Display, or Play?

Following up on a "How do you collect?" query I saw in the "Loosing Interest" thread, I think it was brought up over on HQ.

Do you do anything with your collection? Play? Play with children and in some cases grand children? Outdoor photos? Diorama Photos?

Or do you just put them on a shelf or in a cabinet, and there they rest, forever.

If the second one, do you, or have you ever thought of having a "play squad?" A group of knockabout VAM that will never be museum quality, so you don't pretend they are.

I do both.

I play with them by taking outside random pictures, take pictures for stores I'm putting together and kitbash.

When I have my Mam room some will be put on a shelf to display or I'm going to set up a mini scenario in each shelf.

Since our house was broken into in the recent past and the bast*ards
walked off with me Joes I have most of my Joes in a large safe that's bolted
to the floor...lol
I'm displaying only 5 Joes right now... But I take pics of them when the mood strikes...

But I mostly only collect Joes & accessories I had as a child...1966-1972
I still do have some joes I had as a child... I take pics of those also...

I personally don't display my figure nation, I don't have the space to do that at the moment and I'm not a pro vam collector. I have a small team of parachute MAM that I'm fond of, one of them has been in my Parachute Day 1 & 2 comic stories with a special G.I. Joe guest that had escaped it's box for the day.. the particular MAM is one of my favourite MAM figures, it's had the most outdoor adventures (on and off camera)...

So yes I did get to play with my vam/Joes/MAM outdoors in the past. I'm hoping to get some of my Joes wet sometime in the future (Top Secret Mission Outdoors) I believe all vam and Joes should be played with outdoors at some point, it's what they were made for.

Its a bit of everything for me, play, display and diorama's! my lads old or new are given a new lease of life here

I suppose it all depends upon your definition of play.

I don't set up huge battles between my figures like I did back in my childhood.

Instead my "play" these days is customising, putting uniforms together...and photographing my efforts.

As for displaying them ? ......not yet. I don't have anywhere, but when I do I think I will go down the same route as AY and display 5 or 6 figures in rotation.

I have two collections, but over the years the lines have become very grey. I did have the "absolutely collectors quality, must not be played with for fear of death" and the "IT'S VAM TIME! GRAB A GUN!" But they all generally get days out in the house or garden now, and as i think i've said on a previous post i've had some expensive bits broken by my little boys friend, but hey ho.

So PLAY PLAY PLAY!