[Gerda]

I want your guys opinion on this.
Nicoli (my son) is into Indiana Jones, no big deal. For Christmas I got him everything indie, He got several figure sets, a truck a boulder playset. Well come christmas he opens up all his presents but leaves everything in it's box or wrapper. He only ever opened up 2 of the figures and the boulder playset and put them together, He did play with the truck but insisted on keeping the box. Every other playset he now has displayed on hooks in his room, sealed mint in box. The truck he got he stuffed back in the box and is on display too. I have since given him a coupld more figures thinking he will play with them but no, on the wall they go. Now I can apreciate a good collection but mind you the kid is only 6, going to be 7 in March. Along with the indie collection he also has a bottle cap collection and a zoo books collection which he keeps in a binder.
Did any of you start this early in life not opeing your toys? I know I didn't, I did not start until I was about 14 or 15. I'm torn between impressed at his restraint and concerned at his obsesion. What do you guys think? Am I just over reacting

gerda

[Lia]

Gerda, perhaps he followes you and how you deal with your collection?
I admit, it would be nicer if he would play with his toys, but as long as he is playing with other toys, I wouldn`t worry too much.

Lia

[SmurfingH]

Get him some doubles so he can play with those and keep his original sets mint. I agree with Lia though - he'd probably just copying you!

By the way, I think we will need pics of his collection!

[bwalters]

I totaly agree with Lia. He has watched you care for your Smurf collection all his life and is Just doing as you do. I don't know if it is a good or bad trait to have but I don't remember having many toys as a child. Most of my play time was stuff like hide and seek or other games we invented. If I had to guess I would say it's a good trait. Mainly because he has learned to respect his things so maybe he has also learned to respect other people's things.

[SMURFSTEROCKS]

I think he's learning the word "Collection" at an early stage, but sounds
like a good thing. I also think he learned it from you.

[Tojo]

It does sound a bit strange to me Gerda but I also think that he's copying you.

My kids play with the smurfs that I've given them (except the Schönwalds!) which pleases me but they still have shelves to put them on when they aren't being played with. Sara plays with her Smurfettes every evening whilst lying in bed, the boys usually have battles with theirs Indians against knights etc...

I didn't keep my toys in their boxes when I was a kid at least not until I was in my early teens.

[Smurfysmurf]

I didn't keep my toys in the boxes until....actually the play along smurfs will be the first ones I keep in the box

I agree with the others, Gerda...he is copying you and also Sean. I don't think it's a bad thing as it shows that he already knows how to appreciate stuff without having to destroy it. He seems to like them a lot if he already displays them prominently in his room.

Maybe you can pick up some cheaper stuff at flea markets that he will play it

[André]

Hi Gerda,

I played and builded landscapes with my smurfs when I was a child. I collected them to have them to play with.

I have let my children play with some of the smurfs. I have kept many houses and smurfs which are in bad shape for them to play with.

But it is interesting with children. I overheard them a couple of months ago when they had freinds over.

When they were playing with their animals one of my daughters said to her friend:

- You can have this one, but be careful with it because it is a Schleich.
- What is a Schleich?
- ??? Don´t you know what Schleich is???

So they tend to be slightly braindamaged because of me.
But I think you don´t have to worry. I would do as the others have told you: Buy double or buy used ones for him to play with.

You know what they say about children:

Children you lie to, learns to lie.
Children you hit, learns to hit.
Children you hug, learns to hug.
Children you love, learns to love.
And so on...

So I guess they are pretty good copycats.

/André

[Gerda]

thanks guys for all the imput. I asked my mom and all she says is I give him to much sh*t and to stop spoiling him and he would actually want to play with his toys.

boy if he is starting this young I can not imagine what he will be like in a few years from now. I know there are worse things he could be doing. I just found it odd..
i'll try to hunt down doubles but the stores are already getting rid of the Indiana figures so finding them might not be that easy. But I will look

[agent smurf]

I'm not sure but almost every time I'm buying smurfs there are some kids (mainly girls) looking for Schleich animals, they're never laughing at me though (could of been irony ). So I agree with the both of you.

[Chris McBrien]

Gerda,
I grew up with parents who collected antiques. Our house was a museum.
My smurf collection and pewter figuring collection was displayed immaculately and I dusted all of it with a soft paintbrush every week. I also kept all my boxes with all my collections as well as my Star War collection in it's boxes.
I know, it's strange. I even bought doubles of the books I read so I could keep one for display and another for actual reading.
I was totally mimicking my parents...and yes my friends thought it was weird that I did this..but they also admired my collections.
Now I'm glad I did this..as my Start Wars collection as well as many of the books I have are worth a LOT of money. My original smurfs I gave away as a gift...but I now have a new and improved Smurf collection.
I think what your son did was directly mimicking your behaviour, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. I played with my Star Wars and other toys in ways that they still looked nice and retained their value.
I'm blathering on about this so you know that it's not a "singular" case.
I also have friends who are the same way with their Disney collections (and many started out as the toys they got when they were kids).
"Playing with" does not always mean "destroying" when you're a kid.
Best to you and your son!
Chris

[bradley]

From a collecting point of view Gerda, your son is a legend! I find that great. When I was younger I never kept any of my toys in the packaging however I did start keeping all the boxes/packaging they came in, which I still do. And now days I do keep a lot of my toys mint in the packaging for display.. ones that I consider "Collectables" if either I buy a double of something or a rare item (or could be rare in the future).

I have a side collection of Power Rangers action figures that I have collected every year since the original series in 94. This collection would have died years ago if only the series wasn't still going after 17 years. I have complete sets of action figures from every series, but all are loose out of packaging. Back when I started I took them all out of the packaging to play with.. now with all the newer figures I still take them out to display because thats how my collection started but some of the PR toys I import have stayed MOC and I have a shelve full of the special edition and some rare villain figures I have brought over the years. So it depends. I'm collecting toys, not buying them to play with.

sometimes a toy looks 10 times better displayed in the packaging then it does taking it out. But I think its great that your son has picked up this collecting trait from you.

[Gerda]

Thanks Chris and Brad, This is makeing me feel alot better about what he is doing. I figured I would get support from the forum and understanding as true collectors understand and others look at him like he is growing a second head

[André]

Hi Gerda,

I will get my strange wheelbarrow today. And together with the fix&foxi-smurf I will get 17 numbers of the comicpaper from 1981. I will add a picture of these later today. I guess the wheelbarrow is from an other character. Let´s hope it is nice.

This is an old picture of my daughters playing with some sparesmurfs I have and houses which is missing parts. The ones in the originalboxes they are not allow to play with.



/André

[Tojo]

Can I come around to play too André Your daughters have got a whole village to play with!!

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Can I come around to play too André Your daughters have got a whole village to play with!!

I second that. (though I was just thinking about swimming in a sea of smurfs)

[André]

This is my youngest daughter Ally.

Here favourites are these snailwagons. She see the snails as horses.

She also can not understand why there can´t be more Smurfettes because in every house she wants to put a smurfette. I think she see it like there should be like a family in every house, with a mother, father and children.

/André

[André]

This is Edina.

She is more of a smurfcomicbook-fan. I think she have reed these albums 3 times each.

She is the oldest of my daughters and she is the one who collects wild-life animals.

/André

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Awwww thanks for sharing your pics, André. If I had smurf-dedicated daughters like you, so that needn't worry that my smurfs would end in the dustbin.

[SmurfingH]

Great pictures Andre!