Zing S1009 StikBot Zanimation Studio Pets, Multicolor

This is a fantastic beginners set for animation. I bought this for my 7 year old and within 10 minutes of opening it we were watching back out first movie! Really easy app to use and the green screen in the box is sturdy and well worth getting, I would find it hard to recreate it myself. Highly recommended.

The media could not be loaded. Actually found Stikbots about two weeks ago, brought one and downloaded the application. Then this arrived from Amazon so have played with it and I'm pleased to say, with a few reservations it's good bit of kit. I teach amongst other things animation at an FE college - so that was why it caught my eye. There's three basic elements to the studio: the Stikbots, the App and the Stage/setting.Stikbots are small articulated figures that are held together by elastic and have suckers on the ends of their limbs. They are intended as figures you can animate and although they are flexible the elastic means that the figures are tricky to pose and you won't get smooth animation from them. The limbs have helpful cuts at 45 degrees, but it's never going to be more than a bit jerky - although with practice I'm sure you could get a reasonably smooth movement from them. They come in different colours - but they all appear to have the same expression.The App is genius, free download and easily the best part of the package. It has built in greenscreen/chromakey functionality - basically you set the Stikbot up in front of the supplied green background in the Studio and the software replaces it with a photo from the phones memory. Setting it up is a bit fiddly - but it works as you can see in the pictures I've uploaded. Incidentally, to put your mind at rest these were taken using a £99 Motorola G smart phone - hardly state of the art and the low spec camera probably accounts for a lot of the noise in the image. Even so, as a low-cost introduction to animation I think it's pretty impressive.The Studio consists of a cardboard box, reinforced with a supplied (part of the packaging) plastic insert and a green or blue background. Either is suitable for Chromakey. There's two green boxes to act as invisible props and a small tripod to grip the camera.The tripod works reasonably well at holding the camera - but it's pretty flimsy and moves too easily. I solved that by using a bit of Bluetack to grip the legs. After that it's easy. Press the red button, it turns blue and takes one frame then it turns red again when it's ready for the next one. When you are finished you can add sound and titles. All within the App.Make sure you use the suckers to hold the Stikbots and make sure your hands are out of the way when you take a picture and you're good to go.Will it keep you or your child entertained? Absolutely. Why not 4 stars given the issues with positioning the Stikbots? Because it's fun and a great introduction to animation.

These are expensive pieces of cardboard but what can be achieved by using them is amazing. My 9 year old has had a great time creating his own mini action films..

Brilliant wee set. My 7 year old daughter loves this and has now started making videos and uploading them to YouTube.I would definitely recommend this, even if your kids have never did anything like this, it will get them into animation.

Kids will think wow now I can make my own animated show, get all excited then....1 hour later excitement has well n truly ended.Over priced for what you get in the box. The app is free but, poor quality, there are many other better apps for animation like 'Stop Motion Studio' and Stop Motion Studio Pro that will do a better job.Suction cups on figure way too powerful, so when you move you figure it takes the whole set with it! Frustrating. Plus you only get two characters to start you off.The up side, it does engage you and the kids and it's exciting to watch back footage of your hours work for a few seconds! But better than them staring into a tablet or TV all day.Again for the price you should get more. So basically Good idea, poor execution...

My son has been glued to these Stikbot figures for a awhile now so got him this to embrace his creative side. he has made some little films on my mobile using the dedicated app with fills in the green screen to different backgrounds. he's happy so I'm happy except I have no space on mobile lol

My son loves this. He makes stories with it. Great for imaginative play. Also good for teaching patience as it has to be moved very slowly to work effectively

My son had this for Christmas and already made lots of films, it's great way to learn how films are made but will need own or your phone to upload supporting software. Will need to add more characters and backgrounds to keep his attention longer term but enjoyable and creative and kept him quiet for a few hours over Christmas. Not sure cardboard base will have much longevity though.