Tinkertoys originally were released to the toy market way back in 1914 and to this day generally end up as a part of a child’s collection. Most adults have played with them at some point or at the very least they are familiar with them. I think most are familiar with Ralphie’s effort to veer the conversation of his long sought Red Rider BB gun to merely wanting Tinkertoys for Christmas. Like any toy which has experienced a longevity in its lifespan, the brand has undergone changes and transformations as well. Tinkertoys today are owned by K’NEX which in turn is a part of the Hasbro company and although these were originally seen as being something for boys, Tinkertoys has evolved and has seen releases which are aimed at girls.
It’s not simply giving hem colors that girls may like. Tinkertoys seems to have taken a page from the LEGO playbook where the next step is to brand the toy even further by adding a license to them. When you’re a part of Hasbro and desire to get more girls interested one of the best directions to take it to give them a more equestrian edge. This doesn’t mean simply adding in any horses or even ponies but instead teaming the toy up with one of the most popular ponies on the marketplace today; My Little Pony.
As I’m certain many parents are aware, My Little Pony just a week or so ago released a brand new animated feature film into theaters which means that if your daughter has found her interest in ponies starting to decline, it’s highly likely that there will be an outpouring of desire for new pony toys. Hasbro of course has already released a very extensive line of toys which tie into the film itself but there are other toys available as well. Tinkertoys now has its own selection of My Little Pony toys designed to get little girls building things as well as creating adventures with their favorite characters.
Growing up I played with Tinkertoys myself but it has been decades since I actually picked any up. I have memories of my grandparents having a set of them tucked away in the toy box in that familiar cardboard tube but I the toys have certainly changed as well. It’s not merely the addition of licensed characters but what I was familiar with were the classic, wooden Tinkertoys. Today this has transformed to showcasing plastic versions of the familiar parts although for the purist, there are still wooden variations available as well. My daughter to the best of my knowledge has never played with Tinkertoys as it has been something she’s never been terribly interested it. That all changed however when she happened upon the sets of My Little Pony versions during an outing to our local Toys R Us and despite her begging and pleading to get them, I managed to convince her that we really didn’t need them. Meanwhile I was simply waiting for the toys to show up for review, something she was unaware of at the time.
The My Little Pony Tinkertoys as far as the overall line itself is concerned has four different releases. There are smaller building sets which consist of 11 to 14 pieces in total while there is a larger release which is more of a playset. With four seta and four different ponies available, most children will find that their favorite characters are represented appropriately save for my daughter who was a little upset there weren’t sets for Twilight Sparkle or Pinkie Pie but you can’t have everything and honestly, having more sets especially when this is a new direction of Tinkertoys potentially means that more boxes sit on shelves if they branding doesn’t manage to catch on with fans of the series.
On the smaller side of the line you have sets with Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy and the building sets do a good job at representing the characters as far as what children are familiar with. Applejack includes an apple cart which can be hooked to her as well as an apple tree, Rarity has a mirror and a brush while Fluttersjy has a tree that includes a rabbit on a swing. Each set includes a set of directions to teach the child how to put the set together. Initially my daughter wanted me to build her sets but after I showed her how the instructions were printed in a very simple, easy to understand fashion, it didn’t take long before she was happily building the sets herself. This was met with excitement when she was able to get it finished by herself as well as annoyance when I would try and help at times. Eventually I just let her to everything herself aside from putting stickers on toys.
It’s not just the items in the building sets that children will construct but also the ponies. This means putting on wings, when this is applicable, their heads, manes, and tails. My daughter however soon seem to have the Halloween spirit and became the equivalent of Dr. Frankenstein, only with toys in her hands. Once familiar ponies soon had their looks changed as heads and wings came off and were put on others. Before long we had characters running around on the table which she’s dubbed things such as Apple Dash and Flutterjack. Rarity meanwhile seemed to stay intact, possibly because she only has a single name and that wasn’t nearly as easy to combine as the others.
As for the larger set in the series, this is where parents will find the Rainbow Dash themed Cloudsdale Spin and Soar playset. This features clouds that can be snapped on, a slide, and a upper portion of the toy that Rainbow Dash can be placed on and then spun around. The set itself my daughter found to be a little more complicated as she looked at the visual guide, she soon had it put together and was happily having one of her favorite ponies rushing down the plastic slide.
While she has been having a great deal of fun with the toys, there are some aspects which she didn’t much care for. Being five, some of these were very simple, cosmetic things that only a child would think of. On the more humorous side she was extremely upset that Applejack doesn’t have a hat. I tried to point out that the way the toys are designed it doesn’t really work well to have one but she quickly retorted that it could just snap on like the other parts do. The one bigger issue we found was in regards to Rainbow Dash and her playset. Placing her on the upper portion to spin often results in the pony flipping upside down, an issue apparently caused by the weight although it wasn’t always the case. Sometimes Rainbow Dash would spin quite nicely while others times we found that giving her a quick push resulted in her flipping over. The toy itself though is designed in such a way that even when she does end up the wrong way it doesn’t bring everything crashing down.
Tinkertoys have certainly come a long way in their century long existence. I feel that the approach of adding a license to the brand it perfect and it’s not the first time they have done so as sets featuring Nintendo’s Mario as well as Plants vs. Zombies are also available. Girls might like seeing some of these video game characters, and I know that my daughter loves PvZ, but when you add ponies into the mix, that changes everything. These haven’t simply inspired more playtime but even if she doesn’t realize it, it is getting her to build and follow simply instructions. These sets are definitely something that will take the adventures of those familiar ponies into new and magical directions.