OKK Army Action Figure Toys Recalled

The OKK Trading army figures were recalled for not being OK, K? This army figure recall targets dollar stores this time since the figures were only distributed to dollar and discount stores. They weren’t sold at Walmart, Toys R Us or other big name stores. Just over 5,000 of them were available. The army figures in question are being recalled for violating the lead paint standard. The surface paint on the face contains high amounts of lead. The figures are about seven and a half inches tall and come with gun accessories. Although the image shows four of them, it’s not mentioned if it’s a four pack or there are four available. “Alright, men apply toxic face paint. They touch us, they die!” I think I might have seen these particular toys before at the Dollar Bazaar, a local store, and considered picking them up to add to my action figure section but passed on them for the faces being painted with thick paint that looks like it will melt and drip off if the figures get warm. If these are in fact the ones I saw, they are individually pack and they are just showing the four available figures. Luckily no one was reported hurt, but with it being a lead paint issue, effects probably won’t be known for some time. They were made in China and people are instructed to contact OKK Trading to get their money back or a toy to replace it. Given the choice, people would most likely rather the money. Read the full report from the CPSC...

Rage Wireless Guitar Recall

When I first heard about a guitar recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, I figured it would have been one of those tiny guitars that make a few sounds when you push a few buttons. I had no idea it would be been something that was made to be used with the Nintendo Wii system. The Rage Wireless Guitar is a third party product that I am guessing is meant to be played with the Guitar Hero game for the Wii. Just take a look at the blue and white guitar items being recalled and I’m sure you would agree. The recall is in regards to an issue involving battery leakage. The Rage Guitar needs batteries to work because it’s wireless and if those batteries are put in the wrong way, they could leak. People generally don’t want to touch what is inside batteries because it burns to touch. They were available between June 2008 and September 2008 and approximately 57,000 are being recalled. I’d hate to be rocking out and go to press a button to find out my finger was burned off from battery acid leakage. Although when you think about it, if the batteries were put in wrong the guitar wouldn’t work so then you would just be lame if you tried to rock out. Unlike the Nerf Blaster recall where they wanted the consumer to get a protective cover for their issue, there’s no consumer fix. People who bought these Rage Guitars should take them back to where they got them for a refund. Since this is a third party product, don’t call Nintendo about it, they won’t help. Third party gaming products tend to be hit or miss. I’ve used light guns made by a third party are never quite as good as the Guncon 1, 2 or 3 for the Time Crisis games. The third party Playstation memory cards for the PS1 and PS2 had much more room to save for a little more money, but those turned out to be costly when one of the blocks on a multi-block game save went bad making hours spent on a game all for nothing. The PS3 has internal memory now so memory cards aren’t a requirement. Although you save money or get more features on third party products, it’s best to do research online to see if the product you want is worth the lower price. I’m not sure if there were other options available in this case, but if there were, this...

Hasbro Recalling Nerf Blasters

Hasbro is recalling a large number of the Nerf Blasters for kids. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is working with Hasbro to recall an estimated 330,000 Nerf N-Strike Recon CS-6 Blasters. This is a voluntary recall due to reports of injury to children who use have used the toy. The recall is due to the plunger mechanism on the Nerf Blaster pulling the user’s skin when firing. Depending on how the Nerf Blaster is held, injuries can occur to the neck, face or chest. There have been almost 50 reports, so far, of children getting bruises, pinching, welt and blood blisters through the use of the toy. The toy guns were manufactured in China and were available at many popular toy stores including Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Target, but they were also available at other stores from November 2007 to August 8 for around $20. The toys should be taken away from children. One thing I found interesting about this recall is the remedy. Instead of returning the product for a refund, the consumer is to contact Hasbro in order to get a cylindrical cover for the back plunger. I can’t imagine most people would bother with that. If people were allowed to return it for a refund, it might spark more interest. I just think it’s more likely that any kid complaining about an injury would just be told by their parents to use with more care so it doesn’t happen again. I got bruises, blood blisters and welts when I was a kid playing with toys and I don’t remember anything being recalled. Yeah, they hurt at first but they healed. It’s not like playing with lead toys that could cause poor development or a choking hazard that would kill someone. It reminds me of that list “People over 30 should be dead”. However, you’d think with technology today, they would account for just about everything that could happen while in the testing phase of a toy. Any moving part could cause an injury and it should be tested before getting out on the market. It might prevent these large recalls. For more details and to view the full recall report on the Nerf Blaster at the Consumer Product Safety...

Magnetic Dart Boards Recalled

ConsumerReports.org, um, reports another unsafe toy recall. The toy being recalled is the Fun ‘n Safe brand dart board with magnetic darts available at the Family Dollar stores. The reason for the recall is not lead paint related but rather the magnets on the darts can fall off the dart. If children find these detached magnets, they might pick them up and swallow them. This will cause internal problems, especially if more than one is swallowed since they could attract each other internally and do more damage. If you have the Fun ‘n Safe magnetic dart board, take it from your children and return it to the Family Dollar store to get a refund since they are not really safe. In fact, if you have any magnetic dart boards it would probably be a good idea to take those away to and dispose of them. Many children have needed surgery to remove swallowed magnets making the toy not fun either. This is going to make the review on the desktop dart board set with magentic darts all the more...

Halloween Fake Teeth Recalled

Ever heard of individuals that were bitten by a Werewolf would become a Werewolf themselves? Well forget turning into a Werewolf, being bitten by these fake teeth could cause lead poisoning. The person wearing the fake teeth in the first place could also get lead poisoning from wearing them. Halloween novelty fake teeth have been recalled due to a high lead content. The recall was issued early this morning, Halloween Day, because the teeth contained 100 times the lead allowed. It contains 100 times the amount of lead? How does that happen? It should go without saying that it would be unwise to put those fake teeth in your mouth since traces of lead could easily be ingested. The big issue with lead paint on toys is that kids might put them in there mouth. Who would expect something meant to go in your mouth would contain lead paint at all? It is unfortunate that the recall comes this late in the month. Many of the Halloween festivities were done this past weekend when people would have dressed up for parties and with the recall happening so early in the day, the word might not get out in time to stop people from using them. When I was making my rounds in the dollar stores, I often wondered whether or not products like fake teeth or makeup used for Halloween costumes would be safe but I also thought, with all the toy recalls for high lead content, that products used on the skin would have been tested to make sure they were safe. I am starting to wonder what issues there are going to be with Christmas just around the corner. I hope they start testing Christmas items to make sure they are safe. Have a happy, safe and lead paint free...