Toys, at te end of the day are meant to be played with. Kids aren't collectors and don't consider the future, or even the past - they just enjoy the now. Thats why it always amazes me when stuff turns up in mint condition, almost half a century after it hit the shelves. But then, when pristine models and toys do appear, are we doing them a disservice by not opening the packet and taking the rocket for a whoosh around the room ?
Well back to reality and here are my three first SWORD toys, the Task Force. These have been put to the task and played with, luckily, some curatorial gene kicked in at the same time and although they suffered a few hard landings, I managed to at least attempt the odd repair, or at least keep most of the bits. TF1 lost one of the wheels down a knothole at school within days of purchase and all three have been thrown into cupboards and boxes over the years as my tastes wavered and evolved.Until the advent the Project SWORD checklist and more recently, this blog, I assumed that all the toys in this group came in red with grey undersides, or in the case of the TF2, in orange.
In fact, untill I met Woodsy, I had never seen other toys like these. Every kid had a thunderbird, but nobody had SWORD.
So here are the sad remains of my Task Force, ready for restoration...
Wotan,
ReplyDeleteI'm also into toy trains and many have been the discussions about whether to 'buy and display' or 'buy and play' amongst collectors. I'm of the general mindset to 'buy and play'. However, that being said, it seems to me to that overall it's better to buy used items and stay away from mint, at least for older toys & trains. That way the old, mint items can remain unused. Usually there are plenty of toys available in gentle used condition to play with. Newer product is fair game for anything though.
I'll second Ed on that. My trains are used down to downright rough. But it's the fun we get from these old toys that counts, irrespective of condition. The mint ones I keep as is too, with the exception of when I started my Matt Mason collection where I opened every second accessory card I got (the cards weren't in that great shape to begin with). Restoring things is extremely satisfying, so good luck Wote, and make a good job of it!
ReplyDeleteBest -- Paul
Staying in the 'now'...living IN the moment is a tough balance to strike in adulthood. Irony is, the best memories come from those moments free of memory.
ReplyDeleteLike Ed & Paul, I like to play & display the toys that have seen action already. A local celebrity collector of toy soldiers here in Edmonton, prefers 'played with toys' to mint.
The shards of Narsil! You must be the King Wotan for you bear the broken sword, that which smote the killing blow upon Sauron on the black fields of Mordor three thousand years ago! Re-forge the shards and let SWORD live again!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Sauron and Mordor, with the upcoming release of the Hobbit, I've realized I still have TON of LOTR stuff to blog. I've already done all of Play Along Toys 'Soldiers and Scenes' and 'Warriors and Battle Beasts' figures but then stopped.
ReplyDelete