Is this cool? Are you a 5 year old boy?

October 1, 2016 3:52 PM

The coolest 4 year old nephew is turning five in a few weeks. Grandma says he's into Star Wars these days, and goes everywhere with his "life saver." I'm thinking of getting him a collection of action figures like this. Would a five year old think this was cool?
posted by roomthreeseventeen to Shopping (10 answers total)

5 year olds LOVE action figures. But they play with them. The one you linked may be too "grown up." If you want to go the action figure route (which you should, it's a big hit!)I would check out Imaginext and Playschool Heros (the later I believe has Star Wars figures) or, if you are in the US, go to Target, they have a Star Wars aisle in toys. I have 6 and 3 year old boys.
posted by katypickle at 4:04 PM on October 1, 2016 [18 favorites]

There are some pretty sweet costumes and clothes out this year for kiddos like him. (And they're all on sale!) Being able to dress up as your favorite Jedi AND have your very favorite "life saver", too? A+ childhood memory IME.
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:09 PM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

My 5yo is into Star Wars Lego right now. I'm not thrilled about him knowing much about Star Wars at this age, but I am happy that he likes putting Lego together so I roll with it. There's all kinds of different sized sets (read: you can find one to fit your budget) at Target, Toys R Us, or Lego.com.
posted by vignettist at 4:28 PM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Short answer: yes. Caveat: he will probably break them. Aside: which doesn't really matter.
posted by that's candlepin at 5:28 PM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

You did notice the AT-AT, right? Ooh and the Falcon!

When I was a kid I was really into vehicles, but that's not a given for every boy.
G'luck
posted by ridgerunner at 5:37 PM on October 1, 2016

The ones you linked to are meant more for collectors. If you want figures, buy the basic or Playskool ones from a Target, Walmart, Amazon etc. A new wave of toys just came out, so a lot of the older stuff is on sale now.
posted by dripdripdrop at 5:39 PM on October 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

I ran into a web business, call ebeanstalk.com and it has learning toys broken down by age, to choose from. They might even dare to use gender. I liked looking at it for ideas for my grandson. I think I bought out of there once, because they ship to where you want them to.
posted by Oyéah at 6:28 PM on October 1, 2016

Hey - my kids are into starwars too. But, you might want to find out if there is a part of the story they really like (1, 4, 6, 7?). Also, dye cast stuff does not move - these (although babyish and less realistic to you) might be a better choice.
posted by mutt.cyberspace at 8:02 PM on October 1, 2016

As a note, a whole lot of Rogue One toys were just released midnight, October 1.
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:04 PM on October 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

As an extra...

Buy a few pool noodles and cut them in half. I think I used a utility knife?

Carve away a handle 2.5 inches long, leaving about 1/4 of an inch thickness on the tube. Cut a few toilet paper rolls lengthwise, twist/wrap these around mini led flashlights and insert them into the "handle" you made, keeping the push button accessible. The mini LED flashlight is exactly the correct diameter, the card board wrapping adds internal stability. Wrap the handle with duct tape (black, silver, grey - whatever.)

Commence Life Saber fights in a darkened room! Made these when my son was 3 years old, he's 5.5 yrs old and still plays with them 2x a week. We have other fancier store bought plastic swords and sabers. These are more fun and much less destructive.

Bonus? They are cheap, completely safe, and you can make enough for a whole party's worth of children!
posted by jbenben at 8:51 PM on October 1, 2016 [3 favorites]