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The Evolution of Fun - Part II
By: kstrom22
A continuation of the epic saga that was my life as a toy enthusiast.
Lego Maniac!
Yes, Lego became my go-to toy of 2000-2001.**
Why did I leave Star Wars? The biggest reason was that, after I had spent all my money on every toy, and played out every conceivable scenario, I grew bored with Star Wars as the toy lines slowed down after the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999. Episode 2 was two years away and I needed a new outlet for my creative stories.
When Star Wars Episode 2 came out it brought with it a new series of figures, sets, and vehicles.
My friend Sean from down the street had gotten into Star Wars at about this time, and he and I partook in trades and made stories together with our figures. He owned the Republic Gunship, and I owned the Geonosian Battle Arena.
Other figures sold separately
The stories I had created picked up where they had left off: Jack and Lyn were still scouring the galaxy for criminal scum and bringing them to justice. They were joined by new allies, and faced new enemies as I bought new figures from the Episode 2 line.
I was beginning to notice something about the new figures, they were more "realistic," more posable, with jointed knees, elbows, and even feet and wrists in some cases. The faces were more realistic, the expressions were more human and less stoic, as I had seen on the Power of the Force lines.
I didn't like them.
I know many complain about the 90's SW toys for being too "bulked up" and having silly faces that didn't fit the characters.
I liked these figures, despite their flaws. My only reason probably being that they were the ones I had first, and thus won out by pure nostalgia factor. Not the best way to judge things, but this is a nostalgia site so it'll suffice.
I avoided buying new figures, at least the ones with heavy joint-articulation, and returned to the comic shop to buy original figures from the 70's and 80's, as well as any Power of the Force/Shadows of the Emperor line figures (which were rapidly becoming "vintage") I had not already owned, or that I had lost in the interim.
From Floor to Film
Unlike what had occurred in 2000, the conclusion of the Episode 2 series of figures did not signal the end of my Star Wars love. My allowance and frequent trips to the comic shop meant I had a steady flow of "new" figures. I also obtained a valuable piece of technology in December 2002...
With a video camera, the "stories" could become movies! I was the director, actor, cinematographer, composer (hummer), editor, and producer. Most of my stuff was unscripted, and the scenarios would be made up as I went along. I could preserve for eternity my catalog of stories.
I filled up hours of tape with various action figure shenanigans. Sometimes the films would be completed, other times I'd leave and never return to finish them. Some are taped over and lost forever, others I put on DVD.
Twilight of the Action Figures
In May, 2005 Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was released. I was 14 and leaving the 8th Grade, not too many of my friends were still playing with action figures, and I felt myself gravitating away from them as well. I didn't buy many figures from the Episode 3 line of toys; I instead began turning my attention to writing, leaving the camera and the figures behind, but keeping the stories and the characters.
Only in my stories could the Millennium Falcon be overrun by The deadly Xenomorph!
Lego Maniac!
Yes, Lego became my go-to toy of 2000-2001.**
Why did I leave Star Wars? The biggest reason was that, after I had spent all my money on every toy, and played out every conceivable scenario, I grew bored with Star Wars as the toy lines slowed down after the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999. Episode 2 was two years away and I needed a new outlet for my creative stories.
Lego characters and pieces are open to even more customization than Star Wars' action figures. You
can make literally every scenario come to life, and build castles, caverns,
tree forts, ships, treasure hoards, with a simple selection of bricks.
There were several new sets out at that time, including the Johnny Thunder series.
Intrepid Adventurers: Johnny Thunder and his supporting cast.
Having been a fan of treasure hunt and adventure movies for my entire life, I gravitated towards these sets. With skeletons, mummies, evil barons, diamonds, rubies, and secret rooms, my imagination went wild once again. They reminded me of Indiana Jones in many ways, one of my all time favorites.
Had I been born a few years later, I could have enjoyed an authentic Indiana Jones Lego series (which was released when I was in college.) Alas, Johnny Thunder had to do.
I had plenty of fun with the sets, combining the Medieval sets and Pirate sets with Johnny Thunder and the “Adventurers” sets. There seemed to be no end to what I could do, beheadings were made especially easy.
You can't change heads on an action figure like you can on a Lego piece.
I had many adventures with the sets, filling an entire toy chest with Lego pieces. I would pour them out and sort through them, figuring out what I would build that day, and what stories would arise from the assembled bricks.
Painful as it could be, I would crawl on my hands and knees around my Lego bricks and pieces like a rat scrounging for food.
However, the same listless feeling returned as I ran out of money and ideas for the sets I did have.
Lego sets have always been expensive, and their knock-off competitors, though cheaper, had a dullness to them that couldn't match the purity of the authentic Lego brand. Like I had done with my Star Wars and Lost World figures, I began losing vital pieces, guns, jewels, key bricks and heads that would have gone well in my stories. This only added to my disinterest in Lego as a whole
By the time I entered 6th Grade the stories I had made with my Lego sets were history, the trunk was slid into a corner of my room and an older trunk was reopened...
**Note: I neglected to note this in my first article, but concurrent with my Batman phase I was in a Duplo phase (Duplo blocks being the larger version of Lego bricks.) I made towers, mazes, and forts with these Duplo blocks, and Batman smashed them all! The Duplo blocks were all given away to my younger cousin in the late 90's.
The Renaissance
There were several new sets out at that time, including the Johnny Thunder series.
Intrepid Adventurers: Johnny Thunder and his supporting cast.
Having been a fan of treasure hunt and adventure movies for my entire life, I gravitated towards these sets. With skeletons, mummies, evil barons, diamonds, rubies, and secret rooms, my imagination went wild once again. They reminded me of Indiana Jones in many ways, one of my all time favorites.
Had I been born a few years later, I could have enjoyed an authentic Indiana Jones Lego series (which was released when I was in college.) Alas, Johnny Thunder had to do.
I had plenty of fun with the sets, combining the Medieval sets and Pirate sets with Johnny Thunder and the “Adventurers” sets. There seemed to be no end to what I could do, beheadings were made especially easy.
You can't change heads on an action figure like you can on a Lego piece.
I had many adventures with the sets, filling an entire toy chest with Lego pieces. I would pour them out and sort through them, figuring out what I would build that day, and what stories would arise from the assembled bricks.
Painful as it could be, I would crawl on my hands and knees around my Lego bricks and pieces like a rat scrounging for food.
However, the same listless feeling returned as I ran out of money and ideas for the sets I did have.
Lego sets have always been expensive, and their knock-off competitors, though cheaper, had a dullness to them that couldn't match the purity of the authentic Lego brand. Like I had done with my Star Wars and Lost World figures, I began losing vital pieces, guns, jewels, key bricks and heads that would have gone well in my stories. This only added to my disinterest in Lego as a whole
By the time I entered 6th Grade the stories I had made with my Lego sets were history, the trunk was slid into a corner of my room and an older trunk was reopened...
**Note: I neglected to note this in my first article, but concurrent with my Batman phase I was in a Duplo phase (Duplo blocks being the larger version of Lego bricks.) I made towers, mazes, and forts with these Duplo blocks, and Batman smashed them all! The Duplo blocks were all given away to my younger cousin in the late 90's.
The Renaissance
When Star Wars Episode 2 came out it brought with it a new series of figures, sets, and vehicles.
My friend Sean from down the street had gotten into Star Wars at about this time, and he and I partook in trades and made stories together with our figures. He owned the Republic Gunship, and I owned the Geonosian Battle Arena.
Other figures sold separately
The stories I had created picked up where they had left off: Jack and Lyn were still scouring the galaxy for criminal scum and bringing them to justice. They were joined by new allies, and faced new enemies as I bought new figures from the Episode 2 line.
I was beginning to notice something about the new figures, they were more "realistic," more posable, with jointed knees, elbows, and even feet and wrists in some cases. The faces were more realistic, the expressions were more human and less stoic, as I had seen on the Power of the Force lines.
I didn't like them.
I know many complain about the 90's SW toys for being too "bulked up" and having silly faces that didn't fit the characters.
Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and Mr. Olympia contestant.
I liked these figures, despite their flaws. My only reason probably being that they were the ones I had first, and thus won out by pure nostalgia factor. Not the best way to judge things, but this is a nostalgia site so it'll suffice.
I avoided buying new figures, at least the ones with heavy joint-articulation, and returned to the comic shop to buy original figures from the 70's and 80's, as well as any Power of the Force/Shadows of the Emperor line figures (which were rapidly becoming "vintage") I had not already owned, or that I had lost in the interim.
From Floor to Film
Unlike what had occurred in 2000, the conclusion of the Episode 2 series of figures did not signal the end of my Star Wars love. My allowance and frequent trips to the comic shop meant I had a steady flow of "new" figures. I also obtained a valuable piece of technology in December 2002...
With a video camera, the "stories" could become movies! I was the director, actor, cinematographer, composer (hummer), editor, and producer. Most of my stuff was unscripted, and the scenarios would be made up as I went along. I could preserve for eternity my catalog of stories.
I filled up hours of tape with various action figure shenanigans. Sometimes the films would be completed, other times I'd leave and never return to finish them. Some are taped over and lost forever, others I put on DVD.
Twilight of the Action Figures
In May, 2005 Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith was released. I was 14 and leaving the 8th Grade, not too many of my friends were still playing with action figures, and I felt myself gravitating away from them as well. I didn't buy many figures from the Episode 3 line of toys; I instead began turning my attention to writing, leaving the camera and the figures behind, but keeping the stories and the characters.
Only in my stories could the Millennium Falcon be overrun by The deadly Xenomorph!
In June 2005 I went on a week long vacation with some kids from my 8th grade class. I didn't bring any action figures with me. When I returned home I sat down to play with them...and found zero inspiration. I could not come up with a single new story, and everything seemed too "kiddie" or "lame." I packed up every figure, vehicle, play set, and accessory, brought them to the comic shop, and sold them all for 200 dollars.
It could have been $400 in store credit...
There ends the story, not with a bang but with a buck.
It could have been $400 in store credit...
There ends the story, not with a bang but with a buck.
Every once in a while I will go on Amazon or Ebay and see all the different Star Wars figures that exist. I had thought I owned so many, but realize now I owned but a fraction of the ones from the 1990's. I have a whole wishlist of figures I once owned, plus ones that look cool and I wish I had owned as a child. As I look at the figures, little sparks of my old imagination pop in and out, leading me to entertain the idea that I may buy them again, open them up and make more movies (with the same camera, of course.) Then I realize I need to buy groceries, the spark fades, and the idea passes.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for reading.
Vaporman87 Posted on May 31, 2014 at 05:20 PM
I enjoyed reading about your time with toys. It reminded me quite a bit of the my own times spent playing, as I commented in Part 1.
Then introducing a video camera into the mix reminded EVEN MORE of my own home movies, some using toys, some just me and family/friends. It's a really cool feeling to see the things you're imagining in your head come to life on screen, especially as a kid. Though, I was never satisfied with the end product like I thought I would be.
So, instead of recollecting all your old toys and shooting new movies, do like I did. Buy an inexpensive video editing program, take your OLD movies, and "enhance" them to fit what you would have liked them to be when you originally filmed them.
Check out the Home Movies category of the Video page here, and look for "Lost Few". That movie was filmed by me and friends in 1989 or 1990, somewhere around there. Then many, many years later, I reworked it to be what I wanted it to be. It was cool.
Just an idea. ;)
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