Post by wizardnerdcast on Feb 21, 2015 14:48:40 GMT -6
Hello fellow collectors! I am the Wizard and I have come to bring you an article from a lifelong collector! Please read Marion's blog (of the Wizard Nerdcast) and let us know what you think! If you enjoy this, much more is available at Wizard Nerdcast!
When writing, it’s always tough to come up with an initial premise, especially when it’s been a solid ten years since you’ve put your serious writing skills to the test. So I looked to my fellow Nerdcasters as a basis for this introductory article. I noticed a common trend between both the lovable Tonelli and the indomitable Jane’s pieces; a hearkening to the past and a signifier of their everlasting loves for comic books and video games, respectively. I thought to myself, “Well, obviously I’m aware of my history of nerdliness, but what represents me as a nerd best?” Comics? Check, but that was far from the earliest obsession and by those rights certainly not ripe for the picking with this first article. Video games? Check, but, not in such a passionate was as my other dark riders of the Wizard. Movies, music, so on and so forth. Until it struck me like lightening: action figures. Hi, my name is Marion and I collect action figures. (Hi, Marion!)
I’ve always had a thing for collectibles, but action figures remain, to this day, the front runners in my wallet punching obsessions. I can recall my early years being filled with my mom and dad taking me to buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures from KB Toys; or store hopping from one to the next in search of that ReBoot figure that just seemed to escape every time I walked through the doors. My parents were always, unabashedly, behind me %100, as long as the funds were available. I would find Jurassic Park, Pee Wee Herman and Star Wars 3 3/4″ figures beneath the Christmas tree and rip into them with the fervor of a starving man given a hamburger. Fond memories indeed. Then came eBay.
What started as enjoyable, silly toys turned into an outright passion. I remember finding my home on the ol’ electronic bay, a home that can be summed up in two words: McFarlane Toys. My first purchase on eBay was one of his creations, a 6″ figure of Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Upon it’s arrival, I made the decision that set the tone of my collecting for years; tear into it like that same child I was, or treat it like the art it was? I went with the latter. After years and years I started amassing quite a collection, sticking mainly to McFarlane/Spawn.com series of figures. Not only because of their selection (ranging from horror icons to musicians to his own horrific take on such franchises as the Wizard of Oz) but, mostly, because he treated them how I wanted these things to be treated. I can and have stared and slowly rotated a McFarlane toy for hours looking for minute detail and accessories that give implication to a story larger than the piece sitting in front of me; this character has a history.
However, what fun are toys unless you break that seal every once in a while? I typically only ever opened a figure when I had multiples and that was rare (usually do to a shipping/ordering error on my part or a fellow collector passing on their extras. To me, the packaging just lends to these pieces being a collection that could be taken seriously. Countless numbers have come to my home and said my favorite phrase, “It’s like a museum in here.” That’s what I love about these toys; even someone who has no interest, no connection or understanding of this weird obsession can appreciate the visual effect a collection can have on them. In that, I finally found the meaning behind it.
Over the years, I’ve expanded into more than just McFarlane’s figures. I now have several rudimentary collections of an expansive variety of collectibles, always retaining the same thesis statement, “Buy what you love.” This isn’t about the monetary value, that just makes it easier to explain. This is about me putting my love onto the walls; an introvert’s way of being extroverted. I’m not wasting money, I’m curating a doorway into wonderment, curiousity and awe that leads directly to my childhood; for both myself and anyone else to walk into. To this day, when you step into my home, you’ll find years of collecting shelved on the walls and a Leatherface figure, still mint in box.
When writing, it’s always tough to come up with an initial premise, especially when it’s been a solid ten years since you’ve put your serious writing skills to the test. So I looked to my fellow Nerdcasters as a basis for this introductory article. I noticed a common trend between both the lovable Tonelli and the indomitable Jane’s pieces; a hearkening to the past and a signifier of their everlasting loves for comic books and video games, respectively. I thought to myself, “Well, obviously I’m aware of my history of nerdliness, but what represents me as a nerd best?” Comics? Check, but that was far from the earliest obsession and by those rights certainly not ripe for the picking with this first article. Video games? Check, but, not in such a passionate was as my other dark riders of the Wizard. Movies, music, so on and so forth. Until it struck me like lightening: action figures. Hi, my name is Marion and I collect action figures. (Hi, Marion!)
I’ve always had a thing for collectibles, but action figures remain, to this day, the front runners in my wallet punching obsessions. I can recall my early years being filled with my mom and dad taking me to buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures from KB Toys; or store hopping from one to the next in search of that ReBoot figure that just seemed to escape every time I walked through the doors. My parents were always, unabashedly, behind me %100, as long as the funds were available. I would find Jurassic Park, Pee Wee Herman and Star Wars 3 3/4″ figures beneath the Christmas tree and rip into them with the fervor of a starving man given a hamburger. Fond memories indeed. Then came eBay.
What started as enjoyable, silly toys turned into an outright passion. I remember finding my home on the ol’ electronic bay, a home that can be summed up in two words: McFarlane Toys. My first purchase on eBay was one of his creations, a 6″ figure of Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Upon it’s arrival, I made the decision that set the tone of my collecting for years; tear into it like that same child I was, or treat it like the art it was? I went with the latter. After years and years I started amassing quite a collection, sticking mainly to McFarlane/Spawn.com series of figures. Not only because of their selection (ranging from horror icons to musicians to his own horrific take on such franchises as the Wizard of Oz) but, mostly, because he treated them how I wanted these things to be treated. I can and have stared and slowly rotated a McFarlane toy for hours looking for minute detail and accessories that give implication to a story larger than the piece sitting in front of me; this character has a history.
However, what fun are toys unless you break that seal every once in a while? I typically only ever opened a figure when I had multiples and that was rare (usually do to a shipping/ordering error on my part or a fellow collector passing on their extras. To me, the packaging just lends to these pieces being a collection that could be taken seriously. Countless numbers have come to my home and said my favorite phrase, “It’s like a museum in here.” That’s what I love about these toys; even someone who has no interest, no connection or understanding of this weird obsession can appreciate the visual effect a collection can have on them. In that, I finally found the meaning behind it.
Over the years, I’ve expanded into more than just McFarlane’s figures. I now have several rudimentary collections of an expansive variety of collectibles, always retaining the same thesis statement, “Buy what you love.” This isn’t about the monetary value, that just makes it easier to explain. This is about me putting my love onto the walls; an introvert’s way of being extroverted. I’m not wasting money, I’m curating a doorway into wonderment, curiousity and awe that leads directly to my childhood; for both myself and anyone else to walk into. To this day, when you step into my home, you’ll find years of collecting shelved on the walls and a Leatherface figure, still mint in box.