For me it was the SHF Ultraman Z Alpha Edge form. I don't have my copy with me at the moment, but I bought this initially because I wanted to use action figures as drawing references. It didn't work out well because the articulation isn't the best and I mostly draw hot babes anyway, so I guess it was just an excuse for me to buy a toy from a show I liked. What about the rest of you?
>>11924387Original Figma BRS for me. Got her at an anime convention, was absolutely blown away with how nice she was compared to toys I'd had before.
>>11924387It's hard to say for sure since I went from playing with my toys longer than most to putting them on a shelf in my early teens. My first import was probably one of the Kingdom Hearts 2 Play Arts figures, though I didn't start getting more into imports until the Dragon Ball SHF line a few years later.
>>11924387pic related
>>11924387Imports collecting started with SHF Luffy (the original one). Randomly bought him on Ebay and had a lot of fun with it and my other toys (also got me to fully invest in watching One Piece). Before that I think things really started with Transformers Armada. I bought various toys before but I wouldn't really call it collecting, just buying random things that looked fun. But I followed the story, the characters, and actively wanted to collect them (at least the ones that looked good). By buying I of course mean my mom bought them for me.
>>11924411BRS, how nostalgic. i feel like im coming across BRS a lot this year
>>11924387I had a bunch of Bionicle and Transformers but my first import figure was the SHF Kamen Rider W and it was like getting a toy from an alternate dimension
Thought I was just gonna buy a few sailors, not even complete the set. That was ten years ago.
>>11924387I was buying toys already, but TF Cybertron was the first time I attempted to be a part of something
>oh hey that's a neat $20 Superman, I guess I'll pick him up>oh neat they have Eradicator, too? I guess I'll pick up the Reign of the Supermen figures since these McFarlanes are pretty easy to find and cheap as hell
>>11924387This is a hard question to answer because what counts as the start of your collection? Didn’t you guys get random toys when you were kids either from your parents or allowance money or whatever? Also what constitutes a collection? Do you just have one? I feel like I’m on my like fifth or so collection now as I have gotten rid of old collections. I’m not trying to be autistic but I feel like I have multiple answers and multiple toys that kickstarted a collecting phase in my life over the years.
>>11924720that definition depends entirely on you. all i can ask is when you do you think you started to have a newfound appreciation of toys or what was the first figure you bought where you started to appreciate things like articulation or sculpt? i suppose if you bought a figure for those reasons and started desiring more of the same, that's the beginning. then again, it depends on what you think. i'm interested to know what kickstarted each of your collections
>>11924720>Didn’t you guys get random toys when you were kids either from your parents or allowance money or whatever?I got Lego as a kidSpent gift money on PokemonCybertron Optimus with work money. I bought other stuff before that, but Optimus would be my foundation for building worlds.>Also what constitutes a collection? Do you just have one?We've all had a toybox since childhood which may have come and gone, but the best solid answer is the one where you started actually basing your life around them.>I’m not trying to be autistic but I feel like I have multiple answers and multiple toys that kickstarted a collecting phase in my life over the years.That's ok, I'd love to hear about your 5 collections
>>11924387I was like 4 years old and my parents bought me the little Blacktron 2 spaceship with the high tech mailbox on the backThe rest is history
Revoltech Big Chap. I’d been out of collecting figures since I was a teenager. Bought Big Chap as a birthday gift to myself when I turned 28. I have more collector and modern figures now than all the figures I had as a kid.
>>11924720Personally, I wouldn't consider childhood toys that were bought by your parents for the purpose of play collecting even if they later ended up as part of your collection. I'd say the first figure you bought yourself with the primary intention to display(even if you also played with/photographed it)is the true start.
>>11925694my gradnma bought me a revoltech hot rodimus when i was like 8 and I broke and lost everthing by the time i was 10. i really wish i wasnt such a tard as a kid cause i do remember it being quite nice. the toy shop that sold it closed down to. sad
I was unfortunately trying to be "mature" in highschool so I didn't outwardly give in to my love of nerd shit, especially toys, until I saw this pretty transformer sitting on the shelves of Target. Alternators Smokescreen started it all for me.Since then I have collected everything from the US and JP, including various TFs, different 1/12 lines, 1/6 fashion dolls, large SoC, and S.H.E. but these 1:24 transformable cars still haven't been topped for me.
>>11924731You need better OP copy pasta, then, friend.I am with this anon >>11924720 on that, yes, I had toys as a kid but nothing I collected, as in "mommy mommy, buy me Spider-Man." My sisters had Barbies so they were probably the true collectors. My older brothers were old enough that they were smoking pot and listening to records so that was there collection and nothing they were going to pass on to me, so I turned to comic books when I could probably still have been interested in saying model kits or action figures, or toy vehicles. But I have collected every since I was teenager, going from comics to books then import records and now back to 'adult collectibles' and brick compatible blocks, and model kits.>>11926210Excellent point
>>11924692My man. MP01 lit the fire but then I watched GF subs and it kicked off my collecting and rekindled my love of TF. I was collecting domestic and imports.
>>11924387Usually I get one figure from a toyline just because I like the character then I'll come across another in the line sometimes years later on sale and start getting serious about it till I'm paying rape prices to get stuff I missed. Also on the subject of Ultraman, I'd love for it to get a line like that big figs Optimus that's getting meme'd right now. I know actual 1/12 Ultramen would be 10 feet tall or bigger but I think 30 inch Ultras and Kaiju would still be great display pieces to go with 1/12s.
with all the Gokus that have come out(just from the Frieza fight alone) this guy made his way out of my display and into storage. But I'll never get rid of him and I still think he's a good figure all in all.
>>11924387It was between pic related, Figma Golgo 13, Nendoroid Wind Waker Link, or Revoltech Lupin and Jigen. I can't remember which I got first, but those were the first. Was using eBay before I realized I could preorder figures similar to these straight from HobbySearch or Amiami back then.
>>11924720>>11924983>>11926210What if you were getting figures from your parents with the intent to collect? That's the boat I'm in. I wanted to collect Transformers as a kid so I asked for them in such a way to collect them. When I got a job I started buying them on my own but I was basically just continuing the collection I established.
>>11924387Pic related. I got it as a birthday present when I was 16 or 17 from an import shop downtown.
>>11929856Panty twink Zero > diaper boob light ZeroThis probably belongs in the hot takes thread but it's true
i am not proud about this.
>>11930618You should be, Kotal rules and McF's MK line was great.
Slowly picked up this line over several weeks, although I missed out on Red. Looking for that missing figure led me to eBay and Yahoo auctions to complete the set, for better or worse.
Had plenty of toys and even some of those early Play Arts Final fantasy 7 toys but I was not a collector I was just a kid, later a friend of mine brought a The Amazing Spider-Man 2 legends spidey to high school and was absolutely enchanted by it so I bought The Pizza Spider-Man like the best next thing >>11929450And this when it came out, I still have Warrior no longer have Pizza
