For The Collectors Who Are Parents Out There
 

I wanted to search the expertise of the board for a little advice. I have a 6 and a half year old son who is a little super hero nut...I've amassed basically the entire collection of Super Hero Squad releases (here and overseas) for him minus about 10 figures in total. He loves them, he even takes one into bed each night. ;) My question is for those on the board who may collect for their children - I've also spent the past few years collecting the various 3.75 inch Marvel lines for him, and I have them stored right now just waiting for the right time to give them to him. For those of you who collect and give figures to your sons (or daughters) what have you found is a good age for them to get started with the 3.75 inch figure lines? I know they tend to be a little more likely to break at this size given the design, although this is probably more true of the main line than it is 3.75 lines that are aimed more for younger kids, like the Wolverine and the X-Men figures. He does a pretty good job keeping his SHS figures from breaking, but I have pumped a lot of money into the 3.75 figures for him and I don't want to give them to him only to find out it's too soon for him to play with them without breaking them. Just wanted some thoughts. Thanks in advance to the board for any advice that is offered.

I wish I knew, part of me thinks I should sell off the collection in case he doesn't get interested or for the extra cash, still in debate about though. He would def get my TF collection, and when he's old enough the MP's and the MU figures, but hard to say.

It really depends on your kid, My little girl has never been into anything but superheroes but she is also real careful with everything she owns (still have accessories and weapons for everything) but she got JLU figs @ 4 then we did like you and went to squads but from 7 she has been playing with MU and no problems.

She keeps everything in tubs so they are still treated like the toys they are and other than the odd leg popping off (more an issue with certain bucks) she has been fine

I'd agree, it depends on the kid. If he's going to play with them, which is the intended purpose (we collectors tend to forget that) they probably will get broken, but that's what toys do. MU might have a risk of swallowing a head or accessory, maybe get a couple loose Marvel legends and universe figs off of E-bay cheep and let him go nuts, gauge the response and react accordingly.

I tried to start my kid off at 2 1/2 with SHS. Then he got some 4" at 3 years old thru a relative (who knew *I* liked 4") and then it was all over for the SHS. Its been all MU since then (2.5 years; he is 5 1/2 now). His collection rivals mine. Some hands break off sometimes, legs need me to reattach them, and parts get lost, but he loves the Marvel world and 4" is perfect in combination with vehicles and such.

my 7 year has been 3.75 since 3. sometimes he breaks a hand so I've become a super-glue master. The worse part is that he takes off the heads and then doesn't put them back on. MU, GI JOE, Star Wars...It looks like the French Revolution in his room.

MU really is fragile to kids. Sadly, the figs that have 5 POA will probably have a harder time breaking easily.

Definitely start with something cheap and easily replaceable. Maybe a common Spiderman or Iron Man and see how that goes.

Besides that, the packages say they're for, what, ages 4 and up? And they say that just to protect themselves from lawsuits -- the toys are probably okay for 3 year olds, provided they are responsible-ish. Just depends on the kid a bit. At 6.5, yours should be fine. I know I was playing with GI Joes before I was age six, and I did fine with them -- of course there was the inevitable broken thumb, broken crotch, or broken o-ring, but I had been taught a bit that toys cost money and that if I liked having them I needed to take care of them. I never blew any up with firecrackers, HALO jumped them off the top of the house, or melted them with the sun and a magnifying glass.

So go ahead, give a few (probably from a movie line, not MU), make it special, convince him it's special, and he'll probably treat it as such. But do realize that some are destined to break.

The TF's are also 4 and up which is kind of crazy cause I don't think they would understand the instructions, heck I don't understand them at times.

Id be amazed if a 4 year old could transform most deluxe tf's these days. most of them are modern day origami's

I would think he'd be fine. Why not just give him one or two and see how he gets on? My daughter is four and is very gentle with her toys. Also, perhaps just tell him if he looks after them he can have more over time?

can I just say, you're an awesome parent.

I have an 18 month old son and also amass a lot of figures and customizin is my hobby. I'm sure to pass my collection to him at the right time. He sees a lot of my figures, neca mostly, initially he was scared of them (predator, terminator and MU's as well) but now he holds and plays with them a bit. I think all I can do is hope that he'll appreciate it.

I just wanted to say thank you to all who replied with their thoughts and ideas. I am going to start him out with some lesser articulated ones and go from there, and if he takes to them the way I know he will take to them, I am sure it will be an amazing thing for me to see. The kindness and consideration of the board here mean a lot to me, so thank you all for that too.

http://www.toyark.com/any-parents-toyark-69674/

Hey mods can we merge these 2 threads please? :)

Also Nik, awesome to see more nerdy (I mean that in a good way) parents here on the site. And if the mods merge the threads with the one I posted above then feel free to take pics and share them (my little guy feels so proud when I show him the comments on his toy setups) and hopefully we can keep this thread fresh with pics, comments, and advice for all the other awesome parents here on the 'Ark. :)