abake
Rex Tremendae Majestatis
So, how long have you been in this hobby? What got you into it? What was your first company? Have your attitudes towards collecting changed in the intervening years?
I suppose I could go back to G.I. Joe and Action Man of the 70's as my point of entry, but those were "toys" for me, not "collectibles". And they suffered the brunt of my childhood. I even blew up the head of my Bionic Man (remember the Action Man with a transparent mechanical arm?) just as an experiment... Anyway, the first ever 1/6 scale figure I got was the pilot G.I. Joe, the blonde dude with the orange jump suit (my brother got the dark haired one with the came outfit). That must've been around '74-'75. My life would never be the same. My brother and I had so much fun with those toys, and I was very lucky that my older brother indulged me playing and making up stories well into our adolescence.
I kept my old G.I. Joes (or what was left of them) up until a few years ago, when I finally decided to let their rotting corpses go.
Anyway, my first "collectible" 1/6 figure was DML's (that's Dragon Models Ltd) "Hans" (https://toyhaven.blogspot.com/2009/05/dragon-wwii-german-nco-hans.html), a WWII German NCO. A co-worker had an interest in WWII and building models, and he showed me a part of his collection. I was instantly hooked and just had to have a Hans. I finally tracked one down (my first ever internet purchase) for the whopping sum of $90 dollars. Keep in mind that back then (around '00-'01) the usual DML figure cost around $35... That led me down the dark path, and I started buying WWII soldiers of all the major powers for the next few years, even getting a Jeep once. Back then the only players were DML and 21st Century Toys (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_71300.htm).
Around that time, I first became aware of Sideshow through their Nosferatu (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_073001.htm) and Frankenstein Monster figures, which led me to start tracking down some other figures of theirs (I eventually bought most of their Universal Monsters line).
At any rate, the soldier's collection grew up to over 100 figures, and somewhere along the line DID reared its head and signaled the slow demise of DML, who couldn't or wouldn't compete with DID's quality. Some other companies ventured into the military territory, like Blue Box Toys (https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+box+toys+military&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTl-m6ueTjAhXPpFkKHd6sBMkQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1390&bih=799), but they quickly fell by the wayside.
There was also a thriving community of customizers (most of whose names I've forgotten, but I do remember Tavares, who did wonderful stuff for the old G.I. Joes) who kept supplying the WWII fans with new and improved stuff. I suppose a lot of the smaller companies, like Toys City, Newline Miniatures and so forth, started that way.
But the market was certainly growing from a very niche, specialized offering in WWII, it was quickly expanding to encompass modern military and some film/classic properties. Cue Sideshow and Hot Toys.
As I mentioned, my first taste of Sideshow came through their Universal Monsters line, but they had many other properties, none of which really interested me (anybody remember their Six Gun Legends https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_071502.htm Brotherhood of Arms https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_041002.htm or Barbed Wire and Bayonets https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_032902.htm lines? Talk about an innovative company!) until they announced Luke Skywalker (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_032706a.htm). I have to admit that I wasn't overly impressed with the figure, as back then even DML had much better sculpts and paint apps, and as fate would have it, Medicom also launched their own version (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_021405b.htm). I remember liking Medicom's version better, alas both are gone now... But one of my dreams came true when Medicom released their not quite 1/6 scale Vader (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_080105a.htm). Despite its size, to me it was the ultimate figure! The detail, the articulation, the materials... They were simply amazing. Unfortunately, Medicom never did seem to evolve, and with their high prices, it's no surprise that they never could compete with Sideshow's product. Back then (around 2006), a Medicom figure already cost $200, whereas Sideshow's figures were around $40 I believe (still more expensive than DML's soldiers, and with lesser quality, but DML didn't do Star Wars...).
Around the same time, I got wind of Hot Toys. I had heard of them through some of their military figures, but since they were modern military, I didn't pay any attention. However, they released Hicks and Apone (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_012006b.htm)! I believe each was around $70 back then (I bought mine directly from some vendor in Asia and got them for around 70 bucks each some time in 2005 I think, later Sideshow would distribute them for a lot more if I'm not mistaken), and you had to put them together -even the bodies, these were true model sets. I was giddy with excitement! Could aliens be far behind? Of course not! Hot Toys eventually released their (very ugly) version of the Aliens' xenomorph (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_082007b.htm) and a whole bunch of aliens, predators and their human prey from the Alien and Predator franchises would follow. The floodgates had opened...
Meanwhile, my interests encompassed other eras, and I started looking into a company that seemed to specialize in ancient militaria: Ignite. They made some (for the time) fantastic knights (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_041505a.htm) and Romans (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_122305a.htm notice the passing resemblance to Ciáran Hinds), which I also started collecting avidly.
Sideshow managed to pull me into their ultimately flawed LOTR line that peaked with Gandalf (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_110708a.htm) (some years later Asmus managed to revive my interest for a little while).
Some time later I became aware of another company doing fantastic Jin Roh/Kerberos figures, and I just had to get one of Takara's Panzer Cops https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_042307b.htm, still one of my favorite figures.
Meanwhile, DID was bringing accuracy and realism to a new level with their WWII military line as evidenced by their thinly disguised Tom Hanks Captain Miller (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_042110b.htm), beyond what Hot Toys and Sideshow were doing at the time.
A lot of other companies started showing up, like Triad Toys (which went the way of the dodo, as far as I know https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_061009b.htm, but probably paved the way for TBLeague's line of fantasy femmes), ACI (which brought us fantastic ancient figures and through Pangaea some nice Hollywood versions as well) and Amoktime (who tried to revive classic monsters https://www.mwctoys.com/reviews-sixth.htm). ACI re-ignited (get it?) my interest in ancient warriors, and Kaustic Plastik fulfilled my desire for Roman Legions with the best ancient figures so far, both at levels comparable to Hot Toys, with great sculpts, amazing attention to detail and lots of extras (especially KP).
Which brings us to the present, where Hot Toys' onslaught of Star Wars, MCU and DC figures eclipse all other companies.
Costs have skyrocketed, realism in head sculpts reached a peak with Hot Toys and DID, only to suffer a slight dip again (especially with Hot Toys), accessories peaked with DML's Soldat line while DID pioneered the use of real materials (wood, metal, leather). There's a ton of other companies doing amazing stuff, and hopefully they'll manage to keep pushing this hobby forward, keeping Hot Toys on its toes so that it doesn't slip into complacency. Here's looking at you QMX, Enterbay, ACI, Soldier Story, CooModels, Kaustic Plastik, Sideshow, and so many others.
BTW, if you really want to take a stroll down memory lane, just take a look at Michael Crawford's archive:
https://www.mwctoys.com/reviews-sixth.htm
Hours of fun, guaranteed.
I suppose I could go back to G.I. Joe and Action Man of the 70's as my point of entry, but those were "toys" for me, not "collectibles". And they suffered the brunt of my childhood. I even blew up the head of my Bionic Man (remember the Action Man with a transparent mechanical arm?) just as an experiment... Anyway, the first ever 1/6 scale figure I got was the pilot G.I. Joe, the blonde dude with the orange jump suit (my brother got the dark haired one with the came outfit). That must've been around '74-'75. My life would never be the same. My brother and I had so much fun with those toys, and I was very lucky that my older brother indulged me playing and making up stories well into our adolescence.
I kept my old G.I. Joes (or what was left of them) up until a few years ago, when I finally decided to let their rotting corpses go.
Anyway, my first "collectible" 1/6 figure was DML's (that's Dragon Models Ltd) "Hans" (https://toyhaven.blogspot.com/2009/05/dragon-wwii-german-nco-hans.html), a WWII German NCO. A co-worker had an interest in WWII and building models, and he showed me a part of his collection. I was instantly hooked and just had to have a Hans. I finally tracked one down (my first ever internet purchase) for the whopping sum of $90 dollars. Keep in mind that back then (around '00-'01) the usual DML figure cost around $35... That led me down the dark path, and I started buying WWII soldiers of all the major powers for the next few years, even getting a Jeep once. Back then the only players were DML and 21st Century Toys (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_71300.htm).
Around that time, I first became aware of Sideshow through their Nosferatu (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_073001.htm) and Frankenstein Monster figures, which led me to start tracking down some other figures of theirs (I eventually bought most of their Universal Monsters line).
At any rate, the soldier's collection grew up to over 100 figures, and somewhere along the line DID reared its head and signaled the slow demise of DML, who couldn't or wouldn't compete with DID's quality. Some other companies ventured into the military territory, like Blue Box Toys (https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+box+toys+military&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTl-m6ueTjAhXPpFkKHd6sBMkQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1390&bih=799), but they quickly fell by the wayside.
There was also a thriving community of customizers (most of whose names I've forgotten, but I do remember Tavares, who did wonderful stuff for the old G.I. Joes) who kept supplying the WWII fans with new and improved stuff. I suppose a lot of the smaller companies, like Toys City, Newline Miniatures and so forth, started that way.
But the market was certainly growing from a very niche, specialized offering in WWII, it was quickly expanding to encompass modern military and some film/classic properties. Cue Sideshow and Hot Toys.
As I mentioned, my first taste of Sideshow came through their Universal Monsters line, but they had many other properties, none of which really interested me (anybody remember their Six Gun Legends https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_071502.htm Brotherhood of Arms https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_041002.htm or Barbed Wire and Bayonets https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_032902.htm lines? Talk about an innovative company!) until they announced Luke Skywalker (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_032706a.htm). I have to admit that I wasn't overly impressed with the figure, as back then even DML had much better sculpts and paint apps, and as fate would have it, Medicom also launched their own version (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_021405b.htm). I remember liking Medicom's version better, alas both are gone now... But one of my dreams came true when Medicom released their not quite 1/6 scale Vader (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_080105a.htm). Despite its size, to me it was the ultimate figure! The detail, the articulation, the materials... They were simply amazing. Unfortunately, Medicom never did seem to evolve, and with their high prices, it's no surprise that they never could compete with Sideshow's product. Back then (around 2006), a Medicom figure already cost $200, whereas Sideshow's figures were around $40 I believe (still more expensive than DML's soldiers, and with lesser quality, but DML didn't do Star Wars...).
Around the same time, I got wind of Hot Toys. I had heard of them through some of their military figures, but since they were modern military, I didn't pay any attention. However, they released Hicks and Apone (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_012006b.htm)! I believe each was around $70 back then (I bought mine directly from some vendor in Asia and got them for around 70 bucks each some time in 2005 I think, later Sideshow would distribute them for a lot more if I'm not mistaken), and you had to put them together -even the bodies, these were true model sets. I was giddy with excitement! Could aliens be far behind? Of course not! Hot Toys eventually released their (very ugly) version of the Aliens' xenomorph (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_082007b.htm) and a whole bunch of aliens, predators and their human prey from the Alien and Predator franchises would follow. The floodgates had opened...
Meanwhile, my interests encompassed other eras, and I started looking into a company that seemed to specialize in ancient militaria: Ignite. They made some (for the time) fantastic knights (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_041505a.htm) and Romans (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_122305a.htm notice the passing resemblance to Ciáran Hinds), which I also started collecting avidly.
Sideshow managed to pull me into their ultimately flawed LOTR line that peaked with Gandalf (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_110708a.htm) (some years later Asmus managed to revive my interest for a little while).
Some time later I became aware of another company doing fantastic Jin Roh/Kerberos figures, and I just had to get one of Takara's Panzer Cops https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_042307b.htm, still one of my favorite figures.
Meanwhile, DID was bringing accuracy and realism to a new level with their WWII military line as evidenced by their thinly disguised Tom Hanks Captain Miller (https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_042110b.htm), beyond what Hot Toys and Sideshow were doing at the time.
A lot of other companies started showing up, like Triad Toys (which went the way of the dodo, as far as I know https://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_061009b.htm, but probably paved the way for TBLeague's line of fantasy femmes), ACI (which brought us fantastic ancient figures and through Pangaea some nice Hollywood versions as well) and Amoktime (who tried to revive classic monsters https://www.mwctoys.com/reviews-sixth.htm). ACI re-ignited (get it?) my interest in ancient warriors, and Kaustic Plastik fulfilled my desire for Roman Legions with the best ancient figures so far, both at levels comparable to Hot Toys, with great sculpts, amazing attention to detail and lots of extras (especially KP).
Which brings us to the present, where Hot Toys' onslaught of Star Wars, MCU and DC figures eclipse all other companies.
Costs have skyrocketed, realism in head sculpts reached a peak with Hot Toys and DID, only to suffer a slight dip again (especially with Hot Toys), accessories peaked with DML's Soldat line while DID pioneered the use of real materials (wood, metal, leather). There's a ton of other companies doing amazing stuff, and hopefully they'll manage to keep pushing this hobby forward, keeping Hot Toys on its toes so that it doesn't slip into complacency. Here's looking at you QMX, Enterbay, ACI, Soldier Story, CooModels, Kaustic Plastik, Sideshow, and so many others.
BTW, if you really want to take a stroll down memory lane, just take a look at Michael Crawford's archive:
https://www.mwctoys.com/reviews-sixth.htm
Hours of fun, guaranteed.