Definitely unboxing for me. Getting the box from the package room and rushing to my room for a pair of scissors...opening and seeing a toy for the first time, noticing details no photo could capture, posing for the first time...gotta love it!

playing/photographing!

i feel really similar bryce, lately my tastes have shifted towards vintage a lot .. something just clicked

the research on all the old companies and characters...
the sifting through hundreds of pages of yja and ebay auctions...
and finally finding an awesome old toy (hopefully for cheap) is the best part of it all for me

I like the part when people get tired of something or need to sell it to pay for bills/toys/etc. and dump it for cheap. Today's treasures are tomorrow's trash!

But seriously, I definitely enjoy the research more than anything else. Sometimes I even feel like the ownership part becomes secondary to the accumulation of information.

for me, it's a tie between displaying, playing and hunting.

i love to take pictures and play with my toys. haven't been doing much recently due to school, but i plan to start again this summer. i even did my AP art portfolio based on japanese toys in their natural habitats. taking pictures can bring life to these toys and give them a personality.

displaying is fun and refreshing. by re-displaying, i get a chance to handle all my toys again. shifting them around and being able to appreciate the sculpt, paint and small details doesn't get old.

hunting for toys is what makes toy collecting exciting. if everything i wanted was just handed to me in a short time period, i wouldn't have anything else to look forward to. the hunt for toys i really want is a thrill. when i find that one piece that i've been wanting for a long time, its a great feeling.

i think there's one option that is missing that makes makes collecting really awesome: meeting people. meeting people that share the same passion for these toys at conventions and other events is a blast. it's always nice to know the face behind that username. there are some pretty rad people on this board that i've met, and i hope to continue to meet more at sdcc this year.

one random thing i enjoy about toy collecting is recieving PM's. i'm sure everyone here loves seeing that red notification box when they login!

i love looking at collections, so I will go with displaying.

my own collection is pretty meager.

I really like all aspects of collecting this stuff, but I get a lot of joy from just admiring the toys once in hand. It's especially nice when a collection I've been working on for a while finally starts to come together like I wanted. Sure, there are always pieces I'm looking for, but I can feel pretty good just enjoying what I have. I spend a lot of time hunting too, so there's a rush when I finally locate something I've been after forever...and it's a great feeling once you score that piece, put it in the display and it totally changes the collection, brings it together, and looks great.

I also get a kick out of sometimes being so satisfied about how the collection has come along, I don't even look at it...maybe for a few days...then when i do, it's like scoring everything all at once.

I'm going to go with research aka doing your homework. Definitely waiting is not one I'd pick- EVER!

Nice poll!

It'd be all of the above for me except for completing. But if I have to choose, it'd be display.
And now that I've run out of space, its hunting.

I know, I'm sick. Can we start another poll- "Do you admit you're sick?" I'll be ticking "yes".

or possibly a "do you have an unhealthy addiction to plastic?" poll i feel like more people would be honest with themselves on the ticking of yes lol

Totally agree with you!

Wow, it's cool to see what everyone thinks about this. I personally love that "right time right place" score, so I guess I'd have to go with finding. I get so hyped when for some reason I go to my computer and it just so happens that someone posted something you've been hunting for forever. The rush that comes with the waiting between the PM and the persons reply gets me feeling crazy. Especially when theres been like 20 views on the thread and its got you feeling like your chances are slim. Then when I get the "it's yours" reply.. let the psyched-fest begin. Couldn't be a better feeling in collecting.

Great poll. Before I read the options, I thought that my favorite part was the hunt. Then I started to think about it more, and it seems like the hunt is pretty influenced by how I have my toys displayed. Get a bunch of toys, let them collect in a drawer for a while and then display 'em. Once they are all displayed is when I realize that I have new things to hunt for. Haha.

Other than that, I love the bitches and the drugs.

I see them as one in the same almost.

Also I count displaying as "playing" in a sense too. I'm moving them around, seeing what looks better, messing with them, picking them up. It's a tactile experience that's similar. Sometimes I make them say "ASLKFARAALRAR" while doing so. Sometimes I take the wrong medications too.

There is nothing better then opening up a box full of vinyl goodness!!

For me it is displaying. i love to set up and rearrange. I remeber when i had one piece of vinyl I built a shadow box for it Then I kept building more until my wall was full. Then I moved to a Detolf, then two then three. Each time i had to rearrange and balance each shelf to look great together. I love when you are to the point where the next toy you buy is going to cause you to need a whole new system of displaying. Each time I move them around I get more excited about the set-up. Coming up with a way to UV protect, new types of risers, arranging by color, style, maker. It is all such a thrill to me. Then once it all comes togther I just sit and stare at my collection. So yeah, for me its displaying.

Flipping, huffing, hyping, ruining, bragging, hating, venting and blowing smoke up artists arses also need to be represented!

dusting.

these all go into the "researching" choice

The best part of toy collecting is meeting cool like-minded folk.

Have met plenty through this hobby, and a few douches too. But the cool folk certainly outweigh the few douches!

Cant agree more, thats why i cant wait for SDCC.

The thought of owning something you really like...

You become aware that this cool toy exist. You think about it most of the time. You think about possessing it and wonder how it feels like to hold it closely in your hands. Then when you finally score it, it lands on your display shelf.

Displaying. This is when you are constantly reminded of that wonderful feeling that once, you had a goal of possessing something special.

Scoring this!



Because of this: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=39480

I would say the best part is...

being old enough to buy whatever the hell you like and never having to:
ask for permission
or explain why you spent primo dolleros on something that looks like it fell out of an epileptic dragon's but-hole