History of a Collection - What is Your Story?

[The Great MM]

Everything has a beginning. Some of us started in the ‘80s, others in the ‘90s, and others fairly recently. But no matter the differences in taste, we all had something that made us start collecting and what makes us like what we do. I got in thinking about this earlier and would love to hear the back stories behind other fan’s collections.

My starts back in the mid-1990’s, back in 1995. I wasn’t so much a collector, but a kid with a thing for Godzilla and kaiju. The Trendmasters figures were my favorite. I didn’t collect them as collectables or for future value, but simply because they were toys. Naturally, only a handful survives throughout these years as they battled the likes of Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Aliens, Micro Machines, etc. If I ever got new toys, they always had to fight Godzilla and his crew at some point… and always lose.

By the time 2000 rolled around, I was getting into the online community and becoming more of a die-hard fan at the age of 12. I still played with my Trendmasters, but realized there was so much more thanks to Clawmark Toys.

Then it hit – Godzilla 2000 was released to theaters.

Yeah, I had seen G’98 in theaters twice, but this was the REAL deal in theaters. I was ecstatic and I remember when we were unable to go see it on opening day, I threw a royal fit (spoiled child syndrome, lol). However, me and my dad went to see it at the drive-ins the following weekend (with Poke’mon the Movie 2000).

This is when my B-Day rolled around. Here I was at 13 and my grandma, knowing I wanted some of these extremely unique, not sold in the US toys bought me my first Bandais – Godzilla 2000 and Orga.

But these weren’t toys to me, not like the Trendmasters. This was a change. These were two figures that, from what my 13-year old mind thought, not many in the US had. I kept the tags attached and placed them on a shelf – my TRUE collection had begun.

As if sensing what was to follow, my dad upped my allowance a few dollars. And I saved up and up and up. The following month, with the money I had acquired, I gave it all to my grandma so that she could use her bank card to order my next set of Japanese figures – MechaGodzilla ’93, Godzilla ’93, and King Ghidorah ’92. Yeah, I already had the Trendmasters, but these were something else. This process repeated as I ordered down the line of Clawmark Toys. The likes of Destoroyah, SpaceGodzilla, King Caesar, Anguirus, Rodan. They all followed suit.

At the same time, while shopping at Target, I discovered McFarlane Movie Maniacs. You see, I wasn’t just a Godzilla fan, but a horror fan. I began splitting my money and eventually got Pumpkinhead, Evil Ash, both Thing creatures, and The Fly. Sadly, over the years, pets, and moving, only my Pumpkinhead remained in good condition. These were never my top priority, my Godzilla collection was. But I had always hoped to see a line that was in the same style and quality of the Movie Maniacs line by McFarlane.

Enter Christmas of 2004. Instead of getting presents, my dad told me make up a list. He gave me a budget of around $300-$350… and I could get ANYTHING I wanted from Clawmark. I went nuts. The 8” Bandai GMK crew, FW Gigan, MX, FW Godzilla, XMG Godzilla, SOS Godzilla, SOS Mothra, SOS Kiryu… Banpresto Godzilla ’54 and G2K, and I was introduced to the High Grade/Gasaphon series with the GMK, XMG, and SOS sets.

The following Summer, my dad and I went to G-Fest in Chicago and I had never been so excited. I never knew such a convention even existed until I got a subscription to G-Fan earlier in the year. I got my first Gamera figures and upon seeing them, I remember my dad’s response: “Oh boy. Don’t tell me you’re going to start getting the Gamera monsters too!?” Ironically, he got me an X-Plus Gamera 1965 that same day! He had also gotten himself some figures (the Harryhausen X-Plus figures that he eventually passed down to me years later). He got me a lot that year and really was the one that got me into getting older figures.

What older figures?

Well, besides the MASSIVE Bandai Grand King Ghidorah, he spent $70 on a Trendmasters Doom Island Megalon, a figure I knew existed and knew of its rarity, but never believed I’d own.

Things went calmly the following years with me getting a new figure or two a month… until 2009 (I was 21). When I got my first, full-time job. I had my first bill that *I* was responsible for (a simple home phone that allowed me to go online without using up the phone line for others). However, I had enough money to really go nuts. I started getting more High Grade sets, filling in the gaps of missing figures. I got older figures that cost a lot, including a Bandai Biollante for $100. I even bought Toho Kingdom’s owner’s Keizer Ghidorah, Xillian, HG Orga, etc for I think $160, not sure of the exact amount anymore.

I was in kaiju heaven until the end of 2009 when my dad and his girlfriend split up. With him out of work and me working full-time, I suddenly had TREMENDOUS weight on my shoulders. I had to get the apartment, do all the bills, etc. Collecting figures went on a stand-still and I began focusing more on my movie collection, which was already pretty damn big. But DVDs are cheaper than figures, after all.

Yeah, I got some new things here and there. A Bandai Creation figure here. A new Bandai there. But no where near what I was getting before having my own place.

By 2012, my dad moved out and I had a new job. Bills were caught up, rent was caught up, and I was making more. However, I still didn’t get back into the collection scene… Until 2013. I don’t know what it was, but I was just online and browsed the term “Beryudora”, which was the name of the massive kaiju at the end of the Ultra Galaxy movie. Surprisingly, one came up… for only $20! I did some quick looking, saw this guy normally goes for $100+, and snatched him up ASAP. This didn’t just signify my first Ultra-kaiju, but a whole new time of my collection.

By January, I was eyeing up the Spark Doll line. The looming Godzilla reboot was in my head and I’ve been in a buying craze. Like before, I’ve also started touching upon horror characters as well. I’ve replaced my long missing Blair Thing and The Fly while also getting my first ever Jason Voorhees. I’ve caught up on the Pacific Rim series and in less than a year, by collection has doubled as I’ve filled in the Bandai Gamera roster, got an entire shelf for the Ultraman franchise, and, of course, the Legendary Godzilla film.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I started out like you MM but instead of being a child of the 90s I was growing up in the 80s so my first Godzilla was the imperial one sadly that's all I knew about at the time and I'm not sure what ever happend to that figure. I did have plastic dinosaurs and stuff that I'd play with. Then by the time I became 12 or so the Trendmasters stuff came out and I started getting that for Christmas I got the 10" Godzilla and then started buying the smaller figures with sound. I only got Gigan, Biollante and Space Godzilla but still.

I really didn't start becoming a collector until the end of 2012 when I decided on a whim to purchase both the Godzilla 94 and Space Godzilla SHMAs because I was curious about the line. I had heard about it from the Burning G Prototype that showed up on the boards here. After getting both figures in a few days later I was hooked and bought all the figures released up until that point except for MOGERA and Destoroyah because I didn't have the funds. Then in October last year I bought a few more and finally a month ago I got the rest of the figures I needed.

I also got the NECA 12" Head to Tail Godzilla or whatever it's called. I will probably start collecting those as well. Might skip G94 though unless I can find it for a decent deal.

[klen7]

My story so painfully mirrors a lot of collectors that I have added some embellishments...

Coming home from the theater in the 80s, my billionaire parents were gunned down in a robbery. All I had left was a massive fortune, a manor, a butler and an imperial Godzilla.

The 90s came around and Trendmasters hit the scene. It was my first exposure to the Heisei characters of Battra, Spacegodzilla and Biollante. I had Alfred my butler fired for failing to bring these films to my attention earlier.

In 2002ish I found myself in an anime specialty store. An alien crashed through the roof and with his dying breath he gave me a High Grade figure and a Yuji Sakai Banpresto. Suddenly my eyes had been opened to the world beyond our own, the world of Japanese figures.

Since then its been a blur of eBay, YAJ, X-Plus, Marmit, M1, SH Monsterarts and Bandai.

[gojira138]

Great idea! I actually wrote something up just like this last month. It is to much to retype but here is the link to my story on freshvinylhq: http://freshvinylhq.com/the-history-of-fresh-vinyl/