The 1/2 size is a toy machine.

I have the 1/2 size (see it in my avatar). It does look a lot like a toy although it's a pretty darn nice toy. It has a drop in bobbin and does a zig zag and straight stitch. I love mine but I use it for making cards. I have my full size 6600 for quilting and other fabric sewing. I bought the hello kitty one because 1) it's cute and 2) I don't have to change out my needle and/or thread every time I'm making a card.

The girls in our family each have the green HK. We have had zero problems with them and they sew fine. The Targets I shop at have them on the shelf.

Let me tell you my Janome Hello Kitty story! My mom bought one for my daughter when she was 12 or so. She bought it at Wal-Mart on clearance not realizing it didn't have the foot pedal. No problem, she contacted a dealer and bought one for $25-$30. Well, we moved very shortly after that and packed it away. Our new house was very tiny and we didn't have space to have my machine out let alone 2 machines. Well, after graduation she decided to move to Chicago to attend Le Cordon Bleu and wanted to take her little Hello Kitty machine to use until she could save up to buy a regular machine. Well, I dug it out of the box and plugged it in to make sure it was in working order. Nothing happened! Played with settings, etc... Took it apart to check it and noticed there was no bobbin assembly. Upon further investigation I found it didn't have a MOTOR!!!! I called my mom and she was furious!! She called a couple of dealers to see about having a motor and other necessary parts put in but the price was more than she wanted to spend. Wal-Mart had sold her the demo model as if it were a working model. My daughter was upset but she now has a nice Brother which has all it's parts and pieces!!:)

I took a class when I bought my 6600 at the shop and a lady was there with her Hello Kitty machine. She bought it for someone in her family and wanted to make sure how to use it to the fullest extent so she could teach the person she bought it for and was considering keeping it. It was so cute and was doing a great job, but I was not sewing on it, just listening to what she was saying.