Action Figures

Yes, it's true. I may be in my twenties, but I still like action figures. I suppose this hobby began when was very small--the 3 3/4" G.I. Joes from the 1980's were my absolute favorite toys growing up. As I got older, I became something of an adult collector of G.I. Joe, and now of other action figures from movies, books, video games, TV, or comics.

My action figure hobby centers around three main things: creating custom-painted or "frankensteined" figures and vehicles, building detailed displays and taking realistic-looking scale photographs of figures, and outright colleting.

Customizing

Probably the thing I enjoy most right now is the challenge of creating custom action figures. Many times I'll encounter an interesting character in a book, movie or TV show, and I'll want to have an action figure of him/her. Often times there either is no action figure of said charater, or the ones that are available in the store fail to do the character justice. Enter customizing.

After starting with an idea, the challenge is to assemble a set of parts (arms, legs, torso, head, accessories) from pre-existing figures that will come together to look like the character, then paint it. It may sounds sort of mundane, but since I live in an apartment and don't have space to work on larger things (cars, lawnmowers, appliances, etc.) I relish the opportunity this gives me to work with my hands and develop craft skills. It's also challenged me to learn all sorts of new things about painting techniques, scultping and clay, different types of paints, primers, and finishes, etc.

Here are links to some of the custom figures and vehicles I've done recently:

Scale Photography

Action figures aren't much fun if they sit inside boxes or standing awkwardly on a bare bookshelf. Another element of this hobby I enjoy is creating small diorama-type displays to show off my figures. Most of these fit inside a bookshelf, but add a little more context or interest to the figures. This can also be done digitally. For several years I was really into taking "scale photographs" of my figures. By that, I mean setting up the figures inside a display of some sort and taking pictures in such a way that they seem life-size. I had a lot of fun experimenting with different materials, lighting, and digital effects to get convincing looking photos. The gallery below shows off some of my favorites.

Collecting

The centerpiece of my action figure hobby has always been, and continues to be, my collection of vintage G.I. Joe toys. I was utterly obsessed with these toys as a child, and have continued to enjoy them as an adult collector. G.I. Joe is a toy brand that has defined many aspects of the action figure market, and had a huge impact on popular culture over the years. Collecting is a fun way to trace the development of this little sliver of pop culture, and to celebrate the weird and strangely awesome decade of my birth - the 80's.

It's hard to say exactly why I enjoy accumulating little plastic men, but I certainly do. Some G.I. Joes are rare or valuable, some are interesting variations on "normal" figures (such as international versions), some are toys I wished I could have had as a kid, and some are just plain cool. I'm mainly interested in the 3 3/4" tall figures from the 80's that grew up with; although I also have a small collection of reproduction "fuzzy head" Adventure Team figures that are 12" tall. These are iconic figures from the 70's that are famous for their "Kung Fu Grip."

At this point, I feel that my G.I. Joe collection is nearly as complete as I want it to be. I now have several hundred figures and quite a few vehicles spanning the years from the launch of the toy line in 1982 all the way to limited-edition collector items from the last few years. There are a few gaps here and there that I'll continue trying to fill, but my main focus now is customizing. You can click on the banner to the right to visit a thematic site I made to show off my collection: G.I. Joe: Underground.