I'm an addict! There I have admitted it. It's the first step to recovery right? Haaaha I doubt that I could ever! I have delved too deep down that rabbit hole to get out. So why do we collect? What drives our thirst for such items? Today I want to explore the reasons why we choose to horde items from music CDs to beer can labels. My drug of choice is plastic crack, or action figures.
Nostalgia and wanting to fulfill a childhood memories is a big driving force for most collectors. We all grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons, read comic books and watched movies right? Depending on the era you were born in, you were probably into Star Wars in the 80's, Transformers, MASK, MOTU, TMNT in the 90's, late 90's Power Rangers and so on and so forth. These franchises formed our collective consciousness, as well as shaping us into the adults we are today. Back in the days when we were just kids and didn't have any buying power, all we could do is ogle over TV ads and toys on the shelves in the stores. And if we were lucky enough, our parents would gift us with action figures. Times were also very different back in the old days with kids not having the technology that children have today. We didn't have DVD's, let alone streaming or the Internet. All we had was books, comics and figures to help us relive exciting moments from our favorite movies. We were basically immersing ourselves in a fantasy world using our minds and imagination.
these same fans are now adults with disposable incomes and can finally afford to purchase the very figures that they lusted over as kids. In fact a current study of the toy industry shows that the biggest demographic that contributes to toy sales are adult collectors in the 30 to 50's. Kids these days just aren't into toys. They are more into their cell phones and aps. This is reflected in the way action figures are distributed,through online specialist stores like Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy Store. Gone are the days when one could walk into a Walmart or Target and see rows upon rows of toys. This trend of adult collectors has also given rise to higher quality figures from the likes of Mezco, SH Figurearts, MAFEX, Hottoys, Sideshow, McFarlane Toys to name. There's even a Netflix series 'The Toy's that made us', delving into the history of some of the biggest movers and shakers of the toy industry. Some of the highlights of the program include Kenner Toys and how they grew from a small business to a juggernaut, all thanks to the popularity of the Star Wars action figure and playset lines. They were the first company to popularize figures in the 3.75" size. This size was later adopted as a industry standard.
Collecting, other than fulfilling childhood needs and wants also allows us to link up with the like minded and being part of a community. Hey as they say geek is the new cool. Just look at the larger franchises on TV and at the movies. Some collectors also buy vintage toys as an investment, since some of the rarer and sought after pieces can fetch a hefty price. Examples of these include mint on card, or MOC vinyl cape Jawa, double telescoping farm boy Luke Skywalker, double telescoping Darth Vader on a Star Wars cardback. Rarer yet are the prototype rocket firing Boba Fett that was advertised on the cardback but never made it to production due to safety concerns about choking hazards.
So what do I collect? Well I have items from all my favorite franchises. My pride and joy is my complete vintage loose figure Kenner Star Wars line ,minus the last 17 POTF figures, loose vintage X Wing, Landspeeder,
Rebel Armored Snowspeeder, Millennium Falcon, AT ST, Darth Vaders Tie Fighter, Slave One, and 12 MOC figures. I also have a selection of 6" Hasbro Black Series figures, some Marvel Legends MCU characters, the main robots from the Transformers Studio Serie, assorted LOTR's MOC figures, MOC figures from Hasbro's 90's run of Star Wars. I have sold off quite a large portion of my figures as well, due to space and monetary constraints. You will soon realize that 'collect em all' is not always the best way. It's better to zero in on the characters you like. For Star Wars, I stick to the core players from the OG Trilogy. For Marvel it is the OG MCU Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. For Transformers, it's Optimus Prime, Megatron and Starscream.
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