Are you embarrassed/ashamed.

[blaynescott]

I was just thinking are any of you guy out there embarrassed/ashamed of your love for toys or your collection?

I had a "crisis of faith" about my figure collection back when I entered high school. I still liked action figures, and playing with them a bit too. However, I assumed that I was some kind of anomaly.

I came to realize it was just a neat hobby that others could appreciate. As long as I avoid looking like an obsessive weirdo (like people who have thousands of salt & pepper shakers, or compulsively buy every D-Cell battery they see), a properly displayed/managed figure collection - as well as my custom pieces - are perceived by people as they should be; works of art, and an interest I have.

If you act like it's something shameful, people sense weakness and assume that it should be something embarrassing. If you're proud of it (but still keep your social graces when showing stuff to people), people will treat your figure hobby like any other. It's something that makes you unique, and brings joy to your life.

[Bob-a-Ferret]

Interesting thought though I have no shame and I mean that in every way you can imagine. I use to get crap from my mother and father. Until they realized that I was making a bit of money on some of my figs and that if I wanted to my house could serve as a museum. Now my mother goes around telling anyone with kids they need to come see my museum not come see my house. LOL.

My siblings also looked negatively on this as I am the oldest and they see me as not growing up. But the second they have children they seem to change their tune. In fact my brother actually uses me as incentive to get his kids to behave now. They are not allowed to come to my house if they misbehave which makes them straight up cause a visit to my house means toys coming home. At a family dinner he told his oldest to stop being a punk and give me the respect I deserve as over 80% of his toys came from me.

My friends are all geeks and nerds in their own right everyone that has a house has named their house Punk house, Cemetery house, Haunted house, Starwars house, U.S.S.Trek House, Animal House, Renaissance house, my house has been dubbed Comic/Blade House. With the number of swords and toys in my house I thought it was an honor.

But before my family took the understanding road they looked down on me regularly and I did feel a bit of shame. But I figure it this way its my hobbies or I go postal and end up in a mental ward somewhere. LOL

However I do think it matters as to how you feel about it if you are embarrassed it is you that needs to work on your personal well being. first and then show others your self-confidence and inner geek. My wife finds this to be an admirable trait and supports my habit and in fact pushes me to do excel at it. Hence why I like honest critiques that tell me of flaws and tell me what I could do better. As I would love to be better and learn.

I have at times, (generally when I realize how much I have spent feel slightly ashamed as I could have invested that money into something more lucrative) felt a bit of shame for not being wiser. But I would not be happy and I would not be me. So I have decided that for me happiness is better than riches. I am happy with that and enjoy my life. This hobby has brought me a great deal of joy it relived my stress so that I have no ulcers any more and my blood pressure is well with in normal where when I started I had so many ulcers my stomach looked like a sieve and my blood pressure was quite high. My diet really hasn't changed nor has my excersize level though I should change the later. So I have to attribute it to customizing.

[Wolverhulk ISS]

Hey good topic. I actually suppressed most of my nerdiness for years. Not much video gaming and almost no comics or toys. I decided life was too short not to be exquisitely action figure happy. Then I went through a phase of collecting and keeping it on the dl. Which of course can only last so long before you're going to have someone in your life who wants to know everything about you. I was terrified to let my girlfriend (now wife) know at first but you can only be who you are. She thought it was cool that I wasn't afraid (even though I was a little) to do what I wanted. After that I put that shiza on a bilboard man. "What are you into?" Me: "I collect dolls, yo. It's really fun. Sometimes I customize 'em too. Marvel stuff mostly. Wanna see pictures?" lol. Stacks of comics, nerdy t-shirts, tons of video games, and shelf after shelf of glorious action figures. Don't be afraid nerds. Life's too short. Peace out and keep on building.

[blaynescott]

Hey good topic. [...]. Don't be afraid nerds. Life's too short. Peace out and keep on building.

Agreed. It was surprising the amount of basement customizers I met attending Toy / Comiccon conventions in the Toronto area this past year. The way people mention it to me (I have a booth showing off/selling my stuff at these places), you'd think there was something illicit about repainting wolverine brown.

People sense weakness/what you feel shameful about - if you let people think (through body language, vocal intonation, or flat-out stating) that toys are for little children, or are somehow bad/immature - that's exactly what people will think. If you're mature and honest about what you love, you'd be surprised about the positive reaction you can get from people. As long as you don't come off as a hoarder, it's pretty easy to represent toy collecting/customizing as a fun/rewarding hobby.

[thor333us]

I remember being in the eighth grade and hoping no one from school saw me buying toys.

There was a guy on youtube sitting on a beach opening toys, I'd be way too embarrassed to do that.

[Incom]

While I don't play with my action figures anymore (my collection of loose Kenner SW figures is too dear to me), I'm not ashamed, emberassed or anything like that about my colleciton. Recently I've bought quite a lot of Transformers as well. I now have more TFs than I ever did back in the 80s :LOL:

My g/f is a-ok with my hobby. My friends respect it and a few, who are also fans of Star Wars, Transformers, Marvel, etc., even dig it. My colleagues at work are..... well, uneducated . I recently showed them some of my collection and customizing work and they were far from understanding about it. Why on earth would I spend hours at a workbench modding and painting plastic toys? I am not a person who will try and force them to change their opinion, but I just let it slide. And I'm not bashing their "hobbies" either, which include biking trips, walking, watching football (soccer) and such. It just would be a bit cooler if they didn't judge what I do with my spare time, you know.

The way I see it, the toys we all love have evolved in such a huge way, they've become works of art. And sometimes the retail price has evolved as well, but besides that, the companies nowadays really know how to mix action features with very nice to beautiful sculpts and paint work.

[van Statten]

I'm not ashamed. When I was in highschool oh, almost 16 years ago, I was into comic books and toys before it was cool! I played D&D and Magic the Gathering at lunch in the art room. I'm so not ashamed!

[PerV]

Not at all. Sometimes is kinda weird when someone says "Oh, you collect toys" and smiles like thinking "you are 33, grow up" but I really don't care, the usual reaction is "ooh way cool! Is that Mazinger Z?!? and I really enjoy that. It's more common that women doesn't understand the love for action figures, toys, etc. (Not all women of course), but, happily for me, the only girl's opinion that I really care is my wife, and she loves my toys!!!

[Golden Wolf]

My thing is as long as you can pay for your hobby I say it's nothing to be ashamed of .

[ben]

No way, Ben collected action figures at an obsessive rate for many years, and it took me a long time to really "get it" but I think I've become as stupid about it as he was. Besides f#*@ anyone who scoffs at collectors, in some way or another I think were all just trying to get back the excitement was had as kids! There are a hell of alot worse things you could be collecting!
Danielle

[Caretaker68]

I am proud of the hobby that i have, i have about 11 or 12 shelves/display area's around my house full of my toys, both out of the package and customized. I'm 43 and i love to show off my work, my friends are all geeks like me and i have made figures of their role-playing characters for them, of course they keep them at my place so they can show them off to new players we occassionally get. LOL. I have custody of both my kids, my ex does not and even when they were little they knew enough to keep their hands off the shelves, i'm not mean about it and never was so i'm not an ogre whenever they did lol but my daughter was a bit defiant several times. Bottom line is be proud of show off your hobby, have fun with it. I keep all mine, i dont sell them, just a line between hobby and business that i cant cross......their my toys dammit! Just playing, i have a quote on my computer "Never sacrifice who you are just because someone has a problem with it."....that says it all to me.
I'm just here to help...........and for the inadequecies i feel when i see customs that blow mine away....a lot do, but i still keep customizing away.

[Wesr]

I'm ashamed that I don't have enough room to do a proper display off all my stuff lol

[Caretaker68]

Amen brother amen lol

[Delta Tango]

I have (had) a friend who spent too much time on encyclopedia dramatica dot com and called my collection "plastic crap". I have also on occasion had a girl over that called me creepy. I'm not ashamed of my collection, hell, I've been collecting since I was 5 and my older brother gave me his old Boba Fett figure which I still have, love good and bring with me on assignments abroad. Some toys bring me back to a specific time an place in my life. Just think of all the old timers that collect nick nacks from their era. The only thing that makes me mad is getting lumped into the same category as the basement dwelling social retarded 40 year old virgin (I'm in my late 20's and not the other part, thanks very much) stereotypes that are hard wired into their videogame consoles when in fact I'm a metalhead blue-collar jerk with a hobby. I'm really proud of my collection; especially my customs! I just hate the flak that I get for it. I could think of plenty of worse things that I could be doing. My recourse is that if anyone is going to judge me on it than they're judgmental phallus' that I don't want anything to do with anyway.

[bobtheodd]

I'm ashamed that I don't have enough room to do a proper display off all my stuff lol

I have also on occasion had a girl over that called me creepy.

Creepy huh?
I could see if you had a collection pickled fetuses or Polaroids of dog poop in a scrapbook.
Creepy for figure collection?
That's just dumb.