Happy to report that my Batman Collection photo got published in Discovery Channel Magazine :)

Benefits and privileges of blogging :)

Some weeks ago, someone from Discovery Channel magazine contacted me and asked me for a high resolution photograph of my Batman collection which she had seen on my toy blog that I had taken some years back. She said she wanted to publish it in the Discovery Channel magazine. So it was quite a nice surprise to receive the magazine in the mailbox today with the picture of my Batman collection in it as part of an article titled "Toy Story". I've scanned the pages in their entirety and have posted the pictures / pages here in my toy blog for those of us who can't get hold of the magazine. It does make for quite an interesting read and I think most of us will enjoy it :) Click on the pictures for a bigger and better view, especially if you want to read the text.

Some of the text:
CAUTION: ADULTS AT PLAY - As borders blur between young and old, more grown-ups now find that the pleasures of youth aren't necessarily just for the young anymore (written by Eric Talmadge of Discovery Channel magazine). Scroll down to read more.

Youth, they say, is wasted on the young. Who hasn't looked back on their younger days and wished they could somehow experience once again the pleasures of play. The sheer enjoyment of winning a game, no matter how silly or pointless the game might be. The thrill of having a box full of TOYS, or a collection of marbles, and the joy of sharing and comparing these prized possessions with their friends. Whatever happened to these simple pleasures? Could we ever feel that way again?

Time to grow up? Not so fast! Researchers are finding that one answer to the eternal question of how to stay happy longer lies in rediscovering the very things we took the most joy in as children. Forget about the Peter Pan Syndrome, these researchers say. As such, for millions of people throughout the world, toys and games are just what the doctor ordered.

Amazing Parent-child Cosplay

Old Hobbies, New Joys + Robots and Ray Guns

274 Transformers Toys (101 Autobots, 81 Decepticons and 92 licensed products) sold for USD $1 million, or nearly US$3,650 per toy!

And here's why my humble Batman collection got featured :)
Rise of the Fans: Collector Alex Teo, alias Toy Haven, tells DCM he has turned his Singapore home into a mini toy museum, with his collection proudly displayed throughout the house.

To give you an idea of the size of Alex Teo's collection, the selection of Batman collectibles pictured comprises less than five percent (5%) of the items he has displayed in his home.

Attendees dressed as Hourman, Atom and Flash during the 40th Annual San Diego Comic Con in 2009

The article goes on to say that "Toys, games and nerdy collections are officially okay, and no longer just for kids. The time has come for you to get your vinyl, comics and Wii on."

Yuji Ueda, who produced a 2013 documentary "Tokyo Toy Guy" visited six cities to feature some of the world's top Batman memorabilia collectors says it best:"At some point, every kid in the world has played with a toy. What really counts is merely experiencing the joy of a toy. It's the natural, childlike pleasure you get from something."

Recently I came across this definition someone shared on Facebook on the two kinds of model kit and figure collectors (based on attitude):

The Happy and Passionate Collectors who really enjoy the hobby. They enjoy buying the stuff because of the happiness it brings to own them. Often times they are eager to share their knowledge and experiences to co-collectors who are most likely walking down the same path. Seeing other collectors finally getting the stuff they were looking for makes them happy. They are sincere and very open-minded individuals who love to share a laugh :)

Then there are the Competitive and Too Proud collectors who think collecting is a contest. They love to look down on others who cannot afford the hobby, as if they are not on their level. They do not really love the hobby, but they only love the attention the hobby gives them. They cannot take criticism lightly and talking with them might end up in an argument especially if the topic is against their beliefs. Sharing is mainly bragging rights for them. They would not even share info or tips to help collectors. If you meet them personally, they don't usually have a friendly aura. They love to make jokes at the expense of others.

Sadly I've come across both kinds. Some of the latter (ugly collectors) seem to be the new generation Hot Toys collectors who only buy Hot Toys, think highly of themselves and their Hot Toys collection and have no interests in any other collection of toys, unless it's Hot Toys! They give a bad name to toy collectors because they don't seem to enjoy the toy. They are just out to show off that they have the means (money) to buy the toy and multiples of the same Hot Toy if it's an exclusive and they will flaunt it in your face so that they can brag about how many very limited edition Hot Toys figure they have! They do not even open the box to appreciate the toy. It stays sealed the day they got it because they want it MISB (Mint In Sealed Box)! It's different from carded and clam shell figures because for those, you can still see the figure inside the packaging. One cannot see a Hot Toys figure in its sealed box unless one opens the box to examine and appreciate the figure and its intricate details. Where's the joy? I pity them.

Happy collecting guys and gals :) Don't give in to the dark side of toy collecting.

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A gift from a dear friend – Bronze (metal) United States Navy Mark V Diving Helmet (heavy metal)

Blogging has its privileges :) Since I started my Toy Haven blog, I have made many friends along the way which is a bonus I never expected. Companies too have sent me toys and figures so that I can review them on my toy blog. Plus there's the added income from advertisements which have funded my collection as well so that I don't have to pay for everything. I really feel that I've been very blessed indeed ;p

One of the friends I've come to know through blogging is Marc. He first emailed me way back in September 2009 because we both happen to collect Action Man although he's a true vintage Action Man collector - hats off to him :). The friendship just grew from there although in truth, I never met him until yesterday. Marc and family paid a visit to my Toy Haven (some say "Toy Heaven") and we had a fantastic time sharing stories and I learnt quite a lot from this great yet humble man. Not only that, Marc packed lots of makan for us (yes! he cooks some mean peranakan dishes too) and also brought me a gift - this Bronze (metal) U.S. Navy Mark V Diving Helmet which is a beauty! I say, he should come by more often haha

Diving helmets are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface supplied diving, though many models can be adapted for use with scuba equipment. The helmet seals the whole of the diver's head from the water, allows the diver to see clearly underwater, provides the diver with breathing gas, protects the diver's head when doing heavy or dangerous work, and usually provides voice communications with the surface (and possibly other divers). (source: wiki)

If a helmeted diver becomes unconscious but is still breathing, the helmet will remain in place and continue to deliver breathing gas until the diver can be rescued. In contrast, the scuba regulator typically used by recreational divers must be held in the mouth, otherwise it can fall out of an unconscious diver's mouth and result in drowning (this does not apply to a full face mask which also continues to serve air if the diver is unconscious).

Historically, deep sea diving helmets (copper hats) ranged from the no bolt to two bolt to four bolt helmets; helmets with six, eight, or 12 bolts; and Two-Three, Twelve-Four, and Twelve-Six bolt helmets. Bolts being the method of securing the helmet to the diving suit.

A standard diving dress consists of a metallic (copper and brass or bronze) diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and weighted boots. An important part of the equipment is the lead weights, generally on the chest, back and shoes, to counteract the buoyancy of the helmet and diving suit. Weighted boots may use brass, iron or lead for soles. The uppers are often made of oiled leather or canvas.

The type of diving equipment is also known as hard-hat equipment or a "John Brown" rig, so-called after the British company that built many of the helmets. In the United States, it is sometimes known as a "Diver Dan" outfit, from the television show of the same name. It was commonly used for underwater civil engineering, commercial diving and naval diving.

One of the best known diving helmets in the world is the U.S. Navy Mark V. The helmet had a top view port to provide the diver with an upward view. The front view port, called the faceplate, was hinged. Like this, no tender could incidently drop a faceplate overboard ! On the commercial helmets they tested, the exhaust was at the rear of the helmet. This was a good spot: air bubbles would not block the divers' view.

The Mark V was used by the U.S. Navy from 1916 till 1984, when the fiber glass Mark XII that was introduced in 1979, finally took over permanently. The only visible difference between the MkV helmets made prior to 1918 and those made after is the exhaust handle. The eight point exhaust handle is found on hats produced during or prior to 1918. It was changed to a four point handle on divers' requests. It allowed the diver to more easily adjust the valve and determine its setting. (source: divingheritage.com/markvkern.htm)

The front viewport is called faceplate. It is the only one that can be opened. This way the diver can speak to the tender without removing the bonnet. The faceplate on the Mark V is hinged, which is quite unique for diving helmets. Practically all other helmets have a "screw in" faceplate. A wingnut on a pivoting stud extending from the bonnet is rounded and tapered on the "seating" end and fits precisely into the receiving cup of the two pronged fork on the faceplate. To prevent the wingnut from unscrewing completely a small circular "keeper" is swaged onto the end of the stud.

The inscription reads "U.S. Navy Diving Helmet Mark V Boston Mass No. Date"

And here's the bronze copper brass diving helmet taking pride of place in my display :)

It belongs right there with all my other collection in my "Under the Sea" theme. You can check out my earlier toy blog post HERE to see the entire display. Also gives you an idea of the size and scale

Click on the picture for a bigger and better view :)

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Humble Beginnings - We all have to start somewhere :) and this is my early start

Dug up some old photographs I took of my collection back in 1996 when I just started collecting toys ;p It was a bit of this and a bit of that and a mix of everything without much of a focus on what I really wanted. That has changed since I decided to focus on 1/6 scale figures. Back then, 12-inch figures were almost non-existent and the only ones available were the vintage G.I. Joe and Action Man figures from the 1960s to 1970s and early 1980s so there really wasn't much in terms of choices or genres. Most were military based and that's how I got started. Obviously a lot of things have changed since then and now there's a specific collectibles market targeting only adult collectors with the purchasing power to buy all the high-end stuff. I'm glad to have witnessed and seen how the 1/6 scale 12-inch figure market has grown from a almost non-existent point to where it is today, an art form much appreciated by a ever growing, ever expanding pool of collectors :)

Batman has always been my first love and it was "Batman, The Animated Series" that got me hooked to toys. I loved the series with its "Dark Deco" visual style based on the artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm. The funny thing is, I only noticed all these after my first son was born and I became a father. We watched cartoons together and "Batman: The Animated Series" caught my eye. So when I brought him to Toys R Us and saw the animated Batman toys on the racks, it was love at first sight haha. I liked how the toys stayed very true to the visual style seen in the animated series. So began the journey of discovering new things and the passion for toys was sparked. Check out my very first toy blog post HERE about Batman :)

As I began to discover more about toys and how vintage toys were still available out there in the world (internet wasn't really happening yet!), I came across the 1/6 scale world of Action Man 12-inch figures. So began the love for military figures. These figures and uniform sets were designed for boys to play with, mind you, and they were rather detailed and accurate even then. With the improvements in technology, some of the 1/6 scale figures and accessories are now of museum standard and can pass off as highly accurate historical pieces in terms of the quality and accuracy.

Movie-related merchandise were extremely scarce and the bigger players were companies like Medicom Toys and Takara from Japan but they offered mostly Japanese heroes although some American film icons did get their attention as well. I guess that's where Hot Toys saw the need in the market for highly accurate and ultra detailed movie based collectible figures. They haven't looked back since and now the market has exploded beyond their wildest dreams.

Most collectors I know would have collected Star Wars merchandise in one way or another. After all, Star Wars played a huge part in revolutionizing the toys market with their 3-3/4" action figure line in 1976. The widespread success of Kenner's Star Wars 3-3/4" toy line made the newer, smaller size the industry standard. Instead of a single 12-inch tall character with 1/6 scale outfits that changed for different applications, toy lines included teams of characters with special functions. Led by Star Wars-themed sales, collectible action figures quickly became a multi-million dollar secondary business for movie studios.

I think Star Wars has the largest and most varied range of toys than any other line. So many companies have produced and released so many different versions and types of Star Wars vehicles, Star Wars characters (villains and heroes alike) that it boggles the mind. Some have come and gone (Applause, Galoob etc) while others have withstood the text of time. Kenner had the initial license but was bought over by Hasbro and the company has been constantly churning out a never ending line of Star Wars stuff.

This was my first Star Wars Millennium Falcon from back then (1996). How could I not own a piece of Star Wars history that is the Millennium Falcon, the ship that belonged to Captain Han Solo and which brought him and his crew all over the Star Wars universe. Check out my coverage of all the other Star Wars ships / vehicles which I would later buy including the ultimate Hasbro's Star Wars Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon HERE :)

Check this out - the Millennium Falcon chasing after Buzz Lightyear

Toy Story the 1995 American computer-animated family buddy comedy film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter came out at the same time as I got into toy collecting so no surprise for guessing that I would collect Toy Story action figures and toys. Electronic Buzz Lightyear was all the rage back then and every kid wanted one for Christmas!

Those were the days of no internet and no digital cameras. So you took pictures of what you want and couldn't see the results until after the film had been developed. The internet has certainly changed the world we live in and made it even smaller with its connectivity.

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Over 10,000,000 (Ten Million) Pageviews and Counting - A BIG Thank You to Everyone :)

When I posted my first toy blog entry in TOY HAVEN back on July 18, 2007 (see my very first post HERE), I never imagined that there will come a day when I'll get over 10,000,000 pageviews but that day has come and sooner than I thought possible. In a short span of over five years from then till now (Blogger Stats has it from May 2008 - December 2012), there have been so many pageviews and visitors to my toy blog that has seen TOY HAVEN grow in visitor numbers year by year and I have everyone to thank for that :) If you are reading this, then you are one of the contributing factors and I thank you. I count myself very blessed for having met so many fellow collectors and like-minded people over the years and a lot of you have been with me for a very long time, going by the comments and emails I have received and I thank you all for that :)

It will never beat South Korean Psy's Gangnam Style video which has already amassed 1 billion hits but hey, I'm doing my small part for the toy community in general and the 1/6 scale collectors' market in particular. Nowadays when I need to look for stuff on my toy blog, I find it a lot easier and faster to google it as it usually appears on the first page of the searched list. There have been occasions where other bloggers and scumbag thieves have taken my entire posts including my pictures and reposted them as their own but that has not reduced the visitor numbers at all. I look forward to all your continued support as I continue my passion of blogging about the subject of toys and the things I enjoy in my free time. JESUS comes first (because of Him, I've been incredibly blessed) and family is second but toys are a very close third haha

Toys are a hobby and not the all and be all. I collect what I LIKE and ENJOY what I have :) I always remind myself to just be HAPPY with what I've got. I don't live life with regrets (e.g. why didn't I buy that version? why did I buy the earlier version and now a new version / re-release is out? why why why) Why can't one ever be satisfied? As long as we are always chasing after something, we'll never be satisfied because there'll always be something else to chase after. Life's like that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The hobby used to be a lot cheaper and more affordable. The truth is: I'd much prefer a good figure at a decent price than a great figure at USD250. I can buy at least two figures for that price and still have change left over for accessories / uniform sets / parts. Just enjoy the hobby and have FUN. I always do `(^o ^)'

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Under the Sea and all that jazz - 1/6th scale divers, sharks and other creatures in the ocean

Was cleaning up the display cabinet the other day and decided to take some pictures as I put things back in place :) This particular display cabinet has the "Under the Sea" theme as this is where I put everything that I have that is water-based / ocean-based i.e. anything to do with the sea.

Sharks! I've always been fascinated with sharks and NOT because of shark's fin soup. In shark fin soup, the fins themselves are virtually tasteless. The taste comes from the soup, while the fins are valued for their texture. The delicacy was coveted by emperors because it was rare, delicious, and required elaborate preparation. Holding both culinary and symbolic significance, the dish is popular at important occasions such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals. I am all for taking shark fin soup off the menu entirely as well as the ban of shark finning because it is a very cruel thing to do when fishermen cut off the sharks' fins and then throw the often still-living sharks back into the sea to make room for more of the valuable fins. In the ocean, the sharks either die from suffocation or are eaten because they are unable to move normally. So when we stop eating the fins, demand will drop and that will force fisherman to stop shark finning.

The term "shark" has also been used for extinct members of the suborder Elasmobranchii outside the Selachimorpha, such as Cladoselache and Xenacanthus. Under this broader definition, the earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago. [source: wiki]


I got this Illuminated Shark Model with dissectible body cavity from the National Geographic shop in VivoCity. I have always liked cut-away cross-sectional view models and this great white shark toy model just fits the bill nicely. Plus it is about 1/6th scale and that suits me just fine :) You can view more picture of this 1/6th scale shark toy in my "Shark Attack" post HERE

Another 1/6th scale great white shark toy that I own is this Dr X's great white shark from the Hasbro Action Man Deep Sea Mission set which I got in 2001. Action Man Aquanaut in his dive cage is just next to the sharks. You can view MORE pictures HERE :)

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

Also part of the Underwater theme is Sideshow Collectibles Deluxe 1/6th scale Sean Connery James Bond 12-inch figure from the movie "Thunderball". Bond shows off his brawny legs in his diving outfit and is equipped with Q's aquatic propulsion dive rig, dive mask, dive knife, fins and spear gun. Check out my post "Look Up! Look Down! Look Out!" for more pictures ;p

And this is the Action Man Crocodile Mission set (lots more pictures HERE). The crocodile disguise has a convenient missile launcher hidden in the powerful jaws, operated by pressing a button on its head, and the fully articulated Action Man is detachable, giving many more opportunities for creative play.

In the film "Octopussy (1993)", Roger Moore as James Bond infiltrated Octopussy's island in a miniature motorboat disguised as a crocodile.

Also found under the sea - clownfish, regal tang (Kaiyodo Revoltech Pixar Figure Collection 001 Nemo & Dory figures - seen HERE) and crabs (Playmobil 4804 Giant Crab posted HERE)

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

There are also Rays (see pictures of the Playmobil 4801 Stingray / Manta Ray HERE)

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

Medicom Toys Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with fake Gavial head disguise to decrease chances of being detected in water. Figure and Croc head reviewed HERE

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

Dolphins, the only other mammals besides Whales to live under water :)

1/6th scale Deep Sea divers representing the people who have to stay underwater for extended lengths of time and even work on the sea bed for salvage and recovery. One of the first 1/6th scale figures I got when I started this hobby in 1994 - Action Man Deep Sea Diver with real lead weights on his belt and shoes so that he remains submerged when placed in water (posted HERE). Then there was the Hasro released G.I. Joe "Timeless Collection - Deep Sea Diver: Danger of the Depths" in 1999 to commemorate 35 years of GI Joe. Hasbro produced die-cast parts instead of plastic pieces for the Diver's helmet and chest plate, weight belt, foot weights and hammer (pictures HERE). For me, the ultimate 1/6th scale Deep Sea Diver has to be the Hot Toys produced 1/6th scale Dark Copperhead-18 12-inch figure which came with copper dive helmet and lots of metal die-cast parts (MORE pics HERE).

Of course one cannot miss out on the scuba divers as well. Action Man 1/6th scale 12-inch SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Aparatus) Diver or Frogman as we used to call them, came with hood, diving mask, snorkel, regulator, SCUBA diving suit, buoyancy compensator, compressed-air cylinder (oxygen tank), wet suit, diving fins, speargun and magnetic explosives. MORE pics HERE :)

Action Team Sea Wolf - what a toy :) toy companies knew how to make things FUN then. Nowadays, it's all pretty much the same boring stuff repeated over and over again. See the AT Sea Wolf submarine / one-man submersible in action HERE

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

And here's a shot / picture of the "Undersea" display in its entirety. Click on the picture to get a bigger and better view.

click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :)

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