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When Did You Go From Playing To Collecting?

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  • Wee67
    Museum Correspondent
    • Apr 2, 2002
    • 10586

    When Did You Go From Playing To Collecting?

    When did you become a toy collector?

    Did you one day simply stop playing and start collecting? Was there a period in your life when you were toyless? Or did you slowly transition, holding on to your toys but no longer playing with them and then they initially formed the base of your collection?

    I've told this story before, but stopped playing with toys over the course of about fifth grade. I sold off my boxed Megos the next year (I thought I was a genius, getting $10 a pop). Sports, girls, music and video games started to take more of my focus.

    In late '99, I used to go hide out in the art department where I worked for a bit of calm. One of the artists used to always bring in figures to put on his desk. I'd try and guess who they were, comment on their general lack of articulation and reminisce about these dolls I had when I was a kid called Megos. Probably tired of hearing "when I was kid..." stories, he suggested going online to some place called eBay. I was surprised to see the results and sense the nostalgia when I typed "Mego" into the search bar. I decided to try for one of my beloved Batman figures. After getting beat several times, I went for a minty Superman and finally won. When he finally arrived and I opened the box... it was over. I felt such a warm wash of nostalgia when I felt that Mego material of the uniform and cape, that particular sculpt. It took me back to such a happy time. I was bit by the bug.

    So is there a moment when you became a toy collector?
    Last edited by Wee67; Aug 13, '19, 12:59 PM.
    WANTED - Solid-Boxed WGSH's, C.8 or better.
  • Mikey
    Verbose Member
    • Aug 9, 2001
    • 47242

    #2
    I was probably done with toys by 1976-ish … I remember this because 12" Steve Austin was the last action figure I had got.

    I started collecting around 1984-ish … Beatles was what got me into collecting originally

    Comment

    • PNGwynne
      Master of Fowl Play
      • Jun 5, 2008
      • 19445

      #3
      I transitioned as you described, retaining some items, around 6-7 grade and went right into collecting MOTU & Super Powers and never stopped. I took a slight hiatus in college but have never completely stopped.
      WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

      Comment

      • Marvelmania
        A Ray of Sunshine
        • Jun 17, 2001
        • 10392

        #4
        I had thought about it back in the late 80's but never really purchased anything to collect until 1990

        Comment

        • mike69
          Museum Super Collector
          • May 4, 2011
          • 184

          #5
          I quit playing around 81-82. I didn't start collecting until 1998. As a kid I kinda always knew that I would always have toys. I really enjoyed them. I just wished I still had my childhood toys!! We had a fire in 1986 and lost everything. When Spawn figures first came out, that's what got me really into collecting.

          Comment

          • enyawd72
            Maker of Monsters!
            • Oct 1, 2009
            • 7904

            #6
            I never stopped playing with my toys.

            My wife has a video of me somewhere making Shockwave dance to some techno music. It will never see the light of day as long as I'm alive. LOL

            Comment

            • Earth 2 Chris
              Verbose Member
              • Mar 7, 2004
              • 32498

              #7
              I stopped "playing" with toys in 1987. I bought a few random GI Joe and Transformers later that year, but as I came close to turning 13 I felt really weird about playing with toys, since I was the only kid I knew who was still doing so. All my other friends had transitioned out by then. But by then I was subscribing to Comic Buyer's Guide and saw enough ads and articles to know adults were buying and collecting toys. So I decided to become a collector! Of super hero toys in particular. Of which, from 1987-88 there were NONE on the shelves!!!

              Thank God for Batman '89!

              But before that, through an ad in CBG I ordered Greenberg's Guide to Super Hero Toys, a book full of nice pictures, and some pretty ropey information, but it fueled my fire for collecting. I owe that book a lot, despite it's inaccuracies.

              Chris
              sigpic

              Comment

              • rykerw1701
                Persistent Member
                • Aug 27, 2007
                • 1026

                #8
                Good idea for a thread. I must have stopped playing with toys around the time I hit 11. The last Mego I got was a Spider-Man at an autoshow in Buffalo called Clutch Artist's Autorama. He had fallen off his card and was sold to me in a bag for a dollar or so. The last time I remember playing with GI Joe was when my niece, four years younger than I, got Mike Powers and asked me to bring out the Joes, who were in semi-retirement by then.

                I held on to all my toys and comics and stuff forever as I was the last kid and my parents didn't move. It all stayed in boxes in a closet in my old room. I didn't collect anything from age 12 to 29, then started getting back into comics, then football cards, then Playmates Star Trek. Then all hell broke loose and here I am, with way too much stuff.

                Comment

                • Wee67
                  Museum Correspondent
                  • Apr 2, 2002
                  • 10586

                  #9
                  Originally posted by rykerw1701
                  I held on to all my toys and comics and stuff forever as I was the last kid and my parents didn't move. It all stayed in boxes in a closet in my old room..
                  Does that mean you have your childhood Megos? That is a rare treat a few members here enjoy.
                  WANTED - Solid-Boxed WGSH's, C.8 or better.

                  Comment

                  • Brazoo
                    Permanent Member
                    • Feb 14, 2009
                    • 4767

                    #10
                    Interesting. I dunno if there's a single point. I was obsessed with Star Wars figures very early on. I kept all the boxes and even the backing cards of the figures, so the psychological ingredients of being a collector were already there. I remember when I saw The Power of the Force figures I thought the packaging and coins looked stupid and none of the characters seemed cool. Even when I'd see them heavily discounted in bins I ignored them, so I'd consider that the rough time I officially moved away from toy collecting, and deeper into other collections like comics and music.

                    I never completely stopped loving random toys, so I'd always buy the odd thing if it amused me. Weird artifacts. Usually not licensed stuff. Things like a plastic human skull, dinosaurs, and I had a shelf full of Kinder Surprise Egg toys for a long time. I bought a Spawn in the early 90s. I didn't know who he was, (in hindsight I'm not a fan of that comic at all) but I was blown away by the quality of the toy and the details of the paint, so I needed to buy one. I wouldn't have considered myself a collector at that point, but I never stopped displaying things in my bedroom that would make me extremely uncool to what I call 'normals'.

                    When did Toyfare start? Late 90s? I started getting feverish about Megos when that magazine started featuring them. Brought back memories and I loved the idea of customizing, not that I ever did that a lot, but I dabbled from time to time. I also got an Animated Batman figure around then - the New Batman Adventures 12" with a cloth costume. That helped hook me back in for sure.

                    I also have most of my Star Wars collection from when I was a kid. I sold off a few random things in the last few years because I really needed the space and I had less attachment to those specific items.
                    Last edited by Brazoo; Aug 14, '19, 1:08 PM.

                    Comment

                    • rykerw1701
                      Persistent Member
                      • Aug 27, 2007
                      • 1026

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Wee67
                      Does that mean you have your childhood Megos? That is a rare treat a few members here enjoy.
                      Yeah, I still have my original 8: Spider-man, Superman, Batman, Robin, Green Arrow, Iron Man, Kirk, and McCoy. I even have the boxes for GA and Robin because I had wrapped them in paper towels and used them as couches in the cardboard headquarters I made. I think if there was a fire in my house, I'd grab those 8 over all the other more pricey stuff I have.

                      Comment

                      • palitoy
                        live. laugh. lisa needs braces
                        • Jun 16, 2001
                        • 59204

                        #12
                        I would say around 7th grade it all started to just fade. Return of the Jedi had me buy a few random figures that just mainly collected dust. I stopped buying GI Joes but still read the comic, pretty sure i bought a He-Man the previous year but the cartoon made me realize it was skewed too young.

                        Eighth grade I got into SF paperbacks picking up the odd LJN D&D minature (which seemed less like a toy) but I remember still liking toys, just not playing with them. Video games were my main obsession at this point. I don't think I bought a single toy in the eighth grade.

                        Ninth grade I veered into collecting SF merchandise starting with a Talking Dalek out of Starlog, I kept gravitating towards the toys, around tenth grade I collected and bought sci-fi toys, mainly action figures and vehicle diecast. 1999, Trek and Ape Mego figures began to be of interest. I did buy some Kenner Super Powers but i just put them on my desk, I also bought the "V" doll off the shelf, had to have it.

                        Mego Superheroes happened around tenth grade but i still didn't consider them "toys". It was the 11th grade when i found a stack of old catalogs featuring Big Jim PACK that just made me a toy collector.
                        Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions

                        Buy Toy-Ventures Magazine here:
                        http://www.plaidstallions.com/reboot/shop

                        Comment

                        • Hector
                          el Hombre de Acero
                          • May 19, 2003
                          • 31852

                          #13
                          I stopped playing with toys at a very young age. Then I just naturally morphed into flying Estes rockets and racing RC cars. Well, that’s sort of playing I suppose. Love building models too...something I still do in fact.
                          sigpic

                          Comment

                          • Type3Toys
                            Home Of The Type3 Body
                            • Jan 18, 2005
                            • 619

                            #14
                            Yesterday.
                            LOOK
                            Action Figure Design & Prototypes
                            For Samples See Home -Type 3 Body & Spiderman
                            To Contact: type3toys@comcast.net

                            Comment

                            • Brown Bear
                              Still Old School
                              • Feb 14, 2008
                              • 7057

                              #15
                              I had a hiatus from playing between "getting a girlfriend" and "having kids" but now I'm back sitting on the floor playing with my children.
                              Check out my website: Megozine Covers - Home

                              Comment

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