Culture on My Mind
Toynk Toys Minecraft Box
February 7, 2022

During my daily look on at the Star Wars and Marvel LEGO advent calendars last December on Instagram, Toynk Toys reached out about reviewing a Minecraft-themed box of toys and collectibles. Toynk Toys sent the box to me free of charge and in return I am offering my honest review of the experience.

The box contained five items ranging from small items geared for kids to items specifically geared for adult collectors. Anything that we did not want to keep will be given away for free to family, friends, or neighbors through our local “no buy” Facebook group.  

The smallest of the items was a blind pack item from the SquishMe line. Series 2 of these palm-sized foam squishables included a red cow, a brown cow, a grass-green sheep, a panda, a sea turtle, and a blue charged-up Creeper. The Creeper is the chase item in the random foil packs, with a 1:24 chance of finding it.

My wife and I are both certified scuba divers. When I mentioned that the blind pack might contain a sea turtle, she was excited. That excitement only increased when she found out that it was the sea turtle!

The coloring and textures are true to the game. The foam has a good soft feel with satisfying spring-back. The toy itself is just as adorable as the game sprites and now has a place in my wife’s office next to her R2-D2s. She’s a big fan of that loyal astromech, and the turtle is in good company.

The Minecraft SquishMe blind packs are available from Toynk for $9.99 each. The selection is random.

The next item is something I think is definitely for kids, especially if they want to decorate their favorite space. The pack of removable and detailed vinyl stickers contains 19 decals on four different sheets. They claim to be wall safe and easy to reposition. Toynk sells the set for $17.99.

The sticker pack goes hand-in-hand with the Green Creeper Bed Canopy. It goes from floor to ceiling and covers a kid’s bed in a polyester decorative drape. Toynk sells it for $39.99.

Moving to items for the slightly older fan, the box also contained the Yellow Bee Figural Mood Light. This item came with some notable pros and cons.

On the pro side, this light is sturdy. It matches the shapes of the game sprites pretty well and feels strong to the touch. It is about five inches tall – pictured below with the 3.75″ scale R2-D2 action figure for scale – but is also light and easy to move. It would make a great statue-style display piece for any Minecraft fan.

The light is supposed to have three modes: Off, on, and 15-minute mood timer. Unfortuantely, the light I received in the box did not function as advertised. I tried multiple sets of fresh AA batteries – the light takes three of them – and had no joy in powering on the light.

Since UPS had done a number on the actual shipping box in transit, I contacted Toynk Toys and they sent a replacement straight away, however I had the same exact problem with the second light. After looking on Google for options, it seems that the problem comes up frequently with this product.

Try as I might, I could not get either bee to light.

With that in mind, Toynk does offer a decent return policy for purchases. It is valid for up to 30 days after receipt. They will refund the value of the merchandise in the same manner in which it was paid, however the return shipping cost is the buyer’s responsibility.

Toynk offers this Yellow Bee Mood Light for $35.99.

The last item in the box was the Grass Block Storage Tote. This 15-inch square fabric tote is collapsible and has a padded lid that helps accentuate its look as one of the grass blocks from the game. It bridges the gap between home decor and novelty collectible. We have a few generic version of these fabric storage boxes around the house, and this will be a nice addition to my studio area once we get it constructed.

Toynk offers the Minecraft Grass Block Storage Tote for $39.99.

All told, the Minecraft toys and collectibles on the market are pretty cool and capture the essence of the game and the fandom well. Minecraft is an open-world experience and allows players to do pretty much anything that they want. It promotes and rewards creativity in world-building. This box is no exception, offering a slice across the spectrum from simple items to more complex multi-purpose collectibles.

Just make sure, as a buyer, that you do your research ahead of time to make sure you know what you’re getting and how well it will hold up. You money and time are just as important as your passion for the things you love.

Once armed with that information, I think Toynk will be a place that I visit in the future when considering my toy and collectible purchases. In many ways, they seem to fill the void left from ThinkGeek’s departure (read: merging with GameStop’s marketplace).

Once again, Toynk Toys sent the box to me free of charge and in return I am offering my honest review of the experience.

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Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.