tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post8016784540090092091..comments2024-03-26T10:18:01.052-04:00Comments on Random Toy Reviews: Why I collectflywheelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17404740580161509052noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post-69185615263424691862013-09-30T10:56:03.313-04:002013-09-30T10:56:03.313-04:00Hey, this wasn't my idea, but thanks for pitch...Hey, this wasn't my idea, but thanks for pitching in and making this a little more two dimensional than my standard blog posts.flywheelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17404740580161509052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post-78600110142822852102013-09-30T10:55:20.984-04:002013-09-30T10:55:20.984-04:00Thanks for sharing so much! I love hearing how pe...Thanks for sharing so much! I love hearing how people have come back to the hobby they once loved as a kid. Awesome stuff.flywheelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17404740580161509052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post-91081782392583902072013-09-29T12:32:13.936-04:002013-09-29T12:32:13.936-04:00Haha, I knew that one was you! As soon as I saw th...Haha, I knew that one was you! As soon as I saw the TV station comment I was like: "That's gotta be Colbey". It is good to get the whole story all together though. Even though you've told me snippets of this in the past I never get tired of hearing it.<br /><br />I already had a quote in the article but it all boils down to this: I collect because it is part of who I am. Transformers have always and will always be part of my life. As Simon Furman likes to say: It Never Ends!Eric Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09824920224981897855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post-25363582205284646342013-09-29T05:42:44.335-04:002013-09-29T05:42:44.335-04:00Colbey, you have inspired me to get off my a$$ and...Colbey, you have inspired me to get off my a$$ and write something on my blog so long after I left it silent. I have also put my thoughts there about why I continue to collect and took pages off your idea about blogging about it. I hope you don't mind. Here is the page.... http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.hk/2013/09/why-i-continue-to-collect-transformers.html<br /><br />Optimal, very interesting to hear about your story as well. You are one of the most hardworking bloggers I know and really glad that you are keeping it alive and going very strong!Heroic Decepticonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017245701029351849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1636400484703954675.post-27713039758630396922013-09-28T16:47:29.660-04:002013-09-28T16:47:29.660-04:00Great articles, by both you and Maz. It really ma...Great articles, by both you and Maz. It really made me think as to why I collect. I mean, my friends, kids and family constantly barrage me with this question, but my answer has always been a nonchalant "Because I want to." Sure there's the nostalgia aspect of it, which should be readily apparent for anyone wondering why someone in their mid-thirties still buys toys, old used ones at that. <br /><br />I've always collected something. As a kid, it was Star Wars and He-Man. After 1984, it was almost exclusively Transformers. Once the G1 line died, I moved on and expanded my comic collection and dabbled in various action figures such as the ones Todd MacFarlane put out in the heyday of Image. Once I started college, I moved on to basketball cards. After a year or so, I turned to the new Star Wars figures. Notice a pattern? <br /><br />I was never interested in G2 figures because they seemed a pale imitation of life to me. While I found the Beast Wars series intriguing and the figures nice to look at, I never bought more than a couple. What pulled me back was Robots in Disguise. After that, I started going through my old toys and gave away what wasn't Transformer related and focused on vintage. At the rate of 1 per year of I was lucky. I think what drove me, even at such a low volume was that coupled with the many figures I had leftover from my childhood, I still had more toys than anyone I knew. Which filled me with pride and shame all at the same time.<br /><br />I got married nearly 7 years ago and once I started having real responsibilities (read: kids ), I ramped up the pace of acquisition, which seems counterintuitive. I think that the hobby has become a stress release for me. Hot water leaking and going to cost $500 to replace? Transform a few guys. It's the ultimate take-me-away thing for me. There's nothing like picking up something that you got as a 10 year old and reliving that moment, especially since my dad was in the Navy and we moved a lot. It's how I maintain a connection to everywhere I've ever lived. <br /><br />As far as the pride goes, that's been scuttled once I decided to reconnect with the community a bit. Thanks to seeing the massive collections out there, I've been humbled. But it's also driven me. I'm a competitive guy, so my goal, aside from the memories, is to have that respectable collection that people will look at it and say "Man, that's pretty impressive." But I want it to be mostly vintage, and not inflated by newer things you can just run out and get at Wal-Mart or Target. I want others to see the effort that's gone into it, I guess. That's why I'll order a Masterpiece from Tomy as soon as it's released instead of waiting for the inevitable Hasbro version.<br /><br />So I guess I collect for sanity, nostalgia and ego. It took me 500 words to get there, but I guess I got there eventually. I told you this made me think. Sorry to have hijacked your blog!Optimal Omegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12112470936085807477noreply@blogger.com