The Lite Brite Stranger Things Special Edition oozes nostalgia/retro vibes, providing Stranger Things fans with some fabulous packaging graphics and perfect Lite Brite templates, with imagery from the first 4 seasons!
Aged 14+, it’s a must-have for fans of the Stranger Things Netflix Series!
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Lite Brite Stranger Things Retro Packaging
The packaging has been kept very similar to the original 1980s version with a predominantly black base and rainbow-coloured fonts along with colorful lit-up peg images.
On the front of the box you’ll find Mike and Eleven looking intensely cool. And on the back, Dustin and Lucus, hanging upside down along with small images or the 12 templates you’ll find inside.
It all pulls together to give a fabulous retro feel. Fans of the show are going to want the boxes to arrive in pristine condition!
What’s In The Box
Inside the box, you’ll find
- the Lite Brite hub/box
- 650 multicoloured mini pegs
- 12 paper ‘Stranger Things‘ template designs
The packaging is predominantly cardboard apart from a plastic sleeve that the templates and instructions come in and a resealable plastic bag containing the mini pegs. Both plastic bags can be re-used.
You will also need 3x AA batteries and a phillips-style screwdriver to open the battery compartment found at the back.
How Does the Lite Brite Stranger Things Special edition Work
The Lite Brite unit is easy to use.
Templates
The templates are made of paper. Each design is laid out with coloured letters that indicate which colour mini peg is required.
The chosen template is laid on top of the lite bright and the coloured peg pushed through the paper and into the hole behind. A little force is required to push the peg through.
When finished the lite brite can be stood up either using the flat bottom of the frame or by pulling out a plastic stand at the back.
Then it’s time to turn the light on.
Power And light Modes
There is a power button at the back that is used to toggle through the 4 light modes
- power on/1 press = white light
- 2nd press = alternating flashing
- 3rd press = alternating flashing
- 4th press is rotating flashing
After about 5 minutes the unit switches itself off automatically.
The lights don’t seem to cover the whole of the lite brite when switched on, which is a shame. There seem to be pockets of light spread over the board which creates an uneven light effect. But there is enough light to light it all up. Just be aware that it’s uneven.
Changing The Template
To change the template carefully pull out all the mini pegs and lift off the template and replace with a new one.
You should be able to re-use the holed template as there is normally a little colour left on the edge of the hole if you look carefully.
Alternatively, you could have fun changing the colours.
What Did We Think Of The Lite Brite
We loved the Lite Brite Stranger Things edition.
The finished Stranger Things templates look amazing when lit up (even if it’s slightly uneven!). It’s a great calming/mindful toy to either do on your own or with friends.
I loved completing the templates with my teen daughters as we idly chatted about the series and our favourite moments in each season.
The templates have been well chosen with some great classic imagery taken from the Stranger Things series. And there’s a nice mix of simple and more complex images to build.
The mini pegs are a little small and fiddly when you get to the denser template images. Plus, pushing them in can make the tips of your fingers tender. And pulling the pegs out to change the template can be just as time-consuming as putting them in. But again, it’s a nice mindless activity that requires gentle concentration plus you get to re-use the templates again.
Having the 4 different light modes adds to the fun. With certain modes suiting certain templates more. The flashing mode was the most annoying and we tended to like white light and rotating flash the best for the templates we used.
The auto-shutdown timer is a little to quick for my liking. I haven’t timed it exactly but it feels like it switches off after about 5 minutes. Whilst this is great for saving battery power it’s a little annoying if you want to keep the Lite Brite on as a display piece or use it as a night light.
But all of the little niggles are easily overlooked as the nostalgia and Stranger Things theme totally wins the day. This is the kind of retro gift that adults are going to love just as much as the teens!!!