Canonical Tags - Master Listings

Lets say I currently have my store set up as individual listings, but I am creating master listings to consolidate same products.

Current Individual Product Listings:
Blue Skateboard
Red Skateboard
Pink Skateboard

New Master Listing:
Colored Skateboards

Is it good or bad to set the canonical tag of the individual listings to the master listing, or is this the right way to do it?

The concern I have is long-tail ranking for my current individual product listings being removed for the new master listing that won't immediately rank.

Do I leave them as-is, or point to the master?