"Started my son's first collection!" Topic

Hi all!

Well, my son is heading towards 4 years old, and THOROUGHLY enjoys daddy's toy soldier room, frequently going in and playing with my Armada ships and the other toy soldiers (ever so gently!)

So I figured… it is time he gets his first collection!

I've settled on the era and scale and unit breakdown, and purchased the figures, and even started painting! So if you want to come by and give any advice, please do!:)

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A nice idea and good way to guide him along. One suggestion (presuming you haven't bought everything yet) is to go with 54mm plastic. There would be less breakage and no issue with lead toys.

They can be painted so that the paint doesn't flake off.

I did, in fact, already purchase the entire collection!:) I considered plastic, but in the end went with metal just because it is traditional. I'll varnish them several times over, and then just roll with the punches. Honestly, he is the most careful, gentle little guy… if any four year old in history can handle this, he can:)

What a wonderful idea! One might have left it at a dozen hatmen per side for starters, adding the command and variant figures at later Christmasses and birthdays – but mine were Space Marines anyway, over fifteen years ago, because my son wanted the big guys with the big guns…

Keep up the good work !

At that age, they can be very adept with small things.

My son was very careful with our N-scale trains, and his little fingers were much better at getting them back on the track correctly than I could do.

Looks like a great start.

I hope you two have many years of good gaming together.

A buddy of mine started playing some games with his grandchildren (11 and 9) using 15mm figures and One Hour Wargames. They always manage to flank grandpa's troops…

Great Father/Son project and I wish you both the best with all your gaming adventures.

Busy in Canada painting up some WWII,ACW, andAWI 54mm figures for the grandkids in Newcastle upon Tyne!

I still have the figures that my son painted with me when he was 8 or 9, something like that. Water base paint, so what's to harm? It was great fun. So be ready in a few years to have him at the table asking for the red and a brush.

My 4 year old boy is fascinated by 'Daddy's little men', but knows better than to touch (and I don't have a designated war room . . . yet). I've bought him 54mm plastics, which he tends to lose among his Star Wars lego stuff, but he'll come good, in time.

I like the idea of introducing a youngster through 40mm, good choice!

Been doing Romans and Barbarians with my nephews, although 28mm and plastic, and showing them a basic way for them to paint. It has been interesting seeing the different ones respond in different ways to the hobby. They are enjoying the gaming, too. At least one of them really enjoys the painting, and one of them has even turned to doing ACW in 20mm plastic.

Great choice!

I gave my 6 year old grandson some 50 years old Agincourt figures (actually 1:72 plastic Airfix Robin Hood and Sheriff of Nottingham). He gives them back for repairs when they get broken, normally horses detached from stands, but most are OK.

I also gave him some even older 32mm plastic infantry (modern in late 1950s when I bought them). I think they were Herald and came in khaki or grey, as British and "enemy". They are totally unbreakable. He does rather tend to use them against his Knights, dragons, monsters and dinosaurs.

He however totally disinterested in any concepts such as measuring distance or throwing dice.

Rod

From experience…I gave my son his first collection when he was 4. he was VERY rough with them. They were 1/72 scale figures in plastic. I think they were too small for his taste at the time.

I went and bought and painted some 1/32 scale plastic Pirates and Skeletons as another set…maybe when he was 5. He played with those a lot. Less rough but rough never the less. He had (still has actually) the Melissa and Doug Pirate ship and used that a bit with his collection.

Now we play "The Hobbit" with Daddy's 1/72 scale collection as a more proper wargame. At 7 and a half, he is much better with figures.

The point here is, throw out tradition and use plastic for the young ones. They are by far, more durable for the young warrior. Save the metal figures for when he is a bit older.

My nephew (4) gets to pick figures from my spare Reapers Bones pile. He's painted his first batch and I've just let him do what he wants in terms of painting (so there's some metal skin and a lot of orange and pink), my only instruction is to try to get him to hold the brush properly.