Macross Toys for your Kids

[eggy99]

So I really want to get my 5 year old son into Macross (via Robotech), and want to know if anyone else has shared their love for Macross with their young children and what they recommend as suitable relatively cheap toys.

It's funny because currently my wife and I allow our son watch very wholesome programming which include teaching and lessons, like PJ Masks, Rusty Rivets etc, but I look back at my childhood and I was watching Robotech when I was 5 years old! We're so scared of allowing my son to watch contentious violent programming least he become violent, but if I didn't become a violent dangerous person, why do I fear the same for my son???

Anyway with that I allowed my son to watch 1 episode of Robotech (original edited aired version - "Miss Macross") over the weekend and he loved it. Later in the day he was playing with his toy cars, and pew pewing the another set of cars and explained to me that the good guys had lasers and the bad guys had cannon balls.

Wow, he was reenacting what he had seen in that episode (and it's the episode Rick takes the GBP on patrol - such a great episode!), plus mixing in some pirate themes he had picked up from somewhere else.

So now I want to provide a VF-1 for him to play with, knowing that he is pretty rough with his toys. I thought about the Yamato GN-U Dou, or Toynami Super Poseable lines, but those are impossible to find now. 2nd option is the Revoltech VF line, and I actually own the 1J, 1S and a custom 1A Max in storage. I do cherish them, but I'm slowly accepting that they'd be well loved by my son - more so than me as they sit in storage. Of course I have to accept that they may get completely busted up, but that's what kids toys are for, and as my wife says - if his toys are busted up it means he loves those ones the most as you can clearly see they've been played with a lot.

Would love to hear from other parents with young kids.

Edited March 18, 2019 by eggy99

[dragonstar1982]

I actually gave my 3 yr old son my old chunky bandai fire Valkyrie. I sanded the wing tips so there not as sharp and he loves it. I was actually surprised when I came home one night and he almost had it transformed.

[dragonstar1982]

My wife and I felt the same about what he watched at first to, then I remembered what I watched as a child. I let him watch alot of old cartoons from back in the day I have downloaded on my computer. Silverhawks, Thundercats, David the gnome and he actually really likes Galaxy rangers.

[Ipsquitch]

I gave my 3yo son my old Exo Squad Robotech destroids. He loves them and they're made for play. I would expect you can find loose ones relatively cheap.

[bhchan]

you're lucky.  I've been trying to introduce Macross (or, even Robotech) to my son since he was 5.  5 years later and still "nope"... he's just not interested.  Gundam hasn't fared any better.  (actually the only anime that had any success would be Pokémon)

[jenius]

 

you're lucky.  I've been trying to introduce Macross (or, even Robotech) to my son since he was 5.  5 years later and still "nope"... he's just not interested.  Gundam hasn't fared any better.  (actually the only anime that had any success would be Pokémon)

My son is six, he liked Pokemon and Beyblade but has zero interest in anything from the 80s (and he seems to be over Pokemon and Beyblade so I'm curious to see what will be the next big thing). Everybody's different. Growing up I had an older sibling so I think I was watching more mature shows sooner because that's what was on. 

I tried to get my son to watch Transformers, even the kiddified versions, and he was not a fan. "That's your thing dad, not mine!"

Edited March 18, 2019 by jenius

[eggy99]

Good point about the older siblings. My brother is 7 years my senior so that could be why I was watching Robotech so young, plus being the 3rd child my parents were already over the very hands on parenting from my older brother and sister. 

I did entertain buying a chunky monkey but it's difficult to find a really cheap one. 

I think my favourite part of watching the episode with my son is when he exclaimed, "hey that's the one you have!". Amazing he could recognise the VF-1J under the GBP. 

Holy cow! I gotta get him watching G1 Transformers now. Hahaha! He has some tiny transformers he was gifted from relatives, but since he's never watched it, there's been no connection for him. 

Slippery slope!

[Duymon]

I have some knockoff Chunky Monkey's I bought from Chinatown for 10 bucks.

They are my sacrifices when my grade-school nephews are over.

[sumyumgoy]

 

I have some knockoff Chunky Monkey's I bought from Chinatown for 10 bucks.

They are my sacrifices when my grade-school nephews are over.

I gotta look for those knockoffs.  Did you get them recently?

I gave my 2 year old daughter a revoltech vf and she enjoys it.  Just gotta supervise them because the parts are so small.  I'd definitely give her some chunky monkeys if she's still interested later on.

[Shizuka the Cat]

I imagine the Toynami 1/100 scale VF-1 toys might be good for kids to play with,. They are cheap, so even if your kid damages them, it is not a big deal and easily replaceable.  Plus, they do transform, so that can be entertaining for your kid.

Granted, they do not have the build quality of an HMR, but are also no where near as expensive.

[Kanedas Bike]

This subject always fascinated me, because I also have a Son. Much older than all of your kids, and actually now older than I was when I had him (he's soon to be 22). 

That said I think I traumatized him when he was 3 and had somehow gotten to my old Yamato YF-19, after he got into trouble for handling Dad's toy he never really had the same interest. Or maybe that's just my own guilt talking.

He enjoyed toys well enough until he was about 5 and then he was all about being outdoors, sports, bikes, skateboards, soccer, street-hockey any and everything that had to do with being outside. As a matter of fact, all of the traditional toys like Transformers, old Marvel Legends, etc. often when unopened and not played with.

But like it's been said, our little ones will form their own interests, hopefully it's just something "cool", as defined by the child, that can be shared between them and their parents.

-b.

[Tallman]

My kids love the Konig Monster VB6. Since they were 5 and 7 years old, I watched Frontier all the time. Therefore, Konig Monster is their favorite. Even though they are not watching Macross with me now (cause I want them do more outdoor sports), but they told me Bandai Konig Monster will be their collections after I go to heaven 

By the way, they both gals 

[Chet]

I suggest not forcing the issue too much.  Your son is going to like what he's going to like.  I, too, tried to get my 3-year old started with Transformers Rescue Robots, but that did not last long.  What's important is that when he does show interest, you're all set with your Revoltechs.

[Shizuka the Cat]

 

My kids love the Konig Monster VB6. Since they were 5 and 7 years old, I watched Frontier all the time. Therefore, Konig Monster is their favorite. Even though they are not watching Macross with me now (cause I want them do more outdoor sports), but they told me Bandai Konig Monster will be their collections after I go to heaven 

By the way, they both gals 

I was about to say, be sure to encourage your daughters too! There are not enough of us Macross fans out there.

[Mazinger]

My youngest gal likes to play action figures with me.  Some have suffered battle damage as a result.  Nothing a little epoxy glue couldn't fix, but I was careful to select cannon fodder for those missions.

My oldest gal was never much into playing with toys, but now she's the one that started watching Delta on her own. Go figure.

If you have Netflix, there are an infinite amount of options for kids cartoons, and with all the very compelling superhero stuff and cute, fantastical creature friends shows, Macross in general has a lot to compete with.

[HardlyNever]

I my first is due in a few months, and I wonder what he'll think of Macross toys in a few years.  I also watched Robotech at a very young age (around 3 years old, also had older sibling and friends that got me into it), and it's amazing to think that I can remember understanding most of what was going on back then.  I would also worry about the violence and war in Robotech, even though it is actually pretty anti-war in theme, especially Macross, even though I came out "fine" (relatively speaking).  Weird how our values change, even though we have evidence to support there is not always a risk there.

I think the 1/55 chunky monkey (probably get a KO) or toynami 1/100 are both good suggestions.  I had the matchbox toys as a kid (I still have a few of them), and while I have great memories of them, I don't think they will hold the interest of a young kid that has things like modern toys and video games competing for their attention.  I always wanted a Jetfire as a kid, because it actually transformed, even though I still had fun with the Matchbox stuff.

For me it was always the aesthetics of toys that kept me interested them longer than most kids (about 11-12 years old, now much older ).  I'm sure a lot of people here can relate to that.  So I think if you kid is interested in art, design and aesthetics in general, there is a decent chance physical toys will hold their interest a lot more.  That's just my theory, though.   

[eggy99]

Love the input from everyone here. 

And Congratulations @HardlyNever. 

I'd love to be able to get a chunky for my son. He's very artistic and creative, and he loves all the hands on stuff. I think he really have a blast learning how to transform a chunky. Now the hard part is finding a cheap bootleg in Australia. Nigh impossible for cheap. 

I researched the Toynami 100s but they're still pretty pricey after shipping. Local retailers also selling for a good mark up too AUD$90. Eeep!

I think I'll definitely have to give him my Revoltechs if he shows continued interest. 

He does really latch on to the things I'm interested in. He loves to watch me play Monster Hunter World, and also loves Initial D (the Eurobeat really does it for him). I love watching him pretend to be a monster. Haha

@Shizuka the Cat my 2 yr old daughter is just like a typical girl. Dolls, soft toys. It's so funny because we didn't push these things on her. She just gravitated to them herself. I do encourage her to play the same toys as her brother, but she doesn't show extended interest. Maybe she's still too young. 

[Bolt]

My older son is 24 . He was never into Macross or Gundam much, he preferred warhammer 40k as a teen but got over that too(wish I was over that too!) 

my youngest son is 6 , started watching RT when he was 5. He loves it and Gundam , I regulate what he watches , but like others said, I watched much more graphic violence as a kid and I’m not a psycho killer.

I started my 6 year old on the oldschool  1/65 VF-17 S&D and VF-19 . He also has a v1 Yammy Miira VF-1j .  They’re  mostly in ok shape still and he loves them. The only toy I let him play with, supervised, is my Yammy 1/60 YF-21. The other thing we do a ton of are the hg 1/144 Bandai Gundam snap fit kits , which is fun to do together and they play quite well. Our first Macross model was a Hasegawa 1/72 battroid VF-1s strike. 

I fear (evil laugh) I’ve given him the mecha bug..