Transitions in collection?

[akabob]

I would like to begin by describing my back ground before posing my question. In university I majored in sociology because I like to know about human experiences. Lately I have been wondering about the "early days of collecting". I only just recently got back into heavily collecting macross/robotech toys since I decided that I now had the means to and since I stopped collecting transformers. Now I here whispers that collecting today is much different than about 7 years ago. Since I was not collecting heavily during the time that most people here were I missed out on the experience of change between the mid 90s to now. What I would like to here about is detailed stories of the changes. A description of any kind of change and why you think it happened will be greatly appreciated. You dont have to feel like this is an essay. Point form is fine(although descriptive sentences are easier to understand). So I emplore you all to treat me to some stories if you like. I also do not want to limit this thread to those have been collecting for years. "Newbies" opinons are much appreciated as well for the full story. I would also like to see pictures...lots and lots of pictures

[buffalobob77]

What set me off was when they started to make Star Wars figures again. It was my senior year in high school(1996) and a friend had bought a Darth Vader figure. I guess at that moment I had to see the rest of them and ended up buying Han Solo the next day. Before this I had no interest in collecting after childhood but I just thought it was so cool there was new Star Wars toys. After that the collection just kept growing. I got into Spawn and some of the earlier Toy Biz comic stuff. Kinda regret that last one. Come to think of it I'm not to happy with the earlier Spawn stuff either.

I had a lot of fun looking for toys. Thrill of the hunt and all that. This all started to slow down during college. Mostly because of lack of money and space to keep it in. After college I stopped all together. Actually had to sell quite a bit of it. Then once I finally received employment I got back into it.

I'm much more picky now. I mainly just stick to one big purchase a year such as a 1/48 valk or the MP Prime. Funny thing is my girlfriend had me keep all the "comic book bimbo" figures I had so she could use them as a photo project. Now our apartment is not only decorated with those but also artistic black and white photos of them.

I've talked to a few other collector my age and it seems that the new Star Wars figures were a big influence. I've longed dropped them but they were defiantly the spark that lit the fire.

[kanata67]

friend pawned me his jetfire so he could pay rent [bought beer instead]

trying to track down the missing armor bits to complete his I come across a reissue vf-1s. Reissue 1s led me here. I completed that jetfire by buying a jetfire with some armor on ebay. GGreat... completed one but had one missing armor. Bought one with some armor to complete that one and... I have a lot of jetfires . Anybody got anyjetfire parts while I'm here .

While I was at it I scored the reissue 1s, and pretty much any 1/55 I could get my greedy hands on. Still need some though.

Same friend was the one who got me into spawn [the bastard] because he had cool gory toys on display AND a girlfriend. My wife is happy that the house doesn't have the spawn wallpaper the apartment did

Pretty much macross and a very select few g1 transformers and vintage gundam is all I collect. I refuse to buy any more spawn until mine are at least worth retail . On a side note when my friend graduated college I was able to give him his own jetfire [now complete and boxed] for a graduation gift.

[do not disturb]

i hadn't collected any toys for years until i walked into a TRU when i was like 21 or so and bought a couple of lego sets(castle and ninja). some years past before i found myself walking the aisle(or isles?) of KBtoys(sometime after piesode 2 came out) looking for some video games when i saw this box of Star Wars lego(gungan sub). i said f-it and bought it. not even a week later, i found myself searching for more SW lego sets, in stores, on ebay, anywhere i could get more.

well it didn't take long before someone posted some pics of a valkyrie they built out of lego on the lego website i frequent and i was all, "hey why didn't i think of that?, i love robotec"h(yeah you all watched it too so don't hate) and decided to make my own.

after my feeble attempt in making one, i gave up on it and decided to go to ebay in search of a bandai hikaru 1J, just like te one i had when i was a kid. thats when i noticed all the auctions for MPC's and found my way to RT.com. i asked around to see who made the best valkyrie(veritech before i realized). but unfortunately, you're not allowed to speak of other companies on RT so they closed my thread before i could get any real info. luckly one dude contacted me and told me about MW and i've been here ever since.

in my time here, my valkoholism got bad, real bad. originally, i just wanted one valkyrie just for the memories and bought a 1/60 super 1J, and i thought i could stop there but NNNOOOOoooooo. now i have over 40 valks or something ridiculous like that.

[baronv]

I restarted collecting again after I graduated college and started my first real job. I started small with collecting the old Toy Biz Marvel comics and DC action figures. I liked collecting the figures since I was a big comics fan when I was a kid. Then I moved into Star Wars for a bit when the whole frenzy with Ep. 1 was starting. I bought some of the G.I. Joe 3 3/4" reissues. Then I got bored and sold them then I ended up in Macross after seeing *gasp* the MPC line. Now I've gone and bought the Bandais and Yamatos. Though I've kinda near the end of my Macross fad and moved onto animation cels for a bit.

[zeo-mare]

i used to collect tons of toys and models of macross and gundam through the 1980's. at the begining of the 1990's all the hobby stores shut down and i was no longer able to collect, some time went by but then in about 1999 i got my first computer and found online anime stores and ebay and seriously got back into collecting, i have been seriously collecting gundam models and toys since then. it was great getting back to my childhood and doing something i used to enjoy almost a decade ago.

chris

Edited May 27, 2005 by zeo-mare

[Twoducks]

I remember buying GiJoe's, TMNT and the such when I was a kid.

Now, the moment I started buying stuff with the excuse that I was "collecting it" was with comics around 1996. Specific events took me closer to that medium (death of Superman, Marbel Vs Dc, X-men and Spider-man animated series...) until around that year the Onslaught crossover and Wizard magazine hooked me completelly. I learned what was good and what was not and concentrated on getting classic stories (Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Daredevil...) up until two years ago. During that 6 year period I also got some Spawn figures and Evas. I also got into Warhammer because of my little brother (just to collect it as I'm to lazy to study the rules).

The Robotech itch has come and gone about three times:

1-When I learned of the Robotech DVD's (didn´t get anything because of money issues, just DYRL? ).

2-When I learned the MPC was coming out (had other things to worry about an forgot about it).

3- When a friend told me he had gotten the whole Saint Seiya series on e-bay. I picked up Robotech and searched for that MPC toy line witch let me here where I learned of Yamato and finally of the 1/48.

Next week my first valk arrives and my wallet is scared

[Totoro242]

I've been collecting Macross in the U.S. since 1986. Overall I'd say that the availability of items has risen and fallen over the years and this has greatly affected my collecting.

Starting with the original run of Robotech, you had importers such as The Robot Store and Pony-Go-Round that offered mail-order and retail merchandise while Robotech was on the air. Some of this merchandise was overstock from Japan such as Gakken or Takatoku and some was new stock such as Matchbox and new Gakken. Comic wholesalers supplied books such as the Perfect Memory and the Macross Gold Book during this time. You also had wholesalers like Twentieth Century Imports that distributed Macross models and toys to comic book shops and hobby shops. TCI's stock was also old stock from Japan and it, and from those mentioned above, eventually dried up.

I would say that by 1988 -89, the majority of the items were now in the hands of collectors or in the inventories of small hobby/comic stores. Once Robotech went off the air, the great marketing machine ground to a halt, and the Comico series ended, many fans lost interest. Most of the merchandise went into closets, back rooms, or high on the back of some shelf at the back of the store. You had a few importers such as Books Nippon where you might still find this stuff, but their selection was very sparse.

This began what I call the "dry years" for Macross collecting. You had some independent Robotech comics, the occasional toy you might find at an obscure hobby/comic store, the Bandai 1/55 reissue in 1990-91, some SD Bandai models, and some Bandai re-issue models. Overall, what really affected collecting was that there was nothing being produced in Japan.

In 1992 Macross II came out, but very litte was released in the may of merchandise.

In 1995 Macross Plus came out here, but there was even less merchandise available than Macross II.

Unfortunately, Macross 7 had little impact here in the states and only a fraction of the merchandising made it over here, mostly model kits and some lame toys.

Finally in 1998 things started picking up again. For the 15th Anniversary, we saw the release of new and re-release merchandise from ARII come here. A lot of it was crap, but still it was new. Cartoon Network ran Robotech which brought in new fans and brought back old fans. eBay was still fairly new (1995), but was gaining popularity. This is where things changed. All the toys came out of the closets, back rooms, high shelves and by 1999, collecting reached a peak with incredible prices being paid for Macross and related mechandise. These prices were insane! $1000 1/55 valks and $400 Macross Gold Books! It was a sellers market.

All this eBay spending didnt go unnoticed of course. Soon plans were underway by Toycom to make new Valks based on Macross Plus for release in Japan and the U.S. This eventually lead to Toycom also acquiring the rights to all Macross Valks. The great Harmony Gold debacle ensued which still to this day pisses off fans to no end.

The Toycom Valks were never released in the U.S. and Toycom became Yamato toys. We eventually ended up with Valkyrie and Veritech toys from Yamato, Toynami, Banpresto, and Bandai (re-issues).

By 2002 we had new and re-issued merchandise from Bandai, Hasegawa, ARII, Yamato, Toynami, Nichimo, and Banpresto. Too much to keep up with This killed the eBay market and most items dropped at least 50% in value from just a few years before. These companies were eventually joined by CMS, Doyusha, Tomy, and K&M.

Things are finally dying down and only Toynami and Yamato are still producing new merchandise.

With the new Robotech series on the horizon, who knows what will happen. As new fans find the new show and through Robotech find Macross, there will be new fans and an increased interest as prices may climb again and new merchandise will be released.

*Here are pictures of my model and toy collection in 2003: Valkyrie Factory

**Here is my collection at the beginning of the "dry years", around 1989. Mostly made up of Robotech.

Edited May 28, 2005 by Totoro242

[Godzilla]

Well I started in to collecting when I just got out of school in 1998. I just moved to Seattle from Atlanta working for the Boeing Company. In summer of 1999, a coworker introduced me to ebay. Well that pretty much screwed me. I was into collecting. Mind you I was still collecting comics but really losing interest due to lack of stories and excitement, etc. Anyways, I went on Ebay and bought 2 GI JOE 12" figures: Flint and Ace. Thus I went to collecting GI Joe 3 3/4 and the new Star Wars Power of the Force series. Then I saw the 12" release of the Star wars figures. I got the special FAO scwartz Wedge and Biggs figures. Also, I dunno if it was that summer or 1999 but the TRU brownie CF was out. Man I bidded like hell for it on Ebay thus becoming my first real macross toy. And yes I made the mistake of buying those ARII Macross Figures. Oh well... I was slowly getting the 1/60s. In 2001, I bought the MPCs with much enthusiasm. That was a hugh let down. In 2002, my GI JOE collection was reaching it's apex and completion (1983-1987, anything after was crap in my book.) My collection slowed down. I stopped getting Star Wars figures b/c I couldnt keep up.

In Sept. 2003, just when the collecting was slow, I got my 1st 1/48 the LV. Holy crap. It was my conversion from "Robowtek" to Macross. Anything Macross was being bought. The 1/48s collecting... I never thought I would be into them. Damn Yamato! Well I have to thank them for a good toy. My wallet is saying "DAMN THEM!"

[Fortress_Maximus]

I’ve always collected things every since I was little. The thing is my interests shifted from one or two series, or type of collectible at a time. However, I’ve been interested for over 30 years stuff ranging from: anime, comics, manga, peanuts, sci-fi, SW and others things. I guess it’s like investing for me, I don’t concentrate just with one type or series, mainly b/c I like some variety and I don’t want to awaken one day bored b/c I became a hoarder. As such, my Yamato collection is smaller than some, but it’s grown considerably in less than six months. However, my collections from other collectibles vary, b/c over time I’ve changed interests and sold quite a few and moved into new series. I guess I enjoy the old collectibles and series as much as the next person, but I also like to watch for new series and collectibles too.

[Captain Crunch]

I am currently starting my transition of "thinning the herd" of Macross. I plan to sell most of my 1/60 and 1/72 Yamato and 1/55 Bandai valks. I only plan on keeping a few 1/48 valks in my collection. I figured I have had enough enjoyment of my current collection and begin parting with my collection to other Marcrossworlders who have not had the enjoyment yet. I never have been a "gotta catch 'em all" kind of collector, but I am satisfied with what I have collected to this point.

[Bmaximum]

I started collecting transformers initially. It started with the insecticons as they were my first ebay kill...managed to get the WHOLE set from a guy (misb) for 150.00. Then my next target was jetfire. I had always wanted a jetfire when I was younger but was constantly given the rejection stamp from my parents. My buddy Darkwind told me about the many different jetfire versions and after carefull consideration hunted down and bought a painted matsushiro. Remembering how similar the design was to robotech (I hadn't heard it called macross yet) valks I did some more inquiry and learned about the (somewhat) dark past of the U.S. transformers line. I learned that the transformers I came to know were actually borrowed from about two to three other toylines and was at least ten years old by the time we saw them...well, the earlier versions anyway. This peaked my interest and I talked more with Darkwind who gave me this (well the earlier one) website address. I went to the "toys" section and my eyes became opened, my hands...greedier. I still collected transformers but it became almost like a civic duty to own every variation of macross transformable that was factory produced. This also lead me to collect mospeada and robotech. I still have a ways to go before I am "finished" even though I am past the 3/4 mark but that was how the colletion started.

Later I ended up with two boys and that was when I had the idea...start collecting two of everything that comes out after the oldest was born. Now I can give them a booster to start their collections off with when they get a bit older. If they start to collect then I will divide things evenly down the middle, the one who takes better care of his collection gets to manage mine when I am gone. If only one collects the he will be the sole inheriter of my legacy, if neither chose to collect then I'll pass it down to a grandson that will. That or I'll lock it all in a cript somewhere and draw up a bogus map on heavy parchment and let them (far reaching family predacestry) find it that way. LOL!

[akabob]

Thats right there can be only one!

[BoBe-Patt]

well i've always wanted robotech toys as a kid. All I got was a jetfire. Funny thing is I played with jetfire and watched robotech at the same time and was thinking why does jetfire look soooo much like the robotech jets? And why does jetfire have the robotech symbol on his wing? I couldn't buy any of those robotech released toys back in the day. So what started me in collecting was baseball cards. My cousin got me into baseball back in 1988 and I started collecting baseball cards till 1993 and jumped over to basketball cards. That only lasted a year. Right after that, my neighbor gave me two old x-men comic books. I remember the xmen when I was kid watching the cartoons and the coloring books, but the comic books were a different story!! So I started collecting comic books like crazy and that lasted from 1993 to 1996. Inbetween that, anything that had to do with marvel toys I bought. Same with spawn. I started transitioning to toys and slowly stopped buying comic books. Then in 1997, I went to my coworker's house because he wanted to get rid of a bunch of old toys he had. In the box were a bunch of Transformers G1!! I was like dood!! I remember these!! That sparked my interest in transformers. I jumped online searched around for some info on transformers and ran into Macrossworld. I was like dood!!! Robotech is Macross in japan!! So I lurked on MW for a while. I signed up with Ebay and won my first auction and it was perceptor. Then it was swoop, and so forth. While I was searching transformers on ebay, I was wondering how much some of the macross toys would be worth and if I can afford it. When the page came up, I was like forget it!! every valk on the page was at least 500+ dollars!! So I just stuck with transformers for a long time. I finally signed up with MW back on the old boards and just posted here and there. So I've always been a fan, but was never able to afford the macross toys till now. Now I'm trying to limit myself to macross and transformers G1 as I have no more room to store all these toys!!! I still buy other anime toys, which I shouldn't but I can't help it.

[valkyrie312]

well i've always wanted robotech toys as a kid. All I got was a jetfire. Funny thing is I played with jetfire and watched robotech at the same time and was thinking why does jetfire look soooo much like the robotech jets? And why does jetfire have the robotech symbol on his wing? I couldn't buy any of those robotech released toys back in the day. So what started me in collecting was baseball cards. My cousin got me into baseball back in 1988 and I started collecting baseball cards till 1993 and jumped over to basketball cards. That only lasted a year. Right after that, my neighbor gave me two old x-men comic books. I remember the xmen when I was kid watching the cartoons and the coloring books, but the comic books were a different story!! So I started collecting comic books like crazy and that lasted from 1993 to 1996. Inbetween that, anything that had to do with marvel toys I bought. Same with spawn. I started transitioning to toys and slowly stopped buying comic books. Then in 1997, I went to my coworker's house because he wanted to get rid of a bunch of old toys he had. In the box were a bunch of Transformers G1!! I was like dood!! I remember these!! That sparked my interest in transformers. I jumped online searched around for some info on transformers and ran into Macrossworld. I was like dood!!! Robotech is Macross in japan!! So I lurked on MW for a while. I signed up with Ebay and won my first auction and it was perceptor. Then it was swoop, and so forth. While I was searching transformers on ebay, I was wondering how much some of the macross toys would be worth and if I can afford it. When the page came up, I was like forget it!! every valk on the page was at least 500+ dollars!! So I just stuck with transformers for a long time. I finally signed up with MW back on the old boards and just posted here and there. So I've always been a fan, but was never able to afford the macross toys till now. Now I'm trying to limit myself to macross and transformers G1 as I have no more room to store all these toys!!! I still buy other anime toys, which I shouldn't but I can't help it.

You still want to buy my Star Wars toys on eBay. (place hypnotic voice here)

[BoBe-Patt]

well i've always wanted robotech toys as a kid. All I got was a jetfire. Funny thing is I played with jetfire and watched robotech at the same time and was thinking why does jetfire look soooo much like the robotech jets? And why does jetfire have the robotech symbol on his wing?        I couldn't buy any of those robotech released toys back in the day. So what started me in collecting was baseball cards. My cousin got me into baseball back in 1988 and I started collecting baseball cards till 1993 and jumped over to basketball cards. That only lasted a year. Right after that, my neighbor gave me two old x-men comic books. I remember the xmen when I was kid watching the cartoons and the coloring books, but the comic books were a different story!! So I started collecting comic books like crazy and that lasted from 1993 to 1996. Inbetween that, anything that had to do with marvel toys I bought. Same with spawn. I started transitioning to toys and slowly stopped buying comic books. Then in 1997, I went to my coworker's house because he wanted to get rid of a bunch of old toys he had. In the box were a bunch of Transformers G1!! I was like dood!! I remember these!! That sparked my interest in transformers. I jumped online searched around for some info on transformers and ran into Macrossworld. I was like dood!!! Robotech is Macross in japan!! So I lurked on MW for a while. I signed up with Ebay and won my first auction and it was perceptor. Then it was swoop, and so forth. While I was searching transformers on ebay, I was wondering how much some of the macross toys would be worth and if I can afford it. When the page came up, I was like forget it!! every valk on the page was at least 500+ dollars!!  So I just stuck with transformers for a long time. I finally signed up with MW back on the old boards and just posted here and there. So I've always been a fan, but was never able to afford the macross toys till now. Now I'm trying to limit myself to macross and transformers G1 as I have no more room to store all these toys!!! I still buy other anime toys, which I shouldn't but I can't help it.       

You still want to buy my Star Wars toys on eBay. (place hypnotic voice here)

haha, nice try but your jedi mind tricks don't work on me! Oh yeah, I totally forgot to add in that I was crazy about collecting star wars when it was first redone in 1996. I still had my older ones too. Star wars is a whole new expensive addiction!

[jenius]

These kinda read like autobiographies but here's how my collecting went:

When I was little Transformers and Robotech were the two major shows that my brother and I could keep ourselves occupied with. I drew anything Robotech constantly. In junior high school I learned about the original series but I had absolutely no means of learning anything more about it. So, after college, I did some more research. I bought all the original series and the Macross sequels and decided to replace my bright yellow Jetfire with a new Toynami MPC. After I got that I decided to see how they stacked up to the other valks over the years. The New Gen of RT always really appealed to me and the limited scope of the merchandise has made that my real focus. I kinda split my efforts between that and every Focker/Fokker VF-1S I can find...

[akabob]

Did any one experience the change from paying up to a grand for old bandai and takatoku to having so much more choice with yamato and toynami?

[Akilae]

Woot! Another fellow sociologist! And I thought I was the only one studying social behaviours on this board

j/k

My collection started with Batman, back when the first movie came out. I got all the action figures, the Batmobile, Bob (gotta love Bob, lol)... sometime in Junior High a friend showed me his painted, weathered, and decaled Tamiya Tiger I and Chieftan tanks, and I was blown away. Thus began my path down the dark si... the modelling road I put together mostly Tamiyas (M-2, M-3, F-14, Suzuki Katana...) except never actually "completed" any collection, no disposable income and all that, lol. Never really became an accomplished modeller either, shaky hands Also did a few Gundams, but for some reason I never found interesting in anything other than the F-91.

High school was my Magic: The Gathering years (around that time my young cousins came of age and wrecked my models... my precious.... sob...). Those were the days of whipping out that uber-rare-powerful card and having everybody go "Whoa!" over it Still got my three decks and a near-complete Ice Age collection, manage to play whenever them younglings don't yell "Foul!!" at my out-of-reg cards and not-so-formal rules. I actually liked the early Magic days more, when a lot of the rules were general guidelines... half the fun of the game was trying to convince the other guy that your interpretation of the rules were the right one, lol.

College... man... that's when anime really kicked in. Trigun was the only collection I completed, but I sold it off to some guy in my dorm when I graduated. Then, one day, I got into a debate with a friend over Robotech/Macross (I remembered Macross from waaaay back when, he remembered Robotech, we couldn't figure out why our notes didn't match), and that's where it began. First I got the Macross TV series to refresh my memory, then Plus, then II, which I actually liked. Not M7, cause that was actually the first Macross series I had seen in its entirety on TV... and wasn't impressed. The M7 Trash manga had a much better plot. Managed to get onto the MW boards while I was looking around for Macross info, and all you mofos ruined my life, lol. Buying up on Saint Seiya, GFF figures, and 1/48 Valks. Thankfully 1/48 Valks are hard to find in Taiwan... got only two(1S and Hikaru Super) and a fast pack, and still haggling with my supplier over a VF-1J that I want for the GPB armour (the SOLE regular provider of 1/48s in Taiwan... and the bastard jacks up prices like there's no tomorrow).

eh, that's the long and short of it.

[Renato]

Woot! Another fellow sociologist! And I thought I was the only one studying social behaviours on this board

Count me in, too. A few months ago I interviewed Bariaburu Faita and Samurai M as part of my sociology research on subcultures.

Some verrry interesting specimens on this board!

[windcloud]

I started collecting models and toys (mainly Gundam and Macross) back in the 80s when i was in early teens back in Hong Kong. Came to the USA for a couple of years and there wasn't anything Gundam, only the so call "Robotech". So i began to collect Transformer and GI Joe instead. In the late 80's and early 90's there wasn't anything and I was occupied by college and craps. It was not until the mid-late 90's when Internet starts to become mainstream that i was able to locate several Gundam sites. I was amazed by the quality of models and toys so i decided to go back in Hong Kong in 1997 to look for some toys and models. Man was i amazed!!! I can't believe the quality of toys and models have improved so much so i got addicted by this hobby. There wasn't anything as spectacular back in my days so whenever i got the chance i just buy, buy, and buy. It was like an addiction but heck i went with it anyway. Right now i got a full room of toys and models (again mainly Gundams and Macross) and even if i don't work and go full time to make models it will take me years to finish what i have. It's just like alcohol; you know it's wrong to drink it but you just can't help it.

[Guppy]

I was the same as buffalobob77 - the re-releasing of star wars toys started, and about a year later I bought the "Boba Fett vs IG-88" 2 pack for a laugh as it was on sale for a couple of bucks. Then I came across ebay and I was history.

Not long after that I came across MW when I was looking for tips & advice on how to make a Jetfire into a macross valk and that reignited my old robotech memories. Now I have too many toys and kits to mention and my poor old 200+ star wars figures now lie in a box under the house.

On a side note it's been a great experience not just for the cool toys and being a part of MW, but in the last year I've gotten into airbrushing and loving it, and all because of a 2 dollar star wars figure.

That "cheap" toy has since cost me many thousands of dollars...

[valkyrie312]

I started out much like the rest of you - with SW figures when they were rereleased in 1996. That was my senior year of High School. Then I graduated and went to college and found eBay. I had a Jetfire and I always wanted the BanDai and Takatoku valkyries, but could not a fford those prices (at the time), so I started trying to do custom valks. I turned old JF into a VF-1S Roy and it all went downhill from there. Fortunately, my wife is very understanding and still loves me in spite of my collecting habit! I also collect movie score CDs (I have about 680 soundtrack CDs). Anyway, back to toys - I have since gotten rid of most of the SW stuff (please see my auctions in the auction section) and now have:

2 1/48 Yamatos

10 1/60 Yamatos

4 1/72 Yamatos

13 1/55 BanDais

13 Joke Machines

Now.......to focus on getting more 1/48s!!!!

David

[kensei]

I started when the Yamato 1/60s came out. Never collected anything Macross before, altough I was very tempted to get the Bandai's, but with no internet or localstores to get them from I had to jsut put that away i the back of my mind. The release of Yamato 1/48's just kick started off my collecting,I could never let and opportunity like this get past. Now I won lots, and starting to get to the end of my collection. I will never collect anything else.

I used to buy transformers, but stopped after I turned 12, they just didn't interest me anymore.

See my sig for collection volume and pics will come at the end of the year.

[Agent-GHQ]

In my case, I started collecting Macross back in '95. A High School buddy mentioned this import toy store (Kimono My House in Emeryville, CA) and so I was curious and checked it out. Upon my arrival, I was immediately in love with the Macross toys. I saw the following by Takatoku Toys 1/55:

1. VF-1S Super Valkyrie (H. Ichijo)

2. VF-1S Valkyrie (Fokker)

3. VF-1J Valk (H. Ichijo)

4. VF-1J Valk (M. Jenius)

5. VF-1J Valk (Miria)

6. VF-1A Valk (Kakizaki)

It all went down hill from there and I became fascinated. I left the store w/ a vintage VF-1S Skull in my hand for $300!! All of this would not have started if I hadn't seen the "Robotech" when I borrowed it from a High School buddy back in '95. Then my addiction grew more and more as the internet became a common tool. I now have the following:

1. VF-1S Strike Valkyrie by Bandai 1/55 (Hi-Metal) X 5. They are all in NEW condition and unplayed/untransformed. I would grade this an over all C-8 to C-9. Two of them still have their instructions and accessories bag sealed.

2. VF-1A Valk 1/55 by Bandai (Hi-Metal) X 2. One is Factory Tape Sealed. And the other is open but in NEW condition and unplayed/untransformed. Over all grade is C-9.

3. VF-1A Valk 1/100 by Bandai. In new condition and unplayed/untransformed. Box is glossy. Over all a C-9.

4. VF-1S Valk 1/48 by Yamato Skull Leader New

5. VF-1S Valk 1/48 by Yamato Ichijo New

6. VF-1A Valk 1/48 by Yamato Jenius New

7. Super/Strike pack 1/48 by Yamato New

8. Two more Macross in transit. The VE-1 Elintseeker and VT-1 Superostrich by Bandai 1/55 '84!!!

Just like many of our MWer, i'm addicted too!! Hmmm...this might lead to a Macross Thearpy os some thing like that.

Ryver

U.S. Navy

[Akilae]

Just like many of our MWer, i'm addicted too!! Hmmm...this might lead to a Macross Thearpy os some thing like that.

hmm... Macross Anonymous (MA), where we all sit in a circle, hold hands, and tell about our Macross addictions...

[Ali Sama]

i have pics of my evolving colleciton . lol

[connor99]

I started off by collecting TF's and G.I.JOE's back in Jr. High. I've been a long time MACROSS fan, just like most of you guys are, but have not started collecting valks until the very first 1/60 YAMATO's came out. Now, I have both 1/60's and 1/48's in my collection .

[nightmareB4macross]

1984- I begin to notice transforming robots being sold at a local supermarket near my parents house in LA. I pay a bit of attention to them but very interested as of yet. Most of the items being sold there were Dundine, Gundam, and a multitude of other small plastic mecha.

Transformers hits the airwaves and shelves, I go nuts. I begin to collect these on my own but I can not afford many of the larger items (ei: Optimus, Megatron). At the same time I am still collecting GI Joe and Orguss (1/40) toys.

Approx. 1985 I notice many new Jetfire type bootlegs at a nearby swapmeet. The boots were actually 1/100 Takas (little did know) so I picked up about 5 of these since I was only getting them at $5-$7 a pop. Many of these were destroyed due to the "customizing" and "cannabilizing" of these bots.

1986 - Robotech begins and I take more notice but am not very interested in the vehicles of the of "Robotech Masters", they really do suck, as much as the storyline. I then begin to notice that the small Takas I bought were RT (don't hate me I made this connection as a kid and was not aware of Macross at the time). After the loss of the other 1/100s I go back to find all have been sold. So I wander a bit further (just down the block, a place called House of Gifts) and discover the "RoboticJet(s)". Actual boots that I thought were really more RT than the Takas. So I buy a few, and more whenever I would frequent the store. I am still collecting GI Joe, Orguss, Transformers, and now MASK and Henshin Robo Legioss.

1986-87 I began skateboarding, still I am a collector. I skate down the hill from my house and to place called "Koreatown Plaza", I would skate this really cool hip and painted concrete ledge. Low and behold I see a StrikeValkyrie in the window. I walk in and see many other DYRL 1/55s, nice but to me they are not RT or Xformers. Still, I give in and buy the Strike and an Elint (Ostrich is also there) at $30 each. Neither would last more than a half a year in my possession, I traded them for more GI Joes. To make things worse I had already dismantled most of the valks and took what I could from the valks to make custom "jet" vehicles for my beloved Joes.

1987-1990 I begin to collect girls.

1991-1993 I still collect girls and begin collecting NB4Xmas. All the other stuff I collected has been kept in storage, lost, or destroyed. . I begin to start watching Anime (mostly Cutie Honey, Urotsokidoji, Golgo 13, Crying Freeman, Macross DYRL (looks familiar), etc.).

1993-2000 Still collecting NBXmas. But a whole new resurgance to Robotech has begun for me, with this I am newly introduced to Macross. I search Google for RT and get Macrossworld.com.

2000- to Present Still collecting NBXmas and Macross to a feverish level.

I guess the cycle of collecting has never really ended for me just keeps changing in the sense of what I liked.

[akabob]

Does the improved quality and design of todays figures play a big part in continued collecting?

[nightmareB4macross]

Does the improved quality and design of todays figures play a big part in continued collecting?

I think in part it does.

More so, it seems to be more of a nostalgic factor. How much of your past (childhood) can you hold onto.

For myself, as a child it was more for the purposes of expanding my imagination and being able to relive or create new worlds that really captivated me.

Now as an (ahem) adult, it has more to do with construction and the ability to enjoy the characteristics and structural design of the toys (refering to Macross and other mecha). As for, my NB4Xmas collection, that was more in the fascination of the story and my admiration of the noir type artistry.

[buffalobob77]

Does the improved quality and design of todays figures play a big part in continued collecting?

I agree with nightmareB4macross. I don't think I'd still be buying stuff if the quality wasn't constantly being improved. Also hanging onto a few aspects of childhood isn't so bad. Plus I'm really into scifi ship design.

I still question what the real benefit of collecting is. I'll just say since I can't afford my dream of being an international billionaire playboy/spy/rock star I'll just have to stick with collecting Macross stuff to get my kicks.

Edited June 3, 2005 by buffalobob77

[Totoro242]

Does the improved quality and design of todays figures play a big part in continued collecting?

Not for me. I would still be collecting either way. I love the cheesy kids toys from Taka and Ohsato from 1982-83. These are easily the ugliest toys ever made, but I love them.

Its definately a feeling of "imagined" nostalgia. I have never been to Japan, but for me the toys bring images of ecstatic Japanese kids sitting in front of their TV's once a week, watching Macross, surrounded by piles of cheesy little rubber Destroids and vinyl Battroids, yelling, "Ma-cu-ros-su!" I amagine myself at 9, experiencing new Macross episodes once a week, begging my mom to take me to the store to see the stacked displays of Takatoku Valkyries.

The new toys are nice, but not any fun. They are pre-painted models that you pose and look at. Eye Candy I still buy them, but really the new releases have caused the price on the older stuff to drop to great prices. Everyone is buying the new stuff, so I usually end up buying the classic Macross stuff because you can get really good deals.

I guess the new stuff has affected my collecting in a way, just not in the way it has affected most collectors

Edited June 3, 2005 by Totoro242

[akabob]

I always like seeing the comercials for japaneese toys. They are crazy fun to watch and very inspiring.

[Guppy]

that's a good question.. for me it's definitely true. That's why all my star wars stuff is sitting under the house, now I have chogokins, macross, gundam, etc in their place, and I think what was I smoking collecting SW figures?