Just a question that popped into my mind when reading the post about the kirakira being translated and slated for sale in the UK.
the only kid i'm ever around is my niece who is only 18 months old (so there's no way she's getting ahold of those small parts!!). but i was doing a photo shoot with a bunch of pinkys and a whole slew of neighborhood kids came over (and ruined my shoot!!  ) and they absolutely loved them (these were all boys, mind you, and i had my girls set up as a group of assasins with parts from the weapons set). i felt bad because of all the parts they liked, most of them came from limited sets/releases (no weapons set for you, kids!) that their parents would never buy for them.

so, has anyone introduced pinkys to smaller kids, say ages 4-10? did they like them? what did they think?

this also brings up another question: are pinkys for kids or adults who like to collect? with all those limiteds (and a marker set that lets you customize), how could kids possibly afford/obtain them?

They probably would like Pinkies. When I was little, I actually had an animation that was great to use while playing with toys but now it's kind of gone. XD Children would like Pinkies, though I worry they would mess it up to the point of uselessness. I like my stuff to be in an decent state but kids have fun messing things up. So it depends... Also depends if parents don't mind their kids messing up dolls chaotically.

Actually I brought Mikimiki to a family party once and a little girl grabbed at her. XD Kids are rough though.

I dunno, without stands my Pinkies fall down all the time. They also fall apart easily too. (separating parts of their bodies). I need to be gentle with most of the body parts I have. XD The sturdiest outfit I have so far that usually never falls apart or down without a stand is Yoshiko's outfits, anything with her black boots. That's from my experience. Just to hold one and pretend they're walking would cause a head to fly.

my cousin's 4-year-old daughter kind of loves them (making combos, and the fact their heads often fall off mid-play and you can stick them back on ) so I've gotten her a few, but with the attention span at that age, they're really just another toy among a sea of others.

I guess kids would like Pinkys and the interchangeability of their parts (I think I just made up a word...)
But I think those small parts aren't exactly suitable for them, they'd probably loose them... When I was a kid I used to loose lots of small parts that came with my toys. Maybe the regular releases would be for kids, they're easier to obtain and not that heavy on your parents' wallet, as for the limited/special releases...

I think it's the same as Barbies (I know, bad comparison!) There are those cheaper Barbies you can just buy for your kids and 'dispose' once the interest is gone, then there are the more expensive, collector's barbies for serious collectors...

But then again, I doubt parents will go all the way to order Pinkys from Japan or the internet, just to get their kids a toy to play with. Maybe if it was the 'in thing'.

Well, my sister like Pinkies, and she's 9, but I really don't think much younger than that would be a great Pinky owner, sometimes, I think it requires a LOT of paticence (like things falling apart,  *pokepokemyTohruinAkito'shairpokepoke*) and I dunno, Pinkies aren't really something I want to see in my local Wal-mart, as I sort of think Pinkies aren't 8-year-old's toys, after all, some have prices going up to $80+ 

My little sisters like to play with mine, and they're jealous that I have so many. I'm guessing if they had them, the pieces would get lost very fast though, they tend to leave everything lying around...

Kids would like Pinkys, but I don't really see them as something suitable for 'normal' kids who would lose the parts and such.

Pinkys have lots of small parts and are easy to lose, I think of them of something that's meant more for display, not to play with. Kids toys that I'm used to don't sport such careful paintjobs, and they look like something that you need to be more responsible with - they're too 'delicate' to play with too much (things come apart and such).

They're more of a teen-to-adult collectable, in my opinion. I don't think they're suited to young kids, even if they would appeal to them.

In Japan, Pinky Street were originally aimed at little girls (8-13 year old, I guess).
I think it would sell well in Occident !

That would be great if every little girls in the world play Pinky Street ! I would have killed for a toy like this when I was a kid ! 

The only kid who really knows about them around me is my little brother, and while he's not obsessive or anything he does get a kick out of them. He likes making the most rediculous combos he can. 
I think kids probably would like them. They're fun and not hugely complicated. I may have to test it out on my niece next time she comes over.  >3>

I figured as much. Though I would hope its the responsible girls who do buy them. ^_-

I would think 10-13 year olds for sure would really like them, maybe a bit younger. Maybe little japanese girls are more careful with the tiny pieces in toys? *wouldn't know* ^^;

hmm... i thought i remember reading in an interview translated by tenshi that they were geared towards gaming/technology dorks that were male (but maybe it's that they realized that that was who was buying series 1 and geared series 2 towards them? or that the first series didn't sell well so they changed their marketing strategy)  . in any case, i remember baby sue saying that the reason they had school outfits was to appeal to the moe guys.

I'm 10. Does that help? 
Well, once I did introduce my friends to my pinkies and their like "omgawesome!" and I'm like "whee you like them!  "


What they'd think if I showed them the weapons my girls have... 

According to one of my Japanese bosses Pinkys are really intended for the hobbyist market, not the play market.

I had some younger cousins playing with my girls but I was closely monitoring them to make sure no pieces went missing.  They loved them, but still, the pieces would go missing if they had their own Pinkys to play with.

I think it's different depending on what kind of Pinky it is, like Yun said... Some are for collectors, others for younger people who wants to play with them. The fact that some parts can go missing is always there (even adult collectors can lose some pieces... ^^''), but there are smaller toys that kids love. Like... Polly Pocket or Micro Machines or something... XD

Having small toys could teach the kids to take better care of their stuff and be more responsible and don't leave things lying around everywhere if you don't want your things getting lost.

But I think it's hard to play with Pinkys with them dropping their ponytails and ribbons, their heads falling off, suddenly they're cut in half.........

I think, it`s very individual. When I was small, I always lost all my barbie shoes. Bud I had a friend, who didnt lost any. Some children are simply more tidy (is it the right word ) then others.
And I agree with Tess, that they can learn to be more responsible for their things.