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View Full Version : Imaginext vs. Rescue Heroes?



yaycarter
10-14-2004, 10:00 PM
My son is 4 1/2, and he saw the Rescue Heroes HyperJet and decided to ask for it for Christmas. I'm wondering at what age do boys get "out of" Rescue Heroes. Is he getting to the older side of them? He is still at an age where I can "guide" him somewhat in his toy selections - does that sound awful or what?! - and I don't know if I should just give in to this HUGE hyperjet or if I should try to steer him toward the Imaginext stuff. He has seen it at a friends house, and liked playing with it very much, so it's not as if I'd be steering him toward something he doesn't like. The imaginext things remind me of playmobil. The imaginext stuff gets really great online reviews, so it sounds really good to me.

What do y'all think?

I don't want to get in a bind trying to find things this Christmas, so I'm thinking ahead!

Thanks,
Karen

luvbeinmama
10-15-2004, 01:55 AM
I don't think the Rescue Heroes get outgrown for a while. My son still plays with them (will be 5 in January). Yesterday he was swinging Bob Bouy around on the string from my blinds (I stopped that one in short order. LOL!). PLUS if you have younger siblings, Rescue Heroes don't have the tiny parts to be worried about.

He got a whole bunch of castle/knight/pirate stuff from Imaginext and Playmobil for Christmas & birthday last year, and he LOVES them! Mostly he plays with the dudes (knights/pirates/etc.), but when we help him set up the buildings, etc. he really likes playing with the whole thing. I would steer away from the Lego Dragon stuff as it is geared toward kids 8+ (has really minute pieces, and is set up for "battle" type games that my son is not near ready for). And, yes, Imaginext is much like Playmobil. They can even exchange hand-held gear (swords, shields, etc.) as the hands are about the same size. I like the quality of Playmobil paint a bit better, the Imaginext guys have spots that have rubbed off and show the color of the plastic underneath (not that DS cares), the Playmobil guys haven't done that at all. BUT the Imaginext guys have much more detail put into them, They LOOK cooler.

HTH!

MelissaTC
10-15-2004, 04:02 PM
My cousin (he is 8; my Mom & Aunt are 9 yrs apart and my Mom had me young) gave us all his Rescue Heroes, all the structures, etc.. Matthew is obsessed with firemen and policemen. I know some of the pieces are really small and would pose a choking hazard so I don't want to give him those. But I am wondering if he would be ready to play with the action figures or when do they start taking interest in such? I have rubbermaid bins full of this stuff, some of them even new in package!

luvbeinmama
10-16-2004, 01:47 AM
My DD has been playing with them a bit, and she just turned 2 today. So, even though they say 3+, I would let him play with the figures sans accessories now. I think they are big enough to not be a problem. And unless he is super-mega-destructo-boy, I don't think falling apart is a problem either. They seem really well put together. I think they assumed that younger siblings would also want to play with these, so they are even nice for the younger kids. Even some of the accessories are fine to play with early, but you really have to use your own judgment on them.

HTH!

MelissaTC
10-16-2004, 11:04 AM
Thanks so much. :)

lukkykatt
10-17-2004, 04:27 PM
DS will be 5 in December, and has both Rescue Heroes and Imaginext toys. In our house, the Rescue Heroes definitely get played with more than the Imaginext. I don't see the RH's going away any time soon.

JP4
11-13-2004, 07:23 PM
I have a 9 year old who played with Rescue Heroes until recently. Your son still has at least a few years of playing with them, so get him what he wants. :) The Imaginext systems look fun, but my son had trouble getting some pieces to go together and stay together and became frustrated. It got MUCH less use than the Rescue Heroes.

yaycarter
11-14-2004, 02:25 PM
I did buy the HyperJet for him one day last week. It is going to be a struggle to hold onto it until the holidays! I felt bad for trying to manipulate him. In my defense, my only friend with a child close in age to my son has a son who is a lot different from mine (duh!) Anyway, her son NEVER EVER played with Rescue Heroes because he thought they looked too babyish to him even when he was 3. His first action figures were Power Rangers. I think I just assumed that my son would follow those lines soon enough, but in really thinking about *him*, I think it doesn't even occur to him that Rescue Heroes are babyish. Actually, he plays more with our 19 month old's toys than his own some days, so even if he did think it was babyish, he'd probably still play with it. So far, to him, fun is fun, regardless of what the toy is.

Thank you for your advice.

Karen