Remembering TOYPIXDAY

There was a period (started in 2006) where I had attempted to post a "toy pix a day" project on this blog (before I drowned myself daily in "toynews" lol), both for "content" and to share my love for toys, but more importantly to be able to unleash and make into reality my "creative" thoughts (or so I tell myself :p), at the very least via "pictures of toys".




Tons of folks take pictures of their collection and collectibles, from personal shelf-pix to presentation of their customs and creations, all of whom are valid and legit photographic archival purposes ... and for me, I like to create a background and premise for the toys I intend to take picture(s) of, with the aim to come up with a "frozen moment" in time and even mid-conversation, and that is satisfying to me, more than the total sum of the toys I own, which honestly were mostly of my Sunday flea market purchases and (deliberately) not the higher-end or priced collectibles, until I started delving into my 1/6th hobby for this blog, which were already shared in dedicated toy-forums even before the existence of the TOYSREVIL-blog in 2005 ... Anyone remember OneSixth Warriors and Men With Dolls-forums?. You might remember me as "onesixx", cheers.



Without a shred of doubt, this has to do with my "day-job", which honestly might not allow me to manifest exactly what I envision (party-and-parcel of the job-scope, I insist), but with "toys" and the world I choose to create in front of my camera? Featured here in this dedicated blogpost are images from about twenty-years ago, posted on TOYSREVIL one-per-day, in the beginning tho ...




For me personally, the act of arranging my toys & collectibles to take pictures of, is my way of "playing with toys" as a adult-male. Coupled with the simple fact that I do not have much of a "display space", so the act of removing the toys from their boxes, posing them for the camera-lens, creating temporary dioramic backgrounds, is the closest I'll ever get to "play", and an excuse to physically touch my toys in the first place LOL

Although "keeping them after the shoot" has always been a bummer tho, I will not lie, and I have on too numerous a occasions letting them crowd my tables for a more than decent amount of time before I return them to their original storage places :p




In recent weeks, I've had the privilege to engage with numerous local collectors (offline and online) and partake of their collection via toy-pictures, so that was envigorating ...and truthfully my annual "Top Toys" serial feature allows me to see other folks engage in "play" by taking pictures of their own toys, because honestly what else can we do now? Bash both of our action figures together - like when we did as kids - to pretend they are "fighting"? Don't forget the BISH-BISH-BISH sound-effects! Or for sure I could just simply talk to myself and film it...?



I've in the past talked about the times when we played with toys ... and now, I personally miss the days when I actually took the time to create the scene(s), to take pictures of my toys.

I do have a "standard" diorama I use (made by Tabun Lee from Thailand gifted to me from back in '08) and have longed to create more dios, but my excuse is the sheer lack of space to allow these builds ... perhaps my aim for 2026 is to actually make something and "return" to toypixday, but in a "toy-evolved" state? LOL

How do YOU play with your toys?

Cheers,
Andy TOYSREVIL



*Featured here are images from my first batch, which showcased more solitary vibes ... while my second batch feature more character combos and conflict.