Have you tried to unpackage a kid's toy recently?!

[Don Barzini]

Sounds like it should be easy, right? WRONG!

My little boy's 5th birthday today. One of his presents was an Army Corps fort thing. Essentally a plastic half-castle about 3ft high, with around 5 army figures with assorted weapons and vehicles in there too.

I kid you not, it took me about half an hour to get everything out of the box and free of packaging. Each part was attached to thick cardboard by a variety of plastic ties, bands, screws and bolts. My necessary armoury of tools to get everything out succesfully was kitchen scissors, nail scissors, two screwdrivers, a set of pliers, a set of wire cutters and the brute force of my fingers and hands. And of course the most important thing - plenty of swear words!

They go on and on about plastic waste, plastic bottles etc - but it seemed like the amount of unnecessary plastic crap that came out of that box was enough to pollute the Pacific Ocean on its own!

This is not an unusual occurrence now, by the way. My eldest is 8 years old so I have a fair amount of experience in opening toys. Every one now comes packaged in exactly this way.

When I was a kid, you ripped open the box and everything fell out and you played with it. When did it suddenly become necessary to make opening a child's toy akin to breaking into Fort Knox?!?!?!?!

 

[Slab]

Yeah its the same with any type of PC accessory or cable etc




By the way... you know the toy's worthless now that you've taken it out the box and played with it

 

[MegaSteve]

Some of the 'goodies' purchased from Costco can be seriously overpacked...

 

[drdel]

Toys now have to survive being thrown into containers and shipped across the oceans. Those that survive then face the tea-leaves in warehouses etc and shop lifters who open the package at any opportunity.

Welcome to the modern day...

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Toys now have to survive being thrown into containers and shipped across the oceans. Those that survive then face the tea-leaves in warehouses etc and shop lifters who open the package at any opportunity.

Welcome to the modern day...

Thats about it

 

[ScienceBoy]

I do it frequently, they have improved hugely of late IMO.

A few snips with the scissors on the pen knife and turn a few things that hold them in and out pops the toy. I was expecting it to be much harder!

 

[Wolf]

Toys now have to survive being thrown into containers and shipped across the oceans. Those that survive then face the tea-leaves in warehouses etc and shop lifters who open the package at any opportunity.

Welcome to the modern day...

That part is so true, MiL works for a well known toy firm and was telling us the other day some little scrote turned them over for £300 worth of Pokemon toys and cards through emptying packaging the other day.

As for opening big things like the Army corps thing, sodding nightmare but nothing beats the nightmare of spending hours building lego with your kids then realising they're going to play with and destroy it thus losing pieces.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

It’s nothing new , I remember very well a Christmas Day 20 years ago extracting 3 Barbie Dolls from their packaging.

It was a proper engineering job, sounds like nothing much has changed

 

[Tashyboy]

Could be wrong but if its plastic = Chinese made = crap.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

As for opening big things like the Army corps thing, sodding nightmare but nothing beats the nightmare of spending hours building lego with your kids then realising they're going to play with and destroy it thus losing pieces.

You've obviously missed Lego yourself as a child then........you build the whatever it is once, then break it back down and stick the lot of it in with the rest of your Lego collection, and build countless guns, space-ships etc etc

Ps.....I still have a large collection of it in my loft, from my childhood.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It’s nothing new , I remember very well a Christmas Day 20 years ago extracting 3 Barbie Dolls from their packaging.

Bet you weren't expecting your brother to give you those were you

 

[Wolf]

You've obviously missed Lego yourself as a child then........you build the whatever it is once, then break it back down and stick the lot of it in with the rest of your Lego collection, and build countless guns, space-ships etc etc

Ps.....I still have a large collection of it in my loft, from my childhood.

I was the opposite I glued mine together to keep as sets. We've stil got it set up here now kids have a proper little city going.

I do also have the obligatory box of lego junk they love

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I was the opposite I glued mine together to keep as sets. We've stil got it set up here now kids have a proper little city going.

You Sir, are a phillistine

 

[Wolf]

You Sir, are a phillistine

I've been called worse 😂

 

[Slab]

Could be wrong but if its plastic = Chinese made = crap.

You still carving those penny whistles for the grandkids in your man shed on Xmas eve?

 

[Tashyboy]

You still carving those penny whistles for the grandkids in your man shed on Xmas eve?

Starting next week 😁