give scant report of the third channel- i.e. forward as I crashed so much I think ive upset the front servo in it's casing so that even a fully retarded trim has it dashing forward and the turning control barely works at all.

What I can say though is that I can see how this offers more of a challenge and a reward if you can get it going well. It doesn't do the dip-a-bit-move-a-bit-spin-a-bit repeat that the single does and even though I virtually destroyed mine in one single day I can't really fault it.It's my lack of skill and finess and not the models failures that have caused it.

Am I going to get another and try again?




Does night follow day?

TandemZ, 29 Jul 2008
Having owned 3 PicooZ helicopters, I thought I ought to give the TandemZ a try. It's more versatile than the PicooZ in terms of control, although trickier to master. I found that in a small room, it's easier to control forward motion using the forward/backward trim than with the joystick. The experience is somewhat more exciting for the addition of forward motion to this model; whereas the PicooZ kind of randomly hovers forward, the TandemZ zips around the room. Expect more extreme crashes when it goes wrong!

better than most !!!, 04 Jul 2008
i have purchased several r/c helicopters/aircraft. this rates the best, i can control this better than the others. i am now looking for a larger outdoor model.

hours of entertainment.

i managed to dislodge front stabaliser within minutes, no need for this as i then found it much easier to control the helicopter. this is my favourite SO FAR!!!!!

Two rotors can double your fun!, 10 Jun 2008
This is a logical evolution of the original single-rotor Picoo Z, which set a new standard for remote control helicopter price/preformance. Its design is a fascinating departure from conventional solutions, and has great educational merit.

With helicopters, performance means stability, not speed. It is said that aeroplanes want to fly, helicopters want to fall..... And that is doubly true of models, which are much twitchier than bigger ones.

Full-scale twin-rotor machines like the military Chinook demonstrate much improved pitch stability over ordinary single-rotors, and the twin-rotor Picoo benefits from this. If you have tried the single-rotor Picoo-Z and found it a bit lively, this is much more stable and easier to fly, especially for beginners. There are also some clear fins (not shown on the illustrations) which increase the damping in yaw, so that the aircraft is less nervous when turning. The fins also help with anti-torque. Nice one.

Chinooks use contra-rotation to cancel the torque from the engine - front rotor turns one way and the back one turns opposite so the helo does not spin around. No need for a Sikorsky-style tail rotor.

But this 2-rotor Picoo uses a novel approach - both rotors turn the same way and appear to be identical to the rotors on our 1-rotor Picoos. That ensures that spares are available and will have saved a few bob developing a rotor that turns the other way. So to stop it spinning they have leaned the front rotor to one side, the back rotor to t'other side. Clever.

This cancels the torque quite effectively, and the 'rudder' control tilts the front rotor assembly left and right in order to steer.

With the second rotor we gain some 'pitch' control - moving the right stick forwards now makes the aircraft fly forwards. Moving it right and left initiates a turn, and it will turn quite tight but well controlled.

The left stick is the up-and-down control and there is power to spare - on one trip outside it went up like a Guy Fawkes rocket. Scary.

But.... Outside is not the best place for most of these small, light models. Any air movement at all will blow it away, and the sun can interfere with the Infra-Red remote control, trust me, you don't want that! On a dead calm overcast day you might be OK, but....

Fortunately this model is steady enough and controllable enough to fly well indoors. Taller rooms are best, and less furniture is obviously better - we find bedrooms can be good for soft landings on the bed.

It's quite tough, no breakages yet, but the paint suffers from impact with hard stuff, so it does pay to pick a soft surface to fly from.

We would recommend setting up the two trim controls so that it flies forward very slowly whilst circling gently. This means you can concentrate on getting the hang of the up-down control without worrying too much about walls and things. Then maybe try some tighter circles, figure-8s and finally some more speed. It is fast enough to get out of hand if you are not on top of it.

Over a couple of years we have bought lots of these small models in the family - the Picoo, the Alany Mosquito, the newer Mosquito with 2-blade rotors, many derivatives of these designs. they are all great fun, but this Picoo is even better than the new 2-blade Mozzie.

Strongly recommended for model flyers of all ages - ideal for beginners too.


Family fun for a short time, 28 Aug 2008
I got this for Christmas for the whole family to play with and it is fun and amazingly works most of the time unless you pick something really obscure. The only real problem with this is that it can grow old very quickly and within about ten minutes the 20Q will be collecting dust in the corner. Not so good if you have a short attention span.

Get outta my mind!, 28 Jul 2008
...says a bloke on the current 20Q TV advert. And yes, it appears for most of the time this little round gadget is reading my mind, as long as I'm thinking simple thoughts...

Okay, this little beastie tries to guess what someone is thinking about by asking a series of questions that can be answered by a simple yes/no/maybe. After 20 questions it tries to guess what you thought of with varying degrees of success. For example, think of cola and it might guess a can or a bottle; which to be honest isn't too far from the truth.

Personally, I think it's one of those "coffee table" objects; something that would sit on a table and maybe once in a while you'll try it out. Mind you, the expressions on people's faces when it guesses correctly is priceless!

Mind reader?? Er...nope!, 09 Jul 2008
I bought the Harry Potter version of this for my son and we really enjoyed it for a while, then it kind of lost its appeal and we could outwit it most of the time. So I thought I'd get this and see how we got on. The first ten items I thought of it didn't guess!! And they were pretty obvious things... picture frame, domino, sweetcorn, golf club etc I was trying to answer them very obviously but some of the questions it asked were pointless and we were really disapointed. I don't think the aim of this is to try to thin of things it WILL get rather than what it WON'T! Big disapointment I'm afraid after the Harry potter one!

stocking filler?, 27 Jun 2008
Quite a clever little toy! Its fun for a while and will amuse the kids but gets boring within an hour or two. Makes for a good little present for someone who likes silly thing :)

Loses its charm quickly, 22 May 2008
You can play with this for about an hour, show it to your freinds to have a go...and then, it sits somewhere gathering dust.

Huge fun, but slightly erratic, 04 Sep 2008
Technically very clever, this is an evolution of the tiny Picoo Z 2-channel machine that has taken the world by storm.
What they have added to this is a 'Forward' button that gives a surge of forwards movement to the otherwise very slowly moving helicopter.
But....
This surge forward comes after a slight but unpredictable delay, and the yaw control (left/right steering) on this machine is less good than on the Picoo Z.
So you might have this little machine hovering, and want to buzz it across the room, but it is twisting to the right, OK?
If you try to stop it twisting the sticky yaw control can set it spinning left, and the trim is not a lot of help in this - unlike the older Picoo Z. If you take pot luck and wait until it lines up on your destination, the forward button may delay enough until it aims you at the wall!
So it can be a bit of a lottery, but still great fun.
Fortunately it seems just as tough as the Picoo Z.
The tiny actuator mechanism for the 'Forward' control is jewel like and a very neat bit of model engineering, significant educational value, as always - but the way the whole machine flies is not so good in the ways described. Pity.
Oh, and it has a remote controlled light on it. Might add fun to the arrival of the Xmas pud? Just don't get too near the flames!
Still recommended, but for fun rather than precision flying.

Does exactly what it should, 19 Feb 2006
It works and saves on batteries, exactly what it should do.

The original pocket synthesizer is back - but now with additional fun features! Choose between Classic, Synth or Bass sounds, with or without vibrato enhancement, or play along to any music on your MP3. The relaunched Stylophone features a headphone socket and volume control for personal music enjoyment!

Can't put it down, 06 Jul 2008
Friday morning, both helicopters arrived, very well packed. Instructions very clear and well, everything looked really easy. Batteries in, and great both helicopter's already had a little charge in them, so lets get it flying.
Whatever we did the copter would not lift off, just imedediatly leaning over to the left and the rotors hitting the floor. Very frustrated and dissapointed.
Tried the 2nd copter, exactly the same problem, would not lift, just tilting over to the left and rotors hitting the floor.
Just about ready to pack them back up and return (as well as giving major neg feedback!!!!) when we noticed that both copter's main rotor shaft were mounted so they leaned over to the left. After a little twisting and light forcing, we decided to try again.
Fantastic, both copters lifted straight up, with minimal spinning. A little bit of trim soon sorted this. The whole weekend has been spent between 20 mins charges and then 10 mins flights. No major probs with damage, so far, although any heavy landing or bumps do mean re-trimming is required, but this is dead easy and part of the fun. Some damage to the polystyrene has not had any significant impact of flight ability yet. No damage to rear rotor yet - don't know what others have done to break this so easily (see others feedback!!!).
My 7 year old daughter, 10 year old son, me a ham fisted 42 year old and even my 36 year old wife, have all mastered the controls and can't put them down. Biggest problem is now trying to share 2 copters with 4 would be pilots. Need to order 2 more me thinks!!!
Great toy, but initial perseverence needed, but well worth while - one of the best toy's ever.



A must have boys toy!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this for my son and he hasn't stop playing it since. I would recommend this toy as a must have for all boys above the age of 6-66! It gives hours of fun to all ages alike and the only disappointment is with the charging of the helicopter which takes 20 minutes but the charge lasts for only 10 minutes, otherwise a big thumbs up!!!!!!!

Terrific fun, 05 Mar 2008
I bought a PicooZ for my son and very soon realised that I should have bought two, the other for me. I looks fragile however is very robust and flies well -despite having had the tail chewed by the cat. I eventually bought one for me which failed after a minute - the tail rotor motor stopped. After a few weeks delay I got a replacement from Amazon and it was well worth the wait. The PicooZ is simply great fun and it takes a little practice and many crashes to get the hang of it. Fully charged you will get 5 to 6 minutes flying time and now I need a bigger house as I have now explored every aspect of our living room. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Seriously cool - easy to learn, hard to master, 19 Feb 2008
Barcode: 4891813856153

I got given one of these for Christmas and i have to admit, they're damn cool. It's very easy to learn how to fly and it's a great feeling when you get the hang of it. For a very reasonable price you're getting something pretty sophisticated - it seriously can hover and although it doesn't look it, it is extremely durable, and trust me that's a good thing - you'll be crashing a lot.

However, as easy as it is to learn, it is very hard to master. And this is hampered by the fact the batteries last about 15 minutes before they have to be recharged. And even though it is durable, it looks so flimsy you're always worrying about crashing it - it puts your concentration on a knife edge. It's a great toy but like so many