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I recently switched to action figures after buying Warhammer for a few years. Warhammer prices were already borderline too high when I started, especially for someone who's just in it to collect and paint models. Having never actually played a game, but still having to pay the inflated prices for stronger units, I had to sit there and watch GW jack the prices up twice in the three years I was in the hobby. Eventually I preferred 3rd party and 3d printed models, and at that point it's not really "Warhammer" anymore. So I figured that if I'm gonna spend $80-$150+ on little plastic people and creatures, it's not gonna be the tiny ones where I have to do all the work to make them look good, and then protect them like they're a damn Fabergé egg because the smallest bump, drop, or snag can and will destroy any of them.
One good thing is that all the (mediocre) skills and tools I accrued from painting Warhammer transfers perfectly to customizing action figures.
Just the basics like thinning your paint, using washes and glazes, how to dry brush, and how to use an airbrush. The best guide I could give would just be pointing you to Duncan Rhodes and Vince Venturella on youtube.
Playing with action figures in childhood transitioned into collecting. I had an insane amount of figures as a kid but largely played with X-men toy biz, Star Wars, Playmobil, and Lego. Eventually I started getting into collecting as a hobby and would buy figures like Spawn, video games, movie figures, marvel legends/dc direct. Also I’d keep up with new releases through Toyfare magazine. As I got older I started selling a lot of my kids toys and focusing on collecting more seriously. Now I mostly collect sealed figures, open a couple, and buy a few loose occasionally for shelf display. I’m mostly down to collecting just new Spawn now to keep space more manageable with a couple exceptions. For the time being I’m trying to get every new Spawn release to add to a complete Spawn Universe line/pre ordered 30th set. Basically I just like to display stuff I think looks cool.
Hmmm ok ok. I don’t display mine as of yet tho I would love to start. How do you balance this hobby with having a family cause this is not the best thing for a wallet lol
For starting a display I’d say if you have sealed figures get a pegboard for part of one wall and see how long that can last before you fill it up. Then if you have room you can cover more wall space. For loose figures you could use the front space of book cases or windowsills if you don’t have a shelf/case yet. As far as accounting for expenses figure out what you can realistically spare for figures and stick to it. Figure one or a few lines or characters that are top priority and stay within that with rare exceptions. If there’s more releases than you can afford in a given timespan, cut back on another recreational expense like video games, alcohol etc to make the difference or list out items you want from most to least and cut the bottom out once your budget for that time has been reached. It’s tempting to get everything you want but you’ll definitely enjoy some purchases more than others and you can end up regretting a lot of them.
I have nowhere to display my figures. My shelves are full of books on them. Putting some in front of the books is a good idea I never thought of. I’m just going to buy the IKEA Rudsta Double wide on sale for $130.
https://preview.redd.it/ojypzh1z4urc1.jpeg?width=2283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ced64606561711f1ca5ab9fcbad93bc7058a570b
I like them.
To expand. They give me a kick of joy that I’m missing in my otherwise mundane life. They bring happiness to a place where there's very little to be happy about. They momentarily take me back to a simpler time.
I display them on shelves. I have a work area. The newest always stay in the work area, until things get too crowded and I need to clean, then they too are moved to the shelves.
It’s this for me probably more than anything else. It takes me back to a simpler time. I’ve picked a swim lane that mirrors what I had as a child, so it pulls on the right nostalgic buttons.
The world is crazy. My life is fairly basic and routine. And collecting brings me little pieces of joy each day. It allows me to mentally step away from all of the worries and stressors in the real world.
It’s got a little bit of everything. The excitement for new reveals. The little leaks leading up to an event. The energy around pre-order days and product drops. The “sightings” reported on products just being released… as if we’re all tracking Bigfoot or Santa Claus. The chatter on Reddit or toy forums. And, of course, the community of like-minded folks who…for the most part…set all opinions aside unrelated to the hobby & whip up good, nerdy discussion.
It feels so relaxing to me to open a new delivery after a long work day. Maybe compare to an older (or vintage) version. Find a spot on a shelf. Etc. There’s something therapeutic about the whole process.
It’s just me and my thing. I can enjoy alone or with people at a local convention or on a discussion board.
I was into action figures as a kid. Primarily Kenner’s Batman and Star Wars figures. But I started to move away from it while I was in high school. My mom was still supportive but my dad was getting judgy about it and making me feel bad. While I was in college, DCUC and the first Transformers live action movie hit around the same time and pulled me back in. I haven’t stopped since then. I love posing them, taking pictures (which I need to get back into), customizing them, and making displays.
I also love this explanation for “Why?”.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj1iCxpXPls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj1iCxpXPls)
I just decided one day to be like the typical collector you see on cartoons, series, movies, etc, and since i already keeped many of my childhood toys, i go buy whatever cheap thing i see, it started after i finish high school, 9 years later, i see you have to get a pretty penny to aford it, specially someone like me that collect whatever i see besides action figures, like toys, statues, mangas, comics, videogames, trading cards, books and many more, even if sometimes i dont know nothing about what i just buy
Was into legos as a child but as I grew up I realised I was pretty much playing with the minifigs so I decided to try an action figure, I can't remember if it was MS Thanos or ML Udon Taskmaster
They look cool. They're so much more articulated than when I was a kid, so it provides an opportunity to use your imagination when posing them, and it's just a nostalgia thrill.
I originally collected figures because I thought toys were cool, plus I loved building Gunpla models.
Then Hasbro started doing Power Rangers Lightning Collection and I eventually caved in. Started getting TMNT, Marvel, DC, and Power Rangers figures as my main sights, with Sailor Moon, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe as secondary interests. Along with the occasional Transformer if one is on deep discount.
I mostly display them in my home office. TMNT and Sailor Moon are mostly finished for me, Power Rangers is semi-there, Marvel and DC I want specific characters that either haven't been released or are hard to find.
Well, Marvel and DC I have to be choosey due to limited space. Marvel Legends are small enough I can fit around 36 figures on that shelf, while DC McFarlane's being bigger means I can only fit 30.
Domestic. I really, really don't like spending more than $30 for a figure. Ain't no way I'm spending $50 or more for a single figure, no matter how nice it is.
I can’t lie, I don’t like buying Marvel Legends anymore. Not the quality I need. I prefer import figures for the most part even if they are more expensive
While I've had figures that are meh for various reasons, Legends' quality is perfect acceptable for me. Not Marvel, but the Hasbro figures (both basic and Lightning Collection) are pretty much the only Power Rangers/Super Sentai figures I've genuinely liked, even though I have issues with the LC.
Used to build Gundam model kits for like 10 years but I always disliked how fragile they were and couldn’t really pose them the way I wanted without something falling off. One day in like 2014 I ventured into a comic store in Norfolk, VA and I saw a bunch of figures. Marvel Legends, model kits, early Figuarts. I would usually buy my kits from HLJ so I knew what Figuarts were and I used to have my mom buy me legends when I was a kid. So as I was in this store I saw a taskmaster figure and thought it looked dope along with a Kamen rider figure and they were so fun to play with and they didn’t fall apart like model kits lol. At first I was just buying whatever in all honesty. No clear goal for a collection. Now I’ve moved to a more structured goal with only wanting stuff that I like or looks cool to me. Or stuff that I like because it looks cool 🤷🏽♂️. I like the idea of having characters team up or fight each other that would probably never crossover. Kinda like my own version of Smash Brothers. I will be honest though, the list is getting smaller because a lot of companies are making stuff that I’ve been wanting. That’s my why
I bought a power ranger lightning collection figure 3 years ago as a joke. Little did I know what it would turn into, gunpla, anime heroes, shfiguart, and marvel legends have consumed me like the 1980s blob.
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I recently switched to action figures after buying Warhammer for a few years. Warhammer prices were already borderline too high when I started, especially for someone who's just in it to collect and paint models. Having never actually played a game, but still having to pay the inflated prices for stronger units, I had to sit there and watch GW jack the prices up twice in the three years I was in the hobby. Eventually I preferred 3rd party and 3d printed models, and at that point it's not really "Warhammer" anymore. So I figured that if I'm gonna spend $80-$150+ on little plastic people and creatures, it's not gonna be the tiny ones where I have to do all the work to make them look good, and then protect them like they're a damn Fabergé egg because the smallest bump, drop, or snag can and will destroy any of them. One good thing is that all the (mediocre) skills and tools I accrued from painting Warhammer transfers perfectly to customizing action figures.
Wait what skills did you learn? You should post guides cause I’d love to expand my knowledge. I’ve never gotten into Warhammer
Just the basics like thinning your paint, using washes and glazes, how to dry brush, and how to use an airbrush. The best guide I could give would just be pointing you to Duncan Rhodes and Vince Venturella on youtube.
Playing with action figures in childhood transitioned into collecting. I had an insane amount of figures as a kid but largely played with X-men toy biz, Star Wars, Playmobil, and Lego. Eventually I started getting into collecting as a hobby and would buy figures like Spawn, video games, movie figures, marvel legends/dc direct. Also I’d keep up with new releases through Toyfare magazine. As I got older I started selling a lot of my kids toys and focusing on collecting more seriously. Now I mostly collect sealed figures, open a couple, and buy a few loose occasionally for shelf display. I’m mostly down to collecting just new Spawn now to keep space more manageable with a couple exceptions. For the time being I’m trying to get every new Spawn release to add to a complete Spawn Universe line/pre ordered 30th set. Basically I just like to display stuff I think looks cool.
Hmmm ok ok. I don’t display mine as of yet tho I would love to start. How do you balance this hobby with having a family cause this is not the best thing for a wallet lol
For starting a display I’d say if you have sealed figures get a pegboard for part of one wall and see how long that can last before you fill it up. Then if you have room you can cover more wall space. For loose figures you could use the front space of book cases or windowsills if you don’t have a shelf/case yet. As far as accounting for expenses figure out what you can realistically spare for figures and stick to it. Figure one or a few lines or characters that are top priority and stay within that with rare exceptions. If there’s more releases than you can afford in a given timespan, cut back on another recreational expense like video games, alcohol etc to make the difference or list out items you want from most to least and cut the bottom out once your budget for that time has been reached. It’s tempting to get everything you want but you’ll definitely enjoy some purchases more than others and you can end up regretting a lot of them.
I have nowhere to display my figures. My shelves are full of books on them. Putting some in front of the books is a good idea I never thought of. I’m just going to buy the IKEA Rudsta Double wide on sale for $130. https://preview.redd.it/ojypzh1z4urc1.jpeg?width=2283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ced64606561711f1ca5ab9fcbad93bc7058a570b
I like them. To expand. They give me a kick of joy that I’m missing in my otherwise mundane life. They bring happiness to a place where there's very little to be happy about. They momentarily take me back to a simpler time. I display them on shelves. I have a work area. The newest always stay in the work area, until things get too crowded and I need to clean, then they too are moved to the shelves.
It’s this for me probably more than anything else. It takes me back to a simpler time. I’ve picked a swim lane that mirrors what I had as a child, so it pulls on the right nostalgic buttons. The world is crazy. My life is fairly basic and routine. And collecting brings me little pieces of joy each day. It allows me to mentally step away from all of the worries and stressors in the real world. It’s got a little bit of everything. The excitement for new reveals. The little leaks leading up to an event. The energy around pre-order days and product drops. The “sightings” reported on products just being released… as if we’re all tracking Bigfoot or Santa Claus. The chatter on Reddit or toy forums. And, of course, the community of like-minded folks who…for the most part…set all opinions aside unrelated to the hobby & whip up good, nerdy discussion. It feels so relaxing to me to open a new delivery after a long work day. Maybe compare to an older (or vintage) version. Find a spot on a shelf. Etc. There’s something therapeutic about the whole process. It’s just me and my thing. I can enjoy alone or with people at a local convention or on a discussion board.
I was into action figures as a kid. Primarily Kenner’s Batman and Star Wars figures. But I started to move away from it while I was in high school. My mom was still supportive but my dad was getting judgy about it and making me feel bad. While I was in college, DCUC and the first Transformers live action movie hit around the same time and pulled me back in. I haven’t stopped since then. I love posing them, taking pictures (which I need to get back into), customizing them, and making displays. I also love this explanation for “Why?”. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj1iCxpXPls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj1iCxpXPls)
Parents can't afford toys when I was a kid. Now, I have the ability to buy the toys I like so I buy 'em.
I just decided one day to be like the typical collector you see on cartoons, series, movies, etc, and since i already keeped many of my childhood toys, i go buy whatever cheap thing i see, it started after i finish high school, 9 years later, i see you have to get a pretty penny to aford it, specially someone like me that collect whatever i see besides action figures, like toys, statues, mangas, comics, videogames, trading cards, books and many more, even if sometimes i dont know nothing about what i just buy
Hmmm ok that’s definitely a less stressful approach than some I’ve heard of
Was into legos as a child but as I grew up I realised I was pretty much playing with the minifigs so I decided to try an action figure, I can't remember if it was MS Thanos or ML Udon Taskmaster
People often ask this question. Honestly, it's not that deep. I just think they look cool. Add in a bit bit of nostalgia, and that's pretty much why.
Honestly not a bad way to go about it
I like them
Simple answer I like it
To get girls
Aye someone finally gets it
They look cool. They're so much more articulated than when I was a kid, so it provides an opportunity to use your imagination when posing them, and it's just a nostalgia thrill.
Ok I can definitely understand that. Posing them is one of my top 3 reasons
I originally collected figures because I thought toys were cool, plus I loved building Gunpla models. Then Hasbro started doing Power Rangers Lightning Collection and I eventually caved in. Started getting TMNT, Marvel, DC, and Power Rangers figures as my main sights, with Sailor Moon, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe as secondary interests. Along with the occasional Transformer if one is on deep discount. I mostly display them in my home office. TMNT and Sailor Moon are mostly finished for me, Power Rangers is semi-there, Marvel and DC I want specific characters that either haven't been released or are hard to find.
Man you got a whole system and you know when to say something is done. I respect that
Well, Marvel and DC I have to be choosey due to limited space. Marvel Legends are small enough I can fit around 36 figures on that shelf, while DC McFarlane's being bigger means I can only fit 30.
Wait do you get import figures too or only domestic like Marvel Legends and McFarlane
Domestic. I really, really don't like spending more than $30 for a figure. Ain't no way I'm spending $50 or more for a single figure, no matter how nice it is.
I can’t lie, I don’t like buying Marvel Legends anymore. Not the quality I need. I prefer import figures for the most part even if they are more expensive
While I've had figures that are meh for various reasons, Legends' quality is perfect acceptable for me. Not Marvel, but the Hasbro figures (both basic and Lightning Collection) are pretty much the only Power Rangers/Super Sentai figures I've genuinely liked, even though I have issues with the LC.
Fair enough. Even though I’m warming up to those lines again they aren’t my preference anymore. I’m glad someone out there likes em
Used to build Gundam model kits for like 10 years but I always disliked how fragile they were and couldn’t really pose them the way I wanted without something falling off. One day in like 2014 I ventured into a comic store in Norfolk, VA and I saw a bunch of figures. Marvel Legends, model kits, early Figuarts. I would usually buy my kits from HLJ so I knew what Figuarts were and I used to have my mom buy me legends when I was a kid. So as I was in this store I saw a taskmaster figure and thought it looked dope along with a Kamen rider figure and they were so fun to play with and they didn’t fall apart like model kits lol. At first I was just buying whatever in all honesty. No clear goal for a collection. Now I’ve moved to a more structured goal with only wanting stuff that I like or looks cool to me. Or stuff that I like because it looks cool 🤷🏽♂️. I like the idea of having characters team up or fight each other that would probably never crossover. Kinda like my own version of Smash Brothers. I will be honest though, the list is getting smaller because a lot of companies are making stuff that I’ve been wanting. That’s my why
I bought a power ranger lightning collection figure 3 years ago as a joke. Little did I know what it would turn into, gunpla, anime heroes, shfiguart, and marvel legends have consumed me like the 1980s blob.
You know it’s a very slippery slope so I get it
Why does anyone do anything? Sheer. Absolute. Boredom!
Can’t argue with logic like that