Jealous that you have either of those figures. I've mostly been repairing, replacing in some cases, but rarely have been adding or filling gaps. I might get around to that. Same goes for GI Joe. You're also right, it definitely requires a bit more vigor to replace those hip bands, for me, it's mostly the removal of the rotted rubber from the hips. Replacing O-Rings though, that almost takes zero thought or effort. Can get them done in minutes. Funny how those toys were constructed with materials that deteriorate so easily. Glad we've moved beyond that for the most part (not you, Max Hulk).
The Story of Your Toys
- Thread starter yojoebro82
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yojoebro82
Considerate
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I recently got Randor because my wife's friend had a box of old toys he didn't want and Randor and MOTU movie Blade were both in there, got them for free. I've had Sorceress for a while, he leg band was tight enough, but the legs went off in wonky directions, she couldn't stand. Her innards are packed so close together I never thought I'd get a band through there. I also had to watch it because I didn't want to rub off the gold paint on her belly while handling her. A terrible, terrible process, but when I finally worked that band all the way through it was a huge relief.
The only recent adds (I'm talking last 5 years or so) to my MotU collection are Trap Jaw, Mekanek, Roboto, and Kobra Khan. All incomplete beaters. I did not have them growing up. I did have to fully replace Grizzlor, because I had foolishly fodderized my original for its pelt. I remember even using Zoar's wings to make wings for my first custom Vulture in the early days of ML. Funny how these vintage pieces became worthless in my mind, and only now am I taking the time to give them a little more care. I was surprised how many accessories I still had, but disappointed by how careless I was with so many. Especially GI Joe's tiny accessories.
altcunningham
Laura Rings Enthusiast
My oldest surviving toy is a Kenner Artoo. I assume from ESB or Jedi, given my youth. He is yellowed and the stickers are torn, but he's still ticking. I absolutely only cared about him and R5 and any other droids over the people and aliens. Unless Wicket was in the mix.
I did want to share my fondest toy memory as a kid. My dad was a Marine pilot so always on the go, but he did take all the time he could when he was home. One thing he used to do was have room spanning MOTU or GI Joe Wars.
Except he would make He-Man and Skeletor truce, and smelt the vehicles and weapons into tools and create world peace and stop hunger. Same with Joes Cobra. All the Cobra tech went towards curing disease and exploring space.
And it made me so mad, because they were supposed to fight. Every time.
I did want to share my fondest toy memory as a kid. My dad was a Marine pilot so always on the go, but he did take all the time he could when he was home. One thing he used to do was have room spanning MOTU or GI Joe Wars.
Except he would make He-Man and Skeletor truce, and smelt the vehicles and weapons into tools and create world peace and stop hunger. Same with Joes Cobra. All the Cobra tech went towards curing disease and exploring space.
And it made me so mad, because they were supposed to fight. Every time.
One of the things I loved doing was with my brother and his toys, not my own. I would try to make stop motion videos of his Ninja Turtles with our big clunky VHS camera. Had to set it up on a tripod, and to my awareness, it didn't have a frame-per-frame click feature, so I had to press record then stop it fast! The animation was awful and choppy, and took forever, but it was so fun. We would build sets out of cardboard boxes (didn't have either the sewer lair or Technodrome, we made them instead).
TFitz
Resident Trickster God
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That 6" Toybiz Rogue looked at the face sculpt on the 5" one and said "Hold my beer!"Love this idea - and pictures of loved items.
I'll start with one of my oldest: the OG ToyBiz Rogue!
SalemCrow
Pensive
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This is a great thread.
I have plenty of memories of toys from my childhood, but one that stands out is the first figure I can remember getting to choose myself when I was out with my mother. Super Powers Batman. I still have that figure stored away, along with Robin, Superman, Joker and the Batmobile.
That started a journey of collecting Batman figures over the decades.
I have plenty of memories of toys from my childhood, but one that stands out is the first figure I can remember getting to choose myself when I was out with my mother. Super Powers Batman. I still have that figure stored away, along with Robin, Superman, Joker and the Batmobile.
That started a journey of collecting Batman figures over the decades.
yojoebro82
Considerate
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That's exactly what I had from that line, still have them. Added some more as an adult including Wonder Woman. Todd's Invisible Jet really is a great addition if you have her.
SalemCrow
Pensive
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I had Penguin, Lex and Brianiac as well, but Brianiac was brittle and he broke after a little time.
yojoebro82
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Gotta go back to these one more time since I'm at work and both just happen to be in my teacher's nook in my classroom. That WW picture was done by a 4th grader! Had to frame it.
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joshsquash729
Born on the cob
What a lovely thread. Been so nice reading everyone's posts here- this is what collecting should be about- bringing joy to people, whether you're a kid, or just a kid at heart.
A lot of my collections have somewhat bittersweet, if not outright sad, memories attached to them, but I've always done my best to keep the silver linings in mind. My direct family has always been into collecting things, but I'm definitely the "nerd" of the family, so a lot of things I got from other family members or friends as a kid were shots in the dark- some of them pretty spot-on, some of them not, but still- because my direct family's financial stability fluctuated growing up, most of what I had were from others, and they were all special to me. A couple examples off the top of my head:
For my 5th birthday, my Mom made me a Batman cake that had the little Batman & Robin MicroVerse vehicles on it, and I thought it was just the coolest thing. My Dad gave her shit for how the cake decoration looked, but I loved it. It was the only time anyone ever made me a cake (my mom never did again- because of what happened, I'm sure), but because of the one-time thing and the fact she got such hate for it, I frickin' love those little vehicles, even to this day. I used to carry around the Bathammer in my pocket in elementary school as a little reminder to stay brave, and even now, just looking at them brings me joy because of how much love went into putting them on the cake.
I know I've mentioned it a few times as well, but my Dad being the, shall we say, "complicated" man he was, there were very few things that humanized him or allowed us to bond, but every so often there'd be a fleeting moment where his inner kid would shine through. Despite his best attempts to get me to like a lot of the same things he did, I just never clicked, except on one franchise- Star Wars. We watched the movies together a bunch, talked theories on where the next movie would go, talked about our favorite characters, and he'd even let me play with the Micro Machines playsets, which were some of his most prized possessions. I looked forward to the prequels because it meant that my father and I would actually get to act like father and son again. Most of my toys I'd have to do things for- either chores or less savory things we won't get into, but Star Wars was again the exception. I'll never forget for the ROTS line, he'd call the house on his way home from work, rifle through the pegs and ask me who I wanted/needed. Never let me have the female characters, of course, but he seemed more than happy to get me anyone else I wanted. I've obviously updated a bunch of them through the Black Series, but a bunch I've kept, just because through them, I can still feel oddly close to my Dad.
On a similar note, toward the end of the line, when, at least in my area, the figures became less plentiful and harder to get, I was spending the day with my uncle (Dad's brother), who was also a huge SW fan, and he bought me the Anakin where you could swap between the hooded look or his crispy Mustafar look. I ended up getting in big trouble for it- not only for letting someone else buy me something, but I'm sure my Dad's ego took a blow from someone else sharing SW with his son. But still, I love that figure even now because that was maybe the only time I ever went shopping and got to nerd out with my uncle.
After my parents separated and we were barely scraping by, toys became basically non-existent. In fact, I had to sell most of my old ones to make ends meet. But every so often, my Mom would surprise me with a new toy while picking me up from school- she knew how hard things were and had been for my sister and I, and would try and cheer us up now and then. She worked at Target and if something came in damaged, her manager would basically just turn away and let her have it- not that I condone stealing, but it's the only way she was able to give us as normal a life as possible. That's how I got the Leader Class Megatron from the 07 movie, which to a wellfare kid like me was, like, the coolest thing ever. Also got a bunch of Pirates of the Caribbean figures that way, which I still display. Dead Man's Chest was the last movie we saw together as a whole family, and At World's End was the first we saw after the divorce, but also the last movie we saw in theaters for years because we just couldn't afford it, so getting those figures was, and still are, really meaningful for me.
Last one I can think of is a bit silly, but it's the recent Jakks Pacific Simpsons line. We used to watch the Simpsons all the time growing up, one of the few shows we watched as a family. The only toys we ever saw were either super side characters I didn't care for, or the church versions of the Simpsons themselves. Even as a kid I didn't really care for variants or alternate looks- I just wanted the plain, basic looks for each character, especially Bart. For whatever reason, my Dad like obsessed over finding just the basic Homer figure. It was his white whale. He never did, though, and he's since passed. I know it's not the original figure he wanted, but getting the Jakks Homer and Bart really gave me an odd sense of closure. Every time I see the old Playmates Homer in a secondhand shop, I always get hit with a little pang of some kind of Happy Sadness.
I think that's why I still love collecting now- it not only allows me to have the things I wanted as a kid or had to sell, but it also brings me back to these bittersweet, yet ultimately happy, memories I have of some of my now departed loved ones. Funny, how it all works- life, grief, closure, happiness. I know all this may seem pretty sad or desperate on the outside, but I promise it all brings me (mostly) joy nowadays.
A lot of my collections have somewhat bittersweet, if not outright sad, memories attached to them, but I've always done my best to keep the silver linings in mind. My direct family has always been into collecting things, but I'm definitely the "nerd" of the family, so a lot of things I got from other family members or friends as a kid were shots in the dark- some of them pretty spot-on, some of them not, but still- because my direct family's financial stability fluctuated growing up, most of what I had were from others, and they were all special to me. A couple examples off the top of my head:
For my 5th birthday, my Mom made me a Batman cake that had the little Batman & Robin MicroVerse vehicles on it, and I thought it was just the coolest thing. My Dad gave her shit for how the cake decoration looked, but I loved it. It was the only time anyone ever made me a cake (my mom never did again- because of what happened, I'm sure), but because of the one-time thing and the fact she got such hate for it, I frickin' love those little vehicles, even to this day. I used to carry around the Bathammer in my pocket in elementary school as a little reminder to stay brave, and even now, just looking at them brings me joy because of how much love went into putting them on the cake.
I know I've mentioned it a few times as well, but my Dad being the, shall we say, "complicated" man he was, there were very few things that humanized him or allowed us to bond, but every so often there'd be a fleeting moment where his inner kid would shine through. Despite his best attempts to get me to like a lot of the same things he did, I just never clicked, except on one franchise- Star Wars. We watched the movies together a bunch, talked theories on where the next movie would go, talked about our favorite characters, and he'd even let me play with the Micro Machines playsets, which were some of his most prized possessions. I looked forward to the prequels because it meant that my father and I would actually get to act like father and son again. Most of my toys I'd have to do things for- either chores or less savory things we won't get into, but Star Wars was again the exception. I'll never forget for the ROTS line, he'd call the house on his way home from work, rifle through the pegs and ask me who I wanted/needed. Never let me have the female characters, of course, but he seemed more than happy to get me anyone else I wanted. I've obviously updated a bunch of them through the Black Series, but a bunch I've kept, just because through them, I can still feel oddly close to my Dad.
On a similar note, toward the end of the line, when, at least in my area, the figures became less plentiful and harder to get, I was spending the day with my uncle (Dad's brother), who was also a huge SW fan, and he bought me the Anakin where you could swap between the hooded look or his crispy Mustafar look. I ended up getting in big trouble for it- not only for letting someone else buy me something, but I'm sure my Dad's ego took a blow from someone else sharing SW with his son. But still, I love that figure even now because that was maybe the only time I ever went shopping and got to nerd out with my uncle.
After my parents separated and we were barely scraping by, toys became basically non-existent. In fact, I had to sell most of my old ones to make ends meet. But every so often, my Mom would surprise me with a new toy while picking me up from school- she knew how hard things were and had been for my sister and I, and would try and cheer us up now and then. She worked at Target and if something came in damaged, her manager would basically just turn away and let her have it- not that I condone stealing, but it's the only way she was able to give us as normal a life as possible. That's how I got the Leader Class Megatron from the 07 movie, which to a wellfare kid like me was, like, the coolest thing ever. Also got a bunch of Pirates of the Caribbean figures that way, which I still display. Dead Man's Chest was the last movie we saw together as a whole family, and At World's End was the first we saw after the divorce, but also the last movie we saw in theaters for years because we just couldn't afford it, so getting those figures was, and still are, really meaningful for me.
Last one I can think of is a bit silly, but it's the recent Jakks Pacific Simpsons line. We used to watch the Simpsons all the time growing up, one of the few shows we watched as a family. The only toys we ever saw were either super side characters I didn't care for, or the church versions of the Simpsons themselves. Even as a kid I didn't really care for variants or alternate looks- I just wanted the plain, basic looks for each character, especially Bart. For whatever reason, my Dad like obsessed over finding just the basic Homer figure. It was his white whale. He never did, though, and he's since passed. I know it's not the original figure he wanted, but getting the Jakks Homer and Bart really gave me an odd sense of closure. Every time I see the old Playmates Homer in a secondhand shop, I always get hit with a little pang of some kind of Happy Sadness.
I think that's why I still love collecting now- it not only allows me to have the things I wanted as a kid or had to sell, but it also brings me back to these bittersweet, yet ultimately happy, memories I have of some of my now departed loved ones. Funny, how it all works- life, grief, closure, happiness. I know all this may seem pretty sad or desperate on the outside, but I promise it all brings me (mostly) joy nowadays.
joshsquash729
Born on the cob
Just so there's no possibility my only contribution to this thread is a major bummer, I was going through some old things today and was reminded of my old animated Hercules figure. That may very well be my earliest toy memory (there were others before then, obviously, but it's the first I remember). Even though I would've been about 4 or so, I remember having a big crush on Hercules (young Hercules especially- always had a thing for nerdy guys, but I certainly wouldn't have turned down buff Herc). Even as a kid, I was charmed by the Himbo-ness of him. I can't remember if they even made a young Hercules, but regardless, I got the Sword Fighting Herc figure and brought that thing with me everywhere. Partly to play with, partly to just ogle.
I quickly learned about keeping track of accessories, because his cape was gone in probably a week or less, but I arguably liked him even more after that because you could see the muscles better.
Always found it a bit ironic, how I wasn't allowed to have female figures, but a lot of the big, muscly male heroes of the 90s arguably made me even more gay than if I'd just been able to have the girls.
I've made sure to keep Herc through the years; Though I don't often display him, I still can't bring myself to get rid of him. In the grand scheme of "Me", it was a formative figure in many regards! Though I never had any of the Titans, I remember seeing them in stores and promos and really thinking that toys were works of art. It also led to me getting into X-Men and Spidey (more cute animated guys to stare at!), and the rest is history!
I quickly learned about keeping track of accessories, because his cape was gone in probably a week or less, but I arguably liked him even more after that because you could see the muscles better.
Always found it a bit ironic, how I wasn't allowed to have female figures, but a lot of the big, muscly male heroes of the 90s arguably made me even more gay than if I'd just been able to have the girls.I've made sure to keep Herc through the years; Though I don't often display him, I still can't bring myself to get rid of him. In the grand scheme of "Me", it was a formative figure in many regards! Though I never had any of the Titans, I remember seeing them in stores and promos and really thinking that toys were works of art. It also led to me getting into X-Men and Spidey (more cute animated guys to stare at!), and the rest is history!
ManOfTheLamb
Pensive
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- Apr 2, 2025
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- 458
That's so stinking cute!
TheGillMan
Pensive
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- May 2, 2025
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- 459
Just so there's no possibility my only contribution to this thread is a major bummer, I was going through some old things today and was reminded of my old animated Hercules figure. That may very well be my earliest toy memory (there were others before then, obviously, but it's the first I remember). Even though I would've been about 4 or so, I remember having a big crush on Hercules (young Hercules especially- always had a thing for nerdy guys, but I certainly wouldn't have turned down buff Herc). Even as a kid, I was charmed by the Himbo-ness of him. I can't remember if they even made a young Hercules, but regardless, I got the Sword Fighting Herc figure and brought that thing with me everywhere. Partly to play with, partly to just ogle.
I quickly learned about keeping track of accessories, because his cape was gone in probably a week or less, but I arguably liked him even more after that because you could see the muscles better.
I've made sure to keep Herc through the years; Though I don't often display him, I still can't bring myself to get rid of him. In the grand scheme of "Me", it was a formative figure in many regards! Though I never had any of the Titans, I remember seeing them in stores and promos and really thinking that toys were works of art. It also led to me getting into X-Men and Spidey (more cute animated guys to stare at!), and the rest is history!
joshsquash729
Born on the cob
How did you get one of my home movies?
Really though- when even your Princess Leia figure looks like a buff man in drag, you know you've got a bit of a masculinity problem.
