I was more in awe of the line as a kid... I couldn't even dream of 'collecting them ALL' back then, and with no internet, the only clue of what was coming out for the year was those awesome catalogs packed with the vehicles. But if I wanted any figure, I wouldn't have to go to more than 2 stores to find it, and all 3 waves of new figs came out at the beggining of the year, and I knew they would be around for awhile. And reading the comic, trying to puzzle out hints of what the next new figures would be.
As an adult, I can buy as much as I want. But I still enjoy the hell out of it.

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It was more fun as a kid, absolutely. I don't see how this can be questioned.

Maybe this is the undying cynic in me talking (and I thought most people here knew this) but as kids we have a special appreciation for the toys & characters which steadily erodes as the burdens of life accumulate and maturity lessens our reception to the simple joys we once knew.

Toys in adulthood are an escape. Plain & simple. They are a material indulgence that scratches an itch. The same can be applied to golfing, boating, restoring an old car, etc. They are a temporary outlet to escape the doldrums of life. But when playtime is over, the mortgage payment, crabby boss etc remain.

We have the disposable income now and freedom to buy it all, but we should also have the wisdom & restraint to realize we don't need it all. But that is a debate for another topic.

I say I had more fun as a kid due to the sheer excitement of drooling over catalog pics (pre-internet) and finally getting the figure, whereas now we can order by the case almost as a matter of habit and don't get to appreciate each figure.

Well, yes, there is that side of it, which I certainly acknowledge. The Internet has allowed me to acquire, through one means or another, items I never would have been able to obtain otherwise.

But still, sometimes I wonder if there isn't just a bit of information overload in regard to more conventional toys. The concern of the topic is, after all, fun, and sometimes I think a bit of that has been lost.

You see, I disagree wholeheartedly flashback. I don't need my toys for an escape, I have reading and audiofiction for that. Also the occasional home movie, and of course, Morrowind gaming. Something that can immerse me in visual imagery, than the tactile.

Toys for me, in the play sense, have virtually remained unchanged since my youth. It was all primarily mental, with dialogues, adventures, and sequential stories all played out mentally, until I build the structures to make it a reality. Anyone here who is a writer or an artisan can attest to this, that sometimes just turning around a figure in one's hand, or that fully fledged out custom, can indeed write stories for itself. It is often how a writer writes a main character, and additional ones for a story, but the additional ones "write themselves" as the term is when the story develops. Many a fantasy and scifi writer has said this in an interview.
Luckily for me, this same type of play can be applied distinctly to the genre of the diostory. There is nothing different from a diostory to a novel, save for the medium.


Toys, and by proxy, set building, are my passion. It is that one facet of my commerical and fine art history that always left me the most imaginative. As for pressures, Life101 shall we call it, for me, I have developed the mindset to tackle my problems, as opposed to running away from them in escapism. It is only when I come to an empasse, or a precipice in the problem, that I take a "break" as most would call it, refocus through some other fun, and then attack it again with a fresher perspective.

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As an adult I have the dream collection I wished for as a kid.

Kid: Wishes and dreams
Adult: Realization of them

As a kid I was having more fun playing with them, but having is way more fun than not having a Major Bludd, Firefly, Recondo, Cover Girl, Ripcord, Zap, Short-Fuse (and so on) in my collection.

I'm really feeling what you're saying Cap, and when you're talking creativity I'm in the exact same boat. But taking the given statement as literally as possible, I'm gonna have to say as a kid.

From reading the thread, my childhood seems largely different than a lot of folks here had. My recollection is I got just about everything I ever wanted and I daresay I was spoiled comparatively speaking. Granted, my Mego superhero collection fell prey to a yard sale, but otherwise there was never really a time that Mom demolished my collection due to my reaching a certain age.

As an adult, I've had a number of customs stolen from me. I've also seen prices rise to the point where I can no longer afford everything, completely inverse of growing up. And the sheer size of my collection is a burden in ways it could have never been in younger years.

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Thanks for responding, everyone. I apologize, I shouldn't have used the word "colecting", as I think that confused a few people. For most of us, when we "collected" as kids it was to have more toys to play with. Nowadays, that word conjures images of grown men with unopened toys in glass cases.

It was really interesting to see the broad spectrum of responses. For the most part, it sounds like there was a lot of joy then and now.

Cap, I'm sorry to hear your childhood was a bit more difficult than most. Maybe that explains why you are such a good artist; it seems like the best artists are the ones who are very familiar with pain and suffering. I'm glad GI Joes are one of the canvases you've decided to work in.

Thanks again, everyone!

As a kid, I played with my toys to destruction. Back in the 1970s over here, it was plastic soldiers or Action Man until lines like Micronauts and Star Wars suddenly appeared on the scene. I used to love recreating WWII battles with the Action Man figures.

These days, I collect very little. Most of my toy buying is for customising. In that sense, I suppose I get more satisfaction out of the hobby as an adult, as I am able to let my creative juices flow and be part of the creative process. For me, tracking down an elusive figure and finally having it in my hands has a certain appeal, but actually making that figure myself, sitting back and looking at it with a warm glowing feeling of satisfaction means far more to me.

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Trek I think that has more to do with the current toy atmosphere than it does with the internet in general. It seems of late that every toy line I am interested in blasts out new waves each week. But I think that would be the case reguardless of the net (maybe not, but I kind of doubt it).

I think that it's very hard to compare them. I didn't have many friends when I was little, so I spent a lot of time with toys (specifically G.I.Joes and Legos) and comic books, and they weren't simply part of my childhood, they're pretty much the one that sticks out as being a constant and defines my childhood for me. I thought the worst day in the world was when my brother put Cross Country in the microwave. Despite thinking the colors were doofy, I am still surprised that I was that upset over it. I didn't really experience the playing with other kids with my Joes like many of you, but since they 'kept me sane,' it's hard to say that it's overwhelming more enjoyble at this point in my life. Years later, I have many of the things I always wanted and now have my own money to buy a figure if I really want it. It's rewarding to live on your own and have what you want, and some friends that come over marvel over my collection of Joes and Marvel Legends set-ups, but it's hard to argue with the importance of these little plastic men from when I was little. I would probably have to side with the kid. Though I'd still argue that I love it as much now as I ever have, even if my buying is slowing down.

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a kid as it was so cool to walk in a store and see a whole section just for joes.
now it is i can buy what i want lol.

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