The board
A 7 by 8.75 inch card sealed under a vacuum-formed bubble. The powder stays inside whichever way a kid shakes it, which is the whole reason this toy survives car seats and waiting rooms.
The one in stores
Original Wooly Willy
This is the box you find in a toy aisle today. The board inside has not changed: Willy's bald face printed on card, magnetite powder resting at the bottom edge, a clear bubble sealed over the top and a magnetic wand to drag the powder around. PlayMonster has run the line since 2016 and left the toy itself alone.
$7.994.4 stars from 5,097 buyers
Checked when these pages were last rebuilt; the listing itself has today’s number.
What you are actually holding
The wand
A small magnet on a red stick. Hold it against the bubble and the powder climbs toward it; drag slowly and you get a line, tap and you get a tuft of hair.
Starting over
Lay the board flat to draw. When the face has had enough, tilt the frame and the shavings slide back down to the bottom, ready for the next mustache.
Who it fits
The box says ages 4 and up, and that is about right. Three-year-olds can move powder around; the fine-line beards start landing at five or six.
The other three boxes
Same board inside every one of them; the differences are packaging and cost.
Usually cheapest full box
Wooly Willy Original: value listing
The same full-size board on a plainer listing, and usually the lowest cost of the standard boxes.
$5.85too few voices to rate yet
The nostalgia boxWooly Willy: Patch Products era box
An older box from the Patch Products years, the same toy wearing the packaging it had before 2016.
$7.994.6 stars, 463 voices
Travel and gift pitchWooly Willy: travel and gift listing
The newest listing on the shelf, pitched at road trips, party bags and the bottom of a stocking.
$4.994.2 stars, 30 voices