Why do adults collect action figures?

[thineownself]

This is a sincere question- it isn't sarcastic.

[loiosh]

I dont know why I like them But I do. I wont get everything, or anything. I enjoy modern era joe stuff because of the detail and articulation they were giving before the retaliation line. But even then I am not a completist. I also dont keep my figures in packages, unless I have bought them for a gift for someone else. I also like marvel legends, again for the articulation and the detail they were given. the marvel universe toys theat hasbro has i the 3 3/4 scale isnt the same. There are toys and toy references all over my home. and my family gets i on in to. so ..I dont know, but if this helps..

[CornDog_The_Ninja]

I was a fan of GI Joe, Star Wars, Transformers and other comic book super heroes as a kid. I collect these toys now because they remind me of a better time, my childhood.

[nerdsgetchicks]

It makes us happy. It reminds us of being a kid again.

[sharky]

Because they were cool then and they are cool now. People that don't think so are a little bit dead inside and need to loosen up.

Having said that, what I see on the pegs right now is not cool therefore I haven't collected any of the newest action figures. Yes, a little part of me is dead now. Thanks Hasbro!

[starbuck]

Because the toy section at Wal-Mart is a great place to pick up chicks.

[WVMojo]

For the love man.

GI Joe was the biggest part of my childhood adventures. Learning to play, use my imagination, building forts out of cardboard and popsicle sticks. I never stopped looking for Joes even when I was in high school, hitting up yard sales or purchasing them from friends that didn't want them anymore. Hell, my senior year, my friend and I had one last giant battle in my basement that lasted two days. Used rubber band guns to shoot guys down. Totally geeked out one last time...

I had a huge collection of ARAH that I couldn't wait to pass on to my kids. Problem was the figs and vehicles were starting to get a little brittle. And then the 25th came out the year my twins were born and I spent way to much money over that two years when we were seeing the product on shelves. I figured I'd have to stock up for when the kids were old enough to play.

Now we're enjoying all the figs, when they are good I allow them to pick out a new guy to open and play with.

I'm sad that toys don't mean as much to kids as they did when I was little. Sure they love their toys and like playing with them, but given a choice they'd rather play video games than GI Joe.

At this point, I'm just hoping they have some good memories of us playing together.

Plus, it's a good excuse to army build the shit out of the great figures...at least that's how I justify it to the wife. Gotta have a large Cobra army just like the cartoon and comics.

And because I love charging my fellow tankers and eBayers double or triple the price I paid. Capitalism baby. Free markets. Oh and I take paypal gifts only. Hate those damn fees.

[england joe]

Its all to do with my childhood like the rest.
Its a great hobby an keeps me out of mischief so the wife says!

[vader419]

it's better than collecting bar tabs. plus it is childhood nostalgia.

[rcjunkie]

An old childhood thing, mid-life crisis, and I like the more detailed and articulated toys nowadays; mainly joes.

The biggest reason as an adult is I can get whatever figure, figure set, rare items, figure lots and some vehicles without parents telling you NO...well not entirely true, then you get married :)

[Headman]

Mental disease.

[WVMojo]

I heard the chinese put an opium in the paint applications so when we handle them it gets into our skin and makes us addicted to the plastic.

[Raw Dog]

I still collect action figures because I never really grew out of it. I even still like playing with them like when I was a kid, especially with my 7 year old. Action figures are awesome, and I find them fascinating. I especially like their accessories, action features, play sets and vehicles.

[Indiana Joe]

I was a fan of GI Joe, Star Wars, Transformers and other comic book super heroes as a kid. I collect these toys now because they remind me of a better time, my childhood.

It makes us happy. It reminds us of being a kid again.

Its all to do with my childhood like the rest.
Its a great hobby an keeps me out of mischief so the wife says!

it's better than collecting bar tabs. plus it is childhood nostalgia.

An old childhood thing, mid-life crisis, and I like the more detailed and articulated toys nowadays; mainly joes.

The biggest reason as an adult is I can get whatever figure, figure set, rare items, figure lots and some vehicles without parents telling you NO...well not entirely true, then you get married :)

as others have said...the connection from childhood[now as an adult,i have more money to throw at it]and for the most part...i really enjoy it.
this is what i say as well.
Mental disease.
probably more accurate.

also,
throughout human existence we have been hunter/gatherers, modern living lacks the need and/or opportunity to hunt for, or gather anything! I think this is an outlet for that natural instinct to "go on the hunt" and "gather" these collectables.



.

[Crimson Rage]

The world is a sick, bitter and twisted place right now. Collecting toys takes me back a time when such things weren't so rampant (or, thanks to the lack of internet, at least not as apparent to me)

So "Nostalgia", basically. It's also safe, non-toxic or non cancer-causing and (compared to some possible hobbies) is quite cheap.

[Indiana Joe]

It's also safe, non-toxic or non cancer-causing and (compared to some possible hobbies) is quite cheap.

like ivory-backscratcher collecting . that gets Pricey$$
http://www.tooveys.com/lots/160871/2684.JPG

[drunknmunky]

like ivory-backscratcher collecting . that gets Pricey$$
http://www.tooveys.com/lots/160871/2684.JPG

Family Guy- But Scratcher - kittyc1501 productions - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P33KxKeRnxo)

[drunknmunky]

I think this is the real reason-
Puer aeternus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_Syndrome#Peter_Pan_syndrome)

[Headman]

I collect because it distracts me from my impulse to kill. Not kidding either. Remember MissyDee? Under my porch.

[gyrapados]

Because the toy section at Target is a great place to pick up chicks.

Fixed that for you. :)

[TheBaroness]

I personally think it is stupid that people put an age on things.

I like what I like, and no one can tell me 'figures are for kids'. No, figures are for people who like figures. You don't have to be a certain age to be able to enjoy things.

[Indiana Joe]

I personally think it is stupid that people put an age on things.

I like what I like, You don't have to be a certain age to be able to enjoy things.

Isn't that what pedophiles tell the parents?

[dcooper]

So we can get on the Tank and brag who has the rarest figures.

[Kaboomskie]

I get to have a 2nd chance to collect a toyline that I missed back in the 80s. Back then I really wanted to have Duke because he was the leader as portrayed in the cartoon that I missed. Imagine the joy when I finally got the 25th Anniv Duke. Pure joy.

[CG76]

My old neighbors (next to where I use to live) collected plush stuffed bears and proudly displayed them in their living room.

[Godzilla]

As most on here have said, I collect stuff from my childhood because the stuff is/was cool. Specifically, it was the 80s. TF, GI JOE, Robotech/Macross, Star Blazers/SBY, He-man, etc was absolutely the sh!t! Now I dont go collect everything. Sure we are grown up, but I want my kids to know how I grew up. I want my kids to know that these things influenced my imagination and what also made me they way I am.

[drunknmunky]

I get to have a 2nd chance to collect a toyline that I missed back in the 80s. Back then I really wanted to have Duke because he was the leader as portrayed in the cartoon that I missed. Imagine the joy when I finally got the 25th Anniv Duke. Pure joy.

Now you have about 25 Dukes to choose from since 07. Seriously. :)

[jcast]

I personally think it is stupid that people put an age on things.

I like what I like, and no one can tell me 'figures are for kids'. No, figures are for people who like figures. You don't have to be a certain age to be able to enjoy things.

Funny thing is I just had a big falling out with a (former) friend of mine and one of the things thrown in my face was that I should "go play with my Spiderman (sic) toys".

[bluebikerboy1]

i just like the way it feels to roll around naked in a pile of plastic action figures, oh the stories they could share if they could talk......

[bluebikerboy1]

like ivory-backscratcher collecting . that gets Pricey$$
http://www.tooveys.com/lots/160871/2684.JPG

that middle one put me back a pretty penny.....

[Indiana Joe]

i just like the way it feels to roll around naked in a pile of plastic action figures, oh the stories they could share if they could talk......

The first reasonable thing Ive read on the tank.

[Dolemite]

I am desperately clinging to my lost childhood.

Also, looking at my collection makes me feel better than some piece of shit modern art that looks like someone painted it with their asscheeks or picture frames inscribed with cheesy "heartwarming" phrases that most grown-ups feel compelled to take up the space in their homes with.

Like, my friend got married, and now his house is filled with wooden plaques that say things like "It's not the breaths you take in life, it's the moments that take your breath away" and horrific shit like that. If my girl moved in and started hanging crap like that up around the house, I think my dick would actually retract into my body. I'll take Joe figures over that any day.

I do know where to drawn the line, however. It's not like my pad is overrun by toys. A place for everything, man.

[red4]

I mostly collect action figures of heroic characters who had a significantly positive impact on my psyche. I don't play with them. I keep them on display as symbols.

The rest of the action figures I collect are kitbash fodder for creating characters from my writings.

I've never agreed with or understood the "relive my childhood" thing. Why would I want to do that? That would be like regretting adulthood as a whole.

[thineownself]

i don't want to pull a douche move by posting to my own thread but my answer would be totally different than everyone elses.'
I didn't grow up with these action figures so there is very little childhood nostalgia. I grew up with Barbies (nobody panic, I am a woman). I have fond memories of her but no desire to revisit those dolls. I have action figures because I want to be one. Does that make any sense?

[red4]

I have action figures because I want to be one.

You mean you collect them vicariously.

[bluebikerboy1]

i don't want to pull a douche move by posting to my own thread but my answer would be totally different than everyone elses.'
I didn't grow up with these action figures so there is very little childhood nostalgia. I grew up with Barbies (nobody panic, I am a woman). I have fond memories of her but no desire to revisit those dolls. I have action figures because I want to be one. Does that make any sense?

no need to be ashamed, i played with barbies some when i was a kid. It was perfectly natural

[Trigue]

For me it's all about trying to hold onto those memories from my childhood. Times have been pretty tough the last few years, lost my Grand Parents and other friends and family and GIJoe takes me back to when life seemed so perfect and innocent. Everyone I loved and held dear was still alive and well. My parents were still together, still a family. I like to try to hold onto those memories some seem to be fadeing as I get older and GIJoe's for me can really take me back in time for a moment and make me smile about those good old days. ARAH era of GIJoe will always be my favorite because of that.

I even have a few of those 25th reissue transformers. I had to get Optimus Prime. Prime was special, not so much because of transformers but because my Dad was a truck driver when I was kid and his rig was a big red one just like Optimus Prime. It's funny looking back that I used Prime more as a toy tractor and trailer than a transformer.

And that movie cobra trooper with the parachute. It might not be ARAH but danged if it doesn't make me feel like a kid again running around the yard tossing it up in the air. I loved those parachutes as kid and still do.I stopped though after I had to go on the roof twice to get it down lol. I can throw alot farther now than I could 30 years ago.

[Snow Wolf]

I partially agree with Trigue. Collecting Joes IS me keeping a beloved part of my childhood alive.

I'm not saying it was sooo much better to be a kid because, for me, being an adult has been much better in many ways (for one, I can buy Joe figures whenever I want, lol). I'm merely looking back on one of my favourites memories from my childhood. Whether the figures are vintage ARAH or ME, the feelings of nostalgia they help to create are unmistakable. Though I am an adult and work in a very grown-up profession, I feel it's important to keep the kid in me alive and well. I think this balance is very healthy.

I do collect some of my favourite cartoon series' from my childhood as well. These shows were another part of my carefree youth that I recall fondly. Shows like The Real Ghostbusters, He-Man, Pink Panther, Spiderman, Transformers, GIJoe, Kidd Video and Smurfs were a big part of my Saturdays as a kid.

Plus, if I ever have kids of my own, the GIJoe figures and cartoons are something I can share with my son and/or daughter.

[sharky]

I heard the chinese put an opium in the paint applications so when we handle them it gets into our skin and makes us addicted to the plastic.
That wouldn't explain MOC collectors though.

I like what I like, and no one can tell me 'figures are for kids'.
Word has it they're really not anyway.

[red4]

That wouldn't explain MOC collectors though.

If it can be absorbed through the plastic of the figure, it can certainly be absorbed through the cardback and plastic bubble.

[Trigue]

I don't play with my toys but call me crazy but in a way I think it helps keep our imaginations alive. Being around my cousins or friend's children. It almost seems like kids today don't have much or very little imagination. If it's not in a tv show or a video game they almost seem lost. I try get them GIJoes or transformers and sometimes when I can find them toys from the video games they play. Like Halo and Crysis, but even as much as they like those cause they're from the game they just don't have much interest. If it doesn't do anything they're just kind of "meh" and go back to thier xbox.

I did until last year have a crazy bunch of Star Wars toys too. Hitting on what Snow Wolf said. Star Wars was one of those regrets I had as a kid. I just barely had any of the toys and always wish I'd had more of them. So as an adult, I was able to make that kid's wish from the 80's come true. I had more stormtroopers and tie pilots than I have sense though lol. Although unlike with GIJoe I only bought about 8 of the vintage star wars figures. Got some figures that I had as a kid and some I really wish I'd had back then. Everything else was modern, I started back around 2003/2004. I toyed with the idea of collecting transformers G1 reissues or those fancy awesome looking masterpeice ones but dang, they're way too expensive for me. I had alot of different toys as a kid. TMNT, Transformers, Legos, Centurions, Air Warriors (think thas the name) or Air Raiders and Captain Power. But GIJoe and Legos were the only ones I stayed with right to the end, had the most memories with them. And I don't care what anyone says, your never too old for Legos!

[darthdrew13]

I think this is the real reason-
Puer aeternus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_Syndrome#Peter_Pan_syndrome)

I can't agree with this with regards to myself. I can hold a conversation with just about any person on any topic. I am socially adjusted very well even though certain areas were slow to mature. I joke with my mom that I have Peter Pan syndrome but that is simply to say that I don't want to grow up when it comes to toys. I am married with a good paying job and understand and execute my responsibilities like any other normal adult.

As for the original question I look at it like this...

As children we are taught to play and use our imaginations and have fun with our off time with the use of toys. As we grow older society deems it unnecessary to continue such practices and shuns adolescents who continue to play with toys. Many people think the "toys" we play with need to become more adult oriented (video games, electronic devices, etc) as we age and there was even a time where adults playing video games was shunned. That paradigm has shifted and we are now seeing it socially acceptable to play xbox and wii (especially guys who get together to play Madden) even at parties and such. Yet toys are still shunned.

I have never been given a good answer "why" an adult should not use his/her imagination and play with toys. Parents occasionally play with their kids (which is socially acceptable as long as it is not very often) and I challenge you to show me a parent who doesn't have at least a little bit of a good time playing with their kids. I believe adults should at least keep a little bit of fun in their lives and if toys is the outlet of that fun, ok by me!

Adults who do not play in any form (toys, video games, paintball, foosball, pool, etc) tend to become stuffy self absorbed individuals who are very hard to get along with and think they are the social epitome. In my opinion, I find those individuals to be narcissistic egomaniacs and I shy away from them every time I am placed in a room with them. I can get along with them due to my social skills, but I do not actively pursue any type of conversation with them as I find they almost always judge based on their own views of the world.

If a psychiatrist publishes a paper/study/etc showing any ill effects of playing with toys, I will be more than happy to read it and attempt to validate the investigation. If I cannot validate the investigation, my views will remain the same. If I am able to validate the investigation, then you probably won't see me here anymore. But I seriously doubt that will ever happen.

Every person who questions my playing with toys is asked the question... "why shouldn't I?" and 99% of the time I get the same response... "because you aren't supposed to". Lame. There is no scientific research in that answer. The other 1% try an make up some reasoning but it hasn't been validated with any concrete findings yet and I expect it never will.

The only thing I am waiting for is when it becomes at least socially acceptable to "collect" toys. All of the comic book movies that are making mega-bucks right now are slowly making it socially acceptable to have owned comic books and even there is a little acceptance for those who read them now. Shows like Big Bang Theory are breaking down social barriers . Times are changing, just not fast enough for me.

Last point. It is generally socially acceptable for adults to own a model train set and have it set up from time to time. People who are model train aficionados are simply creating a world they want to see with their train set-up. We do the exact same thing with our set-ups and especially our dioramas. Yet we are socially shunned and model train owners are accepted in today's society. I really think "society" is not looking at what collecting and playing with toys can actually do for your psyche. If such studies are completed and shared with the masses, I really think our paradigm will shift in our favor. But then, look out, closet toy collectors will start eating up available product for a while until Hasbro starts to realize they need to make more.

Thanks for the discussion. Great topic.

[zedhatch]

This is a sincere question- it isn't sarcastic.

Different reasons for everyone, Some for nostalgia, some for a desire not to grow up, some for simple love of the characters the figures represent, some to fullfill some lost need in thier life, some just because they think it's fun.

Reasons are as diverse as the fans themselves.

[TheBaroness]

Funny thing is I just had a big falling out with a (former) friend of mine and one of the things thrown in my face was that I should "go play with my Spiderman (sic) toys".

I'd be all 'not a problem, Peter was always cooler and more understanding than you.'

[Troynos]

Different reasons for everyone, Some for nostalgia, some for a desire not to grow up, some for simple love of the characters the figures represent, some to fullfill some lost need in thier life, some just because they think it's fun.

Reasons are as diverse as the fans themselves.

^ This

[AlphaWarrior]

Since I'm a history major and big into learning about the art of war, that is why I collect Joes and only Joes. I do admit though that sometimes I get a little shy when bringing a ton of toys to the cash register. But nonetheless, it's a cool hobby.

[Headman]

Why do people collect stamps?

[sharky]

Why do people collect stamps?
Because they suck and are losers.

If it can be absorbed through the plastic of the figure, it can certainly be absorbed through the cardback and plastic bubble.
You aren't making any sense. You just said it was in the paint applications. Now you are talking about being absorbed through the plastic and cardback which is laminated on both sides with glossy paper. And, who the heck spends time rubbing the bubbles on MOC figures and/or the cardback where the figure is actually in a plastic tray and only touching the cardback by the edges of the tray. Most people that hold a MOC figure are usually only holding it on the edges anyway.

[drunknmunky]

Why do people collect stamps?

Why do they even still make stamps?

[sharky]

Why do they even still make stamps?
Because they have to keep supplying the sucky losers with stamps, duh.

[drunknmunky]

Because they have to keep supplying the sucky losers with stamps, duh.

So what you're saying is as long as there's collectors the companies will continue to put out crap simply because the collectors will buy it? Kinda sounds familiar...