TheGillMan
Picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue
- Joined
- May 2, 2025
- Messages
- 565
It's interesting going through this thread, reading the comments about some toy collectors hating on certain eras and what-not. Such a bizarre thing to get worked up about. I guess I come at all this from a different perspective since I'm in my fifties. The big doll-like GI Joes are the first toys I remember owning. I know I had one that had eyes that moved left & right...that sticks in my head for some reason. Anyway, as time moved on, towards the end of my childhood collecting ARAH debuted, and I remember getting a few of the first waves. My childhood was literally bookended by two very different eras of Joes.
For me, I have a very small collection of Classified, not because I haven't loved a lot of the releases, but because I've tried to mainly stick to characters I have some sort of attachment to, which doesn't extend much beyond the first couple years of the toys and the Marvel comic. All the Ninja Force stuff? Completely foreign to me. The animated movie? No clue. Still, I love coming on this thread and reading the enthusiastic responses to some of these characters, and occasionally I even get persuaded to pick one up. There are a few I've picked up just because they are cool looking toys, and I don't mind having them in my display...even though I have no emotional connection to them whatsoever. So, I guess I just don't get anyone hating on different eras being represented. If you don't like it...skip it! There are SO many danged Joe characters that there is something for everyone. I mean, I had never even heard of Desert Scorpion before, but if I see him in store I'm probably gonna buy...it has a giant mutant scorpion in the package! What's not to love? Hell, I may put the scorpion on a shelf with Godzilla and Kong...or with Conan! How can I hate that, even if it isn't from *my* era(s)? I don't know anything about Crystal Ball, but if I find him in store I'll likely grab him because of those cool magic effect pieces. I guess my overwhelming thought is these are TOYS, and we collect these things to have a sense of fun in our lives. They provide an escape from the hellish reality we currently live in, and I just don't get why some people have to shit on that for others. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I felt the need to express that to everyone who is of a like mind.
For me, I have a very small collection of Classified, not because I haven't loved a lot of the releases, but because I've tried to mainly stick to characters I have some sort of attachment to, which doesn't extend much beyond the first couple years of the toys and the Marvel comic. All the Ninja Force stuff? Completely foreign to me. The animated movie? No clue. Still, I love coming on this thread and reading the enthusiastic responses to some of these characters, and occasionally I even get persuaded to pick one up. There are a few I've picked up just because they are cool looking toys, and I don't mind having them in my display...even though I have no emotional connection to them whatsoever. So, I guess I just don't get anyone hating on different eras being represented. If you don't like it...skip it! There are SO many danged Joe characters that there is something for everyone. I mean, I had never even heard of Desert Scorpion before, but if I see him in store I'm probably gonna buy...it has a giant mutant scorpion in the package! What's not to love? Hell, I may put the scorpion on a shelf with Godzilla and Kong...or with Conan! How can I hate that, even if it isn't from *my* era(s)? I don't know anything about Crystal Ball, but if I find him in store I'll likely grab him because of those cool magic effect pieces. I guess my overwhelming thought is these are TOYS, and we collect these things to have a sense of fun in our lives. They provide an escape from the hellish reality we currently live in, and I just don't get why some people have to shit on that for others. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I felt the need to express that to everyone who is of a like mind.