Your 1/6 collecting History

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abake

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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.
 
For better or worse, Superman Christopher Reeves (Hot Toys) was what sucked me into the 1/6 hobby, back in 2012 I believe.

Ever since then, I’ve fallen down this collecting rabbit hole that seems impossible to get out of - like other collectors have commented, it’s like becoming an addict to plastic crack.

Besides nostalgia with figures tied to franchises of my youth, the other factor that keeps me collecting is I’m continually impressed with how good the sculpts are getting.

Before 2012, I’d buy the occasional statue or run of the mill $20 figure. So when I first laid eyes on Hot Toys figures, they blew my uniformed mind. Once I got over the $200 sticker shock and accepted that was the norm, Pandora’s box was open. [emoji23] This sort of all coincided with the explosion with the MCU/DCEU lines.

Most of the original YouTube reviewers/collectors that I used to follow seemed to have abandoned the hobby or kept a low profile (Clipper King, Sean Long, Budget Stark). Luckily we have a new generation of collectors that have stepped up in their absence (Justin’s Collection, King Zachary, etc).
 
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 like how MWC has kept the format of his reviews and website the same after all these years.

While I rely on Youtube video reviews, I enjoy the fact that MWC provides a written opinion, which is so rare to find these days.
 
I started like you, as a child. I had all the Mego figures. Marvel, DC, and Star Trek. Moved on to Star Wars in 77. In the 80s it became Transformers. Then I grew up. (BAH!) The true, "collecting" didn't start until my late 20s, early 30s. Diecast cars in 1:18, 100% Hot Wheels, and Furuta Enterprise ships. Actually, all kinds of Enterprise(s). I discovered Hot Toys around Avengers 1, but I couldn't yet afford it. My very first Sideshow order was the Iron Man Mk XLII. My very first order was diecast. Since then I have focused on Iron Man/Avengers. A few outsiders include things I really enjoyed like The Dread Pirate Roberts, John Wick, Jack Burton, and Emma Watson. (Hermione and Belle) The only Star Wars I have are the astromech droids and a couple of troopers. I really wanted the Stormtrooper 2 pack when it was released, but I had so many Iron Man preorders, I couldn't fit them in. My third order from SSC was a 501st Clone Trooper, so I had a start. I never had any intention of buying any First Order troopers, but they're practically giving them away now. BBTS had store credit gifts with some of their items so I bought a FO Officer for full price and got $125 in credit I'm using towards the pre-order of a ROTJ Stormtrooper. I'll basically have a history of Star Wars main troopers, PT, OT ST, all on the cheap. With Endgame done, I don't know where things will go from here. I don't think I'll be into Marvel Phase 4. I'll still buy Spider-Man, and the remaining HPP armors, but I don't see myself investing in Marvel figures anymore. I will keep an eye out for other licenses though. I would still love to have a Queen quartet, Buckaroo Banzai, and a proper Bride from Kill Bill. Who knows what the future brings?
 
HT and other high end collectible 1/6 figures, I started in 2013. But like others, my 12” figure days go back to childhood, having all the 12” Hasbro G.I Joe dolls (Duke, Snake Eyes, Stalker, Ace, Cobra Commander, etc). I also had the ones of historical war generals, such as Patton, Eisenhower, and Bradley.

I also recall having the old 12” Kenner Darth Vader doll, as well as Playmates’ TOS and STG Captain Kirks and TNG Picard.
 
About twelve years ago a workmate showed me his medicom stormtrooper and that was the first I'd heard of 1/6.

I started a collection that reflected my childhood interests of history, film and Bruce Lee.

Then my kids got more expensive, figures got more expensive, the Australian dollar dropped 30%, and my collection has been in storage for the past few months because I moved into a new office and haven't bothered to unpack them.

I've been thinking about cashing out of the hobby for a while now but I haven't got round to deciding which ones to hold onto.
 
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Every 1/6 figure was G.I. Joe as far as I knew until this guy came along back in 2011.

Ever since, it has been a savage blur of brown boxes and rewards points.
 
I'll add what I completely forgot. I collected and still have most of the Playmates Star Trek figures. When they started throwing in regional exclusives and were adding movie stuff in left and right and then up the scale, I had to quit. I got almost all the figures up to and including Generations. When First Contact came out and Enterprise premiered on TV, I got out.
Thanks SilverStar for mentioning Playmates. I don't know how I forgot those. Got the first Galoobs too.
 
What got me into 1/6 collecting was the A New Hope Chewbacca in 2016. I never, ever thought I'd see an actual furry Chewbacca at any scale that looks great. I collected 1/12 up until that point (and still do for some reason).

My collecting history in general started with the relaunch of the Power of the Force in '95 I think? My older brother collected them so I started too, it was mainly that and whatever else was on clearance at TRU back then. Took like a decade long break or so after starting college until I first saw The Vintage Collection in stores and then first heard of Masterpiece Transformers and both SW and TFs brought me to where I am today.
 
I have action man - way back in the day. Then Star Wars/ action force/ transformers.
As an adult I remember seeing the dragon? astronaut from 2001 and being amazed by the detail. My first purchase was the medicom Vader. Way expensive but wow!
Then sideshow. Luke and Anakin and onwards.
Dabbled with marvel and terminator but not just Star Wars- due to cost and space.
 
Skipping my childhood story coz it not really relevant - I started collecting 1/6 scale figures out of curiosity. The first figure I had was probably a ToyCity soldier figure (with Tom Cruise likeness) and I was in awe when I had it in hand. Then I started kitbashing a PMC from MGS4 which I still have to this day. Then came Naked Snake (Square Camo / Medicom) and P1 (HT) and I have kept collecting since but I conditioned myself to never own more than 20 1/6 figures at any point in time. A rule which I have kept to this day and it has been a struggle.

I started to question the use of my money after meeting someone my age who is a single mom in early 2015 and believe I should slow down or stop collecting entirely - still here after several fail attempts :duh
 
Hot Toys TDK.

BR Joker was my first 1/6 figure. Used to collect smaller stuff so these felt pretty large back then, 2009?
 
My childhood was Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Transformers etc.
My first 1/6 was Sideshow’s Abe Sapien around 2006. I also bought the Art Fx Threepio and Artoo 1/12 set and was looking at getting more when I stumbled on to the 1/6 Boba Fett on the PopCultcha website. It was a huge jump in price, but I ordered it. When I opened him up and set all the gear up I was hooked!
I got the DX Bespin Luke for my birthday not long after. I found the Hot Toys Indy and Superman at a local collectables store for decent prices.
My collection has evolved over the years, selling off some figures to fund some must haves. I’m keeping the Star Wars stuff to the OT, settling on some of the core Marvel characters I like the most (and have room for), a bit of LOTR and Potter and representing some of my favourite classic 70’s and 80’s films like Alien and Ghostbusters.
I have a few grail figures like Terminator, Robocop and Predator.
I’m slowing down now because of the rising prices and falling dollar (AUS), and my shelf space is nearly at capacity. I love my collection and I’m grateful I was able to get most of it at a time when prices were manageable.
From here, it will be a few key figures like Bespin Han, Lando and whatever ROTJ figures of Han and Leia they release (and Wicket!). I also have the Crown Gandalf on pre-order.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Been collecting all kinds of action figures - Macross, Star Wars, Batman, Other Anime figures for too long.
First Hot Toy was Aliens Marine Hicks back in 2005

Since then 120 Hot toys (including vehicles and big ones), 5 Enterbays, 8 InFlames + Other 1/6 figures ..and growing
 
Personally I grew up in the 80’s with J.I joe, Masters of the Universe, and more generally with the Kenner’s universe.
In 2012 I felt on a pic of the 1989 Batmobile prototype. I immediately felt in love as Batman 89 was my favorite movie.
But god 550€ in a miniature car ( if we can still call it miniature...lol)
So I decided to go with DX09 first, 180 €, it was incredibly expensive for an action figure I thought but seems ridiculously a bargain nowadays. And it was done... I put my finger in the socket... Dx08, Dx14, 1/1 HCG 89 cowl, prop batarang... then Star Wars stuff, Robocop... all that made me dream when I was a child.
I begun to drastically curb when my son was born last year and realized that between 2012 and 2018 I spent almost 7 000€ in this hobby...
I think I’ll stop and enjoy what I managed to get. Stop for my wallet, my family and also for the planet.
:wink1:
 
Like many others, the USCM and AVP Predators first drew me in when they were initially released. I just wanted some decent figures representing those iconic designs (USCM, yes, but I was willing to settle for an AVP Predator over nothing at all), and they happened to be 1/6. With an interest in military history, OT Star Wars, ARAH GI Joe and Marvel comics, there was no shortage of stuff to buy after that. Year after year I grow more incredulous that, despite the license being somewhat of a turning point for Hot Toys, neither Hot Toys, nor any of the fledgling "we-don't-need-no-stinking-studio-approval" companies are touching USCM figures. But I digress...
 
I started collecting in 2012. My first exposure to Hot Toys and sixth scale figures was YouTube videos. I actually was searching reviews for other figures and came across a Sean Long review of something Hot Toys (I think a Batman figure).

From there I started to find more reviews and looked into the figures more. Eventually I bit the bullet on my first pre-order, which was the DX11 Joker. Then the DX12 Batman, Toy Fair Exclusive SWAT Gordon, Selina Kyle, Bane, etc.

My intention at first was to stay Batman centric. That didn’t last. :lol
 
I was always into model building, so collecting has always been a hobby for me. But as far as 1:6 goes, I think it was either Sideshow's G.I. Joe line or their Sandtrooper's and Dewback that first got me interested in the scale. ThreeA's Popbot, Adventure Kartel and World War Robot lines really drew me in because of the weathering paint style. Hot Toys Appleseed figures are when I first discovered them and became interested in that company. Still own Deunan and Briareos. I've a lot of figures now, too many perhaps. Ecto-1 may be my last great purchase... dont know how the wife will react until its here.
 
In case anyone cares: :lol

So, how long have you been in this hobby?

Technically, I've been collecting 1/6 figures since 2004.

SWhat got you into it? What was your first company?

My love for the Metal Gear Solid videogame, my first two 1/6 figures were Solid Snake and Liquid Snake that were made by Yamato. I remember I was turned off by the window box packaging and felt like I was buying a Barbie doll. I remember being slightly embarrassed to take them home and would rather own the McFarlane 6" figures instead. I unboxed the figures and was quite impressed by the amount of detail, despite the faces clearly looking a bit doll-like for my tastes.

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The following year I got another 1/6 Snake from Metal Gear Solid 3 that was made by Medicom which had cost an ungodly amount of money at the time, followed by yet another Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2009, which was around the time I keep seeing photos of Hot Toys and thought "Thank God I only collect Metal Gear Solid because some of these Hot Toys figures are so cool!"

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Over the years I was good at avoiding taking the plunge but that all changed in 2012 when pics of the DX09 Michael Keaton Batman popped up and I knew I needed to have one. It literally flicked a switched in me to abandon my principle of only collecting Metal Gear Solid and pre-ordered the Batman since I love the film.

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I got the figure in 2012 and was so blown away that it kicked started my own personal quest of more 1/6 figures. However, unlike most collectors who occupy themselves with completing a line or having the latest, coolest looking figure, my own search was a bit different. For me I wanted characters that represents certain virtue or ideals. The same year I bought the Reeve Superman and Classic Predator, another two characters I consider an epitome of what they represent (heroism and masculinity respectively).

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Over the years I've more or less stuck to that rule, owning characters that I feel like could write essays about rather than what's cool at the moment, hence I'm still waiting for a classic suit 1/6 Spider-Man to represent my admiration of the character from the comics and cartoons, as I've never really resonated with any of the live action versions.

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Have your attitudes towards collecting changed in the intervening years?

Yeah, I've slowed down considerably since I (ALMOST) have every figure I ever wanted. I'm not too keen on the current state of collecting since I think people get agitated over the wrong things (how mint the figure looks, how cool the costumes are, etc) rather than being aware of the impermanence of the nature of the hobby and probably best to spend time to talk about the characters and what they represent instead, but that's just me.

What does agitate me however is how most people pose these figures without any regard to the laws of the human body and gravity. Thanks to the rise of social media, I can't turn away without a collector posting the awesome figures they have, but 99% of the time the figures look like they're suffering from rigor mortis and does a HUGE disservice to the character and the craftsmanship involved in making these. I think collectors should educate themselves on contrapposto and how the human body stands up, and how clothing behaves under gravity since I've seen so many Bruce Waynes and Tony Starks with poofy suits that felt like their undertaker dressed them up in a hurry.
 
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