I started collecting in June 1995, after reading an article in Action Figure News & Toy Review (#32, "Deadliest [sic] of the Species"). My focus is on the female figures, though there are some guys in there, too, particularly if he's the only male in a line or if I like him for one reason or another. One of my most treasured figures is a custom a good friend made for me of Harry Dresden (from The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher).

Most of my collecting was done from '95 to around 2000, the year my daughter was diagnosed with autism. There was suddenly a lot more to worry about than the new line of figures due out this week... They sat, boxed up, mostly in a leaky garage for years, until we moved to our new house last year. This summer, I was finally able to take most of them out of the boxes, and out of their packaging for display.

I love my girls, and it makes me incredibly happy to see them out of the packages at last. I'm a little disappointed with the way action figures have shrunk in size and raised in price, and the only ones worth having it seems are the high-end collector versions (which are gorgeous, for the most part!). I want to focus on obtaining some of the old lines, Princess of Power and Golden Girls, and some of the ones I missed when I was actively collecting a dozen years ago.

I started collecting in June 1995, after reading an article in Action Figure News & Toy Review (#32, "Deadliest [sic] of the Species"). My focus is on the female figures, though there are some guys in there, too, particularly if he's the only male in a line or if I like him for one reason or another. One of my most treasured figures is a custom a good friend made for me of Harry Dresden (from The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher).

Most of my collecting was done from '95 to around 2000, the year my daughter was diagnosed with autism. There was suddenly a lot more to worry about than the new line of figures due out this week... They sat, boxed up, mostly in a leaky garage for years, until we moved to our new house last...