Before I start, let me tell you that I am a fully functioning, adult member of society. I have had a successful career (although now I’m back in school to get a graduate degree because my interests did not mesh with my career as a salesman) and have a nice home life with my wife, dog and cat.
I have always been interested in action figures, but it
was not until summer of 2005 that I started buying them, and by summer
of 2006 I was collecting.
I’ve taken breaks from collecting, but will still buy an interesting figure here and there, recently I have started fully collecting again with DCUC (after I found Joker at my local Walmart, and he completely resparked my interest in the figures). Most people that I come into contact with in my life do not know that I collect action figures. Is it because I’m embarrassed by it? Well, maybe to a point. My wife, family and friends know about my hobby, but I certainly don’t go around telling work colleagues or classmates that I have various boxes of differing toys in my guest closet (Xevoz, Ninja Turtles, Sigma 6). However, I have taken a chance with a few people with whom I was not yet great friends by telling them about my quirky hobby, and I have found more often than not that guys who are about my same age, who don’t buy toys themselves, have no problem looking over my figures and posing when they are visiting and I have some on display.
I’m not sure why I like action figures so much, but I always have. As a kid I would always prefer a new G.I. Joe over Hot Wheels. In my early twenties I would always swing by the toy aisles to see what was new, although I never purchased any. Getting a nostalgic feeling when holding a favorite character that has come to life in plastic form has a lot to do with why I collect (so lines like G.I. Joe and DCUC are perfect for me). I have never been one to keep figures on their cards. To appreciate a figure I need to actually be able to hold him, turn him around, get a good look and feel for his sculpt. But the question is, do I actually play with my toys?
As a kid I would hold two figures apart, make sound effects, put them in battle field situations, have one roundhouse another sending the kickee flying across the room. I certainly don’t do that today. Typically I have a lot of fun just admiring a sculpt, occassionally posing, and enjoying a bit of an escape from reality as I create stories in my head surrounding whatever figure I’m admiring. The other night I was pulling out some older DCSH figures, and sitting in the living room with my wife as we were watching television. After a few minutes I realized that I had been holding and reposing a Superman figure for quite some time. I had put him in flying poses, punching stances, hovering poses that could potentially have him using his heat vision. Was I playing with this toy? I wasn’t making the sound effects that I did when I was younger, but something in me was getting a joy of pretending that this figure was alive and moving around.
So, I am curious, who plays with the figures that they have? No need to be embarrassed if you do, most of you are protected by the anonymity of your screen names. Also, if anyone is a MOC collector, what is your joy that you get from the figure, I’m curious because I don’t understand it (and don’t take that as a knock on you, I’m genuinely curious since I don’t appreciate a figure until he’s opened). My second question is what joy do you get from collecting?
As far as the joy I get it is two fold (and I briefly mentioned them above): 1. I like the nostaglic feeling I get when opening an updated figure of a toy I had as a child, and 2. I use them as an engine to escape from reality and relax by slipping into my own imagination.
So do I play with my toys? No. As a mature married adult I do not play with toys, I instead engage in an activity I like to refer to as rapid-reposing, but by no means is this playing (heh-heh).
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