What Made You Collect The Style Of Figure You Own

Hasbro was launched when I was about 6, so everyone wanted them at that time. Golden era in the Uk where I was then was a year or so behind the states. Basically wwf peaked in 90-91 over there not 88-89.

Jakks hit in the attitude era and having moved to Australia we never got bend ems at all. This filled the void.

Mattel elite just made me want toys again after nearly a decade with not buying any. Since then they have captured my love of collecting and I buy way too much haha.

I’m by no means a completionist, never have been ….I decide which ones to buy from who I feel are essential to me personally & my collection, most Nwa, Wcw & legends from those promotions are on my radar ….That being said, needless to say, my collection isn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination

Hasbros - because I was a kid who loved action figure dolls (had been huge into He-Man, Ghostbusters and Turtles toys), and I’d just gotten big time into the WWF. A lot of the figures were annoyingly unplayable but represented the colourful characters well, and imagination goes a long way when playing with toys as a kid.

Galloob - didn’t exactly collect these much, but similar to above, just wasn’t into WCW as much. Thought the figures were kinda trash for playability and had mostly bland characters, but I liked their Ric Flair way more than the Hasbro version. Loved that their ring had a cage.

Jakks BCA - loved these so much as they were the first really playable licensed wrestlers i had, but hated how hard they were to get hold of here. Got Michaels and Undertaker from the Index catalogue shop, who for the next few years would get maybe 4-8 a year. And I got a Bret Hart figure at a live event. Badly wanted Goldust, Warrior, Razor, Diesel and Vader but never got them. I didn’t know of anywhere else selling them until I saw Stomp 2 at Toys R Us, and tons of the WrestleMania XV branded figures at an import store. Then they started popping up everywhere. And wrestling was real hot at the time. I remember getting Austin/Bossman and Rock/Mankind two packs on the same day. But by then, the line was already on the way to getting replaced by TTL.

Jakks minifigs with ring - these were also sold by Index. I loved how they were articulated, almost like mini versions of the BCA. Loved how in one box you got a ring and the start of (or a good boost to) a roster, and even accessories. Was genuinely excited every six months when the new Index book came out with a new set. I was disappointed that they got smaller after the first few sets, particularly by Kane being so tiny. But I still loved these. Lost interest in the later sets where there started to be a lot of rereleases.

Toybiz WCW - I wasn’t as big a fan of WCW, but watched it a lot as we had TNT but didn’t have Sky Sports. And they had way stronger characters in 1998 than they did in the Galoob days. Some supermarkets didn’t have WWF figures but had WCW Smash & Slam (this happened a few years later, too, with Toybiz TNA). Anyway, I loved the likenesses and black/white vs black/red variants on Sting and Scott Hall. Loved the accessories, especially how some figures came with a smaller figure like Rey Mysterio & the ref as an accessory.

Jakks TTL - hated the first few sets, with the terrible grotesque headsculpts and the repeated crap versions of the same guys in different t-shirts. They were just less fun and playable than BCAs, I thought. When they switched to the RealScan headsculpts, I was a lot more impressed. But I was more into drinking and going to clubs in my late teens, so didn’t bother much with them. Same with RA. Occasionally would get them if something stood out, like the European title set, but mostly just looked at them on shelves, and picked some stuff up years later on eBay.

Jakks Micro Aggression - when I first saw these in an Argos book. It was like seeing the old minifigs and ring again. I bought all of the playsets and almost all of the figures apart from some of the later series which I couldn’t find (the series with Kofi and Santino). These were really what got me back into collecting wrestling figures again.

Jakks BnB - these impressed me even more than the Micros. Good likenesses, great articulation, and I still think the perfect size for a wrestling figure. This got me back in in a major way. I think this was when I signed up on here and started following release dates and pre-ordering etc.

Jakks RA - never got into these much, didn’t like the body style and it bothered me how the heights were all stupid and almost everyone had a Chris Masters physique. After Micro and BNB got me on forums and back into collecting, I bought a few RAs, mostly just whims.or stuff on sale.

Jakks R3 - I remember seeing them when they first came out and thinking they were a huge improvement over TTL, but not getting them as I wasn’t collecting at the time. Then a few months later they’d been replaced by RA. In around 2008, an Argos clearance store near me was selling mystery boxes of Jakks figures from around 2000-2002 (basically the last of all the WWF branded lines). There was some great stuff in those boxes, including finishing moves, stunt action, and R3s. I also bought a ton of R3s from a member on here, including Draft figures, Hulk Still Rules boxset etc. I picked up a few more I wanted on eBay. I liked them way more than RA style. I wish Jakks had stuck with this style and invested more into it. I think it was the best style of wrestling figure until Mattel came along.

Mattel - they instantly just blew everything Jakks out of the water. I was looking forward to them for around a year and went out probably every day in December 2019 hoping to see them. I remember all the threads on here in the US finding them. I even bought a couple of Fkexforce figures because that was all Smyths had at first, but I returned them once they got the good stuff. I ended up getting my first Mattel haul from Wrestlingworld. Elite series 1 Undertaker, Mysterio, Edge and Punk. All the series 1 two packs. I was amazed, putting Undertaker next to Rey and the size difference was realistic. Just the best wrestling figures ever. Bought pretty much everything up to mid-late 2017, at which point I realised I was spending too much money on trying to keep up with everything and I wasn’t actually doing anything with them.

Mattel Rumblers - appealed to my love of small-scale figures, and the caricature look reminded me of Hasbros, especially Rumblers a rampage. And the range of playsets and vehicles etc was great. But the figures themselves weren’t very playable due to the action poses.

Mattel Retro - I bought the first series (minus Reigns and KO) when I was in Orlando for WrestleMania 33. My first time in the US, my first Mania, and I was still in collect everything mode at the time. Man, I bought so much stuff. Hall of Fame series 4, Hall of Fame two-packs, retros, a bunch of the Then Now Forever sets. Even the Mega Construx TMNT Technodrome. The Retros were an awesome idea but I wasn’t sure if they’d ever come to the UK. Then they did, without KO and Reigns. And by the time series 2 came out here, I’d decided to stop collecting and start selling. Fast forward to December 2019, when the line was dying. I don’t remember why, but I just decided to start collecting them. I think because I wanted something to open on Christmas morning, and there weren’t so many to keep up with, so I could maybe complete the line. I’ve now got everything from the original run except KO (both versions), Reigns, Flair, Balor and JYD. Missed out on the Creations pre-order. Not sure if I’ll ever complete.

Mattel MOTWWE/Superstars - I love these. As I mentioned earlier in this novel, I loved He-Man toys back in the day, so the mashup is perfect and they mostly work as wrestling figures without the armour. And the Superstars line is perfect. But I haven’t started collecting any of these and not sure if I will. The secondary market prices on them are ridiculous.

I don't really have a reason why I collect something, I just mostly buy the guys and girls I liked from the past and now. My biggest collections are Mattel(mostly Elites and UE),Jazwares AEW and Funko but I've got figures from Hasbro,Galoob(was more of a WCW fan then WWF),couple Jakks,Micro Brawlers and pre ordered couple of the Danhausen Zombie figs.

I only collect LJN and vintage 80s stuff.

My grandparents helped raise me and my parents had me too young so I was always over there after school and instead of daycare. Bonded over wrestling with my grandpa and was big into it during that time. They bought me most of my LJN figures.

After they died, I found about 30 of them in their house and then decided to go on a mass collecting spree because it reminded me of them and my happier days as a young kid with no cares or responsibilities. Now, when I look at my room and collection, it gives me joy thinking about them and my family when everyone was happy, alive and healthy