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554 of 565 found the following review helpful:
 Time consuming "fun" for the creative kidOct 05, 2009
By Nickels
Note number one - you need to buy a light bulb for this product, it is not included!
We have children that love to draw with crayons. So, if you have any of these yourself then you probably also have a huge collection of half or broken pieces of crayons. When we saw this product we thought it would be a great way to get rid of all these pieces and have fun doing it.
You put the equivalent of two full crayons into each side of the metal holder. Then you close the lid, turn the knob, and wait for about 20 minutes for the entire process to complete. Yes, that is a long time. No, I do not recommend just sitting there the whole time watching it. The kids don't really get to have too much fun here other then watching crayons melt (whippee), and turning a knob after ten minutes to pour the melted wax into the molds. Other then that most of the time is spent waiting where I would do other things while occasionally checking in on the melting progress. I will stress we didn't think the process would be that fun, and it isn't. The real fun comes after about 1/2 hour when the crayons have set and you pop them out of the mold. The new crayons are really cool looking with colored swirls, and they work just as well as a new one of of the box.
Clean up is not too bad, as you just wipe the melted wax from the metal tray and scrap away anything left. The molds you can wipe clean, not much sticks to it. Don't buy this product because you think watching the process is going to be entertaining, as you will quickly find it is quite boring. Buy this product if you have lots of broken crayon pieces and you want your kids to create their own cool looking crayons from the crayola rubble. The fun is in using these new crayon creations, not really the making of them.
97 of 98 found the following review helpful:
 momof2Aug 12, 2002
We have had great success with this toy. I have a 6 & 3 year old & they love making their own crayons. I didn't have trouble with leakage & the light did not go out until the crayon pieces were fully melted. One tip I have is to put the crayon mold into the refrigerator after it has been filled. The "new" crayons will come out much easier & cleaner after being chilled. I think this is a great toy & was pleased that it did what it promised.
143 of 149 found the following review helpful:
Not a home run, but made it to second base.Nov 29, 2002
By momof 2boys
I am somewhat disappointed with this machine. It doesn't come with the bulb (had to run to the store Thanksgiving morning for a bulb) My own stupid fault for not looking at the box more closely. Thank goodness it comes with UNWRAPPED crayons. Especially the white, it does make for a nice marble crayon when mixed with one or two other colors. My kids never unwrapped their crayons (I wish they would have) It's time consuming to unwrap a crayon. Especially Crayola ones, the qualilty shows in the excellent application of the wrapper. Safety features are excellent. The machine locks so you can't open it while the melting process is in progress. And it doesn't get burning hot.
It takes 20 minutes. 10 to melt and another 10 to let it set and harden. Trial and error notes: mix light with dark crayons for a better effect. Dark colors mixed aren't very nice. Use very small pieces less than 1/2 inch for the best melting. Another fun thing...line a muffin pan with foil cupcake liners and put crayon pieces in them. Set oven on low setting and let them melt. The four stars for fun are because my kids did seem to enjoy it. Three for durability is because I see potential for some problems in the future with certain parts of the machine.
128 of 133 found the following review helpful:
A lot of time and effortNov 17, 2009
By Jug Band Mama
I like the design of this thing from a safety standpoint. Usability, and the fun of the finished product leave a bit to be desired.
1. The 20 minute timer is mechanical and can't be circumvented. Good for avoiding hot wax on the little fingers, frustrating beyond belief if (like me) you get the lightbulb seated wrong the first go-round.
2. Doesn't take a lot of crayons to make new ones. Why? Well, these are little stubbies. Technically, I guess we don't all neeeeeed long crayons, but the point for us at our house was to make new crayons that could infiltrate the existing collection.
3. Clean up is pretty easy if you do it right away.
All in all, I think it's a good idea. However, my daughter wanted to make gifts for her friends, and this is just entirely too time consuming for that purpose. And the resulting crayons are okay, but a lot of wax is wasted.
For the safety-conscious crayon melter, you could achieve some pretty decent results with a mini muffin tin in an Easy Bake oven at a reasonable, and more versatile, price point.
53 of 53 found the following review helpful:
Great product. It was a hit!Dec 03, 2002
I bought this for my son for his birthday. We used it at his party and the kids loved making their own, many colored crayons. The crayon colors come out swirled. Even the 12 year olds loved making their own crayons.There are some neat safety features with this toy. First, the lid locks in-place while the wax is hot and doesn't allow little fingers to touch until it's cool. Second, if the toy is knocked over the light bulb turns itself off. What's required that is not included is a screwdriver and a 60 watt candelabra light bulb. We read and followed the instructions and had no problems. There really wasn't any cleaning needed and we had no mess with it. We have played with this a few times since his party and it was as fun as the first time. Your kids (and you!) will have lots of fun with this.
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