So what started it off for you?

[riteguytu]

Hi all!

I'm always curious to know what motivates my fellow collectors...in this case, what was the prime motivator for your statue collecting hobby?

I am a VERY new collector, even though, I've been into comic books since high school.
Back then, my local LCS had a nice guy who would let me reserve comic books into a 'stash' that I could then come pay for as my irregular allowance was saved up. Great guy;he never did sell anything from my stash, no matter who asked for it or how much was offered for it...

Off to college I went and the first time I came back home, my collection had vanished 'poof!'...something to do with 'house spring cleaning'...
I lost interest then and focussed on my other creative hobbies - illustration, painting etc.

Bang to present day, 3 years ago, and I'm browsing on ebay and see this Batman Begins bust. Whoa, I say, that's a great idea! So I buy it and display it proudly on my TV shelf. The memories come rushing back and I start digging. Imagine my surprise when I find out there is this hidden (well, to me anyway)world of collectibles. Yeeeee haaa! I jump in with both feet and I haven't looked back since...

So please tell me; what's your story?

[wktf]

Comic books were a critically important part of my childhood in the '60s and early '70s for a number of reasons, most especially Marvel Comics. When I saw the first statue I eventually purchased, Bowen Designs first FS Thor 30+ years later some time in the mid/late '90s, I just couldn't believe how incredibly one of my favorite fictional characters seemingly was brought to 3D life! I had to own it. A rush of childhood feelings of excitement and wonder from reading those old Thor comics just came back to me then.

That sent me searching for Bowen's Captain America, DD, Thing and other statues. Then my awareness of other statues and, then, the statue buying community, broadened up and I just couldn't be happier to be collecting and participating in this community with other comic book lovers and fans. And I couldn't be happier to be in the rooms in my house where I now display my statues, props and art. Really gives me a feeling of contentment and peace.

[tedmic]

Originally Posted by wktf

Comic books were a critically important part of my childhood in the '60s and early '70s for a number of reasons, most especially Marvel Comics. When I saw the first statue I eventually purchased, Bowen Designs first FS Thor 30+ years later some time in the mid/late '90s, I just couldn't believe how incredibly one of my favorite fictional characters seemingly was brought to 3D life! I had to own it. A rush of childhood feelings of excitement and wonder from reading those old Thor comics just came back to me then.

That sent me searching for Bowen's Captain America, DD, Thing and other statues. Then my awareness of other statues and, then, the statue buying community, broadened up and I just couldn't be happier to be collecting and participating in this community with other comic book lovers and fans. And I couldn't be happier to be in the rooms in my house where I now display my statues, props and art. Really gives me a feeling of contentment and peace.

Wow, this would have been my answer EXACTLY word for word!

[Alex655321]

Started collecting comics in the late 70's and had a nice size collection with a good run of Silver Age books.

Decided around 2000 since I had not brought anything new since the late 80's to sell the entire collection and give up on collecting anything.

Sold it all on ebay for a nice tidy sum. I build a close friendship with the owner of my LCS that I would still go there and play Magic the Gathering.

Anyway one day he wanted to show me a Statue he had ordered for someone that never came to pick it up. It was the Sentinel Magneto. I was so amazed at how good it looked. He asked if I was interested but I passed. All the while while I was playing MTG I just kept thinking about that statue and where I would put it !

Well....before I left the store I brought it home and the sickness started !

[Nidgit]

Never really into comics but absolutely love my movies (especially sci-fi and horror). Started with action figures many , many years ago, then moved on from there.

[Wolverine1]

Started out by playing an old Sega XMen game. Got interested and watched the cartoon from the first time it came on. Went into heavy comic collecting. Got out for a couple of years then the X Men movie hit. Went really crazy into collecting comics. From there I saw a BD Logan Wolverine I had to have. Went on to buy alot of comics and statues. Have now stopped for 2 years to straighten out a few things in my life. If I have the chance Im coming back tho.

[JadeGiant]

megos and comics at the local market - 3 for .35 or so (covers removed and packaged in a set ot 3) ... that was where it started for me in the 70's. Collected through middle school and took a break for most of high school. Rediscovered comics at the end of my senior year and picked up again. Stopped again for a bit in the late 90's and then stated back with action figures, then I discovered this site several years ago and the rest is history.

[joefixit2]

I was extremely painfully shy when I was young and started getting comics when I was 5 or so and I associated well with the Hulk. Kept buying more and more Hulk comics which lead to Hulk toys which lead to Hulk merchandise including Hulk statues.

I can't remember that far back. I recall having a dream of Universal Monsters chasing me when I was around 6. I was always into the horror movies.

So I think I started buying comics and superhero items around 7 or 8 years old. Also cards and stickers.

That ended when I was around 13. I was buying Sci-Fi and horror magazines then until I was 17 or so.

Went to a local market when I was 17. Probably to play video games and buy a Penthouse or other like magazine. And there on the rack in front of the door was Secret Wars #1. I has hooked again, but just for that series.

Nothing from 19 to 28. Collection was sold off, damaged, and/or thrown out during that time.

When I was off work after my logging accident, Shawna and I went Christmas shopping for my youngest 3 brothers. Went to Toys R Us and bought some football cards for one of them, and saw Marvel Masterpieces 2. So I bought some for the younger two, and a pack for myself. We didn't even get out of the parking lot, before all the Marvel cards were opened.

On the way home we talked about the cards we had as kids, and that Shawna still had some. Also, we heard on the radio of a local comic shop opening up, so we stopped by.

We bought comics and cards pretty heavy there for several years. Tapered off on the comics. Yet there was some action figures, coins, and other collectibles purchased also. We became card dealers within a few months of opening those first few packs.

We're big time X-Files fans, so those Bowen pieces were probably the first major resin purchases. And sometime around then we opened an account with Diamond.

I knew Randy Bowen from us being a dealer at the Portland Comic Conventions, but couldn't bring myself to buy those first few busts. One day, I said that I'm going for it. It will help meet our minimum ordering requirements. I think that was when Black Panther was released. I backed ordered everything, and was shipped everything except Antman. I picked it up for under $25 on Ebay.

In the past 5 years or so, we got into sketches.

Now we're around 500 pieces of resin displayed in our home, plus many other collectibles. And close to 100 card albums. Mostly Marvel, X-Files, and Star Wars items. So, we pretty much got a little of something of just about every collectible. Comics, cards, stickers, pins, coins, action figures, dvds, records, busts, statues, books, video games, glasses, cans, sketches, etc.