“The only thing that's magic about this is how Hamleys toy store ever agreed to put their name to it. The first word that springs to mind when thinking about this item is 'con'. The second is 'rip off'. Oh, wait, that's two words. Never mind though - false promises and inaccurate descriptions seem to be the measure of the day when it comes to this utter pile of toot.The shonkiness of this product isn't helped any by the fact it's touted in Hamleys by the type of barrow-boy over-claims you'd be subjected to at Walford Market. You know the type - when Martin Fowler promises you that he's got the biggest bananas in the world. It put me in mind of that old Find the Lady confidence trick, where you're convinced you're onto something good simply because the seller has the gift of the gab. And this is exactly what draws you in at Hamleys. They have someone standing there doing a very slick demo. They have it down to a fine art - because when you go back two hours later (for the inevitable refund), another bloke's standing there doing exactly the same drawings in exactly the same way. Before buying it, I actually asked if I could have a go. I was told I could use my finger on the board but not the stylus it comes with. When I asked why, he said it's because it was busy and coming up to Christmas and everyone would want a go. It was the 1st of November, and nobody else was around. Alarm bells did tinkle faintly at hearing this. But my daughter wanted it, so we got it.Thankfully, we went to a cafe afterwards and she got it out. She couldn't use it at all. She's six though, so we gave it a try ourselves. I couldn't make it work, and neither could my husband. And wouldn't you know it, the stylus barely makes a dent in the drawing board. You swipe it across, nothing comes out. You swipe a bit harder - oh, there, is that a line I've just managed to draw? Maybe, but it's fading already. You press and tug and pull and push the stylus every which way you can, and the only effect you get is something similar to if a drunk snail had meandered across the board. Then you try to clear it of the scribbles that are on there. Not the easy swipe-action that was presented in the store - oh no. Even though it was terribly difficult to make any drawing stick on the board in the first place, it's even harder to wipe off what you have managed to achieve. We then tried to trace over the drawing of a fish that was included. That came out looking like a pissed circle. Next, my husband had a go at recreating the image of the Mona Lisa that appears on the pack. Oddly, that ended up looking like a man's genitals.So, we took it back to Hamleys for a refund - and expressed surprise that they were selling such a pile of s***e. They told us it was their best seller. Well, that doesn't mean much when you have all the passing tourist trade London has to offer. How rapidly something sells isn't a mark of how good it is - especially when some poor sod's probably on the flight back to Kansas before they realise they've been sold a dud. It's like saying Food Poisoning Is Us is the best selling food stall in Covent Garden market - it's easy to sell, once, to numerous people. But I bet you nobody bought a second jacket potato from that food stall; and I'm also betting nobody opened up Marvin's Magic Drawing Board and went back to buy more for the rest of their family.I can only guess that either the board the demo guys use is a better quality board. Or this is something that takes such skill and practice to use that those demonstrating it have a very limited repertoire of drawings that they've taken months to perfect. My advice - use your time more wisely and learn to play an instrument instead.All in all, an utter disgrace - and both Hamleys and Marvin should be ashamed of themselves.”
“I saw this demo and was so impressed purchased one for my grandson. It is a load of rubbish it would not show any colour and unless you pressed really hard would not even give a picture. dont waste you money on this.”
