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Why Do You Collect? Pt.1: Personal Experiences

If you are here on CDX, then there's at least one thing you have in common with the rest of the site. You like toys. You love them. You collect them. You share an enthusiasm for the hobby. And that's great. But here's a question for you. Have you ever stopped and wondered WHY you like toys? Why do you even bother collecting? What started your collection habits?

For me, the whole basis of my collecting started with Transformers: Beast Wars Rattrap, in particular. Not only were the toys fun to fiddle with an occupy my 6-year-old brain, but the show helped cement the line and play style in my brain. The characters were intriguing, the plot was fantastic, and overall the show was an amazing experience for me as a kid. And it was only the start.

I began branching out into other toy-lines. The 90's X-Men toys. Hot Wheels. Mighty Max. None of them really clicked with me. And then all of a sudden, I see something from that other show that just happened to be airing at the time of Beast Wars: Power Rangers.

To be specific, during the time of my Power Rangers love, the movie just came out and toys were a-plenty. So I grabbed on and held on tight for a good 10 years. My love for the line never surpassed the Beast Wars charm to me. That is, until the show and line drastically changed into Power Rangers: Zeo. The toys were magnificent, the suits were more appealing and uniform, and the theme song just felt me like an epic theme to me.

Through Beast Wars until Early Robots In Disguise, Transformers remained a solid toy-buying experience for me. But then I hit a phase that everyone hits by the time they reach Middle School: Am I too old for toys?

You know the answer to this one. I'm typing this here, aren't I? My non-toy buying days lasted for a good 3-4 years, until one day I went to the toy section to hide from someone I didn't like at a Wal-Mart, and I saw it. The toy that reminded me on how awesome Transformers were.

Cybertron Optimus Prime. It was a pricey purchase for me, since I was a freshman in high school at the time, but every time I see the thing sitting on my shelf at home, it reminds me of just how much that one toy has changed my life. I began to look back at other shows I dropped as a kid, so I then bought a few of the Power Rangers Zords they had lying around my town (The main two Ninja Storm zords, and the Thundersaurus Megazord from Dino Thunder- all three currently missing in action. No clue where they went) and before I knew it I was a full-on toy collector again.

And here I am now. I collect not out of habit, but out of sheer love of the hobby. From the more simple toys such as basic LEGO bricks to complicated clusterf*cks like ROTF Leader Prime, I love toys and I can't think of what my life would be like without them. And honestly? I wouldn't have it any other way.

So now readers, it is your turn. I'm asking you the same question I asked myself. Have you ever stopped and wondered WHY you like toys? Why do you even bother collecting? What started your collection habits?

Respond in the comments if you want. I can't wait to hear what you guys think.

-secretcode

Posted 23 October, 2010 - 15:21 by secretcode

Comments

4 comments posted
the non-buying 3- 4 years

That made me laugh. I wonder how many other people around here can relate to that. It's something about how we perceive time, I imagine, that lets such a relatively short passage for an adult feel like an age for a teen.

Three or four years is about how long it took for me to fully embrace toy hunting as an adult hobby. When you factor in the Japanese toys I discovered while buying manga and heavy metal records, it's possible that I never stopped. All I know is that when I rediscovered Star Wars and Kenner, it had seemed like a lifetime had passed.

Now as it why? Delightfully charming mental illness?

Materialist Zen's picture
Posted by Materialist Zen on 26 October, 2010 - 20:36
HA.

Manga was my mainstay during that brief siesta.

secretcode's picture
Posted by secretcode on 27 October, 2010 - 16:18
Personal Experiences

First of all: Hi there, Secretcode! You already know me on another forum as Rattrap's tail(from TFArchive)

The one toy that started the whole way of life that eventually brought me here was Transformers Beast Machines Jetstorm. Over they years, I collected more and more, but only Transformers that I liked for some reason. I later discovered the beautiful secrets of Lego: Beionicle andI became a collector. I began moccing around with my Bionicles, and as time passed, my love for those things began surpassing my love for Transformers, although the retail price has also a large role in that.... I'm 17 now, and I'm sometimesregretting being a TF-fan because I don't have enough parts of Bionicle to make decent mocs anymore, but yeah...

I've never lost interest in toys during whatever the school I was in, I'm only keeping it a secret from virtually everyone....

Tabris's picture
Posted by Tabris on 27 October, 2010 - 05:35
Holy hell.

Hey man! It's been a while, hasn't it? Glad to see you're still kicking around.

secretcode's picture
Posted by secretcode on 27 October, 2010 - 16:17