CONTENTS Battle of the Box Sets Entertainment Gadgets Gear Style Interiors Furniture Kids Books Revel in Relics Kitchen Food and Drink Body Frivolous

BY JACKIE KASTEN May the Force Have Three Dimensions The Star Wars phenomenon is not going to end. Ever. As we all sit in anticipation of the 1999 prequel release, the Star Wars toy market is booming. Of course, advanced technology has made the toys much more interesting than cheesy light sabers and flat puzzles. If you have a patient sci-fi freak on your gift-giving list (this one's probably better in the hands of post-pubescent kids), wow them with a three-dimensional, 91Ž2-inch Darth Vader puzzle bust ($39.99, Timeless Toys, 16066 SW Boones Ferry Road, 675-8548). Less frightening options include the 3-D Millennium Falcon and Imperial Star Destroyer puzzles. At least it's more constructive than surfing the web for pictures of Ewan McGregor as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Give Them Wheels Mobilization is a joy for any child. Anything that can make kids faster--and help them slip away from chores and parents--equals fun. While you may not want to get one for your child, cement your standing as the cool aunt or uncle by handing off Chariot's new scooter ($179.95, Child's Play, 907 NW 23rd Ave., 224-5586) to a lucky relative. The blue skateboard gets a twist with not one, but two places for a growing child's feet. If the right foot becomes weary, it may rest while the left does all of the work. For smaller siblings too little to operate a scooter, a classic walker wagon from Radio Flyer ($159) is in order. Toddlers can push their very own wood-paneled wagon while collecting their toys, pets, dad's glasses, mom's keys, whatever. Deutsch Tracks Playmobil offers a wide range of fantasy-oriented toys: dollhouses, enchanted woods, castles, pirate ships, hospitals and now the RC Train ($200, Finnegan's, 922 SW Yamhill St., 221-0306). The sleek German-engineered train is remote-operated. Send the small Playmobil people (complete with their own luggage; some even carry flowers) on their merry way to some neverland destination à la Polar Express. Combine enough Playmobil packages and kids can send the weary, plastic travelers to a fun park, fruit stand or kangaroo park. Or skip the endless accessories and let the young 'uns use their imaginations. Child's Best Friend Believe it or not, we have something nice to say about Microsoft. To help keep young America learning and playing, Bill Gates' brood invented ActiMates ($109.95, OPB Store of Knowledge, Clackamas Town Center, 12000 SE 82nd Ave., 654-6960). ActiMates are, more or less, high-tech Teddy Ruxpins. Microsoft unleashed the Barney model last year, but mercifully introduced Arthur and D.W., of PBS children's programming fame, this season. The cuddly creatures are programmed with a 4,000-word vocabulary, 100 common phrases and 12 games. They are capable of timing events, asking questions, acting as an alarm clock and remembering a child's birthday. If that's not enough, for a bit more you may purchase a TV pack ($59.95) so the snoutless, bespectacled aardvark and his know-it-all sister can interact with their television show and videos. Robotize Them Legos have been great since day one, and they just keep getting better. The building block gurus brought us Duplo, Technic and now Mindstorms ($199.99, Toys 'R' Us, Lloyd Center, Northeast Multnomah Street and 9th Avenue, 335-5955), fully robotized toys. With the help of a PC, Mindstorms bring plastic brick spiders and cars to life. Here's how it works: Dream up a Lego creation, build it, plant RCX--the Lego microcomputer--in it, use the RCX code (a simple programming language) to build a program on your PC, and bingo, the creature does your bidding. A Lego dog, for example, can be sent on a mission to take a picture of an unsuspecting older sister. Mindstorms comes with 700 Lego pieces, an infrared transmitter, light and touch sensors, motors, gears, the Constructopedia (a building guide) and RCX. That's Really Not All, Folks Perhaps you didn't realize that it's the 75th anniversary of that wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny. To celebrate the occasion, 3,000 commemorative stuffed Bugs Bunnies ($99.95 each, Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Collectible Toys, 1408 E Burnside St., 233-8915) have been unleashed upon the world. Dressed to impress, Bugs comes attired in a tuxedo and top hat. His fur is completely mohair, and he's wired (with old-fashioned wire, not fiber optics), so the owner may position him in any famous Bugs Bunny pose. The rare hares are sure to be snatched up by memorabilia hounds, so you may want to call to check availability. Grind and Grow Colorful, twirling, three-dimensional objects fascinate every age group, especially young children and college students. But here are some spinning orbs that are amusing and educational. The Wacky Factory ($44.95, OMSI Science Store, 1945 SE Water Ave., 797-4626) contains multiple-sized gears that beg to be assembled and worked. Like an Erector Set, Wacky Factory parts can be clicked together to build towers, conveyor belts and amorphous contraptions that buzz with fully operating gears. These simple machines teach kids that like a lever, a no-frills gear has immense power. The lesson isn't dull; the whirring infrastructure is mesmerizing just to behold. Construct This! The Expandable Radio Control Building System (Thinker Toys, 1626 SE Bybee Blvd., 235-2970) exploits two of the most pernicious aspects of kids' toys: It requires batteries and demands additional purchases. That said, we still like this construction site with its remote-controlled trucks and mounds of connectable blue and red balls. Even if kids are using their fine-tuned, videogame-playing muscles to manipulate the objects from afar, they're still getting a dose of physics. One of the most exciting aspects of Rokenbok's slick new line is its Lego-compatibility--with balls and blocks, the possibilities are endless. Rokenbok comes in various packages, but be sure to purchase either Power Chutes ($149.95) or Action Factory ($199.95) in order to obtain the battery pack. Hogs in Space Balsa models fly, but not very far. Rockets require potentially dangerous chemistry for blast off. But Air Hogs ($39.95, Kids at Heart, 3435 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 231-2954) fly up to 100 yards without any fuel. That's because Air Hogs are air-powered. The clear purple plane (which is not shaped like a pig) is equipped with its own pump. Along with the Air Hog comes an instructional video that should really be watched before setting the flier free to wreak havoc in the neighborhood. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published December 2, 1998