A lot of it for some people seems to be the diorama side...so why don't we just build dioramas with static figurines?
Why do we do this hobby?
- Thread starter Dropshipbob
- Start date
Some nostalgia, some inner kid feeling of liking toys, they look cool and they keep us sane and preventing us from going on a killing spree on the border.
One could posit that psychologically hobbyists gain a sense of control over their miniature world and may exercise wish fullfillment of military fantasy. Also it serves as an aesthetic outlet for creative artistic impulses.
^^^ I'll 2nd, or 3rd that from Ewok and Daremo. In addition, I do what I do mainly because I will 99% never get what I want from a company.
I ask myself the "why?" question all the time...I'll be working on something and wonder to myself, why am I doing this?
Everyone has some sort of hobby that is questionable. Everyone collects something even if they dont realize it. It has to be some primitive nature we all have that makes us associate things we collect with something else. Just the nature of the beast.
It's a hunter-gatherer thing, I think. We no longer have the need to go out and collect or hoard food, so we replace it with things.
I do appreciate the answers, but my real question was why do we do this with action figures instead of just building models.
A few reasons for me.
1 - I enjoy the builds
2 - I don't want someone else's build (model). I want my own.
3 - They don't make dio's for what I want so I have to make them. Also, Have you seen the prices of Dollhouses. All that cash and I have to mod it anyway. No chance.
1 - I enjoy the builds
2 - I don't want someone else's build (model). I want my own.
3 - They don't make dio's for what I want so I have to make them. Also, Have you seen the prices of Dollhouses. All that cash and I have to mod it anyway. No chance.
Models collect dust, & are sometimes to fragile to play with.
For me it started out actually getting excited about the (then new) Joe movie coming out. I gave myself a hard rule to stick with one scale, (I don't want to be paying $200 for knock-off transformers.)
Later I liked customizing & eventually dio building.
Now building is one of the few things that truely relaxes me. I've tried one or two models but never really finished them because they are more stand alone things that can't mix in with the 1:18th stuff.
Yeah, pretty much what he said. It's the same reason guys build complicated train sets. It's just fun and relaxing, and keeps keeps us out of trouble.
I think the articulation helps over static models, at least figure wise. The scale (1:18) is nice because it's big enough to get good detail but not too big (1:6) where you can't have any of the cool stuff (tanks, jets, helos).
I gotta tell you, DSB...
I can remember having 1:35 military models/miniatures back when I was 8-10. As cool as they were for what they were... I always dreamed of being able to pose them as I wanted. Moving on to vintage SW figures and others, like Buck Rogers, Micronauts, Joe, etc... more of my dreams were possible, at least for the times.
Present day gives us lots more options, and better ones sometimes, so I'd have to say for me - it's having what I wanted years ago, now. Or at least damn close to it.
I can remember having 1:35 military models/miniatures back when I was 8-10. As cool as they were for what they were... I always dreamed of being able to pose them as I wanted. Moving on to vintage SW figures and others, like Buck Rogers, Micronauts, Joe, etc... more of my dreams were possible, at least for the times.
Present day gives us lots more options, and better ones sometimes, so I'd have to say for me - it's having what I wanted years ago, now. Or at least damn close to it.
I think you've all pretty much expressed all of my main reasons. Still a kid (deep down), nostalgia, and so on, but I'll further add to that.
I collect for the enjoyment of the characters, and the stories that have been told about them over the years, and are yet to be told about them. I customize to get the characters that the big companies have either not given me to put with the others, or they have done a piss poor job of giving to me to put with the others. I mold, and cast to allow other customizers access to the more rare items, or other customizers' work that they've allowed me to mold, and cast for the enjoyment of others. In short allot of what I do, I do for my friends out here.
I collect for the enjoyment of the characters, and the stories that have been told about them over the years, and are yet to be told about them. I customize to get the characters that the big companies have either not given me to put with the others, or they have done a piss poor job of giving to me to put with the others. I mold, and cast to allow other customizers access to the more rare items, or other customizers' work that they've allowed me to mold, and cast for the enjoyment of others. In short allot of what I do, I do for my friends out here.
I honestly ask myself frequently why I waste my time in this hobby. I have several more hobbies that I enjoy and love a lot more than this one. For some reason though, I just can't let go. Since I got into collecting with the Joe 25th line, I've always said that when I "complete" the ARAH figs I'll quit. Now I'm into ARW...
Whether you pose them in a mini-diorama straight out the package or customize them to the point they look like a new figure I believe it's the same impulse that drives a little boy to want toy soldiers (at least boys from the 60's-70's). And as some have already said you can get good detail at this size and add awesome tanks and personnel carriers, etc... The 1/6 scale requires a warehouse to display figures and vehicles. I've already tried that route and it's more painful and costly. I still have a boatload of 1/32 scale toy soldiers and some 1/6 Joe stuff gathering dust but my main efforts finally came to rest in the 1/18 scale world because of the size convenience thing.
I just started with the whole fiorama thing, which was prompted by finding a box of my old GI Joes from the 80's. Nostalgia kicked in, I amassed a couplete year collection, and began selling off all my old stuff that didn't fit into it along with extra stuff. I was having fun taking ridiculous pics of them for eBay auctions, and stumbled on the new Joe's... Picked up the Dreadnoks, got bored with the light box, and made one mini diorama, and now I'm working on a whole frigging city block. God damn spiral down the rabbit hole. But, it is fun. I'm renting and don't have a house to work on, and since my fiancée is a costume and prop designer, she's digging this new artistic endeavor as well... But as an observer. Too busy right now to join in, but is already planning for a joint project.
So why?
Shit, man, I'm having fun creating an apocalyptic landscape, and the folks that will populate it.
So why?
Shit, man, I'm having fun creating an apocalyptic landscape, and the folks that will populate it.
Ido this hobby because of my interest in military history and the operational arts involving various weapon systems and armies from around the world. I gave away and sold off most of my Joes and kept my "realistic" figures and vehicles. One thing I'll say. It's been a privilige and an honor meeting and knowing the various members and collectors from this site!! That's why I probably stay in it. Thanks for making a fun hobby even better!!!
Because in my heart I am a HO train lover but with a bigger scale
My love for dios stemmed from my love for model train displays. I was always a fan of N-scale since you get more display in the same size area.
I'm done collecting! I'm straight buying for customizing,and that's it...no more army building,no more hoarding...all that stuff is going to ebay...
I don't want to amass a huge corny thing anymore,unless it's my real car collecting! I got two trucks that need motor work,and instead of fixing them,I've been fucking with this stupid shit! that ship is sailing...I'll save the toy customizing for the 6 weeks of winter we see here
I don't want to amass a huge corny thing anymore,unless it's my real car collecting! I got two trucks that need motor work,and instead of fixing them,I've been fucking with this stupid shit! that ship is sailing...I'll save the toy customizing for the 6 weeks of winter we see here
I'm done collecting! I'm straight buying for customizing,and that's it...no more army building,no more hoarding...all that stuff is going to ebay...
I don't want to amass a huge corny thing anymore,unless it's my real car collecting! I got two trucks that need motor work,and instead of fixing them,I've been fucking with this stupid shit! that ship is sailing...I'll save the toy customizing for the 6 weeks of winter we see here
Says the guys who sent me one of the best sets of legs out there. You know you'll be customizing again in 2 weeks.
I'm done collecting! I'm straight buying for customizing,and that's it...no more army building,no more hoarding...all that stuff is going to ebay...
I don't want to amass a huge corny thing anymore,unless it's my real car collecting! I got two trucks that need motor work,and instead of fixing them,I've been fucking with this stupid shit! that ship is sailing...I'll save the toy customizing for the 6 weeks of winter we see here
Exactly what happened to me when I started hanging out here...still selling off joes and only building figures I want.
^
Yup, collecting for the sake of having is rediculous...I like my homemade ones better,and when I don't anymore...I'll recycle them into a different figure
^
I'm still customizing! But it's going to be less common of a thing.. that stuff is seriously fun! watch walking dead&tear up toys!! lol. Working on a duke torso right now! I'm not collecting them anymore! I'm starting to look at them like I look at a cow..cuts of beef,and deliciousness..only pieces parts&how can I make this work?... without the urge to gather I'll have a lot of time to work on my real passion,with a small side of breaking toys.
Yup, collecting for the sake of having is rediculous...I like my homemade ones better,and when I don't anymore...I'll recycle them into a different figure
^
I'm still customizing! But it's going to be less common of a thing.. that stuff is seriously fun! watch walking dead&tear up toys!! lol. Working on a duke torso right now! I'm not collecting them anymore! I'm starting to look at them like I look at a cow..cuts of beef,and deliciousness..only pieces parts&how can I make this work?...
without the urge to gather I'll have a lot of time to work on my real passion,with a small side of breaking toys.
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I'm doing this stuff...mostly sratchbuilding and customizing in 1/18th scale...because this is one of the few things that can make me relax. I like to work with my hands, and see the results of my work....knowing that it was made, figured out and built by me.
And it unstoppoble...everytime I see something new and cool from other members...I immediatly try to figure out how it was done and how useful it can be for me...and my brain starts to generate ideas...making blueprints))
That is fun...a hobby. Even when I was a kid...when I was asked "who you wanna be as a grown man?" I always answered: "Toymaker"
I like toys (mostly Joe stuff)...and I like to make something similar or even better...on my own.
And it unstoppoble...everytime I see something new and cool from other members...I immediatly try to figure out how it was done and how useful it can be for me...and my brain starts to generate ideas...making blueprints))
That is fun...a hobby. Even when I was a kid...when I was asked "who you wanna be as a grown man?" I always answered: "Toymaker"
I like toys (mostly Joe stuff)...and I like to make something similar or even better...on my own.
Takes me away from real life, it's a stress relief & method of relaxing. I'm not a collector or customiser although I'd love to be able to customise but alas I'm just a story teller through the medium of dio comic style strips.