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Post by soundwave on Feb 18, 2008 12:49:03 GMT -6
why do you collect? I'll start this off i collect because it is genuinely fun for me and you meet alot of cool people you wouldn't normally meet and it gives me an excuse to act immature!!
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clevelandhags
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May 1, 2024 21:31:33 GMT -6
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Post by clevelandhags on Feb 18, 2008 20:04:56 GMT -6
Reminds me of my child hood and most importantly lets me escape from real world stress while giving me something to really look forward to when I'm done with work.
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Post by shaxper on Feb 18, 2008 20:32:46 GMT -6
Toys have always been an outlet of creativity for me. They genuinely make my mind work in fun and fascinating ways when I play with them. To an extent, I guess its an attempt to recommunicate with my childhood. But there's a lot more to it than that. Besides, I'm a collector by habit. If it weren't for toys and comics, I'd probably be collecting ties and patterned socks.
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phillinley
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May 1, 2024 21:31:33 GMT -6
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Post by phillinley on Feb 19, 2008 15:12:18 GMT -6
I collect mostly to forget about the things I'd rather be doing. I enjoy climbing more than anything else. My idea of a perfect day is a snow storm at 14,000 feet with a -20 degree wind chill. But I live in flatlander Illinois, and my wife will never move, so my outlet is video games and action figures so that I don't have to think about climbing in between trips to the mountains.
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Post by da18thcustomizer on Feb 19, 2008 17:32:44 GMT -6
I was pondering this very question earlier today while perusing last months Toyfare. As i was reading i realized i had zero interest in collecting 99% of the items i saw in the mag' yet i truly enjoy action figures as a creative expression and art. The sculpting, the prototype to finished product process, the paint applications, etc. all appeal to me . The ingenuity of modern joint systems and injection molding techniques have really made the hobby even more fun over the last few years.
Ill obtain action figure that i may keep a while to study but then pass along as i dont collect them (i only "collect" 4 lines and 2 of them are for their potential / what i can make them as opposed to what they are in stock form) but i still cant turn down a quality action figure even if i wont collect the line. Theres just something magical about a good action figure sculpt.
I suppose ultimately i still collect / have interest in the hobby as action figures are imagination in physical form (much like books). And theres nothing better than the freedom to imagine and to see that vision made manifest. I know many people see video games in that light but creating a complex world digitally is a skill that has to be learned. Using a figure as a portal to your imagination is as old as dirt and comes naturally to most.
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Post by TheWatcher on Feb 19, 2008 21:25:20 GMT -6
I grew up in a rural area and have been pretty anti-social my entire life. (early on against my will but later in life due to being so angry by choice) I had few friends and those who get to know me, know I can be fiercely loyal to the friends I do make. Well I gravitated towards collecing first with comics due to my uncle giving me the comics he had read already. I grew up with the characters and especially related with the X-Men's Wolverine since he was so angry and he was a loner. Toys and comics were companions when I didn't have any or to escape my difficult family environment. Later in llfe as I grew older I remembered all those attachments and started to collect to reconnect with old memories in a way that I missed. Sure they were tough times for me but in a way life was simpler. You could shut out all the troubles of the world.
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Post by mrjayberry on Feb 24, 2008 20:54:40 GMT -6
Up until maybe last year I wasn't a collecter by any means, I was just a guy who picked up random toys I thought were cool or sparked a childhood memory at thriftstores and flea markets, and dollar stores.
Then I decided I don't finish enough things I started so now I collect M.U.S.C.L.E.s so I can have at least one completed collection, that so far has lead me one place to another and now there are several lines I want to complete.
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treckmeyer
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May 1, 2024 21:31:33 GMT -6
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Post by treckmeyer on Feb 25, 2008 9:35:25 GMT -6
I collect to get away from real life and reduce stress, and because it does bring back fond memories of childhood.
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Post by gort on Feb 27, 2008 18:58:52 GMT -6
Because I enjoy it.
I like having the stuff. I like looking for it. I like the satisfaction you get from finding a long sought after piece. I love the buzz of a really good score.
I don't just like the toys, I like the toy archaeology. Piecing together information about almost forgotten lines, and reading about others I've never known much about before.
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Post by soundwave on Feb 27, 2008 19:32:52 GMT -6
gort man!! that was awesome! now that is a true collector! such conviction! and i couldn't have described it better!!!!!
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Post by brcthrift on Jun 10, 2008 12:16:31 GMT -6
I like the hunt. I love driving around looking for garage sales and flea markets and digging through bins of mostly junk to find that one MOTU or Starroid for fifty cents. A successful hunt brings back all sorts of nostalgia for me.
My wife is a stay at home mom and she gets up during the night so I can get a full night of sleep. On Saturday mornings I get up when our son wakes up, at about 6 AM. He is my accomplice on a tour of the neighborhood garage sales and thrift stores. I look forward to continue this as he gets older. I want to teach him about the toys daddy played with, and generate his interest in them.
Right we are in an 800 square foot apartment and I have 0 display space. In 2 weeks we close on a much larger house, and I have a designated man cave which will sport my collection, and allow me to expand it.
For me there is also an economic side to it. My hobby is completely a self sustaining one. When I got into collecting about a year ago my first purchase was the body of a G1 Scorponok and the Voltron lions that accomadated the figures. I spent 3 bucks on these items and sold them for near $100. I paid back my bank account, and I spent about 25 bucks of my profit on other toys I wanted and spent the rest on things I didn't want, but knew I could make profit on. That initial 3 investment has grown into a collection of about 60 loose and complete figures for display, a closetful of loose figures and accessories to re-sell or trade, and $800 in a special checking account just for toys. By going slow with my personal collectionand buying stuff for re-sale I have afforded myself the luxary of a collection that is only limited by my ability to hunt, kill it, and drag it home.
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joshtx
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May 1, 2024 21:31:34 GMT -6
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Post by joshtx on Jun 10, 2008 16:09:42 GMT -6
I agree with shaxper here, Im a collector by nature, and if not toys it would be something else. Hell, I do collect other things as well, just not with as much conviction. Like most said, the toys bring back good memories, and I love having vintage stuff you can't find everywhere.
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spockoda
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May 1, 2024 21:31:34 GMT -6
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Post by spockoda on Jul 6, 2008 16:09:49 GMT -6
I collect to get away from real life and reduce stress, and because it does bring back fond memories of childhood. That's pretty much my reasoning. Also,collecting has always been in my blood,whether it be collecting bottle caps,rocks,etc.
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spockoda
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May 1, 2024 21:31:34 GMT -6
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Post by spockoda on Jul 13, 2008 12:38:01 GMT -6
I agree with the above "diagnosis". In 2002,when Mattel relaunched MOTU,I said all I wanted was a He-Man and Skeletor. I ended up collecting over 20 of the figures,and almost all the vehicles from the line. In 1997,when I started collecting Star Wars,I told myself I would only buy the figures. I wound up with dozens of vehicles and playsets. When I very first heard of new Indiana Jones figures,I said all I wanted was a figure of Indy himself,maybe with his horse. Now I'm collecting the whole line. I guess I have what you could call a "collecting mentality".
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ludevig
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May 1, 2024 21:31:34 GMT -6
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Post by ludevig on Jul 15, 2008 10:55:09 GMT -6
I collect action figures as it keeps my inner child alive. At 30 i am lucky enough to be a father. I take my 4 year old son to any toy section at any store and i enjoy looking as much as he does. A lot of todays figures are more articulated, detailed and designed better but the toy lines of my era were more fun as you used your imagination to create stories. Manys the day i spent with the Ewoks, Dungeons and Dragons figures and the Dreadknocks defending the Ewok Village, Castle Greyskull and a toy fort against the might of G.I. Joe's Cobra/Star Wars Empire. Or The New Adventures of He-Man figures wrestling against WWF Hasbro and WCW Galoob figures. I do not collect to keep them mint on card or with all accessories. I collect played with, out of box figures, usually with no accessories or extra parts. I collect them in this condition as (to me) they have had a life, have been played with and used with someones imagination. Years ago i fell into the MOC trap and eneded up with so many figures. Now i just collect for fun, finding treasures and memories of my childhood in the form of a plastic figure. I think the most important part of collecting is not the monetary value connected to a collection. But it takes us to that part of our life where we had no stress. No bills to pay, no house payment. No job. Just the freedom to play with figures in the back yard, bedroom, or any other part of the house that helped create a background for our heroes to fight villains.
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