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Out of all your childhood toys, why collect handhelds?

 
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Roback
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Last Visit: 27 May 2007
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:30 am    Post subject: Out of all your childhood toys, why collect handhelds? Reply with quote

I have given this question much thought over the years pertaining to my collecting of mego figures. Despite the wide range of toys that I was exposed to as a child, ( some I played with alot more than mego figures) I felt a connection to Mego's more so than any of the others. Can you guys/gals lay a finger on exactly why you collect handhelds other than lets say GI Joe, Hotwheels or Micronauts?
What is it about handheld games that drive you to spend crazy amounts of money on them? For me it is all about nostalgia. Simply thinking about handheld games brings back a rush of cherished memories which help to remind me of a time when life was alot less stressful. Simply put, I get a wonderful feeling from a childhood that I am so lucky to have had. Over the past couple of years I have branched out from my Mego collecting to include some of the other toys that I played with as a kid. With this being said, why exactly do you collect handhelds?
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Rik
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
Posts: 1932
Location: California

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For me, it's actually just another of the things I collect... But it seems to have stuck the longest. I've collected all sorts of things (gambling chips from Vegas, arcade games and parts, neon beer signs, Micro Machines, Star Wars action figures, etc...) I currently seem to be collecting handheld games, unusual PSP stuff, development hardware for any gaming system, Sony Watchman TVs and Discman CD players... There's probably other stuff. Cool

I always tell people I collect collections... Mr. Green

Handheld started with a desire to have all the little games I couldn't afford as a child (and I've always had my Microvision collection since 1979). At the time I didn't realize there were 1000's of them. I bought all the ones I remember (Coleco arcades, GCE watches, Mattel games), and then just kept going. I was surprised to find so many really cool games that I had never heard of (like Dig Dug), mostly because they weren't released in the US.

So, it's definitely memories for the handhelds. I would love to have a complete set of all of the original Star Wars figures, but that's just WAY too much money... At least handheld games are 'cheap' in comparison. It's nice to start a collection of something before half of them are worth over $1000 each.

Another thing I do in general is re-collect the toys I had as a child (and destroyed). Preferably in sealed packages, so that makes them expensive... I actually need a couple of Mego's for that collection (Spock, Batman, a couple of others. Still have the old loose ones though). The big Kenner Alien (another $800+ toy), the 3-foot Space 1999 ship, the Bionic Man with the eye you can look through, and lots of others... I tend to forget about them until I see them on Ebay or a web page and then I have to go after them...

Rik
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mario101
Adventure Vision


Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Last Visit: 11 Oct 2015
Posts: 439
Location: South Berwick Maine

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've collected some things other than handhelds, like Lego's and Hot wheels. The only thing was I now have the internet and I can't believe there would be a forum all about Lego's. These were always a big love in my heart. Nintendo has my vote for being the reason I'm here. Nintendo got me into these by the Game Boy and SNES. I also collect Garfield stuff and video game systems among other things.
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Roback
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Last Visit: 27 May 2007
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rik, what are you a mind reader? I was just talking to a friend last week about picking up a boxed Space 1999 Eagle. That was one of my favorite toys as a kid but like you, there are so many that you tend to forget untill you see them online somewhere. I still have my Six Million Dollar man figure from my childhood. Poor Steve Austin has been though the mill, he just wants to rest in my basement after all the dangerous missions that I sent him on. From the looks of him, they must have been extremely dangerous. Very Happy





What about Vertibird? Have you seen the mini version that their selling in Toys R Us? Classic, simply clasic!

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Rik
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
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Location: California

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, nice Eagle... Looks like it has all the parts (or most, anyway). I think I still have a backpack, one of the tiny guns and maybe a figure... The rest of perished in a firey explosion. Cool That'd be during my pyromaniac years...

Someday I'll replace that... Complete boxed ones aren't cheap.

A friend of mine is REALLY into vertibirds... He claims to have everyone made except for Space 1999 and one other one that's apparently incredibly rare... I think I had one or two as a kid, but they didn't leave a lasting impression...

I collected Garfield stuff back when he first came out in the papers. I actually have all comic strips from sometime in the 80's cut out and pasted into spiral binders... Probably a years worth.

Rik
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Roback
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Last Visit: 27 May 2007
Posts: 125

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rik, speaking of pyromania, that's another thing that I collect. Years ago my brother and I sold fireworks in Connecticut ( yea, I know, their illegal ) when I was around 14 years old. He is 4 years my senior and one of his friends had an idea to write to China to see if they would send us salute packaging labels. Unbelievably they did and what an assortment they sent me. Everything from Red Leaf to Bigger Bang, Little Bo Peep and a slew of others. I have around 5 albums full. I know only collect labels still attached to the firecrackers. I bought a collection off of ebay ( there are ways to get around listing and selling explosives ) of around 30 mint packages. each year we also put on a small show for our neighbors. This year I drove to New Jersey where they are legal for the big 500 gram cakes. Here are a few pics.







And speaking of your long lost Alein:

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blue6demon
Adventure Vision


Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 01 Feb 2024
Posts: 442
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow you guys are bringing back a lot of memories ! I started collecting handhelds when i saw them at Ebay, in fact i was looking to sell my Vectrex console i had as a teenager.

Finally i ended up buying the Vectrex games in their boxes instead of selling the unit Mr. Green and i saw in the vintage game section an Entex Galaxian 2 with a Merlin and i had a rush of memories, couldn't resist buying them !
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Lord Thag
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 28 May 2006
Last Visit: 01 May 2009
Posts: 121

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, it all started for me with the Atari 2600. See, I'm not really a pack rat, except when it comes to electronics, which I always save. I kept my old 2600 under my bed, and played it regularly even into the Nintendo era. I would often trade a crummy nes game for a pile of 2600 carts from kids around the neighborhood. I've seriously never stopped playing Atari since it first came out.

About 94' or so, it dawned on me that the two brimming boxes of carts under the bed constituted a hobby, and so I began hitting thrifts casually for carts on the weekends.

Eventually I ended up becoming friends with a serious game collector, and seeing his insane collection kind of motivated me to really start picking up stuff. Now, I have an entire room filled with damn near everything from the era.

The handhelds are a very recent addition. I forgot all about them until a friend scored one off ebay. I picked up a couple a year ago, liked them, and started casually picking up one or two over the next year. Recently, they have kind of taken off, and I am approaching 30 with no signs of stopping. I mainly collect the VFD ones, with the occasional LED/LCD one that strikes my fancy.

Why do I do it? Simple. I like to play them. Classic gaming is an entirely different animal from the modern stuff (which I also like). The older games are usually more skill based, while the newer stuff is more experiential. It's more like watching a movie. The older games are games in the original sense. Simple, direct, yet the devil is in the details. Pure, white knuckle fun really. It kept me hooked as a kid, and it still does the same today. When I walk into my game room, with shelves full of hundreds of classic games, it makes me smile. Sure, some people think I'm nuts, but who cares? I've even made a few converts.

Having a collection of video games is like collecting nothing else. It's like having an entire library of little alternate realities that you plug in and escape to for a few minutes each day.
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Rik
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
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Location: California

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Collecting fireworks, that's cool... Smile I have some of the original bottle rockets that I think are completely out-lawed in the U.S. now... I also have a 3-foot yard sparkler on my wall at my parents place (kind like a regular sparkler, but huge. Get's too hot to hold... Not sure if they still make those).

All right guys, here's even more of the truth of my collecting addiction... this time with pictures. When I was high school, I collected damn near anything I could get my hands on. I say 'collected' so I don't have to admit I was just an incurable pack-rat. Cool When I was in high school, at some point in time I decided to just start hanging everything on my wall in my room until it was completely covered in cra... er... stuff. To this day, that room remains as I left it when I moved out (my parents are scared to go in there. Mr. Green ) A couple of years ago I went home and photographed the whole thing, so I threw together a little webpage of it:

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Collections/MyRoom/

There you will find samplings of the MANY things I've collected over the years. Some true collections, some just one-of-a-kind things. I'll flesh-out this page with closer/larger photos if people want to see what some of the stuff is. I've kind of kept up this habit of covering walls in all of my apartments since, but nother ever got quite as well-filled as this (and, of course, none of the others are still intact).

Anyway, that should give you some insight into the 'insanity' that is my life Rolling Eyes

Enjoy...
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mario101
Adventure Vision


Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Last Visit: 11 Oct 2015
Posts: 439
Location: South Berwick Maine

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice room, I never saw that exploring your site.
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Lord Thag
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 28 May 2006
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Posts: 121

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's quite a room!
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Roback
Bandai FL Burgertime


Joined: 27 Jan 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's quite the collection. Around 8 years ago I decided to dedicate an entire room for my collection. The money invested in it got to be an incredible amount so after establishing the room, I set up an entire wing on my website that is dedicated to some of the most extensive collections around. If you click on the link below, you'll see my collection ( first one at the top under Robert Acquarulo ) along with many others. One in particular is amazing. Keep your eyes peeled for a collection owned by a Dr Paul Trombley. It is directly below mine. He actually had a house built especially for his collection. You'll see what I mean once you see it.

http://www.megocentral.com/collectorscorner.html
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Rik
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Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Last Visit: 25 Mar 2024
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Location: California

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, that's some impressive stuff... I'm in a little collecting 'club' of Star Wars collectors, Trombley is probably one of them... Rolling Eyes Having that 'Dr.' tag on your name probably helps a lot in this hobby...
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mario101
Adventure Vision


Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Last Visit: 11 Oct 2015
Posts: 439
Location: South Berwick Maine

PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also own 2 shoe boxes of Star War stuff, like the first action figures etc etc....
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