How long you been 12" collector? This is My 20th Anniversary!

It was 2001, there year I first became a 12" - 1/6 collector...20 year Anniversary! I saw so many from Palisades Reservoir Dogs to Sideshow soon to be released Universal Monsters on the web. Sure, I got some 12" Joes in the early 90s but it didn't hit Me then till I saw Sideshow's figures. You can see My Universal Monsters in the Sideshow section. I just feel in love with these type of figures still love 12" figures of all kinds to this day hence My signature!

So, how long have you been a collector and why/how

Twenty years! Congratulations on that historic milestone, young man! Wishing you many more years of enthusiastic collecting and sharing!

I had GI Joe and other figures when I was a kid, but then I went through that "time to grow up" nonsense and liquidated many of my childhood treasures. My return to the toy collecting hobby began in 2005, inspired by my interest in photography. I started out with smaller figs, and didn't really get back in to 1/6 scale until 2010 with the introduction of the Monster High line. So I guess that makes a mere eleven years in the "modern" 1/6 era for me.

I grew up with the 12" figures as a child, first the military Joes of the '60's, and later
Adventure Team items. I only had two Joes, military series, and later AT gear to go
with them. My younger brother had a bunch of AT figures.

I don't know why my parents got him so many AT figures and didn't get me any.
But as the AT figures were disappearing and become Super Joe, I was getting to an
age where I wasn't interested in toys anymore.

Around 1982 Joe came back on the market as the "Little Joes" and my younger brother
had grew up to put toys behind him. We were talking about missing our old toys,
and we decided to go to a local toy store. I got a 4" Joe figure called Breaker, he got
a Master of the Universe figure. The Man at Arms as I recall.

After that I could only find the 4" figures, nobody had the 12" figures. Later, I found out
about Cotswold Collectibles. And later the internet was born where I could get 12" figures
on ebay. Which is what I really wanted to collect.

So I have a bunch of small joes that I collected, since I couldn't collect the 12" Joes that
I really wanted, until I found a way to collect them. The small Joes are cool, but I only
collected them because I couldn't find 12" Joes to get.

So I've been collecting the 12" Joes since about 1990, after I found ways to get them.

Hi,
I had a couple of Action Man toys when I was a kid, late 60's early 70's, didn't have much but played with them to destruction. Naturally they got thrown out when I left home.
Then, it must have been 1993, I saw a piece on a news programme about the re-launch of Action Man and it made me start thinking about my old buddies.
Didn't know where to get "vintage" figures from, so started buying brand new MAM's. Didn't consider that I was starting a collection so just bought the odd one now and again.
I can still remember the embarrassment I felt buying toys and can actually remember making excused to the girl on the till in Woolworths like "they're for a nephew's birthday" or something like that.
Then I discovered Ebay.
Well, I'm coming up to my 20th anniversary on Ebay. The first vintage figure I bought was probably a bit rough. Can't remember where the figure itself has gone, but, the other day I was going through a spares box and found the original tank commanders' jacket that came with that figure. I know it's the right one as I had put a little note with it to say where it had come from.
It's a bit rough - too rough for display, but it's oddly comforting to know that I've still got it.
So, if I bought my first MAM in '93, guess I'm getting close to my 30th anniversary.
Strange to think that MAM's are now as old as "vintage' figures were when I started collecting.

The-Procrastinator wrote:

Hi,
it made me start thinking about my old buddies.
Didn't know where to get "vintage" figures from, so started buying brand new MAM's. Didn't consider that I was starting a collection so just bought the odd one now and again.
So, if I bought my first MAM in '93, guess I'm getting close to my 30th anniversary.
Strange to think that MAM's are now as old as "vintage' figures were when I started collecting.

What a delight to welcome another MAM collector here!
The majority of my collection is MAM too and I really enjoy seeing what other members here do with theirs.
(There are a few of us who have more than a few MAMs!)
Be sure to post some of your fellers, no matter what condition they are in!

Collecting is a funny old game.

I remember when I was a kid, praying on birthdays and at Christmas that my folks would get me anything just not one of those Grenadier Guards or Life Guards - didn't want them, couldn't see the play value.

And when I was buying MAM's when they first came out, I was doing the same sort of thing and stayed away from some of the "weirder" figures and sets.

And now I find myself hunting for those things. One of my current long term projects is to get all the first series of MAM small cards - the ones with the black labels - think I'm missing two - saw one the other day but they wanted silly money for it. I can wait.

The-Procrastinator wrote:

Collecting is a funny old game.

A funny game indeed!
I can't really decide whether my own stuff is a collection per se. or really just equipment for my photographic compositions. Probably a bit of both because I do have some figures that I never re-cloth or change, but keep as "display", even if at times they are not actually out on display. (Smaller space now.)
And others that regularly get changed as required. They are mainly those MAM figures that have both the articulated arms and legs and take poses much better than the far too many I seem to have have accumulated with either stiff arms or stiff legs.
I do have some of the weird figures, Dr Evil is a favourite and I hope to feature him again soon in another photo-story.

I suppose that I don't really think that I've got a collection.
Yeah, I've got a load of one sixth scale action figures - but there's no ultimate theme or goal - so is it a collection?
I'm not even sure if some of my stuff even qualifies - I have a few of the older 12" scale Dr Who figures from Vivid Imaginations (is it?) from around 10 years ago - the David Tennant era. They never seem to get talked about anywhere on 1/6th forums.

But my real favourites are when (albeit rarely) someone gives me the stuff they played with as a kid. Last year, a friend of a friend was in the process of emigrating, and while clearing out their house they found their old Action Men, heard I collected so passed them on. Three painted head figures and a few standard bits and bobs from assorted 1960's sets - nothing exotic. All of it was in fairly rough condition and would normally be assigned to the spares box - but because they had history, I did some light restoration and now keep them together as one set - a collection within a collection.
As it happens, around about two months ago, they came back to this country for family stuff and while here came to dinner. I didn't do it deliberately, didn't cross my mind to be honest, but all three figures happened to be on display in our hall.
The guy recognised them as his and was absolutely delighted that they had gone to someone who cared for them for what they were - part of HIS childhood and not simply as assets to be bought and sold.
That was cool.

The-Procrastinator wrote:

The guy recognised them as his and was absolutely delighted that they had gone to someone who cared for them for what they were - part of HIS childhood and not simply as assets to be bought and sold.

Great story! I think we all might harbour the thought that something precious to us from our childhood might survive to be cared for again.
Of course in  most cases our childhood toys and playthings that once meant so much are discarded or just seem to disappear as we grow.

It's not a Joe, but I still have the teddy bear my Father placed in my crib the very day I was born. Yes, it's showing some age now (as I am too!), but I'd never have it restored in any way.
What to do with it when I depart this realm?
Of course it's far too fragile to be played with, but it is quite valuable in monetary terms now.

That is properly cool.
The only thing that remains from when I was a kid (I'm heading towards 60 so kid hood was a long time ago) is a little bit odd.
My parents separated when I was very young and I never got to see my dad very often (he died when I was 10). Anyway, one year, before he died, he went on holiday to Spain and brought me back a chess set. Then, I thought it was really cool, 20 years later after quite a lot of use and a fair amount of time stuck in a loft, I realised that it was actually a piece of ****. But as it was the only thing I had from him, I've had it framed and it hangs on my living room wall.

The-Procrastinator wrote:

But as it was the only thing I had from him, I've had it framed and it hangs on my living room wall.

Certainly an interesting story!
But now I'm left wondering how the hell do you frame a chess set?

I'm collecting since 1990.

I started in 1993, when I rediscovered some of my old childhood bits (one mail-away figure, and a Stormtrooper uniform). I later found more stuff stashed away in my Parents loft, and much later still, more bits when we were clearing Pop`s place after he passed.

I started in 1964 with G. I. Joe and that went on till the early 70's when I went to high school. In the 80's my brothers and I foolishly sold all our stuff at a yard sale.

In around 1996 Hasbro started rereleasing some 12" figures and we got the internet. One of the first things I searched for on the internet was G. I. Joe.

I've had some ups and downs, but have pretty much steadily collected from 1996.

Classic Collection Joes, some Vintage and then branched out to 21C/TUS, Dragon, Sideshow and now DiD.

Most of my collection now is focused on WWII bashes from Dragon, Battlegear Toys, New Line Miniatures, One Sixth unique headgear and Tony Barton head sculpts.

I think I stopped playing with mam round about 2001 and after finding a forum called Action Man HQ in 2010 which must have been the year I started to recollect mam once again.

The Robot King wrote:

... in 2010 which must have been the year I started to recollect mam once again.

Same for me. I had GI Joe and a few other figs when I was a kid, but my current interest in 1/6-scale action figures was inspired by the release of Mattel's Monster High line in 2010:


I can actually pinpoint my "Modern Era" of being an action figure hobbyist to 6 July 2010.

It probably all started for me Christmas 1967 when I got a Pedigree Captain Scarlet followed the next year by a VAM Talking Commander. It all petered out around 1976 but I always kept my guys close (safely up the loft) and reconnected in 2008, so my 2nd collecting phase surpassed the first in 2016!

Been Adult collecting since 2010....