The Good: Absolutely adorable, Plush, Educational
The Bad: Low playability, Novelty wears off quickly, Very expensive by comparison
The Basics: The Sore Throat Giant Microbe is a novelty plush that must be one of the most adorable and overpriced stuffed animals.
As we eke toward the holidays, I am getting excited about the possibilities of new toys for my collection. That said, I’m finishing off the last few items I have around the house, cleaning off the shelves to review the last few toys I have not before now. Sadly, I am left with the Giant Microbe of Sore Throat to evaluate and it is a thoroughly underwhelming plush.
The Giant Microbes are a cute concept, but the Sore Throat is a ridiculously simple, poor addition to the line.
Basics
Giant Microbes are plush toys based on exactly what their name suggests: microscopic organisms or tissues. These stuffed toys are designed to look cute and have an educational tag that details exactly what the microbe the toy is based upon does and how it looks. In the case of the Sore Throat (Streptococcus pyogenes) Giant Microbes toy, this is a little dark red furry plush with two hard plastic eyes embedded in it. It looks virtually identical to the picture of a Sore Throat pictured on the tag, both in shape and coloring.
The plush flea stuffed toy is five inches tall, three inches wide and three inches deep. The Sore Throat germ is exceptionally simple, like two connected balls, looking almost like a single cell in the process of dividing. The toy has slight ribbing on the sides which segment the plush into ten sections. The two plastic eyes on the front are all that adorn this toy and it makes the Sore Throat microbe look cute and cuddly.
Sore Throat as a Giant Microbes toy is composed primarily of polyester fibers.
Accessories
The Sore Throat, essentially being a little stuffed germ replica, does not have much that it could be accessorized with. Instead, it has a cardboard tag that tells the buyer all about Streptococcus pyogenes, how it only accounts for 15% of sore throats. The tag is actually quite educational and may be a wonderful resource for young children as it uses very simple and direct language (the toy itself is recommended for children three and above).
Playability
Sore Throat is not the most interesting toy for play. In fact, because it is based on a microbe that is a million times smaller than this plush toy, one might argue that these are a poor choice for play. Lacking any appendages or orifices, there is not much one may do with Sore Throat other than set it on a flat surface and let it stare at you. I suppose it can be thrown around, if one removes the tag. But largely, this is just a decorative toy for the novelty and the novelty wears thin pretty quickly.
Collectibility
Giant Microbes toys are a current fad and because they have some educational value, I suspect they will grow in popularity. The Sore Throat seems to be exceptionally common, so this is probably more of a novelty/fun toy as opposed to an investment piece. At the convention at which we purchased it, Streptococcus pyogenes was one of the few Giant Microbes that was not selling out. Given that this Giant Microbe is so unpopular now and simple at full price, it seems unlikely to appreciate in value in the future.
Overview
The Sore Throat is cute, but far too basic to command the prices Giant Microbes demands for it.
For other plush reviews, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Sore Throat Giant Microbes
Waterbear Giant Microbes
Germy GIR from Invader Zim
3/10
For easy access to all of my toy reviews, please check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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