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Hello, my name is SKot Kirkwood and I have a confession to make. I play with dolls.
I was born in 1970, when the moon landing as well as Star Trek and Batman reruns were still really big. These were the 3 things that first captured my attention.
I liked Batman a lot, but Star Trek became the first show I really obsessed about. And when the Mego Star Trek dolls--er, "action figures"--came out, they were the things I wanted most in the world, along with the Enterprise bridge playset. So I asked for these things for my birthday, and for Christmas.
But Christmas and birthdays came and went and I received no Mego anything, to my great disappointment. I did get an Enterprise model kit, a utility belt with phaser/tricorder/communicator (the coolest thing ever!), and a set of Star Trek novelizations. But no action figures. So I kept asking, but I never wound up with any...nor any Batman figures or the Batcave, either.
What I didn't know at the time was that my parents, in their infinite wisdom (they meant well, but were terribly misguided on this), had decided that their boy shouldn't be playing with "dolls", because god only knows what might happen then! Because to them, and to many other parents at the time, "action figures" were dolls, and dolls were for girls. The action figure concept for boys still hadn't really caught on completely, and their doll-like bodies and removable cloth clothing didn't help the case. My parents had enacted a ban on all "dolls", and had asked my relatives not to buy any for me as gifts as well, unbeknownst to me. So my dream of re-enacting Star Trek scenes with miniature versions of Kirk and Spock never came to fruition (except for that one joyous time I got to play with another kid's Mego Star Trek collection on a dirt pile!).
Fast-forward to 1977, when Star Wars is all the rage. At this point I was still all about Star Trek, so I resisted getting into Star Wars because it seemed like another "Star" rip-off to me. But I read the novel and I was given some of the trading cards, and then the dam finally broke: I became an absolute Star Wars fanatic--in fact, the biggest Star Wars fan in my school, according to the other kids and my teachers. And so of course I wanted some Star Wars action figures when they came out, and I asked for nothing else but those for my birthday in 1978. I figured I'd be able to at least get a small handful of figures, even if only one or two people got them for me. But once again, my birthday came and went and I got...nothing. I felt crushed. The ban was still in effect.
When Christmas 1978 came along, I would have again had no Star Wars figures...but one of my aunts rebelled against my parents' edict and decided to buy me two action figures anyway: a Jawa and a Sandperson. This prompted an argument between my parents and my relatives, but in the end my parents relented and decided that since these action figures were smaller, made of different plastic, and didn't have removable clothing (for the most part), they didn't really constitute "dolls" in the classic sense. And so the ban was lifted, and my action figure collecting began!
I still regretted not ever being able to own the Enterprise playset and the Mego action figures. But by this time, those had pretty much disappeared from the shelves, so it was a moot point. I got fully involved in Star Wars toys and continued all the way up to the point where I couldn't find anyone to play with anymore, and then I put them away for a while.
Fast-forward again to my early college years, where I discovered vintage toy stores and the secondary market. I started picking up some of those things I'd missed as a child (mainly Star Wars), and began thinking about Mego Star Trek figures again. In the 90s I found a Kirk on a card, but with the card carefully slit open on one side so you could remove him - perfect for me, since I liked having the card but wanted to pull Kirk out and play with him! I decided that someday I would try to collect all the Star Trek figures along with the Enterprise bridge, so I could finally fulfill that childhood dream...but it stayed kind of on the back burner. I did pick up an Enterprise bridge with a slightly worn Spock figure and a couple of stools missing, but it was super exciting anyway!
Then in 2007, EMCE announced they were doing retro Star Trek Megos, and I was stoked. Unfortunately, this and the next couple of years were during the recession, which affected me greatly. I had the least amount of disposable income I've ever had in my life apart from childhood (i.e., zero). So I was unable to collect the whole line, like I wanted. Though somehow I managed to pick up a Romulan (yes!!), and a bit later I found the reissued Enterprise bridge and decided I'd better get it while I can. But along the way I got distracted by LEGO rather than Mego, and I kind of forgot to pick up any more EMCE figures.
More recently, I picked up a vintage Klingon on a card at a convention, and that kicked off a drive to try and get the EMCE line again. To my horror, I discovered they were becoming scarce and in some cases, quite expensive. I'm still scratching my head over the fact that it's cheaper and easier to get a vintage carded "Scottie" or McCoy than it is an EMCE repro at this point! But I persevered, and now I'm down to only 5 from the EMCE line that I need (not counting the TNG figures). Once I find those, I hope to continue picking up the original vintage line...knowing I'll have to drop some heavy coin to get some of those aliens!
So, what happens when little boys play with dolls? Maybe we should ask what happens when little boys DON'T get to play with dolls instead: they wind up obsessing about them for the rest of their life!
I'm SKot Kirkwood, and I play with dolls.
--SKot
P.S. - the EMCEs I'm still seeking are:
- Scotty
- Gorn (dang it!!)
- Pike
- Salt Vampire
- KHAAAAAN!!!
If you have any of these at a reasonable price, please PM me - thanks!
I was born in 1970, when the moon landing as well as Star Trek and Batman reruns were still really big. These were the 3 things that first captured my attention.
I liked Batman a lot, but Star Trek became the first show I really obsessed about. And when the Mego Star Trek dolls--er, "action figures"--came out, they were the things I wanted most in the world, along with the Enterprise bridge playset. So I asked for these things for my birthday, and for Christmas.
But Christmas and birthdays came and went and I received no Mego anything, to my great disappointment. I did get an Enterprise model kit, a utility belt with phaser/tricorder/communicator (the coolest thing ever!), and a set of Star Trek novelizations. But no action figures. So I kept asking, but I never wound up with any...nor any Batman figures or the Batcave, either.
What I didn't know at the time was that my parents, in their infinite wisdom (they meant well, but were terribly misguided on this), had decided that their boy shouldn't be playing with "dolls", because god only knows what might happen then! Because to them, and to many other parents at the time, "action figures" were dolls, and dolls were for girls. The action figure concept for boys still hadn't really caught on completely, and their doll-like bodies and removable cloth clothing didn't help the case. My parents had enacted a ban on all "dolls", and had asked my relatives not to buy any for me as gifts as well, unbeknownst to me. So my dream of re-enacting Star Trek scenes with miniature versions of Kirk and Spock never came to fruition (except for that one joyous time I got to play with another kid's Mego Star Trek collection on a dirt pile!).
Fast-forward to 1977, when Star Wars is all the rage. At this point I was still all about Star Trek, so I resisted getting into Star Wars because it seemed like another "Star" rip-off to me. But I read the novel and I was given some of the trading cards, and then the dam finally broke: I became an absolute Star Wars fanatic--in fact, the biggest Star Wars fan in my school, according to the other kids and my teachers. And so of course I wanted some Star Wars action figures when they came out, and I asked for nothing else but those for my birthday in 1978. I figured I'd be able to at least get a small handful of figures, even if only one or two people got them for me. But once again, my birthday came and went and I got...nothing. I felt crushed. The ban was still in effect.
When Christmas 1978 came along, I would have again had no Star Wars figures...but one of my aunts rebelled against my parents' edict and decided to buy me two action figures anyway: a Jawa and a Sandperson. This prompted an argument between my parents and my relatives, but in the end my parents relented and decided that since these action figures were smaller, made of different plastic, and didn't have removable clothing (for the most part), they didn't really constitute "dolls" in the classic sense. And so the ban was lifted, and my action figure collecting began!
I still regretted not ever being able to own the Enterprise playset and the Mego action figures. But by this time, those had pretty much disappeared from the shelves, so it was a moot point. I got fully involved in Star Wars toys and continued all the way up to the point where I couldn't find anyone to play with anymore, and then I put them away for a while.
Fast-forward again to my early college years, where I discovered vintage toy stores and the secondary market. I started picking up some of those things I'd missed as a child (mainly Star Wars), and began thinking about Mego Star Trek figures again. In the 90s I found a Kirk on a card, but with the card carefully slit open on one side so you could remove him - perfect for me, since I liked having the card but wanted to pull Kirk out and play with him! I decided that someday I would try to collect all the Star Trek figures along with the Enterprise bridge, so I could finally fulfill that childhood dream...but it stayed kind of on the back burner. I did pick up an Enterprise bridge with a slightly worn Spock figure and a couple of stools missing, but it was super exciting anyway!
Then in 2007, EMCE announced they were doing retro Star Trek Megos, and I was stoked. Unfortunately, this and the next couple of years were during the recession, which affected me greatly. I had the least amount of disposable income I've ever had in my life apart from childhood (i.e., zero). So I was unable to collect the whole line, like I wanted. Though somehow I managed to pick up a Romulan (yes!!), and a bit later I found the reissued Enterprise bridge and decided I'd better get it while I can. But along the way I got distracted by LEGO rather than Mego, and I kind of forgot to pick up any more EMCE figures.
More recently, I picked up a vintage Klingon on a card at a convention, and that kicked off a drive to try and get the EMCE line again. To my horror, I discovered they were becoming scarce and in some cases, quite expensive. I'm still scratching my head over the fact that it's cheaper and easier to get a vintage carded "Scottie" or McCoy than it is an EMCE repro at this point! But I persevered, and now I'm down to only 5 from the EMCE line that I need (not counting the TNG figures). Once I find those, I hope to continue picking up the original vintage line...knowing I'll have to drop some heavy coin to get some of those aliens!
So, what happens when little boys play with dolls? Maybe we should ask what happens when little boys DON'T get to play with dolls instead: they wind up obsessing about them for the rest of their life!
I'm SKot Kirkwood, and I play with dolls.
--SKot
P.S. - the EMCEs I'm still seeking are:
- Scotty
- Gorn (dang it!!)
- Pike
- Salt Vampire
- KHAAAAAN!!!
If you have any of these at a reasonable price, please PM me - thanks!
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