Thursday 29 March 2018

Star Wars Aquabeads Playset - A Review


Well the weather has been pretty terrible lately and so it is always handy to have some games and activities on standby that can be enjoyed indoors. All of my children love to get crafty and make things, so Aquabeads sets are often a popular choice in my family.

If you haven't heard of Aquabeads before, then they are basically small individual beads that can be arranged into a specific shape or design. Once you have finished your bead arrangement then you simply spray it with water, which then causes the beads to stick together. There is a huge range of different Aquabeads sets available that come with everything you need to get started. Once you already have your kit, then you can also purchase some smaller add on sets to help build your collection. There are many different themed sets too ranging from Star Wars to Sylvanian Families and Finding Dory to Disney Princesses, so you can be sure to find a set that your children will enjoy.

This month we were sent a Star Wars Aquabeads Playset which Riley was very excited about. We have tried some others in the range previously, but Riley was very keen to make his very own Aquabeads Stormtrooper and couldn't wait to get the box open.


As with all the Aquabeads products we have reviewed, the packaging was really eye-catching. We have always found the boxes to be very informative with plenty of images and text to catch your attention. The front of the box was bright and colourful, with numerous clear pictures of what you could make in the set. There are 4 templates inside the box which are Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, R2-D2 and C-3PO and you can see each of these complete on the exterior of the packaging. I think it is great to provide these images so that you can clearly see exactly what you can make with the beads that are included.


The reverse of the box also provides a clear contents list so you know exactly what you are getting with this item. The Star Wars Aquabeads Playset includes:
  • Layout table
  • Bead palette
  • Sprayer
  • Template sheets
  • Yellow jewel beads x 10
  • Orange jewel beads x 6
  • Red jewel beads x 3
  • Blue jewel beads x 69
  • White polygon beads x 227
  • Black polygon beads x 269
  • Grey polygon beads x 278
  • Yellow polygon beads x 142
  • Orange polygon beads x 69
  • Light blue polygon beads x 8
  • Instructions
The Star Wars Aquabeads Playset is recommended for children aged 4+, however due to containing small parts, parental supervision is required when being used. There are several clear safety messages on the box and it is important to read these prior to use.



We opened the box and began to lay all the items out on the floor. The beads are wrapped in small individual packets for each colour set, which means you can open them and place them wherever you like inside the storage case. Riley absolutely loves organising things, so he really enjoyed opening the packets and setting it up just how he wanted it. Out of all the Aquabeads sets we have had, this particular design of case has been our favourite so far. We both agreed that there was plenty of storage for not only the beads but also the templates. Due to the size of it, it also meant that we could store some of our other templates and beads in the tray.


The fact that you can separate the colours into each individual compartment of the tray, makes it really easy to find the colour you are after when making your design. You can see everything right in front of you all in one place, so Riley finds it simple to now complete the designs on his own. The compartments are just the right size to pick up the beads with your fingers so it isn't too fiddly to get the beads out one by one.


Riley really liked the fact that you could put two templates in the layout table, so he selected both a Stormtrooper and Darth Vader. This would also work really well if siblings would like to play together as two children could do a separate design at the same time.


We set everything up on a blanket on the floor and Riley began to create his Stormtrooper design. He used to take quite a while doing the templates and also used to rely on me for help. However, the last couple of products we have tried he has managed to do them both independently and quickly. I love how quiet he is whilst playing with Aquabeads and it is great to see how much he concentrates in trying to get it just right. Sometimes he also likes to do his own thing as well, so he will follow the template but change the colours instead. He is a big fan of bright and bold colours, so you can guarantee that he will no doubt create a rainbow coloured Darth Vader in the next couple of weeks.


One thing he did find quite tricky with the Stormtrooper design is that once it starts to get quite full, it can be a little hard to make out the grey colours from the black in the template. As you can see in his completed design below, there were a couple of little mistakes where he got them mixed up. Riley was more than happy with his finished item though and I was really proud that despite him finding it a little difficult in some places, he still managed to complete it all by himself and was delighted with the end result.


Riley then sprayed water on the design to hold the beads into place and then we placed it in the kitchen to let it dry. I noticed that they have made a design change to their water sprayer as in our very first review for Aquabeads I remember commenting that the end of the sprayer flew off when I squeezed it a little too hard. There is now an additional top that you screw round the sprayer once filled which holds the bit that popped out previously in place. This now makes the sprayer much easier to use and prevents any little spillages like the one we experienced a year ago.

We usually leave our designs to fully dry for about an hour. They do dry a little quicker than this, but I have found that by leaving it this length of time, it makes it very easy to remove. If we find when removing the design that we have missed a bit and a bead comes loose, it is simply a case of respraying any loose beads and leaving it to dry a little longer.

Overall Riley really enjoyed this Aquabeads set for several reasons. He loved the pack theme as he is currently into Star Wars and regularly dresses up in his Stormtrooper costume. He also thought the palette and layout table were great and I would have to agree. It has definitely been my favourite storage case that we have come across so far. I think that Aquabeads are a fun and creative activity that can be enjoyed by all the family and we look forward to continuing to use their products in the future.

The RRP of this set is £15.99 and it can currently be purchased from Argos. If you are feeling lucky though, then we have a fantastic competition for our readers, to give you the chance to win one of these fantastic Star Wars Aquabeads Sets. If you would like to enter then please read the terms and conditions and complete your entry using the gleam form below. Good Luck!

Win an Aquabeads Star Wars Playset

Terms and Conditions
  • There is 1 (one) prize of a Star Wars Aquabeads Playset as featured in this review. 
  • Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or over.
  • Competition closes on the 28th April 2018 at 23:59.
  • A winner shall be drawn within 7 days of the closing date and notified via email.
  • The winner will have 7 days to confirm their acceptance of the prize before an alternative winner is drawn from remaining eligible entries.
  • No bulk or third party entries.
Disclaimer: We were provided with this product complimentary for the purpose of providing an honest review of the item. Opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. The link to Argos is not an affiliate link and is provided for information purposes. I will not receive any commission or additional payment should you choose to purchase.

96 comments:

  1. Would Love to Build C3PO - What a Classic!

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  2. One of the characters you can create is Stormtrooper

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  3. Death Vader would be our first choice

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  4. Darth Vader - looks like a cool set that my boys would enjoy

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  5. C3-PO - he is one of my favourite characters for some reason too.

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  6. Darth Vader,my favourite character!

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  7. You could create a stormtrooper

    Linda Ford

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  8. You could make a storm trooper from this set

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  9. You can create a Storm Trooper with this kit! Awesome!

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  10. You can make stormtroopers!☺

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  11. You can make storm troopers!☺

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  12. A strom trooper - i need to make my husband a mini version - he is an actual storm trooper!

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