RIP The Sandbox 2007-2021

[Solidus]

Love the new facelift on the forum. I was fairly inactive, but came back around last year to some old discussion threads once I started collecting some memorabilia again. This place is definitely a lot more peaceful compared to several years back and I'm glad that Dave didn't give up on it (seems like a lot went downhill when the custom section was closed). Needless to say, great job Asta, Snoop and the other mods for getting the spam under control.

 

[The Entity]

Things did get rough here at one time. A few years back (when I was still Kuat of Kuat) it got so depressing it was making a bad dog out of me as well.

I left with no intention to return, but the hobby is addictive regardless. So I came back after a few weeks as Asta, the good dog, with a more positive and considerate attitude in spite of the trolls.

It worked!

The place has been completely transformed, not only with the slick new XenForo platform (where things actually work!), but the negative elements have largely disappeared too. It's a much nicer place to be.

Angie the Admin has done wonders for the site!

I still remember the name Kuat of Kuat. Can't seem to remember you being a bad dog, but I haven't been active for a couple of years either. I checked in every now and then, but it would be short visits.

Have to say, I'm really enjoying this place again since coming back earlier this year. The extremely negative attitude and the cool-guys-cliques that we had back then are gone and the place is more relaxed.

@Heavy Metal Spike
What @Asta said. Plus, make sure to check out the green/grey skin for the site. Looks like old times!

Hell yes! I'm rockin' the classic theme as well! Nostalgia all the way!

 

[Asta]

I still remember the name Kuat of Kuat. Can't seem to remember you being a bad dog, but I haven't been active for a couple of years either. I checked in every now and then, but it would be short visits.

Have to say, I'm really enjoying this place again since coming back earlier this year. The extremely negative attitude and the cool-guys-cliques that we had back then are gone and the place is more relaxed.

Back then the forum was submerged with negativity, hostility, cliques and trolls. As time wore on I became more jaded, more angry, and more easily drawn into the arguments and negativity.

Yet, if you were into 1/6 then this was the place to be. I only managed to stay away for a few weeks. Creating Asta was like creating a shield, because Asta's happy face is a constant reminder that it isn't worth getting angry or worked up.

I was motivated to deal with situations more calmly and considerately, in spite of the prevailing mood. There are users here who have always managed to do that, and the more who do, the more the environment changes for the better.

An argument doesn't have to be an angry battle, but a considered discussion of points that may not at first appear valid. It's a lot more constructive. Sometimes it's not easy, but the effort is worth it.

The big "no no" is when arguments devolve into personal attacks. Argue the subject, not the person. However, sometimes the subject is the person and their behaviour. Even then you can make your point calmly and avoid needless name calling or insults.

There's a phrase that Darth Snoopy uses which I've always considered to be a good mantra:

"Play nice, Freaks."

 

[The Entity]

Back then the forum was submerged with negativity, hostility, cliques and trolls. As time wore on I became more jaded, more angry, and more easily drawn into the arguments and negativity.

Yet, if you were into 1/6 then this was the place to be. I only managed to stay away for a few weeks. Creating Asta was like creating a shield, because Asta's happy face is a constant reminder that it isn't worth getting angry or worked up.

I was motivated to deal with situations more calmly and considerately, in spite of the prevailing mood. There are users here who have always managed to do that, and the more who do, the more the environment changes for the better.

An argument doesn't have to be an angry battle, but a considered discussion of points that may not at first appear valid. It's a lot more constructive. Sometimes it's not easy, but the effort is worth it.

The big "no no" is when arguments devolve into personal attacks. Argue the subject, not the person. However, sometimes the subject is the person and their behaviour. Even then you can make your point calmly and avoid needless name calling or insults.

There's a phrase that Darth Snoopy uses which I've always considered to be a good mantra:

"Play nice, Freaks."

Definitely the place to be if you're into 1/6th scale. I found this place not long after buying my first Hot Toys figure. The Bank Robber Joker from The Dark Knight.

In this forum I found a place to discuss, wish for, and anticipate figures, while talking to likeminded people who also enjoy the same hobby. In the real world I don't really have people to talk to about Hot Toys figures in the way I can do on here. People think they're fun little toys and don't really get that for me they are something more. They are physical representations of characters that I love. And when they hear about the money this hobby costs, they treat me like I'm crazy and irresponsible.

But for me it's different, I don't spend much money on things like going out or anything, never did drugs and never smoked. I make sure that I'm able to pay for all the necessary things like food, mortgage, utilies and everything before setting some money aside for Hot Toys figures. And even when I do, I keep very good track of it using an Excel sheet, so I know how much money I need to have for my pre-orders, I know how much I actually have set aside and I keep a buffer so that in case of emergency I can use that for other things. And that's all in a digital piggybank so to speak, seperate from my other savings, so I think I'm pretty responsible.

Anyway, before I ramble on too long and keep meandering, I just meant to say that I'm glad that this forum has calmed down a bit and is a fun place again to spend time with some good folks.

 

[greygoose]

Anyway, before I ramble on too long and keep meandering, I just meant to say that I'm glad that this forum has calmed down a bit and is a fun place again to spend time with some good folks.

There's a few good members dotted around the Internet. Would be good to get them all back but I don't think they have any intentions too.

 

[Asta]

Definitely the place to be if you're into 1/6th scale. I found this place not long after buying my first Hot Toys figure. The Bank Robber Joker from The Dark Knight.

I was thinking for me it was around the time of the DX01 Joker, which was my first HT, but I must've been lurking here for a long time as I was collecting Sideshow's Star Wars figures (the Boushh era).

In this forum I found a place to discuss, wish for, and anticipate figures, while talking to likeminded people who also enjoy the same hobby. In the real world I don't really have people to talk to about Hot Toys figures in the way I can do on here. People think they're fun little toys and don't really get that for me they are something more. They are physical representations of characters that I love. And when they hear about the money this hobby costs, they treat me like I'm crazy and irresponsible.

Same here. Except I don't tell anyone how much they cost.

An aunt saw my collection once, and her comment was, "Don't they give you nightmares?"

That comment comes to mind every now and then. Are they actually creepy?

My mum collected antique dolls at one time, and I found them intensely creepy. All those eyes staring at you!

Thankfully mum arrived at the same conclusion at some point, and began collecting teddy bears instead - Steiff and other makes. The bears are cute and full of character, and much more friendly than the dolls were. Mum has gone now, but I kept all her bears.

So, every now and then I look at my 1/6 figures and ask myself: are they creepy?

No. I can't see them that way. As you wrote, they're "physical representations" of things we like. It's a way of possessing, or 'making real', the visual experience of a film or a book.

But for me it's different, I don't spend much money on things like going out or anything, never did drugs and never smoked. I make sure that I'm able to pay for all the necessary things like food, mortgage, utilies and everything before setting some money aside for Hot Toys figures. And even when I do, I keep very good track of it using an Excel sheet, so I know how much money I need to have for my pre-orders, I know how much I actually have set aside and I keep a buffer so that in case of emergency I can use that for other things. And that's all in a digital piggybank so to speak, seperate from my other savings, so I think I'm pretty responsible.

Same here too. Never smoked, detest the whole idea of drugs, and never got the taste or desire for alcohol either.

All my life I've preferred my own company too, and doing things I want to do without being compelled by friends to do something else. I guess I've always been selfish, and self-contained. Even as a child my head was so full of thoughts and imagined worlds that I never felt lonely. I had friends, but eventually grew tired of them.

I've always been inherently unsociable, and generally avoid situations that others crave, preferring the freedom of being alone, but never feeling lonely. My head is still full of imagined worlds, and my shelves are 1/6 physical representations of them.

A forum like this is a great middle ground between being anti-social and social. You can observe a conversation, or get involved in it. You can pick the conversations you're interested in, and effortlessly avoid the ones you aren't. Not like being stopped in the street by an acquaintance, or buttonholed by someone you don't know at a party and can't get away from. lol

As a child these thoughts found a focus the first time I saw the film, Omega Man. I became fascinated by a largely empty world. My parents used to have a market stall selling antiques and collectables and, during holidays or on weekends, I would help them. Setting up was done in the early morning hours, and I would often walk into the city. With the silence and the empty streets it could've been post-apocalyptic.

I still love films and series set in depopulated, apocalyptic environments, with characters exploring lonely places, not knowing if something's about to jump out at them.

My 1/6 'survivor' characters have gradually ported over to the world of The Last of Us. But that's just one tiny part of my collection.


As for whether 1/6 figures are creepy or not, I'll be putting it to the test soon with one of my strangest pre-orders: Trick or Treat Studios' Art the Clown.

He'll be by far the creepiest, sickest and most disturbing character I'll own. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I get him.

The Entity:
Anyway, before I ramble on too long and keep meandering, I just meant to say that I'm glad that this forum has calmed down a bit
and is a fun place again to spend time with some good folks.

 

[greygoose]

I've always been inherently unsociable, and generally avoid situations that others crave, preferring the freedom of being alone, but never feeling lonely. My head is still full of imagined worlds, and my shelves are 1/6 physical representations of them.

A forum like this is a great middle ground between being anti-social and social. You can observe a conversation, or get involved in it. You can pick the conversations you're interested in, and effortlessly avoid the ones you aren't. Not like being stopped in the street by an acquaintance, or buttonholed by someone you don't know at a party and can't get away from. lol

I think this represents many of us. This place (and a few others) as you say, are the perfect middle ground. The goose allows me to be 'sociable' but allows me to keep a solid wall around myself.

 

[Asta]

I think this represents many of us. This place (and a few others) as you say, are the perfect middle ground. The goose allows me to be 'sociable' but allows me to keep a solid wall around myself.

Well put.

Back in the 1980s the sociologist, Jean Baudrillard, imagined a future where many individuals would be isolated as if in their own little boxes, and with little human contact.

It was hard to grasp the reality of that concept at the time, but I can see it now. We're still largely connected through the internet, but we do so from our own protective bubbles.

We still shop, but a lot of shopping is done impersonally online, and items are delivered to the door by a stranger (or an acquaintance if you order a lot and meet the same drivers or postmen again and again). We communicate through written messages, with the ability to delay responding in order to compose our thoughts and the manner in which we're going to express them.

When I venture outside I'm still in the bubble. I'll talk to any stranger in the street if there's a cause to, or if the situation is conducive to talking, but I'm always guarded or detached. It's often talk just for the sake of politeness or to glean information.

However, a forum such as this, that caters to my collecting and pop culture interests, and populated by like-minded individuals is a completely different matter.

 

[greygoose]

However, a forum such as this, that caters to my collecting and pop culture interests, and populated by like-minded individuals is a completely different matter.

Would be an interesting experiment to put us all in a room together.

 

[Asta]

Would be an interesting experiment to put us all in a room together.

Depends who's running the experiment...

 

[greygoose]

Depends who's running the experiment...

View attachment 542329

 

[Asta]

I had a look a quick look at this series today, and don't know what to make of it yet.

 

[The Entity]

I was thinking for me it was around the time of the DX01 Joker, which was my first HT, but I must've been lurking here for a long time as I was collecting Sideshow's Star Wars figures (the Boushh era).




Same here. Except I don't tell anyone how much they cost.

An aunt saw my collection once, and her comment was, "Don't they give you nightmares?"

That comment comes to mind every now and then. Are they actually creepy?

My mum collected antique dolls at one time, and I found them intensely creepy. All those eyes staring at you!

Thankfully mum arrived at the same conclusion at some point, and began collecting teddy bears instead - Steiff and other makes. The bears are cute and full of character, and much more friendly than the dolls were. Mum has gone now, but I kept all her bears.

So, every now and then I look at my 1/6 figures and ask myself: are they creepy?

No. I can't see them that way. As you wrote, they're "physical representations" of things we like. It's a way of possessing, or 'making real', the visual experience of a film or a book.

Your story reminds me of my aunt. Whenever she used to see my toys when I was younger and my collection now she would call them monsters, creatures, critters, beings and whatnot. She didn't mean it in a bad way or anything, to her they were just that. And of course when you look at them without knowing about them I can definitely see a Predator, Red Skull or Darth Maul be called a monster.

Unfortunately my aunt passed away last year, but it comes to mind every now and then, yes. She wasn't wrong.

However, they never gave me nightmares or anything. I've been fascinated with creature designs and moviemonsters as long as I can remember.

Same here too. Never smoked, detest the whole idea of drugs, and never got the taste or desire for alcohol either.

All my life I've preferred my own company too, and doing things I want to do without being compelled by friends to do something else. I guess I've always been selfish, and self-contained. Even as a child my head was so full of thoughts and imagined worlds that I never felt lonely. I had friends, but eventually grew tired of them.

I've always been inherently unsociable, and generally avoid situations that others crave, preferring the freedom of being alone, but never feeling lonely. My head is still full of imagined worlds, and my shelves are 1/6 physical representations of them.

A forum like this is a great middle ground between being anti-social and social. You can observe a conversation, or get involved in it. You can pick the conversations you're interested in, and effortlessly avoid the ones you aren't. Not like being stopped in the street by an acquaintance, or buttonholed by someone you don't know at a party and can't get away from. lol

As a child these thoughts found a focus the first time I saw the film, Omega Man. I became fascinated by a largely empty world. My parents used to have a market stall selling antiques and collectables and, during holidays or on weekends, I would help them. Setting up was done in the early morning hours, and I would often walk into the city. With the silence and the empty streets it could've been post-apocalyptic.

I still love films and series set in depopulated, apocalyptic environments, with characters exploring lonely places, not knowing if something's about to jump out at them.

My 1/6 'survivor' characters have gradually ported over to the world of The Last of Us. But that's just one tiny part of my collection.


As for whether 1/6 figures are creepy or not, I'll be putting it to the test soon with one of my strangest pre-orders: Trick or Treat Studios' Art the Clown.

He'll be by far the creepiest, sickest and most disturbing character I'll own. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel when I get him.

I think this represents many of us. This place (and a few others) as you say, are the perfect middle ground. The goose allows me to be 'sociable' but allows me to keep a solid wall around myself.

Well put.
Back in the 1980s the sociologist, Jean Baudrillard, imagined a future many individuals would be isolated as if in their own little boxes, and with little human contact.

It was hard to grasp the reality of that concept at the time, but I can see it now. We're still largely connected through the internet, but we do so from our own protective bubbles.

We still shop, but a lot of shopping is done impersonally online, and items are delivered to the door by a stranger (or an acquaintance if you order a lot and meet the same drivers or postmen again and again). We communicate through written messages, with the ability to delay responding in order to compose our thoughts and the manner in which we're going to express them.

When I venture outside I'm still in the bubble. I'll talk to any stranger in the street if there's a cause to, or if the situation is conducive to talking, but I'm always guarded or detached. It's often talk just for the sake of politeness or to glean information.

However, a forum such as this, that caters to my collecting and pop culture interests, and populated by like-minded individuals is a completely different matter.

I think so too. When I look around me at people who are more extrovert and outgoing, they put less value in something like a collection. They are more about experiences and being out with people and not being home, while I (and I imagine a lot of people here) are more introvert and love being home and enjoying my collection and other hobbies.

I go out now and then, but I always find it difficult to make conversation about random silly stuff. If I don't have much in common with someone, it's really hard for me to start and keep up a conversation.

Also I can be really distrusting of unknown people and don't feel comfortable telling a lot about myself.

Would be an interesting experiment to put us all in a room together.

I had a look a quick look at this series today, and don't know what to make of it yet.

I hear about it on the news and everywhere pretty much daily for 2 weeks now. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm giving it a go soon.

 

[greygoose]

I had a look a quick look at this series today, and don't know what to make of it yet.

It's brilliant! Can't recommend it enough.

 

[greygoose]

@The Entity
I hear ya buddy. I have a hard time socialising even around family and friends and at work. Sometimes I'm completely fine whereas other times I'm a closed book and feel and act awkward.

I've learnt to accept who I am as I've got older. People know what I'm like which makes it easier I guess.

 

[Asta]

Your story reminds me of my aunt. Whenever she used to see my toys when I was younger and my collection now she would call them monsters, creatures, critters, beings and whatnot. She didn't mean it in a bad way or anything, to her they were just that. And of course when you look at them without knowing about them I can definitely see a Predator, Red Skull or Darth Maul be called a monster.

Unfortunately my aunt passed away last year, but it comes to mind every now and then, yes. She wasn't wrong.

However, they never gave me nightmares or anything. I've been fascinated with creature designs and moviemonsters as long as I can remember.

My dad's the same.

When I started to become obsessed with 1/6 I was mainly collecting WWII figures made by Dragon (DML). Dad was fine with them because he loves history too.

Then I discovered Sideshow's Star Wars range, and he said he didn't like those "weird figures" and preferred the "real ones".

He has zero interest in the hobby, and very little in science fiction, fantasy or horror. He does love westerns, but still never took any interest in any of those figures when I showed them to him.

It'll be interesting when Kaustic Plastic's True Grit John Wayne arrives, as that's a genre and era of movies we both like.


As for nightmares, I've steered clear of zombie figures as I didn't think I'd like seeing them on display. The nearest comparison is probably Sideshow's Freddy Krueger, but luckily he doesn't give me nightmares!

Art the Clown is going to be the real test.

I think so too. When I look around me at people who are more extrovert and outgoing, they put less value in something like a collection. They are more about experiences and being out with people and not being home, while I (and I imagine a lot of people here) are more introvert and love being home and enjoying my collection and other hobbies.

I go out now and then, but I always find it difficult to make conversation about random silly stuff. If I don't have much in common with someone, it's really hard for me to start and keep up a conversation.

Also I can be really distrusting of unknown people and don't feel comfortable telling a lot about myself.

At one time we would be classed as boring... or odd. So forums like this help to inform us that we aren't an odd minority in society. We are legion!

I used to work at a place where the majority of my colleagues were just obsessed with making it to the weekend so they could go out and get drunk. To me that was a shallow and depressing idea of existence.

Personally I've been more attracted to material things, rather than immaterial, transient experiences. On the way home from school I'd rather spend my pocket money on a comic than sweets. You could keep the comic forever, but the sweets would be gone and forgotten in no time.

I'd rather spend a fortune on 1/6 than spend it on a holiday. Plus I can't be bothered with the fuss of travelling. I do my travelling watching movies and series instead!

 

[Asta]

It's brilliant! Can't recommend it enough.

I'll have to give a proper go, but it's one of those things that, for whatever reason, I'm not feeling drawn to.

It's the same with Dune. One day I'll be in the right frame of mind.

@The Entity
I hear ya buddy. I have a hard time socialising even around family and friends and at work. Sometimes I'm completely fine whereas other times I'm a closed book and feel and act awkward.

I've learnt to accept who I am as I've got older. People know what I'm like which makes it easier I guess.

The outcome of today's group therapy session is that we're all perfectly normal, and it's everyone else who's strange.

 

[greygoose]

The outcome of today's group therapy session is that we're all perfectly normal, and it's everyone else who's strange.

Indeed...

 

[The Entity]

The outcome of today's group therapy session is that we're all perfectly normal, and it's everyone else who's strange.

 

[greygoose]

@Asta
Should rename the thread 'Freaks Therapy' or something... Everyone welcome.