Toys?

[Bernard]

What are they?

[andronicus]

I enjoyed reading this thread the same way I enjoyed looking at my friends' GI Joe collections when I was a lad.  I've never had the money to collect anything myself, but I do feel the impulse, so it's fun to live vicariously through others.

[Andrew_TSKS]

What are they?

I'm gonna say they're dolls of the band Samhain.

EDIT: no, you know what? They're all Glenn Danzig. On the left is Danzig Danzig, in the middle is Samhain Danzig, and on the right is Misfits Danzig.

[davy]

What are they?

"The Three Faces of Danzig"

They're Glenn Danzig action figures, depicting him as a solo artist, as the leader of Samhain, and as a Misfit. But they also apparently don't exist outside of the internet, so oh well.

Edit: Oops, Andrew beat me to it.

[Dee]

My favorite toys of the last while are the illegally cute Baby Treesons.



Especially Mr. in white because dude is a nerd. Blue's a winner too because his expression mades me lol.

[Thermofusion]

Is this the thread where I register how terrifying missy's year-and-a-half-old toy pics are

[davy]

Holy cow those are awesome.

[alex]

Just spent the evening browsing various toy-related websites in order to help me decide what to get for Pavel, a 9-year old boy who lives in one of the poorest parts of Romania that I promised to buy a present for. Still not sure about what to get him, but I now know what I want, which is a Kapla set. I'm not sure this is the perfect present for Pavel, who might prefer something less minimalistic than a set of wooden planks that are all the exact same size, but shit, that stuff looks awesome. I should probably hold back on getting a set for myself, too, considering that I already have one expensive set of wooden toys that I never play with (a Cuboro marble track), but I am seriously considering buying this for my brother. Does anyone have any experiences with this stuff?

Needless to say, I also accept advice on what to get for Pavel (though I do have some ideas).

[Bernard]

What kind of child is Pavel? A jock who might be into sports equipment (which he could also share with his friends)? Or a junior scientist, who might be more into something like binoculars? A little artist might like a good set of watercolor pencils or markers, or maybe a microcassette recorder for making his own radio programs? I was not a hardcore toy freak: I tended to prefer real stuff, which seemed to me to be obviously better than anything they'd give to kids. As far as dolls, I personally favored the GI Joe small figurines as a child, because they had more, and more accurate points of articulation. They were also smaller than Barbies or He-Man dolls, so even something as humble as the exposed upper part of the root system of a tree was scaled right to make a pretty sweet territory for their campaigns.

[Nick Ink]

My girls have about 70 or so of these



We race them, 12 at a time around a Totopoly board.

[alex]

What kind of child is Pavel? A jock who might be into sports equipment (which he could also share with his friends)? Or a junior scientist, who might be more into something like binoculars? A little artist might like a good set of watercolor pencils or markers, or maybe a microcassette recorder for making his own radio programs?

I wish I knew! I'd be more enthusiastic about this initiative, I think, if we were told more than the age and gender of the children and the fact that their parents are too poor to buy them any toys. Binoculars were definitely something I was considering, especially as they're quite self-explanatory as far as science-y toys are (unlike, say, a chemistry kit, which would only be of use if I could get instructions in Romanian for it). I was thinking something like binoculars or a mini-microscope, some sidewalk chalk or markers, a boomerang or frisbee, and some construction toys (like Lego or Matador, though the latter seems prohibitively expensive). I guess that way I'm covered on all grounds, but yes, it'd be so much easier if I knew anything at all about Pavel.

[Bernard]

Stereotypes are no use either. If you were buying for a girl, I'd suggest getting her hand chalk and a pommel horse, but for a boy, I can't think of anything. I think maybe a combo gift like you suggested would be good -- binoculars are a kind of all-around good toy, but at worst could be traded with somebody else, and don't require batteries, and all the other elements are good for sharing with little siblings or schoolmates, who are probably not getting anything for Christmas either.

[davy]

I'm having a pretty great time buying toys for Finn for Christmas this year. This will be the first year he's really anticipated Christmas morning and gotten excited about toys.

I'm concentrating on super heroes, mostly Fisher-Price's surprisingly clever Imaginext series, and the Super Hero Squad stuff:





My nephew is into Star Wars this year, so I went a little overboard with him, too.

[clare]

What kind of child is Pavel? A jock who might be into sports equipment (which he could also share with his friends)? Or a junior scientist, who might be more into something like binoculars? A little artist might like a good set of watercolor pencils or markers, or maybe a microcassette recorder for making his own radio programs?

I wish I knew! I'd be more enthusiastic about this initiative, I think, if we were told more than the age and gender of the children and the fact that their parents are too poor to buy them any toys. Binoculars were definitely something I was considering, especially as they're quite self-explanatory as far as science-y toys are (unlike, say, a chemistry kit, which would only be of use if I could get instructions in Romanian for it). I was thinking something like binoculars or a mini-microscope, some sidewalk chalk or markers, a boomerang or frisbee, and some construction toys (like Lego or Matador, though the latter seems prohibitively expensive). I guess that way I'm covered on all grounds, but yes, it'd be so much easier if I knew anything at all about Pavel.

It's tricky isn't it? I talked to a friend who has spent a lot of time in Romanian villages, and he reports that 9 year olds there are really no different to 9 year olds anywhere, but that the incidence of smoking and drinking amongst children that young is relatively high. His only advice then was to beware of anything that might be easily sold on the black market (to procure said tobacco/alcohol) so anything electronic is probably not a good idea, though kids there are pretty tech-savvy.

It sounds like your simple ideas are good ones!

[Ah_Pook]

man kapla blocks are really really fun to play with. my brother got some for his daughters and me and him and his wife ended up playing with them all the time and building huge ridiculously elaborate things.

[davy]

Playmobil is the BEST. I am going to buy Finn so much of this shit for Christmas/whatever.

[hannah]

You should get him this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Check-Point/dp/B0002CYTL2

Be sure to read the user comments!

[davy]

Oh man, what a can of worms!

[RavingLunatic]

You should get him this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Check-Point/dp/B0002CYTL2

Be sure to read the user comments!

Yeah, there's some bitter victims of U.S. foreign policy cashing in on this opportunity to broadcast their radical Marxist anti-torture message:

I want to thank the Playmobile company because the very sight of this
product has brought to my mind the fondest memories of everyday life
during the 1976-83 dictatorship in Argentina. I only missed a Kissinger
Office Set where a Playmobile Henry K. might nod understandingly at the
representatives of that regime complaining at the lambasting campaigns
they were subject to by "liberals" in the affluent countries.

I understand that Playmobile doesn´t represent realities of life outside
the borders of the highly developed countries, which is a reasonable
marketing decision: most children there are too busy working in the
streets and cannot use Playmobiles, nor are most of their parents (or
other relatives) in a position to buy Playmobile toys for their children.

I guess that perhaps a good array of Social Deprivation Sets and
Institutional Violence Sets would appeal to many parents in those
countries, however, and thus lure those potential buyers, but you still
have the problem of lack of money.

May I suggest, just to give a better idea of what is going on today,
that a IDF Gaza Checkpoint Set be prepared. Our children have a right to
grasp the realities of the world they are living in.

[Bernard]

I LOVED those things when I was a kid, despite also loving my 'Class Struggle' board game, so there's that.

Buying toys for one's child rules, and I don't let my child's predilection for common household objects stop me from buying her every cool thing I lay eyes on. She fell and sprained her elbow yesterday and got a new organic stuffed monkey as well as a special pass to chew my cell phone case and the tv remote. She was most thrilled about my phone case, I think.

[clare]

Dear God, those comments were the best, I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes...

[davy]

Whoa, the new Masters of the Universe Classics series is pretty metal:



the rest

[mixed cats]

I should be glad I chose this past week to do a bunch of He-Man themed Linus pictures!

[davy]

What's up with $30.00 action figures though, for real?

[Ah_Pook]

if any of you has a toddler to buy a present for any time you should check this thing out



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-P9dPfESgM

its called a Bilibo. my two year old nephew is ridiculously in love with his.