What do your friends and family think about your collecting toys?

[Michael Sith]

My wife rolls her eyes, is against display.

My son collects with me and also we joint collect the toys of his childhood, THUNDERCATS tMNT GB etc, as my lad is the blue eyed boy in my wife's eyes, then I am ok with collecting.

Most people think your a nutter really but it doesn't bother me. As for what friends think, I don't have any :lol: so no problem there.

I have a bit of an obsessive character ( I'm sure this is true of most collectors :? ) and I tend to throw myself into things.
But in the end if it's what you enjoy, it's causes no harm ( as long as your not spending what you don't have on plastic cards!) it's a stay at home hobby as well, so doesn't involve you being away from the family etc.

There are Philatelists, Numismatics, Horologists, so I don't see the difference to these collecting areas, maybe we come up with a collective term for us

 

[lejackal]

If anyone read the original post here they will now realise I am a complete tool/bellend (delete as applicable)!

 

[Dr_Ball_MD]

My girlfriend encouraged me to start collecting vintage again. She loves Star Wars and bought me a couple of last 17 figures for Christmas last year and a complete vintage Millennium Falcon for my birthday this year

 

[Robstyley]

If anyone read the original post here they will now realise I am a complete tool/bellend (delete as applicable)!

What a bellend... :roll:

Only joking, why do you say that? If you're a bellend mate then we probably all are

I have a nerf magnum 8)

 

[indianawars]

If anyone read the original post here they will now realise I am a complete tool/bellend (delete as applicable)!

What a bellend... :roll:

Only joking, why do you say that? If you're a bellend mate then we probably all are

I have a nerf magnum 8)

:lol: The original post was for another thread.

 

[lejackal]

Rob as mentioned I posted on the wrong thread although if you see my original post on page 1 you'll see we must both be in the bell end club, I have a zombie double strike myself

 

[Ian_C]

My wife was for it at the beginning (we met in '94, a year before I got back into it as an adult collector). Within a couple of years, she slowly started turning against it, and in 2005, it caused a 6 week separation (I had bought EVERYTHING for ROTS in one shot despite struggling financially, and she caught me). She has agreed to let me keep what I had (although I had to return those ROTS figures - which I promptly re-bought....), and was ecstatic when I started selling stuff earlier this year.

However, the odd part is I refuse to bring it up with anyone other than people I know collect, and am against showing anyone my collection room, yet she brings it up to company all the ****ing time, almost with pride in her voice too, and suggests I show them. :shock: I think she thinks it's cool, certainly impressive, but hates me spending anything on it.

My own family (parents and sister) generally support it.

My wife made me show her uncle the room shortly after we bought our house in 1998, and when the collection was significantly smaller than it is now. His reaction was a simple, "someone has a real problem".

Only three friends have ever seen it. While they all thought it was impressive, two of them thought it was amazing, while the other one was all about "sell it and get the money".

My kids, of course, idolize me for having so many toys. Aside from them, I think it's been at least 4 years since anyone has stepped into my room, and I like it that way.

Ian

 

[BlueDog]

My girlfriend encouraged me to start collecting vintage again. She loves Star Wars and bought me a couple of last 17 figures for Christmas last year and a complete vintage Millennium Falcon for my birthday this year

That's what it's all about ^^^

It's things like collecting stuff, hobbies, art, music that make up only a small part of who people are and it annoys me greatly when others think they can define someone by something as simple as what they may collect. This forum speaks volumes for that, probably the most diverse group of people from all walks of life.

Oh you collect Star Wars toys do you? You geek! No well actually I play footy, do a martial art, ride a motorbike, cliff jump, knit jumpers or do ballet. Why some think that one thing defines who people are baffles me. Pretty sure Scott ( Twistedmetal ) doesn't get too may smartarse nerd comments :lol: :lol:

I'm on the lucky side as far as my wife is concerned, I display my goodies in the open albeit in my office but it's open to the rest of the house. Occasionally she'll rib me in good fun but I know it's just that. If she see's an article on Vintage SW she'll get excited enough to tell me about it, I know she sometimes feigns interest just to make me happy but it's the thought that counts :lol:

 

[peekaygee73]

Early on in the relationship with my now-wife we went shopping, and I bought a Blur album on vinyl because I thought it had a different mix of a particular track (turns out it didn't). My previous gf would have gone mad over this being a waste of money, as I already had it on CD (plus two international releases with extra tracks). My now-wife didn't bat an eyelid, and that's when I knew she was the one for me!!

She doesn't have a problem with my collecting, and she actually gets disappointed when I sell stuff I no longer want. I don't have much room to display stuff but when I put the first 12 action stand on display with the figures and GW acrylic case she thought it was amazing. I get the rolling eyes occasionally when a lot of packages arrive in a short timeframe, but it's done jokingly. I temper myself with how much I spend, and she sees it as an excuse to buy the usual shoes/bags anyway.

Only one of my mates knows of my interest in SW and Dr Who. He thinks it's cool and though he doesn't collect anything like this he does have an interest in vintage Airfix stuff. I don't discuss my collecting at work because it'd inevitably lead to pisstaking - I work in automotive engineering and the vast majority of people are into cars/bike rebuilding and maintenance. Not that it bothers me, I just don't want it to define me (as has been mentioned above) at work.

My brother thinks its cool, and as he lives in the US helps out with the odd item. My Mum doesn't have a problem with it (though it was different when I lived with my parents!) and my Dad thinks I'm mad. If I told him how much some of it costs he'd freak! :lol:

 

[bosk70]

My ex wife never minded and had nothing to do with our break up, my daughters don't mind either, but were never really into sw. Some friends love the collection as it reminds them of being younger, and they probably secretly regret getting rid of their toys, where my toys were luckily all dispatched to the loft where they stayed for many years.
Don't really go along with the nerd thing as I go pubbing with mates, (they think it's just funny not weird), do up vw's bmx's and grow chilli's and don't really talk much about my collection unless the topic comes up then not bothered who knows about my collecting, I collect matchbox and corgi too but only non boxed boot sale bargains that remind me of lost toys I had as a kid most of my later vintage sw toys have been boot sale bargains too never spend a lot of money as the fun is in the barter and the finding . Its all for fun that the main thing

 

[itfciain]

To be honest, I have reached an age where I tend not to care what other people think about what I do. A lot of my 'old' friends I have know for 20-25 years so we have lots of history and they know how I am. I think most of my 'new' friends I have met through Star Wars anyway so they have no issue. I am sure that some people think I am stupid for spending money on 30 year old toys but as others have pointed out then you can sell up at any point and as a minimum get your money back (and more at today's prices)

My wife hates the stuff but then she has had to put up with me filling up every house we have shared with boxes and boxes of it. At certain points, especially at the beginning I took advantage of her good nature and pretty much used the whole house - now I am confined to a couple of rooms - which to be fair is a lot better. She has also softened her attitude slightly as me selling helped us move over here and has provided some additional monies this year at a time when we really needed it. However, I don't think she will ever change her attitude towards the collection though (watch out for one mega sale if I ever kick the bucket) but she accepts that it is part of my life

 

[Michael Sith]

Be who you are,not expected to be,
Honest and true for all to see.
Conform to the norm the line to tow,
With no vintage goodness, I don't think so.
Be a Prince among men and a King to your wife,
Be kind and generous in all in your life.
See another's perspective but don't follow for its sake,
Your a man of your own in decisions you make.
Be, as with all, as you'd expect them to be with you,
Encounter the Knaves, for sure, that's true.
But all in all when its to your bed to rest,
You have been yourself, you pass the test.

Couldn't resist a ditty

 

[db94]

Took a lot of my childhood collection down from the loft for my daughter to play with, then my wife bought me a MR saber as a present which I had in the living room but kinda hidden away so no one actually saw it, got a few more sabers and had them in same unit but I would actually move them if I knew someone was coming round to avoid explaining what they were, SW was a bit of a secret - fast forward a few years and now I have all my vintage on display and I'm getting texts from mates telling me were they've seen SW toys in shops or forwarding articles about vintage collecting everyone knows I am a huge SW fan and hark back to the glorious toys of the 70's and 80's.

My daughter collects and wife loves the enjoyment we get so really on board with us collecting - if I'm being honest this has caused issues in the past where I took this as a green light to spend money we didn't have.

SW definitely is a huge positive in all our lives, as others have said I don't waste money smoking or getting pissed every night so if SW collecting is a bit of a vice it's not the worst one out there!

 

[Grant]

My better half thinks everything I collect is childish. She's probably right too. :roll: I only share the fact I collect with other collectors. It feels to Nerdy and geeky to share with other non hobbyists. Just my 2 pence worth. 8)

 

[JimboUK1979]

My wife is moderately supportive of my collecting. I think this is mainly because I spend all my spare cash on Vintage SW instead of going out on the lash most weekends and as such spend Fridays and Saturdays with her watching her horrendous shite on the tv. I do make a point of telling her what I pay for stuff and what i could sell it for (when I've got a bargain) but resort to the default '£10' response on other higher value items.

My 6 year old son also loves vintage SW and coming to toy fairs / comicon's with me which i think the wife likes also as he's out of her hair.The family are coming on the Sunday of Celebration Europe with me, hopefully they will enjoy it (i will have spent the kids life savings on vintage goodness already on the Friday of course).

My father in law is massively into his train sets so he 'proper understands'.. I sense the same feelings from him when he shows me his trains as I feel about my SW. we also go to toy fairs together sometimes.

My Dad (who i work with) is ok with it and watches some of the Vectis auctions with me online and mutters 'Jeeeeesus' as things are sold (this was his reaction to the latest shelf talkers going for £200 plus).

My mum collects antique pottery and gets it. 'Big Nan' (who's actually tiny and 87) goes with my mum to the auctions and antique fairs thinks I'm a bloody fool and should grow up (she did live through WW2 so i will let her off).

 

[yoda]

Yeah looked at as if a bit strange from my family and also as someone who never grew up. Wife's not to bad about my collecting as long as it's not displayed around the house. Most I have on display is a luke farmboy fridge magnet which I bought from lain . It's funny sometimes when I talk to friends about starwars toys there eyes light up! Then I tell them I have a few sealed vintage starwars tous and they all want to see them including my brothers which they all think is amazing. I look apoon these people as closet starwars fans I always love there reaction when they see my collection.

 

[Mr-shifter]

This thread makes for an interesting read.

My dad has never really been bothered by it all. It's just something I have been into. My mum on the other hand was fantastic. I have so much crap she brought me for Christmases and birthdays. Star Wars chess sets, books, potf 2 stuff, bobble heads. She didn't know what she was buying but she knew what I was into and made a huge effort. I never asked for it. We lost her a couple of years ago. Last year at Christmas I had a couple of gifts from my dad. One of them was a Darth Vader mr potato head. It made me smile as it was just the sort of thing my mum would have got. He was obviously more bothered than I gave him credit.

My Mrs is brilliant. She gets the collectable side of things but doesn't really like them, although she doesn't dislike them. She is completely accepting though, as my collecting, as much as anything I do, is what defines me and she has never tried to change me, just as I would never try to change her. She knows what makes me happy and encourages it. I am currently in the process of making the spare room a collecting room as we speak.

As for my friends, the ones that matter know about my obsession and find it quite cool. Like Iain, I don't give a **** what people think when I tell them. I get a bit of stick at work but it's all friendly. Plus I now have quite a few friends who are also fans.

 

[x-pack]

Same as Iain really in that I don't care what people think anymore. I don't know anyone who thinks collecting Star Wars is stupid, although a few splutter at the value of things.

With work people and general acquaintances i'm very selective who i tell. It's mainly because I can't be bothered to explain the whole thing to someone who might not get it. The wife is probably the main person who doesn't get it. It's kind of like a non-entity to her I suppose.

 

[Jimi Woolley]

I guess I'm pretty lucky. My wife tolerates my collection/hobby in general as she knows it makes me happy & knows it's not wasted money like so many other hobbies. She knows I'm tight & that I will really put the effort in to make sure I don't over pay on things whether it be things for the house, musical equipment or Star Wars things. That doesn't mean I don't get the odd comment about my toys taking over the house or the fact that she works 24/7 so I can stay at home, look after the kids & buy Star Wars toys!

Deep down although she wasn't a Star Wars fan before we met I do think she does like my collection & has allowed me to display sone of it in a pretty important part of our house.

My friends & family are pretty cool about it. Some are really interested, others just know I am the kind of person that gets really passionate about my interests whether they share that interest or not.

As for other people....I don't really care what the 'average' person thinks about me. I'm happy in my skin. I think being a 'geek' is cool and for me there is nothing worse than someone that has no interests. What's life without interests!

 

[Joe]

My Dad's always been a collector, motorbikes, LP's, books..pretty much anything he likes really. He's always been super involved in his hobbies too, he was a musician himself but he also wrote articles for bike magazines, set up collectors clubs and helped out at shows etc. My Mum doesn't really have a "thing" but she's always tagged along with him, so collecting and hobbies have always been something my family were aware of and understood more than most.

As for friends, I started collecting as an adult when I was in a band and my friends at the time were all geeks/nerds anyway so they all thought it was kinda cool. I remember opening a bunch of stuff in front of a guy that was singing for us at the time and I kinda jokingly said "I know this is really weird right?" and he replied "no dude..not at all..I mean, I collect rubbers!" which really made me laugn! Not because I think collecting rubbers is odd or anything (well perhaps slightly!) but it made me realise that everyone has strange hobbies and habits, we are all a little odd in our own way, but if it interests us and makes us happy why do we feel the need to excuse ourselves?

My wife...well, she has learned to live with it and although that sounds bad, she's actually quite a fan of the films/characters. I guess in the past it's been the money side of things where she has found it hard to understand why I "needed" to have certain things that were worth quite a bit of money but she also comes from a different country where collecting stuff is really not a "thing" over there too. People don't really collect stuff there unless they are rich and none of her family ever collected anything so I guess she always found it a little hard to accept.

TBH I think the thing my wife hates most is how much time I devote to my hobby. She's forgiven most of my big spends and she's even bought stuff for me for birthdays etc but we have had a few arguments over the years about how involved I am because she thinks I'm always away with the fairies in Star Wars land (which I admit is quite probably true!).

She just bought our daughter a Princess Leia costume complete with an R2-D2 bag though...so I think I may have finally won?