I love toy collecting! Finding old and new toys that I can display in my man cave is a big part of who I am. My love for toy collecting comes straight from my 1980’s childhood when we were spoiled for great toy lines such as Star Wars, Masters of the Universe and transformers just to name a few.
But it also goes a bit further than that as it is also inspired by my favorite movies, wrestling, video games and music too. Toy collecting is one big warm nostalgia buzz and if you are thinking about starting a toy collection you have come to the right place.
Should You Start Toy Collecting?
You are reading this article, so the answer is probably yes. In all seriousness though if you are interested in any sort of toy collecting and you have the spare cash and time to collect toys then go for it. It is always best to have a good think about it before you start collecting but we’ll go into that next.
More on Retro Toys:
- Vintage Star Wars Mini Rigs Guide
- The Best Vintage Star Wars Vehicles
- Action Figure Collecting
- Kenner MASK Toys
- 80s Doctor Who Tardis Playhouse
What Toys to Collect?
So what toys are you going to collect? Well what toys did you love as a kid as these toys are probably where you need to start. You can also consider any other interests you have and can get toys based on that interest. This could be video games, movies or even a specific sport.
For myself personally it all starts with Star Wars. Star Wars toys were my favourite growing up and I have continued collecting Star Wars toys since I was a teenager when the series made a comeback in the mid 1990’s. I collect a bit of everything when it comes to Star Wars toys and I love it.
Budget Your Toy Collecting
Make sure you allow a budget for your Toy Collecting as it is very easy to get carried away and before you know it you have spent a small fortune on toys. If you have the money to do so fine but if like myself, you also have bills to pay and a family to look after do be careful.
Old or New Toy Collecting
If you are looking for the nostalgia of toys you had as a kid you may very well want to start collecting those original toy lines. That’s great but do be aware that a lot of the classic toy lines from days gone by are still around today in some form or another.
There are still new toy lines for:
(the affiliate links below will take you to all the products on Amazon)
Various Star Wars Toys (including the Black Series)
And believe me so much more. Get on google and have a look and I bet you find some cool toys and figures.
Where Will You Find the Toys?
The internet stupid!! Yes, we all know you can find toys on the internet from the big online merchants but also be aware that there are some really cool independent stores out there too selling vintage, retro and new toys.
Here are a few suggestions:
The best part of toy collecting though is going out and hunting for toys in shops or even at flea markets/car boot sales. Being to be able to pick up a toy in your hands is so much better than ordering things online.
Across the world various toy fairs and conventions are held where you will find lots of old and new toys. There are so many so do have a look online for what happens in your local area.
What Will You Do with Your Toys?
So, you have bought a load of cool toys. What are you going to do with them? This is a big question to consider when you start toy collecting because you need to consider:
Will I open these toys or leave them in box or carded?
Where will I store or display them – will you have your own toy room?
How will I display them – shelves, display cabinets or even wall mounted?
I use a mixture of Ikea bookcases, shelves and hang some figures on the walls of my man cave. Have a good think about how you would like your toy collection took look in the future.
I collect boxed/carded toys as well as loose toys too. I like to mix it up a bit because vintage/retro toys from the 80s/90s can be expensive to buy complete and are more affordable loose. Most of my vintage Star Wars figures are loose because it is very expensive to buy original carded figures.
Explore the Toy Collecting Community
There is some great toy collecting inspiration out there on social media. There is some great toy collecting YouTubers that post videos regularly and there is also some great people on Instagram and Twitter too. I would suggest start with watching some YouTube videos.
Here some Toy Collecting youTube Channels that I enjoy watching:
The Major Pod Network (mainly wrestling figures)
You can of course start your own social media channel where you share your toy collection. Instagram is an ideal platform for this but Twitter and even Facebook can work very well too.
When it Comes to Toy Collecting Remember:
- This is your personal hobby. Do what makes you feel happy.
- Don’t go crazy and spend too much money on toys.
- Shop around for the best toy prices.
- Make a list to give you some focus.
- Make sure you have enough space to store and display your toys.
- Enjoy the hobby.
My Toy Collecting Story
As I said earlier on in this post my collecting started with Star Wars toys. I still have a few figures from my childhood and I expanded that collection into a mixture of old and new Star Wars toys beginning in the 1990s. My favorite characters are Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker so I collect figures of both characters as well as vintage toys and some Black Series too. I also collect NECA figures from my favourite movies (mostly horror), as well as WWF Hasbro figures and some other lines too like the Real Ghostbusters. Would I consider myself to be a huge collector, no but I enjoy collecting toys alongside my retro game collecting.
I love toy collecting and I am sure you will as well. Have fun with it.
If you enjoyed this post you might also like these…
Kenner M.A.S.K Toys from the 80’s
80’s Handheld and Electronic Games
Garbage Pail Kids – I Loved these Cards
Keep collecting.
Daz
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