Player or Collector?

[Zefram]

This probably gets asked every so often here, but rather than necro-post I figured I'd make a poll. So, when you buy a figure, do you squirrel it away hoping that it will be a good investment, play with the sucker like an overgrown kid, or do you work enough crazy overtime to actually do both?

[Sniper]

I have all the 25th figures MOC and will chose my childhood favorites that I or my son wants out of the next waves. I don't play with them, but I do like to put them in cool poses and display them on my sons shelf. My son does play with them and that is part of why I even buy 'em.

I figure before the movie comes out and Hasbro starts making the movie figures, I will slim my MOC collection down to my top 20 favorites and incase them.

[Lo-Wan Bing]

Display. Out of box and typically standing at attention... The ones that didn't make it to the display area get shuffled into a plastic box with other 25th joes (or lots of cobra badguys when i was considering army building) Those get played with when my son is in the mood to play army

[protoxero]

both with crazy over time, then put some of ones on display or in a big box.

[minstrelboy]

I'm trying to do both. But having them open is more important. I like to do customs, too, so I try to pick up loose figures from eBay for that. I can't bring myself to rip apart a figure I personally bought from the store and opened. I was always meticulous as a kid about keeping my figures organized and properly armed, even keeping the paperwork and filecards organized. OCD. Customs give me the chance to do whatever the hell I want with a figure. But I am not a MOC collector. I like things to be at least slightly used, even if unopened. Sterile, untouched things make me nervous. Like, if I ever owned a mint classic car (say, a '69 GT500Shelby Mustang), I'd have to put a scratch in it somewhere, or I'd be stressed out everytime I thought about the thing.

[slim19722]

My Star Wars & GI Joe fig's, I get MOC and if it's a character I like, I'll get a second to display loose or set up in a dio or something. My Indy fig's are all loose, as the packaging doesn't look as cool as Joe or SW. But I don't play with them, not even as a kid, did I really really play with them except for maybe a few minutes here and there and then it was back on the shelf for my fig's.

[popsicleviper]

I open all of my Joes and display them. I take them off my shelf, and play with them when I have time. But I won't play with my Joes unless I have a basic story in my mind, and I have to write that story on a piece of paper later. Just so I never forget what happen in my joe universe lol.

[cmderinchief]

Everyone buys to collect these days. I get one of most, and multiple of some. I rarely keep anything carded unless I know it is a no-brainer (ie Gold SDCC Destro).

[Gulfster]

free them of the plastic jail cell

[C.I.A.D.]

I like the look of figures MOC on my wall, so I guess by those standards I collect. The pieces that I must open I get two of.

[kingmoredred]

Play, why else whould you army build?

[slowrey]

both for me but more on the play side

[jdbrown55]

I have to store my collection because of a lack of space, but I pull them out every other day to look at them and fight with them for a bit. :)

[xhairs]

i do both and my living room and joe room have battles every day.

[Crimson Rage]

Play PLAY PLAY!

Those things of plastic beauty need to be caressed and dispatched into world-saving battles. They have 'posable joints' for a reason you know!

[אבדון]

disPLAY. i forgot how to play, unless you count posing them. it's fuin watcjing my 8 yr old nephew olay though.


i'm drunk, i'm going to pss out now.

[Sniper]

I used to love to play with the older Joes. I would just lay them down on the carpet in squads and make firing sounds and character voices as the Cobra army got picked off one by one. I also use to use them for one-on-one fights or use one-on-five fights as a all out brawl. I have found in my adults years that my hands are too big now to maneuver the figures like I use to. I look back and am amazed at how I could control a figures movements with one hand.

I tried with the 25th Joes and they don't bend as well for fight situations. I just watch my son use them for fighting, but it's more like throw one into the other and make a crashing sound. LOL.

[Elite Force Cobra]

i do both i have amassive display upstairs in my pad and then i have a massive MOC collect in my lower garage all tucked away nicely

[Deckard]

well im kind the reverse of CIAD. I open everything and in the case of MOC i'll buy a second to keep on card. mainly loose. :>

[Pyroclasm]

Hmmm... I don't "collect" if that means leaving them in packages as an investment. I don't "play" with them if that means having battles and the like. I mostly have them just standing on my desk and for the most part they will be customized. So, I guess I buy them for display/art purposes.

[Dave in the Basement]

I am more of an accumulator, but I am strongly leaning towards cracking a bunch of guys open, assuming I can come up with a few good display ideas.

I am guessing there are some great display ideas around here, huh?

Dave

[Bernit69]

Everyone buys to collect these days. I get one of most, and multiple of some. I rarely keep anything carded unless I know it is a no-brainer (ie Gold SDCC Destro).

I'm the same way. I collect all them plus I troop build. Also, buy few doubles for customizing new figures and for my kids. I have about 4 MOC as of now. I plan to build dioramas for all of them some time in the future and that is when I'll play with them....lol

[DPrime]

Hmmm... I don't "collect" if that means leaving them in packages as an investment. I don't "play" with them if that means having battles and the like. I mostly have them just standing on my desk and for the most part they will be customized. So, I guess I buy them for display/art purposes.


Same with me, there should be a "grey area" answer in between for us to answer, because I think that's where the majority of us would be.

As it stands, I chose "collect" but by no means do I keep them MOC or intend to sell them later in life. I display them, but apart from putting them in vehicles or standing up I don't really "play" with them.

[topnotch97]

me Play with `em.

*the title is kinda misleading. i thought it was about women. boy, am i a player.* lol :D

[wardamnpjm]

I am a grey area guy myself. I think I have OCD when it comes to being a completist. I buy two of most everything one to display out of package and one to store away nicely MOC. I never play with my figs,but I really enjoy admiring them from afar. I keep all my opened Joes and Transformers on shelves in my office upstairs and it's great when I'm working to stop for a sec and just admire them(very relaxing to me).Collecting just reconnects me with some of the happiest times in my childhood,and looking at them gives me that great happy feeling again,if only for a second.

[GunghosLipHair]

i usually buy 2 of each but recently i have just been buying to open. And i am just starting to customize so i have been opening some of my moc to mess around with

[Saboteur]

I like my toys like my women..I buy them all and collect them, putting them in plastic and locking them up in my closet! HA!
Actually, I do like them like my women...I am a playa!!
No offense Charijoe, Amber and all of the other ladies on here...
Saboteur

[Apeiron]

I open them and display them on whatever flat surface I can find in my room, but I also play with them. Same goes for the most part with Transformers, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars.
With Star Wars though I keep some in package that are either exclusives, rare, doubles, or ones I don't feel like opening yet.
Stuff from McFarlane, Neca, and Marvel Select i'll keep in package for the most part.

[DaViper]

I do both. Plus I army build figures and vehicles. Then I also do customs(but not as much). I guess my reason is that I didn't have multiples as a kid and I'm making it up for my deprived childhood now lol. Plus it nice to able to do both when it's a new toy line.

[Tomax & Xamot]

I take them out..... There is more of a conncetion with actually being able to touch & move them instead of just looking at them though plastic. :D

[Money-B]

I'm still doing both. I'm too busy buying them to actually open them all. Damn ebay!

[MAJOR BLOOD]

I open them if I can work them into my beach assault.

[concrete]

yes im a moc collector and no my collection isnt anykind of investment. honestly i like the card art more than i like the figures. though i think certain peoples displays and dios are cool as hell,i dont have the time or patience to do any. if joes we're a better quality or if they we're non posable i would probably open and display them. also in my opinion it shows a level of maturity and wilpower to not open. i feel one who doesnt open is a collector and one who opens, its more of a hobby.

[Syn3sthesia]

Im a collector.

[Captain Carstein]

I definitely crack 'em open and display them in a display cabinet. Currently moving stuff around to make room for the new HISS tanks I bought last month. Still, very much a collection that I intend to keep. As far as playing goes, I guess I need to buy a house again someday so I have a basement to set up dioramas again.

[Snow cat]

All my new joes are moc and most of the vintage joes are loose. I want a moc colletion and feel i have a second chance.

[DOC]

Both for me.

[Cobra Invasor]

free them of the plastic jail cell

I agree :)

I don't play with them but I like to put them in posses. I have approximately the 75% of the 25th Anniversary line so far and the only figures I have MOC are SDCC Cobra Commander (Black Suit), Mail Away Doc and Flint (I have him loose too).

[katcountrydean]

collector for now... its hard not to break them open tho...

[hwheels2]

I So want to open a new BAT.
Heres how ive been at it.
Comic Packs-open em up! needed doc anyway.
25th not a single one,BUT i bought 2 of each for that special time down the road to open 1.
vintage 82-94 all open some MOC.
play with-none. display some yes.
wall art-tons.
Vintage Vehicles-lots on display.

[mswi]

open and display. An occassional surgical strike against my 5yr old girls Polly Pocket's

[darth_henning]

I can't stand them in their little plastic prisons. I have to display and customize. Yes, and play, I'll admit it.

Hey, at least I'm young at heart.

[fred V]

moc and some display...

[scifinut999]

must free them from their plastic prisons

[NIGHTVIPER73]

I'm buying one set to save for when I have kids & one set for my little brother.
With my little brother begging me to play with him alot though, mine get played with probably once a week. I also just got into customizing after looking at it being done by so many on hisstank.com

I never could stand the MOC idea, I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on them for that.

[Tomahawk]

both

[arc30]

I have a complete moc set of the entire line, and I open the ones i like (with is pretty much all of them). This guys are taking over my house. I also like to customize so I have tons of multiples moc and loose everywhere.

[kapuso]

i used to play with the old ones but for the 25th anniv. collection, i keep the singles on moc. i have everyone displayed on a cabinet. i dont buy the new vehicles due to money limitations. hehehe

[skullshine]

Some remain packaged, some are opened and displayed.

[Rukh]

Opened and posed. And reposed. And then put in Plano (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage-PGSTT47.html) cases when I get bored with that figure and I decide its worth keeping out of the tub of randoms.

These figures are meant to be posed and fiddled with, let them breathe!

[THALASTDRAGON]

mostly display, ill play with them every now and then, very few do i keep carded

[psycho_klown66]

I open everything... if I don't open it... it's because it's an extra.

[CURRAHEE CHRIS]

Ever since 82- there is only one way for the Joes to be treated-

FORWARD DEPLOYED- No suffocation in the cards, no standing at attention in display- throw around, kicked, roughed up and ready to kick more booty!!

[mackdawg77]

I can't stand MOC. LIBERTA-LIBERTA-LIBERTA

[Troynos]

Both. I'm not rich enough, but like to do both.

There are only a couple of things that I like to keep MOC: exclusives, 25th foil cards and certain figures.

The rest get opened. I'd love to be able to have an opened and unopened of each exclusive, but doubt it will happen so the majority of 'em get opened and only select few stay MOC.

[storymodeller]

Play!

Though sometimes I say "to populate a diorama" (if I'm afraid someone is going to be small minded about the plastic small-bodied). And because I am working on dioramas for them, the answer is not false, just incomplete.

Also, occasionally the only two options provided are "buy for child" or "collect." In those cases I say "collect", to get across the point that they are not for a child, which I think was the spirit fo that question.

[Mech-Viper]

I display my joe and cobra forces , which makes it easier to play with

[JR0d28]

only one I have MOMC is SDCC black Cobra Commander blue one too rich for my blood.

[JR0d28]

The rest are free to roam about the house.

[sparks007]

both,I have almost all of the 25th line moc,only missing PDD(gold and silver)Blue SDCC Cobra Commander,and Roddy Piper.I also have all of the same figures loose with multiples of BATS,Cobra Troopers,Cobra Officers,all the army builders even the green shirts I am constantly rearranging the figures I have so I guess you could call that playing.

[Old Joe]

I open 95% of the time but keep one army builder moc to display behind my open army builders. I keep all the newest waves of 25th on my computer desk posed for battle until its full then breakdown and buy more shelving to display em in the toy room. i do a little old school MOC collecting and have all the original Python Patrol moc and a Techno Viper moc. With the 25th vehicles i buy as many multiples as i want to fill my need at the moment.

[spazzy]

I have everything sealed.
But there are a handful that I buy at least doubles of like BAT, Snow Serpent, Viper, BBQ, Croc Master, SE (timber, commando, wv7)
and will pick up a couple more.

No doubles on vehicles, excpet I have an extra Rattler that I am deciding on, and really like the Firebat.

If they do a hydrofoil, I would buy one to open definitely.


oh, but I don't actually "play" with them, outgrown that along time ago.

[Redredly]

I've kept all my 25th stoff MOC, just to change things up... since 95% of my collection is loose.

[storymodeller]

the rest are free to roam about the house.

lol
:)