Sorry to hear about your figures breaking. Luckily my cousins are old enough to know not to touch my stuff, usually. Either that or my figures are too "ero" like to really be interested in. Plus they are too short to reach my gundams, Huzzah.
i understand how you feel danny *pats* during my high school days, me and my bro are into gunpla collecting. one time, my mom had a guest and her guest brought her child with her. when i arrive from school, my world started to crumble and blankly stare at the kid who is playing all of my gunpla figures @@ that's one of the most horrible experience that i've had and i won't let that happen when i start collecting PVC figures
ABSOLUTELY NO KIDS are allowed in my room. Luckily, we don't get that many immature visitors so that's a relief. Although it was quite arkward how my grandfather was staring at my stuff for 20 minutes the last time he came to visit... I mess my stuff whenever i feel bored. Usually just gundam parts that I'm currently modifying. Sometimes I move around figures if I get the urge.
I feel your pain Danny. When my friend came over he brought his little brother. First thing he did when he saw my gundams was run to them! Felt like I was gonna have a heart attack @_@. Luckily my friend stopped him in time.
Oooh, Lisa is probably wondering why you have turn so white all of a sudden. ^^; Just like everyone else I understand how you feel. When I first looked at this post I thought, Isn't she cute! Then my heart stopped when I seen the figure in her hand. I have toys and some cheaper figures that I put in reach of small hands when we do have company. I sometimes spend time siting on the floor with the kids when they play. Anything, that keeps them from my collectibles. Of course my real secret weapon is my mom when she is present. She has dealt with my hobbies long enough to know the course of action to take in these situations. Thanks mom... ^o^ Same here, I like to messing with my figures when I feel bored or need to think.
Kids, Oh god what a pain in the ass they are. Im not a big fan of children i dont plan having any yet thats for sure. Danny you're crazy if some kiddy relative of mine came round my house and touched any of my figures especially my suzimaya haruhi resin masterpiece i'd shout oi kiddy No and give em a slap. Little buggers. Then blast the parents for there ability to control that creature that belongs to them. Sorry am i going to far???
It seems I'm still lucky with children, it's very rare for any children to come to my place and the ones that rarely come can't even walk yet nor say words ^^, still if there's one that I hope he/she does not come I still have my Detolf protecting them from harms way ^^
Kids: Every anime figure fan's worst nightmare. ^^; I have 2 nephews that come over my house a lot and it can be a real pain. Thankfully I've kept damage to a minimum. Though a few Eva units were sacrificed along the way. Now I use the "let them play with the crap I don't want" method you mentioned. haha ;P
I don't mind the kids, because all of my figures/models are in a glass cabinet where they can't reach them. Also i got a few toys laying around when relitives come by with their kids, i let them have at those toys which i don't care much about.
Hey Danny, that picture of Lisa drained my blood! lol! i can't stand kids wanting their little mischievous hands on my Gunplas and/or figures... i mean you spend a lot in those and to get to see them being smash to smithereens is just not for me. My little cousin likes to peer into my Gunpla collection everytime when they visit. I know how he feels. I was a kid once too but its different now. He'll know when he grows up. Thankfully, i got some glass covers for my collection. phew! About the hot weather, do you think the figures that are in their boxes are safe?? Cause i got my figures in my cabinet(for clothes). i currently dont have the space to display them because of the Gunplas.
It's the same thing with my uncle's model planes and RC planes- we can look but not touch. It's going to be the same thing in my house: and is the exact reason why I put my models securely on a high shelf on a bookshelf or on the wall ^^. I love kids, and could forgive em for breaking something, and not get mad. I would be upset though if something I worked on for a long time was damaged. I make my kits (if possible) playable. With that, I mean I make my Gundams so they can pose, my ships so stuff moves around (turrets) and aircraft so the wheels move (same with cars). Enjoying collectibles by viewing them can be a unique and fun experience, but children should be taught "not to touch", because Uncle Sam worked really hard on it.
Let a figure or gunpla to a kid as a toy, and you're almost sure that what you have invested in will go "crash". Having suitable toys for children in the house is necessary to counter the problem if there is no other way... what if they don't break it, but put them into their mouths or something horrible like that? Saliva traces... *shivers* I would ask the parents to bring their kids' toys so the little ones don't get bored... and this sounds more logical than the above idea. In last resort I would keep my stuff (as well as manipulating it) like it was precious China (maybe that is why I possess none) and put it into a safe or other place that can't be accessible, movable or picklocked by children (They are master thieves when they want!!).
i would hate to have that happen to my figures. good thing is my niece and nephew are pretty much old enough to knw not to play with my stuff. also all my collection is upstairs is a cabinet or in my room so their are quite safe.
Figures are totally hands off to anyone unless I'm sure they know the worth of each figure and they know how to handle it. XD I do use the legacy view but only in my home pc which I rarely use to view your site (until I get to fix my internet @ home).
thankfully, i don't have to worry about any kids or pets getting to my collection. My figures take turn to come out from the glass cabinet onto my table for me to play with.
Luckily I dun let any of my relatives into my room, the stupid kids can jump around on the sofa in the living room for all they care, but they wun have any access to my room, where all the fun things are.
O' mah J-sus! Lisa's holding the figure from the base!
I see that she's surrounded by stuff animals and yet she calls out for your figures. Kids, they always want what they can't have. Next time, you should just lay down your figures and make the stuff animals out of reach. I'm kidding.
Now I remember why I started keeping my figures in a barrister's bookcase . . . .
My cousins are relatively older now - youngest being 9 and they are pretty much interested in computer games. Throw in some games and they will be pretty much occupied :) The girls will be glued to the TV or reading manga (don't have to worry about manga now as those who read them are now studying abroad ^^) so my figures don't really get affected (I place them in a glass cabinet) and people don't really come into my room anyway ^^; Btw, I think you did blog about this topic of 'Figure Danger' in the past, about a year back or two
the only danger i face is my gf throws them away after a heated quarrel... young relatives usually are not tall enough to reach it. d._.b
I feel your pain Danny. I've had visitor's kids snap arms and legs off my gunpla. and when they apologize you can't do anything but grit your teeth and say, "its okay. I can fix them later anyway". although I have to say I've never had one that would flail figures like Lisa. ^^ great idea on the crap gashapon. I used to give them kids a few old 1/144 kit to keep them busy. but gashapons would probably be more economical. ^^
Sometimes the problem is not always the kids, it's the parent :P who can, despite us telling them such and such cost XXX amount, they still take it and give it to the kid when the kid screams for it... *shudder* I collect other stuff which can be a bit expensive or fragile so I feel your pain o_o gya
Chun, that's called the spoiled kid/permissive parent problem. Some parents just can't refuse anything to their children or simply are unable to say no to them. Some kids have learned to manipulate their parental units well! Quite a recurring problem.
Just realized Lisa looks kinda pissed ^^; I think she thinking "How can this 'plastic' be cuter than me!" I demand it be removed! ^^
speaking of the summer heat, i remember last summer, my sega gashapon girls started to lean to one side due to heat
I can imagine the horror of a kid messing with your figures. I would be the same if i invited some pissed friends over... I understand about the heat too - im scared that some of my figs will lean. My all time fave fig (max factory kasumi) seems ok after a few years on the shelf, but a lot of people say that it prone to leaning. Also, my mikuru and bome figure stands on 1 leg, which could be susceptible to leaning... I never mess with my figures though - even the poseable ones. They just sit there and look nice.
my cousins daughter Mia always comes over with her Mom and Dad and always goes for my figures to ... she also handles them like a rugby player and I too have to do alot of repairs ... (this helps me become a better modeller though ^_^ ...) BTW, Lisa is a cute kid ... cant wait to have my own (half chinese/half RSA - gonna be a cool hybrid ... hehehe)
I'm fortunate in several ways here. 1. No small kids around to play with them. 2. They're usually to high for them to reach if there were. 3. My room is usually like a giant freezer once the AC goes in. My concerns in this case are space. I've actually had to box up most of my collection due to the need to move home and the smaller living conditions I'm now in :( I miss my collection.
Aw she's so cute, that's when you know you are ready to become a father ;) can't wait to have my own devil
err... poor Kotori?
D_blade it is indeed a re-occurring, if not a growing problem o_o Now that I am seeing the photo again, Kotori (in Lisa's little hands) looks like she's hanging onto her hat for her dear life :P
Umm... I've closed all the Figures into a close bookcase glass...and I've locked it.
I put mine in a glass case but i do take it out sometimes to mess around with whenever i start cleaning
I keep my figures in a glass case. I do have a couple on my computer desk, usually the most recent figures I've gotten. After that they go in the case. I rearrange them every now and again, because suddenly you have enough figures of a type or series to have a section. I don't play with them, since they don't move or anything like that, but I admire them all the time.
I close-off my room when I have guests come over. Besides I've got PS3 and the 360 that's enough to keep them occupied. (and in one spot) HAHA!
Super Rats, Well you could play with the cast off accessories ^^;
I keep my figures on high shelves. As I am tall I can see them and take them. No short boy girls or boys can grab them. And they better not dare anyway !
Gashapon? Are they safe for the kiddies? What about the small parts not intended for children under a certain age?
Moved my figs to the shelf above my pc, great views... very nice.
Lock the door... Yea... Don't let em' kiddies get in your room...
OMG PUT HER DOWN PUT HER DOWN!!!
I strategically placed my printing paper, trash can and the tower of DVDs in front of the figures' shelf so kids won't get there too easily. If this doesn't work I hope the Berserk action figures will scare the kids away! @_@ (..or at least keep them busy. ^^) The shelf is located at a part of the room where it's never exposed to direct sunlight. I hope this will be enough to keep my figures safe. If not I should take setting snares into consideration. :D
I used to, until I actually started to get into them... Now, I change the posing of my Gunpla every so often, worrying about the wearing of the joints (=P)
i cast a level 25 force shield on all my figures and gundsms if i know kids are coming. ('~')
Yeah the younglings are always touching and wanting to play. I usually let them play with my old toys or i hide them. That sucks heat waves!
Yes, it can be dangerous for the figure, but have any of you ever thought of little kids swallowing the gundam/cast off parts?
OMG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! BABY DANGER!! WATCH OUT KOTORI!! gee i have Kotori too well,... actually it's my mom's since i bought for her as a B-Day gift ^.^ i'm kind of lucky cuz my cousins are all grown up kids & they KNOW what i do to 'EM if they start PLAYIN AROUND WITH MY FIGURES ^^
AAAHH!!! this happens to me everytime my sis pays a visit & bring Her 5 kids oh man....(**sigh) Figures been touched ,Alot of finger prints on the Detolf,my computer 's wallpaper been change into Hannah Montana Good thing i hide my Gunpla Equip in a Very safe place... I dont like kids these days
Kids don't come into my room. They say my face was too scary. When they came to my place, i gave them a icy stare that they were glued to the living room. they were all too short to reach them btw.
wow scary! i had one experience just a week ago. Fortunately the kid was mature enough to not touch any figure. Just inquisitive i guess. Now i'm getting acrylic doors made for the shelves where i keep the figures. One scare is enough to last a lifetime i guess ^-^
It is worst with teenagers around. You can find your figures covered in Bukkake, so I keep mine locked.
Paint peeling on some of the cheaper figures can also be a very bad problem. My Kaname BOME figure has flaky paint on her socks and I can't do anything about it :( . I've only managed to break one figure so far though and that was Chi who fell off the desk and her hand came off, but it's fixed now.
sad to say but i don't have any figures
Somehow, I can relate to all of you... but it wasn't a little kid who broke some of my gunpla, it was my cousin the same age as me! Way back in 4th grade or 3rd grade when G Gundam was still hot here, I had a 1/144 God Gundam. My stone headed cousin invaded my room, and when I got back from school the boxes were not in numerical order anymore! I was relieved that the Gundam Wing crew and U.C. stuff survived the onslaught. The unlucky Gundam was the God and it's core lander was destroyed, the wings were snapped off. Come to think of it my 1/144 Nu Gundam (old version) was also a victim of his onslaught, 2 of the funnels went missing and I can't find them anymore. Now that I have my glass cabinet, my gunpla are now secure. I managed to buy myself an MG Nu Gundam, and I'm currently looking for an MG God Gundam. And when I start my Clannad statue collection I'll make sure that they won't suffer!! Heck, I'll buy a separate cabinet just for Fuko-chan!