ToyHaven in the news :) Grateful and honored to be featured in a magazine with other collectors

I am both grateful and honored to be featured in a magazine along with other collectors :) In the latest issue of "Little", a quarterly family lifestyle magazine dedicated for parents with children age 3 to 12 years old, the publisher has chosen to feature collectors of all kinds: six personas and their prized collections. It's especially nice since this magazine feature will show my new home and the updated toy / action figure collection since the last feature a while back - check out the earlier coverage HERE and HERE.

I was approached some time back and the shoot was actually done in March but the magazine is only out now. We all understand schedules and how the whole publishing process works but I was quite eager to see how the picture turned out. Unfortunately, they couldn't cover the entire collection in one picture as I have a customised 98.5" L x 84" H x 19.25" D (2500mm L x 2134mm H x 495mm D) full glass display shelf which is not shown. The customised full glass display contains most of my Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series 1/6th scale figures plus other miscellaneous action figures (you can see the pictures posted HERE). For more details of the interview and other collectors showcased, read on or scroll down to see them :)

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Toy Haven 3 - Almost complete: check out my new place :) lots of action figures on display

continued from previous toy blog post...

Most of the figures have been put up at my new place (dubbed Toy Haven 3) and I quite like the look of it :) From Japanese anime / manga heroes like Astro Boy to Tokusatsu superhero TV serials (Kamen Riders and Ultraman) to Western TV / Film characters like Hit Girl from Kick Ass, Green Hornet and Kato, Iron Man, Wolverine, Batman, Superman, Russell Crowe's Roman General and Gladiator, Gerard Butler's King Leonidas from 300, Tom Hank's Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, Johnny Depp's many characters (Edward Scissorhands, Captain Jack Sparrow, Benjamin Barker / Sweeney Todd, Tonto, John Dillinger), Brad Pitt's roles in various films (Fight Club, Fury, Seven, Troy, Inglourious Basterds, World War Z), Aliens, Predator, Marvel's The Avengers, Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop... the list goes on.

That's the beauty of collecting 1/6th scale figures. After collecting for over 22 years, you realise that a lot of movie-related action figures have been produced and released over this period and I've been blessed with quite the collection and a wife who fully supports my hobby (some may say obsession LOL). She says the collection makes the house unique and is quite the talking point whenever we get visitors. Obviously, I agree with her totally haha. Besides the 13 IKEA detolf display cabinets housing most of the 12-inch collectible figures, there's also the customised 98.5" L x 84" H x 19.25" D (2500mm L x 2134mm H x 495mm D) full glass display shelf which has most of the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series 1/6th scale figures I own.

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ToyHaven 3 – Work-In-Progress Report Part 2

continued from previous toy blog post...

I am most happy to report that the customised 98.5" L x 84" H x 19.25" D (2500mm L x 2134mm H x 495mm D) full glass display shelf which will be the centre piece of my new place (ToyHaven3) is coming along nicely :) Lots of stuff to put in and I'm not even halfway there yet LOL

The plan is to display Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series 1/6th scale figures because of the high quality finishing and superbly crafted pieces and it's going to take a while to get organised and choose which figures to display up front and which ones to be behind. The great thing about it being all glass is that I can also choose to display them back to back so that they face out on both sides. Still thinking about the many possibilities for display.

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ToyHaven 3 – Work-In-Progress Report Part 1

At first there was ToyHaven 1 (check out the toy blog post HERE from 2008).

Then there was ToyHaven 2, the last place I stayed in before the big move last year. You can see the post HERE and HERE.

Very soon ToyHaven 3 will be ready...

The setting up is going to take a while. It's easier to have empty shelves waiting to be filled than to have limited display space and trying to cut down on the contents to be displayed. That means a lot of stuff have to go and choosing which ones to put away is not easy haha

Anyway, here are some of the work-in-progress pictures. The centre piece of the new place will be the custom-made 98.5" L x 84" H x 19.25" D (2500mm L x 2134mm H x 495mm D) full glass display shelf which would allow me to display a variety of figures and collectibles :)

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Hot Toys Collector or Hot Toys Box Collector? Age-old question: To open / not to open the toy!

I've been collecting toys since 1994 and Hot Toys figures since 2000 but the age-old question still remains: "To Open or Not To Open the Toy!"

I've grown to respect and appreciate each and every individual's way of collecting toys, be it to keep the toy mint in the sealed box or to open the box and display the toy or put the toy back in the box after playing due to constraints of space of even rotate the display of the toys for the same reason (for lack of space) but I've been cautioning people for years to remove batteries from the toys if they choose to keep the toy in the box or there will be irreparable damage to said toy when the batteries leak and damage the electronic components. See my toy blog post from September 2011 titled "Hot Toy Collecting Tip #1: Remove ALL Batteries!" for the full article.

What I don't get is people who proudly post pictures of their Hot Toys box collection (I decided to post one picture here as an example LOL) on multiple facebook pages without ever displaying the figures inside and then get offended when people from the same group ask why he buys so many of the same figures and why he doesn't display any of them. See below for some of the comments. It sure makes for some fun reading :)

This is a conversation on facebook about a collector who buys and buys multiples of the same figure but keeps them all MISB (Mint In Sealed Box) with no intention of ever taking them out and displaying them. Names have been omitted to protect their identities.

Q: "Do you plan on displaying them once you have the room to display them all? Or keep them in the box? I found myself not even unboxing nowadays because I don't have the room to display them."

A: "No intention of displaying them"

Q: "Not going to display them??? I wouldn't call that collecting at all. I call that wasting money. "Hey guys, look at all my boxes", that even sounds dumb. lmao. Take some pride in your overpriced collectibles, i know i do..... And why would you buy 2 and 3 of the same figures, an even bigger waste of money since your not a retailer either. My mind is blown right now."

A: "My way different from anyone else & why can't I purchase more than one of the similar figure?? Any rules say so?? & ANY laws say one person buys a figure MUST display?? Who say so??"

Q: "Yah, alright bud lmao. Its just, you spend so much money on these figures it really seems like a waste. You never even get to see the great detail on the back sides of these figures! But on a serious note, nice box collection!!"

R: "No laws, but I'm curious. Why do you buy so many and not do anything with them?"

Q: "Exactly. Thats what i say, its nuts. And buying 2 and 3 of each???? Wtf? This is a simple case of more money than smarts. I could see buying 2 if you want 1 in package and 1 for display but 3 unopened identical figures??????"

A: "FYI I bought them preorder price.. Any issues??? I don't need to know how great their articulations.. I been collecting them this for 9 yrs.. & I like the particular figure.. Can't I buy more than one?? So buying more than one means I break the laws??? Come on.. Pls prove me wrong that I shouldn't buy more than one.."

Q: "No one said your breaking any laws lol!! It just seems redundant"

A: "So?? What are u trying to guide a 9 yrs hot toys collectors??? Must I listen to u??? Your comments unacceptable & rude"

R: "Haha! Nobody is saying anything rude. We all just asked what the purpose of buying multiples is, and not even opening any. And you got really defensive and upset. This is getting really funny."

Why do adults collect toys? Also a BIG thank you for the 15,000,000 (15 million) page views so far

A BIG Thank You to everyone who has visited and contributed in one way or another to my toy blog TOY HAVEN :) It has officially crossed the 15,000,000 (15 million) page views mark and with all your continued support, I hope to see the numbers continue to grow. It's even more bizarre when my Google+ profile says I've had 372,165,702 views (as at the time of this posting) since I don't quite know how the numbers come about! When I started out in July 2007, I never imagined that this toy blog would ever reach this milestone and now that it has, I only have everyone to thank for it. Guess it's the appropriate time to do some soul searching and ask the question "Why do we still collect toys?" (especially the adults among us haha)

Well, according to wiki: It has been speculated that the widespread appeal of collecting (in general) is connected to the hunting and gathering that was once necessary for human survival. For some people, collecting things may be a symbolic way of asserting power over them.

The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. The scope of collecting is unlimited: "If something exists, somebody somewhere collects them." That is true even for toys as they come in all forms, shapes and sizes.

Some collectors are generalists with very broad criteria for inclusion, while others focus on a subtopic within their area of interest. Some collectors accumulate arbitrarily many objects that meet the thematic and quality requirements of their collection, others — called completists — aim to acquire all items in a well-defined set that can in principle be completed, and others seek a limited number of items per category (e.g. one representative item per year of manufacture or place of purchase). The monetary value of objects is important to some collectors but irrelevant to others. Some collectors maintain objects in pristine condition, while others use the items they collect, and still others collect items that once belonged to famous people.

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Size comparison pics of some 12-inch action figures with Coo Model 1/6 scale Skeleton Soldier

continued from previous post...

Having reviewed the Coo Model 1/6 scale Skeleton Soldier HERE and HERE, how about some comparison pictures of Coo Model 1/6 scale Simulated Human Skeleton Soldier 12-inch figure with other 12-inch figures? Let's see how they stack up against each other? Size is always a bit of a concern in 1/6 scale. You want to know if the manufacturer got the scale and size right especially if you want to display all the figures together. A good example would be Darth Vader. He cannot be the same size / height as the Stormtroopers. That would be wrong. That's why Medicom Toys supposedly 1/6 scale Darth Vader was a big disappointment :( check out the comparison pics HERE

So how tall is the Coo Model 1/6 scale Simulated Human Skeleton Soldier figure and how does it look when placed together with other 12-inch action figures? Scroll down to find out the answer plus see size comparison pictures with ACI 1/6 Roman Gladiator "Flamma" 12-inch figure, Kaustic Plastik's 12-inch figures, HPC Toys Film series 12-inch figure and Hot Toys True Type TTM21 12-inch figure body.

Happy to report that my Batman Collection photo got published in Discovery Channel Magazine :)

Benefits and privileges of blogging :)

Some weeks ago, someone from Discovery Channel magazine contacted me and asked me for a high resolution photograph of my Batman collection which she had seen on my toy blog that I had taken some years back. She said she wanted to publish it in the Discovery Channel magazine. So it was quite a nice surprise to receive the magazine in the mailbox today with the picture of my Batman collection in it as part of an article titled "Toy Story". I've scanned the pages in their entirety and have posted the pictures / pages here in my toy blog for those of us who can't get hold of the magazine. It does make for quite an interesting read and I think most of us will enjoy it :) Click on the pictures for a bigger and better view, especially if you want to read the text.

Some of the text:
CAUTION: ADULTS AT PLAY - As borders blur between young and old, more grown-ups now find that the pleasures of youth aren't necessarily just for the young anymore (written by Eric Talmadge of Discovery Channel magazine). Scroll down to read more.

A gift from a dear friend – Bronze (metal) United States Navy Mark V Diving Helmet (heavy metal)

Blogging has its privileges :) Since I started my Toy Haven blog, I have made many friends along the way which is a bonus I never expected. Companies too have sent me toys and figures so that I can review them on my toy blog. Plus there's the added income from advertisements which have funded my collection as well so that I don't have to pay for everything. I really feel that I've been very blessed indeed ;p

One of the friends I've come to know through blogging is Marc. He first emailed me way back in September 2009 because we both happen to collect Action Man although he's a true vintage Action Man collector - hats off to him :). The friendship just grew from there although in truth, I never met him until yesterday. Marc and family paid a visit to my Toy Haven (some say "Toy Heaven") and we had a fantastic time sharing stories and I learnt quite a lot from this great yet humble man. Not only that, Marc packed lots of makan for us (yes! he cooks some mean peranakan dishes too) and also brought me a gift - this Bronze (metal) U.S. Navy Mark V Diving Helmet which is a beauty! I say, he should come by more often haha

Diving helmets are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface supplied diving, though many models can be adapted for use with scuba equipment. The helmet seals the whole of the diver's head from the water, allows the diver to see clearly underwater, provides the diver with breathing gas, protects the diver's head when doing heavy or dangerous work, and usually provides voice communications with the surface (and possibly other divers). (source: wiki)

Humble Beginnings - We all have to start somewhere :) and this is my early start

Dug up some old photographs I took of my collection back in 1996 when I just started collecting toys ;p It was a bit of this and a bit of that and a mix of everything without much of a focus on what I really wanted. That has changed since I decided to focus on 1/6 scale figures. Back then, 12-inch figures were almost non-existent and the only ones available were the vintage G.I. Joe and Action Man figures from the 1960s to 1970s and early 1980s so there really wasn't much in terms of choices or genres. Most were military based and that's how I got started. Obviously a lot of things have changed since then and now there's a specific collectibles market targeting only adult collectors with the purchasing power to buy all the high-end stuff. I'm glad to have witnessed and seen how the 1/6 scale 12-inch figure market has grown from a almost non-existent point to where it is today, an art form much appreciated by a ever growing, ever expanding pool of collectors :)

Batman has always been my first love and it was "Batman, The Animated Series" that got me hooked to toys. I loved the series with its "Dark Deco" visual style based on the artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm. The funny thing is, I only noticed all these after my first son was born and I became a father. We watched cartoons together and "Batman: The Animated Series" caught my eye. So when I brought him to Toys R Us and saw the animated Batman toys on the racks, it was love at first sight haha. I liked how the toys stayed very true to the visual style seen in the animated series. So began the journey of discovering new things and the passion for toys was sparked. Check out my very first toy blog post HERE about Batman :)

Over 10,000,000 (Ten Million) Pageviews and Counting - A BIG Thank You to Everyone :)

When I posted my first toy blog entry in TOY HAVEN back on July 18, 2007 (see my very first post HERE), I never imagined that there will come a day when I'll get over 10,000,000 pageviews but that day has come and sooner than I thought possible. In a short span of over five years from then till now (Blogger Stats has it from May 2008 - December 2012), there have been so many pageviews and visitors to my toy blog that has seen TOY HAVEN grow in visitor numbers year by year and I have everyone to thank for that :) If you are reading this, then you are one of the contributing factors and I thank you. I count myself very blessed for having met so many fellow collectors and like-minded people over the years and a lot of you have been with me for a very long time, going by the comments and emails I have received and I thank you all for that :)

It will never beat South Korean Psy's Gangnam Style video which has already amassed 1 billion hits but hey, I'm doing my small part for the toy community in general and the 1/6 scale collectors' market in particular. Nowadays when I need to look for stuff on my toy blog, I find it a lot easier and faster to google it as it usually appears on the first page of the searched list. There have been occasions where other bloggers and scumbag thieves have taken my entire posts including my pictures and reposted them as their own but that has not reduced the visitor numbers at all. I look forward to all your continued support as I continue my passion of blogging about the subject of toys and the things I enjoy in my free time. JESUS comes first (because of Him, I've been incredibly blessed) and family is second but toys are a very close third haha

Under the Sea and all that jazz - 1/6th scale divers, sharks and other creatures in the ocean

Was cleaning up the display cabinet the other day and decided to take some pictures as I put things back in place :) This particular display cabinet has the "Under the Sea" theme as this is where I put everything that I have that is water-based / ocean-based i.e. anything to do with the sea.

Sharks! I've always been fascinated with sharks and NOT because of shark's fin soup. In shark fin soup, the fins themselves are virtually tasteless. The taste comes from the soup, while the fins are valued for their texture. The delicacy was coveted by emperors because it was rare, delicious, and required elaborate preparation. Holding both culinary and symbolic significance, the dish is popular at important occasions such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals. I am all for taking shark fin soup off the menu entirely as well as the ban of shark finning because it is a very cruel thing to do when fishermen cut off the sharks' fins and then throw the often still-living sharks back into the sea to make room for more of the valuable fins. In the ocean, the sharks either die from suffocation or are eaten because they are unable to move normally. So when we stop eating the fins, demand will drop and that will force fisherman to stop shark finning.

The term "shark" has also been used for extinct members of the suborder Elasmobranchii outside the Selachimorpha, such as Cladoselache and Xenacanthus. Under this broader definition, the earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago. [source: wiki]

Hot Toy Collecting Tip #1: Remove ALL Batteries!

The ongoing debate continues: To open or NOT to open! To open what? To open the toy: that is to remove the figure from its packaging, to take it out and play, pose or simply admire the figure for what it is, a 3-D (three dimensional) art form. To keep it in its packaging would mean that one cannot truly appreciate the art that went into making the toy (figure, vehicle, playset - whatever it's supposed to be). Nor will you ever know how the back of the figure looks like (since you never get to see it if it remains in the box / packaging) or realize the full potential of the figure with the full accessories and its play value.

You can only truly enjoy the figure when you open it, as Kane found out :)

The term "Mint in sealed box" (commonly abbreviated as "MISB"; variations include "MOSC", or "mint on sealed card") refers to the practice of keeping toys in their original packaging, even after purchasing them. Such specimens are supposedly valued more than "loose" toys i.e. toys that have been removed from the packaging. In addition to the perceived "germ free" nature of such a toy, the owner can be assured that the item is almost certainly complete and intact. The chances of a still-sealed action figure being broken or missing accessories is extremely unlikely; such cases are almost always due to either accidents at the factory (toys being packaged with wrong / no accessories), or the toys being made of materials that decompose relatively quickly regardless of how they are or aren't packaged (such as yellowing – toys discoloring over time, Gold Plastic Syndrome – a toy's plastic decomposing and becoming brittle to the point of shattering or crumbling under minimal-stress conditions, rubber rot – rubber parts drying up, cracking, rotting AND also melting / disintegrating parts – rubber and some leather / pleather materials have been known to disintegrate over time). [source: MISB]

I collect Action Figures! And here are some of them

Eric Stettmeier aka Bubba Shelby of Toyriffic recently posted an entry "Action Figure or Doll?" on his blog :) It made for some interesting reading and generated quite a response. I thought I'll jump in with my two cents worth.

Definition of Action Figure from Wikipedia - Ac•tion Fig•ure: An action figure is a pose-able character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a movie, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors. [source: wiki]

The term "action figure" was first coined by Hasbro in 1964, to market their G.I. Joe figure to boys who wouldn't play with dolls. It featured changeable clothes with various uniforms to suit different purposes. In a move that would create global popularity for this type of toy, Hasbro also licensed the product to companies in other markets.

So let me state here that I collect Action Figures (NOT dolls) and am darn proud of it :) So proud in fact that I've posted 24 pictures of action figure group shots in this post alone to show how much I enjoy collecting Action Figures! Scroll down to see all ENJOY ;p

Two buddies having drinks - 8 cans, 2 bottles & 2 cases (ALL 1:6)!

Here's a picture of two buddies having drinks at the table after a hard day's work. What are they discussing about? Your guess is as good as mine. Buddy 1 (on the left) is Toymaster 1/6 scale War Journalist 2.0 [Battlefield Hero] - previewed earlier HERE and buddy number 2 is Dr Figures CIA Field Operator (previewed HERE). More on these two 12-inch figures later. This post is about the stuff on the table - mainly drinks.

The two of them could be catching up on the latest gossip. You may have seen or heard some of the funny Charlie Sheen quotes that have come from his most recent publicity. One of them is "Can't is the cancer of Happen" - what?!

Collecting on a BIG scale posted by Ian

Recently I was approached by Ian O'Neill from "Toy Collector" for an interview for a write-up on their site. I'd come to know Ian through my blog (our first correspondence was May 26, 2010) and felt honored that he would ask to do an interview with me.

The write-up is now up on their site and I'm glad to be able to share it here. Just click on the picture below or on the LINK here. Happy reading ;p

Once again, I have to say a BIG THANK YOU to all my friends, fellow bloggers and visitors for making all this possible. Without your continued support, none of this would have happened and I would never have found so many like-minded kindred spirits to share my passion with :) CHEERS

Why I collect toys

"Why I collect toys" - This short write-up on the reasons why I collect toys used to be on the side bar of my toy blog but I decided to include it as a post so that fellow bloggers and collectors can share their views and inputs :)

What is a toy? A toy is any object that can be used for play. Some toys which attract large numbers of enthusiasts eventually become collectibles. Other toys are marketed to adults as collectibles. A collectable or collectible is typically a manufactured item designed for people to collect. [source: wiki]

Here are some snap shots of the toys I've collected and blogged about (a total of 1,523 posts up till now). These images appeared when I googled "toyhaven". It was easier to screen grab these than to go through my albums to choose which picture to post.

Recent 1/6 Hauls II

Here's some of my recent 1/6 hauls. I'd posted some earlier and here's just a little more. I'll get into these in due time but in the meantime, just thought I'll share my stash :)

First up are three rather famous people. Well, just 1:6 scale versions of them anyway because these are as close as most of us can get to them. There's Will Smith as a CIA field operator. In the 2003 action-adventure-thriller film "Bad Boys II" - directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith - Mike (Smith) and Marcus (Lawrence), along with their voluntary SWAT team, conduct an assault on a drug lord in Cuba wearing a somewhat similar attire.

Then there's Nicolas Cage as seen in "Face/Off", a 1997 action film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta as FBI Special Agent Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage as Freelance terrorist Castor Troy.

The third figure is a War Journalist who bears some resemblance to Matt Damon, recently seen in "Green Zone", the 2010 action thriller war film starring Matt Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller on the hunt for WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in Iraq, March 2003.

Just some recent 1/6 hauls

Here are some of my recent hauls :) Haven't had time to do anything with them yet due to other commitments; the toys don't pay for themselves ha ha AND I don't get toys for FREE, contrary to popular belief. I hope to find time to blog about them in the days to come so stay tuned and I'll keep you posted.

In the front, Very Hot 1:6 scale US Army modern MP (Military Police) uniform set. His canine comes in its own separate box (no doggy bag though LOL) - previewed HERE, Coo Model M79 Grenade Launcher, ZY Toys Cheytac Intervention M200 Sniper Rifle, Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars Sandtrooper Squad Leader

1:6 Stuff for Kitbashing OR just some of my stash :)

According to Wikipedia, kitbashing or model bashing is a practice whereby a new scale model is created by taking pieces out of commercial kits. These pieces may be added to a custom project or to another kit. For the hobbyist, kitbashing saves time that would be spent scratch building an entire model. Hobbyists may kitbash to create a model of a subject (real or imaginary) for which there is not a commercial kit.

I think for many of us 1:6 military figure collectors, we would have kitbashed at least one figure or more because we want to upgrade the figure we have or customize a figure we would like to see but is unavailable in the market. This happens especially when a new collector comes into the market and finds that military figures of a particular era (e.g. Vietnam War figures) have ceased production and the older ones are no longer available. Dragon had released quite a number of SDU figures in the past with Hot Toys following suit but since then, if you want an SDU figure, you might have to resort to kitbashing one yourself from parts available. It's most easy to kitbash PMCs (Private Military Contractors) because they don't have uniforms nor standard gear.

So what do you need for kitbashing?