Introduction

Updates (August 2007)
One year later, so what's new? Nothing much. I'm still sticking to my guns, avoiding any figures that is smaller than 12" or non-statue. Am glad so too, looking at the feeding frenzy going on with Transformers and Mcfarlane's offerings. As usual, these collectibles are at a shortage and very frustrating to completists and collectors alike. Thank goodness I don't have to go thru all this, after my experiences with star wars and spawns releases in the past.

My proud hauls to date are :-

1. Sideshow Premium Darth Maul


2. Jabba diorama (Sideshow - Jabba, throne, Bib fortuna, Salacious pack, Buboicullaar Creature pack ; Gentle Giant Palace band statue and Slave Leia; Hasbro Han Solo in Carbonite


3. Sideshow Emma Frost


4. Sideshow Premimum Captain America


5. Sideshow Dr Doom


6. Disney Jedi Mickey statue

But sadly no time and no space yet (reorganisation kept on hold) to display them.

Custom ordered 2 glass/mirror cases to house some favorites (RM800). Again, not properly filled/organised. One case yet to be filled, heavy as hell!!



Updates (July 2006)
More than a year later and what's new? Rant mode begins ... my mass of toys are out of control. I have spent more money and burnt more brain cells scouring the world for toys. Am I becoming a completist zombie? Will I ever stop? Nevertheless, I have a frightening list of to-do's :-

1. I seriously need a thorough spring cleaning, to organise opened packaging/boxes (do I throw them or keep?) and to set aside unopened toys (heck, I can't even find certain toys I want amidst it all). This will probably 2 hours tops!


2. I have kind of arrived at a new enlightened state of mind... I'm going to try concentrating on big toys (yep, toys that are 12" and above)... no more 3", 6", 8" what-nots. I'm beginning to reorganise my shelf (even before it gets full)... I'm moving out the 6" spawn series especially the old series. I'm going to keep only the favorite spawns on display. Taking their place will be 12" and 18" figures. Deep within me, I'm dying to display the statues on the shelf, but psychologically, I worry about their overall weight and mass. This reorganisation is going to take days


3. I need to set my toys free from their packaging/boxes. I've spent money and they are sitting caged in a corner. No time, no time at all. This task is not going to be easy, considering the twistix and packaging involved. I probably need a separate pair of hands to help while I reorganise at same time.


4. I'm going to sell away all the smaller figures (below 12" - loose and boxed). Damn... this is going to be a long and tiresome process, involving maybe a flea market stall or ebay or forum abuse. I wonder how long it takes to sell these stuff at almost cost price.

Introduction
As if I haven't got enough reasons to spend money on, I had to pick up on this toy hobby. How I got inspired? Well, mostly due to the fact that I'm a typical consumer and one who likes wacky stuff ie. collecting dust in the end. And mostly due to the fact that I'm a movie maniac..... It all started with the Matrix movies and its moving influence on me. Finding out later that there ARE actually toys which are replicas of the movie characters eg. Sentinel and APU and would be a great deco addition to my hometheater, I grabbed it off a reseller as they were already unavailable in the stores when I found out. Cost me about RM200 each !!! There were other sorts of action figures but small in size (~6") depicting popular action scenes from the Matrix trilogy but I wasn't captivated by its smaller scale and lower wow factor. This is the milestone of many to come ... mark- February 2005.

Then some months passed and nothing really much happened. Till, I bumped into some pictures of 12" Star Wars toys or statues (if you might call it since one doesn't play with it in the 1st place and more used as display pieces). I had to get them somehow ..... eventually, thru some research and networking, I got them all the way from Singapore (SGD125 each). My curiosity towards toys was peaked, I wondered and explored as to how other toys/statues look like these days.... were they realistic, were they straight off the movie screen? And yes, indeed they were, there were so many that captivated me off the internet stores.... where do I even begin? HELP!!? What should I buy, they cost a bomb. Where should I buy, does KL have such stores or stocks? Slowly but surely, one step at a time I guess, I started picking up the pieces from where others had already started years of collecting from. And soon enough, my collection grew and mutated, all within a month!!

Here they are, some on display and some still in unopened elsewhere:-



Toys are strange form of addiction. One second I'm not interested but the next second, because of some related interest in a particular toy, I will then start to pursue its older models and spend a bomb doing so (backtracking). And for toys... seeing is really believing. Sometimes I find myself not interested from internet pictures... but when up close and personal looking at the toys.... damn.... I just got to have it. I go crazy... frantic all over the city looking... scouring the net. And not surprisingly, I became an avid Ebay and Yahoo auction bidder. Some bad experiences I've had of course.... life is never a bed of roses... check it out

Anyway, look below for updates of my stuff .... an unstoppable appetite I've developed.

Where it all ends....

After all the mass accumulation of past and new toys, I came to a point where I was lost and without hope. What was I doing? Why am I buying and spending on things which I hide and store in a pathetic storeroom or corner? There has to be a purpose... was it all for investment, self-satisfaction or pure appreciation for the beauty? I've decided... it's the last point... it's all for the purpose of putting it out on display and visual appreciation.

It's time to bite the bullet... I need a cabinet for all of it! But how, where, when, how much? Slowly but surely (while balancing by frustration with my continuing accumulation of toys throughout 3 weeks), I got verbal quotes from few parties (2 contractors, IKEA, MAXIMA) and came to a conclusion of one very seemingly shy or down to earth contractor, 'Ah Lek'.

After some major discussions and design blueprints, the day came 4th of June. It took 4 people to move the stuff up to the room and 3 people to install the cabinets. All in all, it was a labourous 7 hours excluding the cleanup and further self installation of the glass shelves which was quite stressful. I had to consider the height of the toys and had to play around with multiple glass shelves. My body ached, my fingers numbed and concentration fading fast. It was just too much. My brother, wife and friend even chipped in to help open up the toys from the packaging/boxes !! And in 4 hours, they only managed exposing a quarter of my collection!

Still as time goes by, the final picture began to appear. Soon, it will be revealed and soon it will be complete.

Updates : August 2006











Updates : February 2006




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Updates : October 2005














Updates : September 2005