What are your reasons for you being an Adult Action Man collector ?

When I reached my twenties I realised that I missed my childhood Action Men. I asked myself, “Why did I give my Action Men away?” The answer to this was simply that I had given them to children who had no toys of their own. Although this made me feel good, part of me still wished I had them in my possession. Whilst browsing the internet one day, I came across the Action Man H.Q. Forum. It was then that I decided I would attempt to rebuild my collection.

I started by collecting MAM; these were the Action Men I had collected as a child. Since becoming an “adult”, I’ve been thinking long and hard about the reasons why I like being an Adult Action Man collector. Earning my own cash now enables me to indulge in my hobby. I can now afford to buy the figures I previously had and also buy the ones that I could only dream about as a child. One gets to tell stories that one never had imagined telling when you were a child. Digital cameras are another big reason because you’ve got better graphic pictures to accompany the storylines plus taking random pictures and showing off your collection.

The above are some of the reasons for enjoying being an Adult Action Man collector. The other reasons are sharing my hobby with other enthusiasts, chatting on line and meeting people on Action Man Days. What are your reasons for you being an Adult Action Man collector. Perhaps you share the same reasons as I do! You may have other reasons for enjoying your hobby; please share.

To be honest I didn't have any desire to be a collector at first. I had found my original Action Man in the loft and wanted to try to return him to his original glory.

I thought that it would be a tough thing to do...little did I know that there's a whole worldwide community of fans out there.
So I joined a website to ask questions....with the aim of repairing my old AM and nothing else, but then I saw the pictures of various members collections and I was hooked.
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I got poached by Dal ....and joined AMMO..and all the pictures of the unis that I had as a kid started me thinking about starting a collection of my own. At first my collecting was very hap hazard....i just bought anything and everything

After a year away from collecting for health reasons I'm back..and this time I'm much more focused.

I think part of it has to do with the idea that doing things that make you feel young (like playing with toys) help you stay young. Both my parents died when I was young, so it might be partially to tap into that time when they were still here.

-Nate

Glidah Drivah wrote:

I think part of it has to do with the idea that doing things that make you feel young (like playing with toys) help you stay young. Both my parents died when I was young, so it might be partially to tap into that time when they were still here.

-Nate

I think that has a lot to do with it Nate, for us older guys, I should imagine we all started out like Chris, only wanting to re build or gather uni's for our original figures (well, those of us who still have them) and for others, replacing action man we had as kids.
I think for me, well to begin with anyway, was the thrill of rebuilding all my original guys. I can still remember finding them in an old box in the loft, and the joy they brought when I saw them for the first time in many a year! I started out wanting to replace uniforms I had as a kid, then after seeing others collections wanting to collect things I never had, but somewhere along the line, my thoughts changed. I wanted to keep the original uni's I had put together, but I wanted to modernize my original ones. Then I discovered the world of 1/6 and of course female figures. it then struck me that BAM HQ even as a kid was a mix of figures and Jake was always in command of a variety of figures, so BAM HQ was expanded to include all figures! So for me, collecting as an adult is building BAM HQ to what I always imagined having as a kid! There are so many aspects of collecting as an adult that keeps the interest alive, the hunt for parts, photographing them and making comic stories with them, but best of all, Getting the opportunity to chat and exchange ideas with other members. I have made some amazing friendships and I think it continues to inspire us as we undertake the journey together!

The Action Man / GI Joe hobby, and the toy and figure hobby in general, has been a long and circuitous path for me that started out, as it did with many of us, with decisions we now regret.

Several years ago now, as a result of a job transfer, I found myself living in a very small house in a climate that was not conducive to long-term storage of items. When I noticed my Mattel Major Matt Mason space figures were beginning to deteriorate as a result of age, heat, and humidity, I decided that it was "time to grow up," and I began selling off my childhood toys via eBay before they deteriorated any further. Among the first to go were the GI Joe figures, because they were still in reasonably good condition and at the time they were bringing what seemed to be good prices.

The irony, though, was that taking photos for my eBay listings, and trying to create photos that were different than the typical toy-on-a-tabletop type eBay photos, introduced me to the fun of toy photography. By the time my Joes and Matt Mason and a variety of little cars and various other childhood treasures were gone... and, of course, the pittance I actually got for them was gone as well... I had begun to realize that maybe I should have kept them.

After seeing some interesting photos of 3-3/4 inch scale figures on Flickr, I decided to buy a few to try my hand at action figure photography. I felt quite silly buying new toys after having sold most of my cool old toys, so I told myself that toy collecting was not going to become a "thing," and all I needed was a few figures for an occasional novelty photo.



A few figures led to a few more figures. Different lines caught my eye. Then I ran across some Flickr photo accounts that were sharing posts of GI Joe / Action Man figures in adventure-y settings, and I began to miss my old Joes. And to really, really regret having sold them.

By that time I had become intrigued by the recently released Monster High line. Okay, yes, dolls, they were dolls okay? But they were really cool dolls with photogenic designs and an entertaining backstory based on classic movie monsters. Yeah, I'm just trying to make excuses at this point. Anyway, not having any of my Joes left, I tried to recapture the GI Joe vibe using Monster High dolls figures:


Then the MH girls I uncovered some of my original Joe equipment that had survived the eBay purge:



Eventually I started replacing some of my GI Joe figures, purchasing mostly newer figures and repro figures that were reasonably priced on eBay. I found a couple of photographers on Flickr who were posting amazing Joe/AM photos and building amazing backdrops, including Blonde Action Man, who eventually mentioned this forum to me.

At this point, I am gradually working my way back in to the world of GI Joe / Action Man. The guys are currently having to share space with Monster High and Bratz (yeah, yeah, I know) and a variety of other figures, but they're developing coping strategies...

... while working toward creating a more "manly" space for themselves:



That's the backstory. As for the "why," mostly the hobby is a creative outlet including photography and craft projects and photo-stories, with an element of collecting... more like disorganized hoarding. I like re-living and trying to improve upon the GI Joe and other toy adventures I played as a kid, only now trying to capture those scenes I visualized in my mind on camera.

Plus, I've learned that toy, doll, and action figure photography is a great way to meet a variety of interesting people online who have a diverse range of intriguing interests, who are generally quite friendly, and who offer a lot of laughs along with intellectually engaging conversation that is sometimes difficult to fit in to a busy schedule in the real day-to-day world.

SCU_HQ wrote:

As for the "why," mostly the hobby is a creative outlet including photography and craft projects and photo-stories, with an element of collecting... more like disorganized hoarding. I like re-living and trying to improve upon the GI Joe and other toy adventures I played as a kid, only now trying to capture those scenes I visualized in my mind on camera.

Plus, I've learned that toy, doll, and action figure photography is a great way to meet a variety of interesting people online who have a diverse range of intriguing interests, who are generally quite friendly, and who offer a lot of laughs along with intellectually engaging conversation that is sometimes difficult to fit in to a busy schedule in the real day-to-day world.

I think that the above two paragraphs explain my reasons for being involved with this hobby perfectly.

What a great read David! I really enjoyed that . I wouldn't worry about the Monster High girls, my other half has quite a few of them, and let us not forget that MiskatonicNick often made great use of these figures throughout his stories and pictures! Ammo was set up all them years ago for people who collect anything to feel at home here, so I wouldn't worry. I am sure the girls keep your Joes company and make great adventuring friends . I hope you continue to pick up some more joes and action men to go along with many other of your collection of figures, including your amazing anme figs! I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
I am so glad I mentioned Ammo to you, you are a terrific asset to our site