What a long strange trip it's been

[DVD]

I just gotta get this out there. Back when Xevoz first started, I got an Alpha Ranger in my Easter basket from my then g/f. I couldn't put the little guy down. He was the right size, obviously customizable, and had a ton of weapons. From Day 1 I was hooked. I collected them religiously up through Wave 3 and that was that. I kinda grew out of them(I was spending a *lot* of money on them) and concentrated on other things for a while. Since January of this year I've gotten married, bought a house, and bought a truck. I still collected Transformers and Marvel Legends, but those were a little easier on the budget since there weren't so many to collect. I mean, I've only got one Optimus from every line(Armada, Energon, now Cybertron) buy how the hell many Alpha Rangers do I have? Yikes!

So last week I see the new Sigma Six figures at TRU. I don't go toy hunting anymore because it taxes my sanity, wallet, and gas tank too much. My Transformers are purchased online, and I get my Marvel Legends through my comic shop. I do stop at TRU whenever I get the chance, just to see what's out there. So like I said, I see the new Sigma Six figures, and was in the mood for something new. So just like with my first Alpha Ranger, I took a chance and picked up Snake Eyes. I was a pretty heavy Joe collecter until 92-93ish, and as a child of the 80's, of course I knew the cartoon very well.

Boy, am I ever glad I picked up Snake Eyes. I opened him in the car while my wife drove because he looked so damn cool. Once he was freed of his plastic prison, he was even cooler. All those accesories! I thought for sure I'd lose some of them, but nope! The top and bottom of the package come together to form a weapons crate for the spare accessories! Amazing! The next day I went back for Duke, Storm Shadow, and Spirit. Heavy Duty was gone, and I didnt' see the Ninja Cycle either. I hope this line lasts a long, long time. It's not like there aren't enough characters to bring in.

So not only has Sigma Six brought me back into the Joe world, it's also brought me back into the Xevoz world again. It's good to be back.

[Jagermaster]

welcome back! ;D it's always nice to see a new toy line (or any toy line) regenerate the inner child within all of us. there was a time when i thought i had outgrown toys as well. a time where i felt like i was now considered to be a "man", and it was time to put away childish things. boy was i ever wrong. now i am more of a toy maniac than ever, i think i have purchased more toys in the last year than i had purchased in my childhood days. now that i have been returned to the world of toy collecting, i am not leaving again (for the foreseeable future anyways).

so may we raise our glasses and toast the child within all of us and those of us who refused to grow up. cheers.

[misterd]

Welcome back. I too have been out of the Joe game for many a year, and find it odd that it took Xevoz to bring me back.

As for growing up, I never stopped liking toys, and the only time I stopped buying them was when I was dead broke. In my formative years I thought there was something wrong with me; as my peers were putting their toys away, I was getting hooked on GIJoe and Transformers. Nowadays, ebay has pretty much enabled anyone with an itch to collect anything, so I think the "hobbiest" mentality is a bit more acceptable. Actually, some of my students (admittedly mostly the nerdy students) think its cool that I know about this stuff, and have Transformers in my office. I had to laugh inside when one of my new kids tried to explain Aeon Flux to me, and I had to point out I remember when the original short first aired on MTV.

[fatshadowmaster]

I think a lot of us go through that phase. I collected figures, whether it be Marvel, Spawn, G.I. Joe, any other figures I liked up until about my sophmore year in high school. It was about that time everyone in my family cracked down on me, and hard. I didn't get much of anything but video games and plastic model cars for the longest time. Money went to working on vehicles, dating girls, then college came. Still no figures of course. I did break down and buy an Ash from the Movie Maniacs line, love those movies. I still didn't buy any other figures though. I watched so many good ones roll through stores, I never stopped looking. Then I quit college and went through a really hard time in life. After all that, about 7-8 years, I picked up a Magneto from Marvel Legends. Went home and opened him up and my jaw dropped at the articulation. All my old Marvel figures had hardly anything, and this one could be posed great. Thats where it started. Marvel Legends, Spawn and McFarlane, just a few Bionicles, then I found the Xevoz. They have to be some of the best toys I've ever owned. I used to like putting together the model cars, but got sick of waiting for paint and glue to dry. Now I can put together my own action figures, and mix and match, use my imagination and creativity, Xevoz are great. That was about a year and a half ago. Now the first set is one away from complete and the army of spares is growing. My bedroom looks like a small toys store or collector's shop. Stuff on the walls and shelves put up. All in all, it is good to be back. I'll toast to the child in all of us.

[Filbey]

Here, here! To good times and good health! ;D