Customer Reviews
An incredibly disappointing product that should've never left R&D... 
2008-03-18
I teach a science class in after-school program at a local elementary school, through a neighborhood non-profit. They got a box of samples of Crayola's "new and exciting" products/toys and handed them out to us in case we would find any off the stuff useful for our classes. I was planning to do something on how diffusion and dissolution work, and this seemed liked a good thing to start with. I almost went out and bought a couple packs- the sample only had two small 2x5" pieces and I have a class of 10 kids- but thought better of it and tried it out first. As far as I can tell, it's just a colorful piece of tagboard covered with some water-soluble black coating. The "magic pen's" ink seems to be composed solely of water. I figured it'd be some other solvent, something that would provide quick, dramatic results. Instead, it's very messy and hard to get the results you want.
I tried it out with my wife and the neighbor kids, an they just got sick of waiting. Because it's water, it takes a fair amount of time to evaporate and dry, so writing/drawing something even remotely like you want is a chore, especially because it involves doing the drawing, waiting 5 minutes, being disappointed at how much of the black surface went away, and then drawing over your faint (if any) original lines. I often wasn't able to do a good job of it, and making anything with even semi-sharp edges is impossible.
Because it takes so long to dry/dissolve, it's really easy to mess up your work with a brush of the finger. Then, you have a mess and your drawing is wrecked. If you get any water on the board, that also manages to be another messy way to ruin your drawing.
Another incredibly annoying thing is that you can't really see what you're drawing as you do it, unless you contrive to be at some angle where you can catch some glare off of the water you're waiting to evaporate. At home, I was holding the card at a 45 degree angle in an attempt to write a simple message on the card, and even then still goofing up.
I'm seriously debating doing a video review of this just to show everyone how crappy it is.
The Bottom Line: Avoid this like the plague. It'd be worth trying for free, maybe inside a cereal box or from the dollar store.
Fun for Everyone! 
2008-01-14
We bought this for our son as part of his Christmas present. He thought it was pretty fun once we showed him how it worked! Then a couple of his aunts & uncles got a hold of it and they thought it was great! Then Grandma & Grandpa had a turn. Next thing I knew, I was drawing on it! It's just so simple yet fun! It's also helping to get our son to focus on writing. We are working with him on writing his name & this holds his interest because he wants to see what colors it will be. It's nice that the markers don't show up when he writes on other things. The only bad thing is keeping track of the markers. I put them in a large ziploc bag together with the books to keep up with them!
Awesome art product, great fun for the family 
2007-12-13
Who can resist these Crayola Color Explosion kits? They are so much fun for the entire family. I ordered a few sets of these for my children and even did a few of the pages myself. The kit I received did not come with any carrying case, but it did have the 5 markers, stencil sheets, and (2) 20 page notebooks. All the markers are the same, and when you use them they reveal the paint splatter patterns that lie beneath the black coating. It's true as other reviewers have stated, these are not 100% mess free, especially if you have a little one who cannot resist getting the paper wet. When the paper gets wet it leaves a slight blueish tone to clothing and skin. Luckily my children are over 6 and they were enjoying the product mess free. The markers do occassionally need to be wiped off at the tip to help it keep working correctly. I found the overall quality of the product to be top notch, as with all other crayola products.
Crayola Color Explosion Twin Pack 
2007-06-27
This is fun. But it doesn't work as well as I hoped. You must use a black marker they supply. when you rub the marker over the paper the color below is revealed. At times the marker didn't work. We had to rub it back and fourth over and over.
Not at all mess-free 2006-06-22
This stuff is way too messy. If my seven year old touches the paper the black ink? gets on his hands, then to the table, clothes, etc. The stencil it comes with is junk, thin cardboard that ripped the first time he drew with it. Not worth the money!
not as mess-free as they claim 2006-04-29
Crayola Color Explosion lets you create wild multicolored effects with a single color-reveal marker. The unique clear-ink marker works only with black Color Explosion paper, revealing hidden colors for amazing designs. Activity set includes two 20-page black tablets (one Neon and one Rainbow Color) measuring 8.5" x 11", five Color Reveal Markers, three stencil sheets and resealable storage bag.
Fun for kids, but misrepresented in picture 2006-04-21
The second picture shown is NOT what is for sale here. The second picture shows 7 or 8 pens, as well as a smaller notebook of paper. The description is conflicting since it says something different. Well, the description is correct.
The stencils included are flimsy cardboard, and the so-called carrying case is no more than a really really cheap ziploc bag. The baggie ripped before we could even use it.
I've found the black paper in these color explosion sets gets gummed up and smears if you don't use just the right amount of ink from the pen. So if you have a young one that presses really hard when they write, they might be disappointed because the color will get smeared all over.
My son had fun with this, but it definitely wasn't the quality I've come to expect from Crayola.
I give it 3 stars overall.
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, 2005. The Best Toys, Books, Videos, Music & Software for Kids