Click on the picture to see this Collection!! Name: Mike Hill Location: Atlanta, Georgia

1- What is it that you collect?
My main focus is horror, but you name it. Mostly Mcfarlane, Puppet Master, Marvel Legends, Batman, Simpsons, Star Wars, Muppets, House of 1000 Corpses, Alien vs. Predator , Sideshow Toys, Living Dead Dolls, Hellraiser, etc. I’m not into anime or comics and hope it stays that way. However, I told myself I’d never get into Star Wars and right now I can’t stop buying up all the ROTS stuff.

2- What was it that brought you to collecting? And what is that keeps you going?
I collected superheroes (mainly Batman) and Star Wars action figures as a kid. As I grew older I lost interest and my Mom threw all my old toys out once I moved out of the house. At the time I could care less. I was in college and obviously had “other” things on my mind. Now I kick myself everyday for letting all those vintage figures go. About 4 years ago I watched Puppet Master for the 103 rd time and decided to buy a Blade figure off ebay. It snowballed from there. I got the bug I had as a kid.

3- When did you start collecting?
As a kid. But I only started collecting hardcore about 4 years ago. What you see in the pictures is 4 years worth of collecting. Scary.

4- Why (what you collect) example:Batman, Star Wars, Transformers, etc…? Today’s action figures are so detailed, you just can’t pass them up.

5- When did you start displaying them?
Well when I first started collecting I took EVERYTHING out of the box and would display them on shelves. Now I keep pretty much everything in the box and hang them on the walls. If I decide to take a figure out of the box, I’ll buy another and keep it MOC.

6- How do you get your inspiration to organize and display your collection?
Once I filled up one wall with carded figures, I couldn’t stop until all my walls were wallpapered.

7- Do you have a favorite character(s) you collect?
The various Blade figures from Full Moon Toys are still my favorite.

8- Which item in your collection would you say is your absolute favorite and why?
This is a tough question. I guess my Blade head movie prop from Puppet Master 2 would be my favorite.

9- Which item was the most difficult to obtain? And which one is your prized possession?
Again, my Blade head movie prop from Puppet Master 2 would be the most difficult to obtain and also my prized possession.

10- What is the oldest item you own? and the one with the most value?
AND again my Blade head movie prop from Puppet Master 2 is the oldest and the most valuable from my current collection.

11- What inspires you to purchase an item to add to your collection?
I am addicted to collecting action figures, next question.

12- Customizing figures and statues has become very big, have you ever purchased a custom figure or statue and have you ever tried making one?
No I haven’t.

13- What do you think of the custom Craze?
I wish I had the skills to make custom action figures. If I did, I’d make a figure that actually looks like Ash, Neo or Hicks (just to name a few).

14- Where do you make most of your purchases from? ebay seems to be a favorite with collectors these days, are you an ebayholic?
Naw, I buy my figures from my local comic shop, Spencers, Media Play, Tower Records, TRU, KB Toys, EB Games, Suncoast, Wal-Mart, and Target. I mostly sell items on ebay when I need some extra cash. I only buy exclusives I really want off ebay these days.

15- Is your collection insured?
Yes. Insured for $10,000.

16- What is missing from your collection that you hope to one day acquire?
Full Moon’s Cyber Puppet Master Figures. The Cyber Puppets were never produced but the prototypes Full Moon displayed at Toy Shows must be somewhere. If you don’t know what I’m talking about check out www.ween.net/puppetmaster. (Sorry, Shameless Plug)

17- What is the usual reaction when people see your collection?
It depends on how creative the person is. In my experience, creative people always seem very interested and will spend time looking at the detail of each figure. They’ll ask me questions and seem very overwhelmed. Other people who lack creativity will just look around for a second and tell me I’m a freak. But the usual reaction is “Holy Crap!! YOU ARE NUTS!!!”. Or “What is a grown man doing with all these DOLLS.” Heh.

18- Do you attend conventions for some of your purchases? could you tell us about that?
I’ve only attended dragon con here in Atlanta. But that was only to meet Sig Haig from House of 1000 Corpses. I’ll get convention exclusives off ebay. I recently purchased Neca’s comic con exclusive “no makeup” Captain Spaulding off ebay. I can’t wait for The Devil’s Reject figures.

19- Most collectors today go on what they call a toy run, do you participate in that as well? And what are your favorite spots? Do you have a routine?
I sure do. I have a toy hunt route here in Atlanta. Starts with my local comic shop (Oxford Comics), then I’ll hit the Media Plays, tower records, TRUs, KB Toys, EB Games, Targets, and wallmarts. I have fun going “hunting” even if I come up dry.

20- How do you decide what to take out of the package and what stays sealed?
Depends how cool the packaging is or how rare the item is. These days I keep almost everything MOC.

21- At what stage do you think your collection will be at 10 years from now, do you think you would have grown tired of it?
Hmmm, good question. Probably NOT. Back when I first started collecting, I would buy 2 sets of a series. One to hang on the wall and one to take out of the box. Now that I am running out of room FAST I just buy my favorites from a series and keep them MOC. For example I only got the Gunslinger Spawn from the recent art of spawn series. Back a couple years ago when a new Spawn series would come out, I would leave the store with 6 bags of figs in my hand. However this doesn’t always apply. I’ll be buying 2 sets of Mcfarlane’s upcoming Twisted Fairy Tales line. Sooner or later I’ll need to start hanging my figures on the ceiling or something.

22- What advice would you give someone who just started a collection?
Remember you are collecting ACTION FIGURES not DOLLS. And don’t let anyone tell you different!!!!!!!!!!!