Aside from music, one of my biggest passions is toys. Growing up, I had a few things (OG Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, a couple Transformers, Robotech, etc.), but we really weren't in a financial position for me to have tons of things. My parents did their best, and I had things I loved, but not nearly as much as some friends.
As I've gotten older, I've spotlighted certain properties that I've become a collector of. Figured I'd share some words, and eventually, pictures, here, and see if anyone else on DTF is toy collector.
First, I should state, many toy collectors either subscribe to the notion that EVERYTHING should be opened and displayed, and many are the extreme opposite - they want everything mint and in-package. I'm a hybrid. It really depends on the packaging, to be honest. A lot of modern stuff has bland packaging (say like DC Multiverse, or Marvel, etc.) that isn't specific to the character or property, but just specific to the line. I tend to open those.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. My biggest passion is Batman and Robin. And yes, the latter character is hand-in-hand for me, I became a fan back in the early-80s, watching reruns of the 60s TV show, and then Super Friends, eventually comic book reading, and of course, Batman '89. I was 13 in 1989, and didn't have any money. But I was a gigantic fan. I ended up saving up every couple of weeks enough money to get matinee tickets to see the movie. I saw it five times! Ha ha!
I stayed a massive fan, and when I got married, I started building a collection. It started out crazy random. I bought everything, and then scaled back, then bought more, then identified what series within the Batman mythos mattered most, and here we are, a couple decades later, and I generally focus on:
The Dark Knight Trilogy, Keaton Batman, Batman Forever, Batman The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Gotham, The Batman (new film franchise), and the toys associated from a few popular comic runs, The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall, and some odds and ends. I have a "Bat Cave" at the house where my collection is displayed. The room is essentially a den, fully decorated by Batman, with a TV and a couch. My main love is *my* Batman, The Dark Knight Trilogy. I went to go see Batman and Robin (1997) in the theater, and I walked out after 30 minutes. To this day, I've only gotten through 40 minutes. I hate it. So when Christopher Nolan did Batman Begins, I was blown away, and I have an entire wall dedicated to action figures, vehicles, statues, you name it, of that film trilogy.
Aside from Batman, some of my other collecting passions are Robotech, Voltron, Daredevil, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and some small collecting of 80s TV shows (I have a couple of Knight Rider things, I want to get a 1/24 scale diecast of the General Lee at some point, etc.). I have a few Star Wars things too, but honestly, I have no room to display them, and I just enjoy the shows and films with the family.
I'll get some pics up at some point, but is anyone else here a toy collector?