Marvel Silver Surfer

I planned to post every day when I started this blog, and then things just got away from me...it's now been a week since my last post! I have to be more consistent.

Moving to another line, this time Marvel. I grew up with DC, but I still have a stash of Marvel stuff, from comics to cards to figures.

I really like this figure because they spent the money to chrome plate it. From Toy Biz, that's pretty good...even if he is kinda doofy looking here. Even at this long time after it was made, the chrome is still good.

Look how many times you can see my reflection here!

Star Wars (1) Wicket

I covered two of the big three that I collect yesterday, so I needed to do Star Wars today...most of my Star Wars figures have not been photographed yet, so I have pretty slim choices to post.

I settled on Wicket, from the original line because he's the only original I've photographed so far. I wanted to do the first series before I did any from the second series (1995-current) This is not my original Wicket. While we've saved all our figures, our Wicket went missing, so I had to secure a replacement. I got this one at an antique store a couple of years ago...the original has not turned up yet.

The first Star Wars line was revolutionary, essentially creating action figures as we know them. It ran from 1977-85, and we've almost completed it. Just a few Ewoks short, not counting the rare, European only Yak Face. Eventually, when they get photographed, you'll see them all, but it won't be anytime soon. Not all of them are in the greatest of shape, but that's not too big a deal for me.

GI Joe Snake Eyes version 2

In my opinion, the original GI Joe line (1982-94) is the best toyline of all time. They got everything perfect for many years, and while they did loose their way near the end, it was still great. Don't get me wrong- I love the Star Wars line, and others, but this was just perfection. The scale, the articulation, the vehicles, the support (comic/cartoon)...everything.

I was introduced to GI Joe 25 years and one week ago. I wrote about it HERE on my 1st blog, which is about trading cards. I don't know how many Star Wars figures I've got, but I think I have more GI Joe figures than any other line...almost 1000! I wanted to post one here and I thought long and hard about which figure to post. I decided on the 2nd version of Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes is the iconic Joe and the 2nd version is my favorite. Although I never went as nuts for Snake Eyes as many people did, he's still an icon, and a fitting first GI Joe figure to get posted.

This is our original figure that my brother got new, and handed to me in 1990.

His knee joints are weak but he still stands on his own accord.

Super Powers Captain Marvel

For my first actual figure post, I figured I would go with my favorite super hero from my favorite DC Comics line, even if the photo isn't quite as good as I could do today.

The Super Powers line is, in my opinion, the best DC toyline ever. It was small, lasting only two years, it is larger than I normally go for, but I love the line. I have so many good memories of this line from when I was very young that it probably colors my thoughts on it, but that's OK. It's one of only two toylines I've ever completed, the other being the Simpsons line from the early 2000s, none of which I've photographed yet.

Captain Marvel is my all-time favorite super hero. The Golden Age version in particular. While the books tend to be pricey, quite a few of them have been reprinted in Archive form, and they are great. There's a reason that Captain Marvel actually outsold Superman in the Golden Age.

He was included with the Super Powers line, which I am happy for. He had only joined the DC Family about a decade before. His original Golden Age publication was by Fawcett. Unfortunately Fawcett did not keep the trademarks intact and that's why they can't title a comic using his actual name.

I can take much better pictures these days- this photo session was the very first time I ever tried to photograph an action figure- but I can't bring myself to replace them. Again, too many memories.

Introduction / Mission Statement

Welcome to another blog in my History family. I began blogging about trading cards in November 2014 and I have really come to love doing it, it eventually led me to create other blogs and now, today (December 5th, 2015) I am starting two more for two of other hobbies.

I decided to do it today, after debating it for some time, after hitting a snag with my website, and that determined for me that I needed to get my photos backed up on a website a little more secure than the one I have been using for 10 years, and Google's Blogger is the way I decided to go.

I no longer actively collect action figures. But I used to in a very big way. I began collecting circa 1985, (Born 1984) and I collected actively until 2007. Since then, I have mostly been retired from the hobby, but I have picked up a random Star Wars figure here and there, and earlier in 2015 I started picking up some Starting Lineup figures when I could find them cheaply enough.

Through the years I collected:

1. G.I. Joe
2. Star Wars
3. DC Comics 
4. Crash Test Dummies
5. Simpsons
6. Starting Lineup
7. Marvel comics
8. Masters of the Universe
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
10. Food Fighters
11. Power Rangers
12. probably a few more I don't remember

Some of these, I'll admit, I have not looked at or thought about since the late 1980s. The three big ones were DC, Star Wars and GI Joe. I stopped collecting GI Joe in 2004, DC and Star Wars held out until 2007 or 2008 (I don't remember exactly when I stopped). I am not even sure where all of my figures are anymore, but I am sure I still have them....somewhere in storage.

I do not know how many figures I own, but I will find out someday, once they have all been photographed.

My goal is to give each figure it's own post. I generally only took one photo of each figure, but I'm a pretty decent photographer so it will do. Taking the photos causes me a significant amount of physical pain (I have health issues) so I limit myself to generally 1 per.

I am not too concerned with accessories/weapons. Unless it's part of the costume, or the figure is sculpted around the weapon, where having it not there would look bizarre, the figure is photographed by itself.

I prefer the 3 and ¾ths scale or smaller although I did collect the DC Direct line which was 6 inches (baseline); I have a few larger scale figures but I have never been a fan of large scale items in any hobby.

I have dreams of one day building a diorama of either GI Joe or Star Wars, but I lack the skills and space to create that at this time.

Thanks for reading!