Sonic’s the name, speed’s toys are my game!
This year, Sonic the Hedgehog is celebrating 30 years of super speed and gold ring collecting, so it’s the perfect time for Sonic the Hedgehog Craftables, a series of build-it-yourself collectibles from Just Toys, designed for kids ages 3 and up.
There are four different craftable figures in total: Sonic running through a gold hoop, Super Sonic in action, Turbo Sonic taking off, and Sonic working together with Tails. The boxes are unmarked, so kids won’t know which scene they’ve gotten until they open the box.
Each little scene comes in about seven pieces, which range in size from the larger display bases to smaller details such as flowers or blast effects. The figures also come with building instructions, which are entirely shown with images and arrows. Because these instructions include a few piece combinations in every step, kids may experience some trial and error when figuring out the best order to add each piece to their scene.
Some of the Craftables are more complicated than others — Sonic running through the ring, for example, is a much easier build than the scene of Sonic and Tails, which requires a bit more time and patience to assemble.
When built correctly, the entire display will stay together without any adhesive, but the Craftables are certainly designed so that kids can pull the pieces apart again. This is a great feature if kids want to make sure every piece is at the exact right angle, or if they want to disassemble and rebuild the figures over and over. However, if they are hoping for a more permanent collectible to display, adding some strong glue to all of the piece connections (with adult help/supervision) will keep the pieces firmly in place.
These may be age graded for kids ages 3 and up, but kids that young may need a second set of hands — either from an older sibling or an adult — to get the pieces together correctly. For slightly older kids, building the scenes is a fun project that they can complete on their own. The Craftables offer a more extended play pattern than unboxing a fully built collectible, but the building process is easy enough that they will be able to finish it in one sitting.
It may be hard to get a sense of the size of these collectibles by looking at the images alone, but they are about 3.5 inches tall (although they vary a bit, depending on the scene). This makes them a convenient size to display, either alone or as a set, on a nightstand or bookshelf.
Kids who are familiar with Sonic and other characters from the video games will enjoy seeing these characters in action, and they will appreciate the role they get to play in creating a collectible that they can show off. Plus, at $9.99 each, these Craftables are an affordable toy that makes for a fun at-home activity and a great introduction to the world of model building.
