How do you build an army of action figures? Who is the customer and why buy so many of the same toy?

Scott ToyGuru Neitlich dives into the segment of toy collectors who "army build". Is this for adults only or also for kids? What is the best way to sell army builders, at retail or online? This buying segment addressed and reviewed (as well as a brief history of army building toys as well!)

[@robertwishin2868]

I overcompensate with army building now as an adult. I begged for a second stormtrooper as a kid and my mother refused. I felt so bad that the lonely guy had to face off against Luke, Han, Chewie, Obi Wan and Leia at the same time. My Stormtrooper was amazing, He dodged, hid behind walls, was a crack shot, nothing like in the movies. He was so relived when a snow trooper finally showed up to help out. That dude was overworked and deserved a medal in the Imperial forces.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Now that is one fine Trooper

[@__xander_]

bro single handedly fought against the plot

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

I feel every bit of this comment. I used to have to tell my parents why I wanted a repeat and they would always say it was a waste of money, and now I buy way too many just because it’s so fun to do lol. What a funny world

[@geechie-don7157]

Since my inner child spearheads my adult collecting, I don’t army build. The army is the team of one-offs assembled over time. Great info.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you liked! Please do share with others, it helps a ton

[@blackdragon5274]

Same here! If I need more than one for a pic, I just make it a composite photo. Having more than one feels greedy.

[@darkwoods1954]

As a child it never crossed my mind to army build even though I enjoy it now. As a kid it felt a lot bigger deal getting a toy so I wanted a different one every time, not the same character again be it a variant or army build character. Even now I like my army builders to have a slight variation to them. Different faces or maybe one with a scratch on their armor etc.

[@spectorcreative1872]

All part of growing up and being British.

[@Transforming_Skyscraper]

I was in 3rd grade when I was first exposed to army building. A kid came to school with his GI Joe collection and he had sooo many Cobra troops, I was blown away. I wasn't able to start army building until my adult life. Even then, it is very limited to a couple of squads. They look good in photos but nowadays there are too many great figures to buy just one of the same thing.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It is an acquired taste

[@knightwolfpro4494]

I think over all you're right about the child's mentality when it comes to army building, but I think there is in part with parents not wanting to purchase multiple of the same figure for their child. When I was a kid, if my mom knew I already had a figure and it wasn't broken, she would not purchase it another time. I think that sort of decision making rubs off on kids. 'm sure it's a little different today since now you have more adults willing to get their kids those multiples, but it still got into the collective so to speak. I think if using the Star Wars example, if they put out the two pack of Storm Troopers before the single carded ones, you'd get more kids purchasing that, then maybe start building the army builder mentality in them that way.

[@RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy]

Three or five pack and market them as Alpha Squad down to Zeta Squad

[@spectorcreative1872]

This is the way

[@tonlito22]

Put out a three pack with a trooper, a robot, and minor character. Then another one with like a flame thrower trooper, sniper robot, and a leader robot. Then a third pack with an injured trooper, and a doctor, and scary robot or alien. That might break parental behavior *and* juice kids to be interested. Because you're effectively selling a story right away with the box contents, and then with each different box the story can evolve.

[@RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy]

@@tonlito22 I have characters that can be toyed out exactly that way. Who does the manufacturing?

[@tonlito22]

@@RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy I whish I knew. I'm a consumer, not a member of the industry.

[@jimmypark3224]

Lego has been very successful with their SW "battle packs" which are army builder sets with both kids and adults. Hell, now I've got over 50,000 Lego minifigs.

[@spectorcreative1872]

True. Lego is a "construction toy" so they get around some license issues that way

[@tjmb]

When I was a kid I wanted very much to army build my Stormtroopers and Cobra armies. I wanted that for play. I wasn’t able to do it because it was my parents buying the toys and limiting the budget. I believe that more kids want to army build than toy companies think they do, and that one main reason adults army build is that they can finally do it because they are funding the collecting themselves.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You hit the nail on the head!

[@CoraBuhlert]

That's the main point, I think. Kids only have limited funds for toys and parents won't usually buy multiple versions of the same figure, especially since many parents don't really know the content and don't know that a certain figure represents a random soldier and that there should be more than one. And even as an adult, I tend to buy a new character I don't yet have before I buy multiples of an army builder. That said, I do wish the MOTU Origins palace guards were a two-pack like the Classics version. Ditto for the Horde Trooper, which keeps selling out, because people are buying them to army-build.

[@danieljeyn9847]

The ingenious of Hasbro with Transformers: wait, just paint that same jet toy in three different colors and give them different names. They got me.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wait, those Jets were different characters? I thought Starscream had different outfits for crime fighting like Batman

[@StormX6]

I come to this channel a lot out of curiousity as a toy collector. I kinda see it as a cool college course about the toy business industry and you as that cool professor who has answers to any questions students have. Keep up the great work brah!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thrilled you are enjoying, just what I am going for. Feel free to please share any videos with others, it helps the channel a ton

[@iampoch01]

100% agree. Army building is fit for dioramas, not for playing. When I was a kid, my joes would mow down waves of cobra vipers (even though I only have one) via the fantastic powers of imagination. Kids need no more than one of the figures for visual representation. Now that I've grown up (relatively speaking), army building is almost mandatory because they look good on the shelf.

[@spectorcreative1872]

They sure do! No shelf is complete without them

[@jaanikaapa6925]

Miniature games. :) I never had a Man-at-Arms. Would have loved to have him and also the castle guard. Mom never saw the point.

[@spectorcreative1872]

He could have been a one man army

[@jaanikaapa6925]

@@spectorcreative1872 Totally. Though having a proper army could have been nice. Same with Horde Troopers. :)

[@alphatrionx4784]

I feel your missing something here. From my experience as a "poor-ish" British kid in the 90s, it wasn't always children buying the figures, it was their parents or other family members, usually as presents, so a lot of the time the child didn't get a choice, and if they did the parents were the ones discouraging them from getting multiple of the same figure, because "they will want them and any new main character figures as well" and since the "army fodder" characters were always the same price as the other figures, this wasn't something most parents (especially those with a limited income) were prepared to buy multiple of. When I was a kid I got all of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers (the ones that had the head switch gimmick) but never got any of the monsters or zords, I would have been happy if they made a play-doh mould so you could make a few Puttys with it (maybe one for each Ranger), at least then I would have a group to fight against, I mean what kid didn't have Play-doh? It's not always because kids don't play that way, sometimes it's down to how much they cost and how much parents are willing to spend.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A great point! I may need to do a follow up!

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

I only ever had 3 of the head switching power rangers as a kid, and I was only able to get those because a family friend who worked at a hardware store ordered a case so she could get the figures (which were impossible to find here) for her son. Always was bummed out I never got the complete set.

[@exoticcarfactsofficialchan7050]

Another great video topic 😎👍 Squad and Army building is a guilty pleasure of mine, but only among very inexpensive figure lines and smaller scales. In 1/6 scale figures like Hot Toys, building a Stormtrooper army or a Clone army for example, becomes cost/space prohibitive in short order. Also, I think that the concept of "Marginal Utility" begins to factor in: "In economics, utility is the satisfaction or benefit derived by consuming a product; thus the marginal utility of a good or service is the change in the utility from an increase in the consumption of that good or service." Diminishing Marginal Utility states that with all else being equal; as consumption increases the marginal utility (i.e. satisfaction) derived from each additional unit declines. Again, great topic for discussion 😎👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Those are great points. Thanks for the well thought out comment

[@johnjay3069]

I sure did army build as a kid... Battle droids from episode one , when they were on clearance... Stocked up. The potf same thing .. storm troopers and clone wars I tried to get one of every type first, then I would go for whatever troop came with a speeder bike or multipack.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Awesome! And glad you could. My parents wouldn't let me

[@qwertystania]

What I think it comes down to is that kids only have two hands. Kids play with action figures in a visceral and imaginative way. They don't set them up in rows or stage scenes; they hold them in their hands and play out scenes, bash them together, etc. While they may swap between various figures while they play, they only tend to play with a couple at a time. That means that one or two "generic" soldiers can stand in for an entire army as far as the child's imagination is concerned.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wait, you know kids with TWO hands!

[@lanzotv]

You are killing it with these videos! Please keep’em coming... I recently started army building. Back in my childhood days, my brother and I wanted to collect all the characters shown on the packaging. We hated multiples! Plus that would eat our budget for new characters... As a 41 year old kid and as toy photography becomes more mainstream, yes I can see the reason to army build. Like you said the satisfaction of having it all.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you like the videos! Please do feel free to share them on social media with friends. It helps the channel a ton!

[@zackgb]

Cool videos, Scott! Neat to hear the insight into everything and the creative process/big picture!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you enjoy! Please share with others if you can, it helps the channel a ton!

[@mikecrowe9888]

Awesome video as usual. Thanks Scott

[@haljordan777]

When I was a kid, I owned more than 1 stormtrooper. But only 2. (And both were bought for me. I found them standing under a tree one morning.)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Lucky you!

[@shoestringscifi]

Excellent video! As a kid, I had (and still have) two "regular" Stormtrooper action figures and two Hoth Stormtrooper figures...and I found (and still have) a third Hoth Stormtrooper in the front yard of my grandparents' house. I don't remember buying any of these figures -- most were probably gifts from Santa -- but I remember liking that I had multiples. To this day, my interest in actively army-building action figures is small...but it is kind of fun to see photos of action figure armies.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You were a lucky kid!

[@tokutexascosplay5066]

Another great video explanation. I was one of those average kids that played with different figures and didn't army build. Even now as an adult I mostly collect one of each (Star Wars, Marvel Legends, Ultraman, kaiju, robots, etc.)

[@spectorcreative1872]

It definitely takes a specific type of collector.

[@WStallion]

When I bought GI Joes as a kid, the concept of army building never occurred to me. Back then, I wouldve rather had 1 each of the various -Viper figures than say 5 Techno-Vipers. It wasnt until I was older when I realized I had more GI Joes than Cobras and saw other people's collections that I got into army building.

[@spectorcreative1872]

A nice brand to build an army for!

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

Almost every Cobra figure was a potential army builder though, so if kids did that, battles would be extremely lopsided in favor of the bad guys.

[@mlseries2553]

This was really interesting! Thank you for doing this.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You are most welcome! Feel free to share with others on social media. It helps the channel a ton!

[@lukegraham1204]

It makes sense. Kids play and adults display. Great video.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you liked. No go buy a hundred of the same figure!

[@whozyourdaddy]

As a kid, I wanted a cobra army to man all of my vehicles and play sets. As an adult, I lost count at around 3,000 figures four years ago. The secret is patience and consistency. Don't get in a rush to own it all, hunt for deals constantly, never sell army builders, and never give up. I've basically collected GIJoe for over forty years. Still get excited whenever I get a new one.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes, GI Joe did set the standard for army building possiblities

[@No1.OriginalTrilogyStarWarsFan]

Great video as always mate. Started army building after watching Toy Polloi. As a kid picked up 2 vintage Stormtroopers from a table top sale. My mum was like what have you bought 2 for? My comment, there are loads in the film.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you are enjoying the channel! Any suggestions for topics are always welcome too

[@andrewgrant2990]

Amazing how the idea you presented was in front of me all along & I'm just now seeing it. Perhaps that's why as a child on some levels I didn't want what I thought of as repaints even in the Transformers line. I had Thundercracker & didn't need/ want Starscream. Great video sir!

[@spectorcreative1872]

It all makes sense when you put it on KZbin

[@jimdubois8734]

Love the videos and insight

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad to hear you do! I'll keep em coming if you keep watching

[@richardromanyshyn608]

As a kid I wanted to army build. There was never multi packs. Allowance or if I talked my parents into buying something, it was 1 thing. Wish list being 10 feet long, as a kid the wisest choice would be a different toy. Parents usually are going to try to not get duplicates or if they do by accident its not the army building characters. As a kid and my son is the same way, he is more interested in completing a collection of 1 of each before army building which is just as cool but down the line in priority. Kids don't usually get to have a large area or room just for dioramas either. I remember my cousins getting the 8ft GI Joe aircraft carrier. Took up a whole room and wasn't there the next time I visited. Wish I could have gotten that

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah parents tended to be the gatekeepers on toys

[@PaulGaither]

Well, this is probably for the better. Children will leave those soldiers on pegs while the 80/20 rule applied to adult collectors means us adults are more likely to find those extra troopers on pegs to build our armies.

[@spectorcreative1872]

As long as kids play with toys I am good

[@PaulGaither]

@@spectorcreative1872 - Agreed, and how great is it for kids that they have collectors quality toys to choose from (ask for) in their toy aisle, as opposed to pegs/shelves filled with G1 Ironhide and Ratchet? I miss the 90's Power of the Force toys, and late 80's GI Joes, but kids mostly have much better things to play with thanks to people such as you.

[@totallymetalactiondaddy5115]

Great video. Mostly spot on. As a kid, I made a few exceptions and got 2 of each of the ones I really liked, and those 2 represented the entire army. Stormtroopers and Snowtroopers from Star Wars, Cobra troopers and Cobra Officers from GI Joe. Though I would have had multiple Hiss tanks if possible.

[@futuramayeah]

for playing with action figures, we would mix all the different kinds of figures and make teams out of them, to face a separate team of villain figures from different lines, so we didn't need a group of similar figures to be the army, the varied figures did that job

[@spectorcreative1872]

Sometimes all it takes is a varied figure

[@youtubeis...]

I played with army men as a kid like that and I used slingshot as artillery and BB gun as bullets and Lighter fluid flamethrower. So much fun

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes, kids love flamethrowers

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

i proudly started army building in my adult collecting years and the 1 i have managed to have more than 2 of is Toxic Crusaders Radiation Ranger’s. I proudly have 4. In my MOTU origins I have two Horde troopers and 2 Snake horde troopers.

[@WiiMan25]

My parents would not have let me army build as a kid, so I never really became interested in it. Sure, they bought me a lot of toys, but if they knew I had a figure of one character already, the chances of them getting me another one were slim, unless it was like, in a totally different scale, or a completely upgraded version of a character. I guess the closest thing is that I've grown to be a sucker for grunt soldier toys in general? (Stormtroopers, Cobra Vipers, etc) I'd buy Clone Troopers as a kid, but I'd get a different one each time. I also remember when playing G.I. Joes I'd use a nameless Cobra Ninja Viper but I'd project my own original personality/characterization on him.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And now that we are adult collectors we can buy what we want!

[@futuramayeah]

even though we got the Snow trooper and the biker scout, for all of them including the first stormtrooper, we never got more than one , so the first stormtrooper must be the rarest figure then to collectors

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well it was reissued every year for each movie, so it did not disappear form toy shelves

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

From what I've heard from several in the SW collecting community, the basic Stormtrooper was one of the most produced figures, but they do command a fair amount on the collector's market due to army building.

[@TheGamesNexus]

I had multiple reasons for not building armies out of my SW or MOTU toys. 1) Price - these things are expensive, and I had to ration my resources. 2) Storage capacity - these things are big, and I had limited storage 3) Appendages - I had only two hands, so I could hold up to two figures at once. I might have been able to use two Stormtroopers, but I'm pretty sure that one was enough for me when two could have been needed. As most of the action was imagined, and not acted out properly, if Stormtroopers stormed the playing area, I only needed one to represent the active one, and I could just imagine the rest of the squad in the background. I also played with army building games, but most of those games were played with faceless characters. A very small amount of my toy soldiers had any personality in my mind, and in games of SW and MOTU, I had a pretty good understanding of the characters. I'm not sure how does this relate to not using them in army building games, but it's also a difference for me.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh sure, blame your hands... ;-)

[@dvdatkinson811]

As a kid one of the best Star Wars toys I had was the Stormtrooper disguise Luke. 80% of the time he accompanied the other Stormtrooper I had, to have more goons for Han to beat up. Then take the helmet off and you have a whole new story line were Luke goes deep undercover. I think that toy turned me into the army bulider I am today.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh those helmet toys in the 80's were the best. I loved Boushh and the Endor figures too

[@bonebreakingaction6815]

As a kid never thought about army building but it would have been fun for play to have a few footsoldiers or several storm troopers for my battles

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah just doesn't hit us as kids

[@russellharrell2747]

When I was a kid I did sorta army build but it was because my dad would get me multiple stormtroopers, snow troopers and biker scouts. And at the same time he also got me pretty much all the unique figures as well. My ‘army’ never got larger than 4 of each trooper type, but it did include multiple Jawas, Luke as rebel pilot, cloud car pilot, multiple Chewies at generic Wookiee, etc. as an adult I just haven’t been into buying multiple copies of figures unless you count Lego battle droids/clones/troopers since I can still buy different sets that just happen to include the same or similar figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah usually one needs to wait to be an adult to truly army build

[@charvolth]

I did want to army build as a kid, but it was more about money. I wanted to do it mainly with Masters and even Transformers with the Sharkticons. but with limited funds, variety was deemed a higher priority.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah money clearly had a huge part of this and access to it. With parents usually being the gatekeepers

[@matthewpahnke2613]

I had two PotF2 Stormtroopers and with Luke and Han in stormtrooper disguise I had four. My dad didn't mind getting me a second of army builders but he drew the line on Luke in X-Wing Gear which I wanted a second to use as a gunner in my snowspeeder. I made a custom Dak for my kids to use with the Snowspeeder and gave them four of each Stormtrooper type and two each of other Army Builders. PotF2 is cheap enough to do that with for kids. I love that line.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is awesome!

[@synthalus]

This is an interesting topic. I can only assume for the majority of children due to limited funds, children think twice before buying multiples in favor of more variety. My own experience as a child is that I was daydreaming over the G.I.Joe catalogs which had the pictures of an army of Cobra Troops page after page. It looked epic! It's just that I was never able to find another at the stores to buy multiples of. The same thing happened for the TMNT Foot Soldiers. I remember I offered a trade/buy with my nephew for his broken foot soldier just to get more troop builders but unfortunately he didn't want to. Still, with the way I played, I would have been content with just a couple of the troop builders probably around 2 to 3 of them at max before it would seem like I would want more unique characters to accompany the toyline. Large scale army building of about 5+ of the same figure is something most kids probably don't really want. As an adult collector I amassed 60 of the 25th Cobra Trooper and large amounts of the other troops because it looks great on display. It would however seem very cumbersome to play with an army of that size.

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

I think that it's also a mistake to leave out the role parents play in the process. Left entirely to their own devices, more kids might army build to some extent, but there are a lot of parents who weren't/aren't going to allow kids to buy multiples of a figure they already have.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, funds absolutely has a lot to do with it. And parents being the gatekeepers of news as well. Very cool thoughts!

[@pixelforge4858]

i feel bad for folks who want to army build the classified cobra island figs.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wait until that video coming very soon!

[@jasonking3182]

So why did Hasbro give target two of the best army builders in gi joe classified in such limited numbers?

[@williamthompson5504]

Here’s some good news. All of Hasbro’s 2020 Target exclusives are getting rereleased on bbts and entertainment earth. Some of the Transformers already have preorders. Hasbro is doing this due to the horrendous amount of complaints they got last year. My advice is check every few days.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That video is coming ASAP

[@pauljustice1819]

I wanted an army of Horde Troopers even when I was a kid, but was only able to buy 2. Today I own 4 from the original line. But thanks to Classics, I was able to get 20, and 10 Palace Guards.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And all part of the joy of being an adult collector

[@ShatteredTrousers]

Hi, Scott, I'd like to share something really clever with you, a Hasbro decision that makes me happy. Transformers Studio Series has a current (July 2021) SKU, a character named Scourge. In fiction this character leads a small army of identical clones, called Sweeps. This effectively makes Scourge an army builder. To avoid staleness on retail shelves, by reshipping Scourge, the Transformers brand manager planned the waves to ship Scourge first one per master case (of three), then the exact same figure in a later wave, two per case as Sweeps. (Actually, there will be one tiny difference, the Scourge release has one open hand and one grasping hand - the Sweeps have that hand arrangement mirror-flipped.) What a simple, effective way to put out an army builder without reshipping the same SKU across multiple waves!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Very clever indeed!

[@korydoe4813]

So as remember if you got a trooper as a kid by the next time you got to pick out a figure it was probably onto a different wave of figures at the store so that picking up another trooper wasn't an option even. An I don't remember wanting to get multiple of troopers as a kid either. When I got an opportunity to get a new figure I wanted something different than what I already had. Now as an adult I totally get army building and I actively do it

[@spectorcreative1872]

And why as adults we love to army build!

[@liloofy9642]

I love this video!!!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well thank you! And please do share it on social. It helps the channel a ton

[@liloofy9642]

@@spectorcreative1872 i would love to!!

[@gerainthorton8980]

Good point on variety. A big reason MOTU was popular back in the 80s with all of the varied characters. The big toy lines then also had great villans, some of the toy lines I get for my kids the heroes out number the villans as there are less characters for the bad guys.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah MOTU was the king of "every theme gets a figure" back in the day

[@8791noosnoM]

i thought GiJoe was “theme king”...🤣🤣🤣?

[@sbcinema]

As a child i wanted to build a real army with possibly hundreds of Stormtrooper´s. I always found it unrealistic to have only one villain. The problem with this is that my parents won't buy them for my because i already have one of them ... It's not because children don't want multiple figures of the same kind, but because their parents don't buy them

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, parents were the key

[@Doiboy35]

I must have been a weird kid growing up because I always wanted to army build. I hated having my half dozen heroes fighting my single enemy trooper who would have to be recycled. However, I was prevented from doing so due to many factors: not enough money, parents telling me to leave the figure for another kid who didn't have one yet, troopers getting shortpacked. Now that I have money, I get to live out my childhood fantasy. Can't stop me from buying 6 Vehicons now, mom!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Not at all, everyone plays how they want

[@Nagatem]

I originally wasn’t a person that would be in the army building with figures but I’ll admit I bought 4 Allicons from transformers earth rise, (3 online 1 instore) to go with my quintesson judge and 3 cobra infantry to go with my Cobra commander, I blame the Seekers I wound up buying all of them even if it’s just starscream in multiple colors with an occasional different face,head, wing set up (like the cone heads)

[@spectorcreative1872]

It becomes an addiction right?

[@justicierodelaliga]

I made an Eaglemoss DC Comics lead figure collection and it was the last thing done with this material. Now these type of collections are not done in metal much less lead. By the way, the company SCHLEICH makes unbelievable figures out of plastic. Be it dragons, knights (fantasy in general) or dinosaurs or animals (farm, wild, sea creatures) in order to make dioramas. If I was into that it would be fantastic.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, they do some great hand painted stuff!

[@stevenjohansen3827]

As a kid, I did built units(2 to 5) more than army build(to me anything above 5). Outside of understanding the trooper concept there were always fewer bad guys(usually the side with troopers in most lines), so just to even out the sides. Miniatures armies are a whole different addiction for me at least.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes, the smaller the toy the easier it is to army build

[@artbytheanomaly6010]

Great video. I think the difference in play pattern is the biggest reason for kids not collecting multiples of the same figures to form armies. Variety is a big part of it but typically adults collect, pose, showcase, and appreciate the visuals of the scenes they create which is great for army setups. A kid typically is playing with figures more than posing and appreciating them from a distance. A kid, for example, cant make an army of 20 action figures march and move at once while playing and acting out a scene but a kid can pick up one or two figures and physically play with them and articulate the motions of the figures and move of fight them in live time. Cant do that with 2 hands and one army of figures. Boils down to the play pattern. No point to having doubles or more of the same figurr if you can only maneuver a few at once while playing.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, kids play very different from adults! See more here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKi8fWean66Josk

[@rynohobbies]

As an adult, I don't army build. I usually buy 2 of a trooper and 1 to lead those troopers. The way I see it, I need 2 to follow or guard the 1.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey to each his own toys!

[@Canoby]

I remember wanting to army-build Cobra figures (IIRC it was the Cobra Toxo-Viper, original release) and my mother was like "you've already got one of those, why would you want any more" LOL Kids just don't have the budget to build the armies they want to build, at least in my experience. Granted I just really liked that particular design- something about him was so ugly he was appealing to me- but I certainly wanted a wider range of Joes to fight them than I had in my personal collection too. Great explanation why we don't see more army builder packs @Scott. I know they got released after you were out of Mattel, but I do think the variation of Horde Troopers was pretty cool. Honestly that was one thing I like about all the various Cobra Troopers and Infantry Vipers, Imperial Storm Troopers, etc. that I've seen- enough variation to make picking each up worthwhile.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Those Horde Trooper variants and single releases were actually planned by me. I just left before they were actually at market!

[@bryanabbott6169]

The first Christmas after the introduction of Star Wars action figures, my parents gave each of my siblings two or three Stormtroopers and Jawas, to go with the individual character figures they gave us. As my mother put it, we needed enemies for our heroes to fight. My father, was more aware of budget and having to pay the bills, reluctantly bought the figures. My oldest brother stole the 'Troopers and Jawas, claiming he would be better at keeping it for us. We never saw those action figures again, so I don't know if he gave them away or sold them to his friends. Personally, if I had the money as a kid, I would have bought several Stormtroopers, Cobra Soldiers, etc. Mind you, not being able to stand up most action figures on rough terrain (even in the paved areas that used to be around my school was too uneven, it was more gravel/less tar) kind of defeats the purpose. When it comes to collecting, on the other hand, as opposed to play, I'd rather collect individual figures or a pack of individual characters (such as a pack of different Imperial pilots/troopers) than buy multiples of the exact same figure. Besides, collectable toys are expensive, which is a major dissuasion for me, as well as how limited my shelf space is.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, bills vs toys, toys usually does not win

[@singaporesammy]

When I was young I was very into G.I. Joe. My older brother had formerly been very into Star Wars. They were the same scale, so I intermixed sometimes, but never really liked the unbendable arms and legs on his. I say this because I remember wishing I had more basic Cobra soldiers to army build, but not being willing to sacrifice gaining unique characters to get more, and wishing that every Joe came with a generic Cobra even if those generic Cobras were even stiffer than Star Wars figures were. Similar to how you'd sometimes get a solid molded dog or to what they do now with build a figure pieces. Just no-frills faceless enemies to stand up and knock over like bowling pins.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah Joe was the best for this!

[@grendel0013]

As an adult I recently started to army build stormtroopers and clones. I’m very specific because I only want ones that have removable helmets so I focus on VC41 and VC15. I also can’t afford or even find all the variations so I stick to these because they are obtainable and within my budget. As a child I would have loved to have multiple stormtroopers but it was my mother who insisted on variety and constantly said things like “don’t you already have that one?” So I agree somewhat what you’re saying but not entirely. If more multipacks were available I would have loved to have gotten these. I feel like I’m army building now because I was unable to do so when I was younger.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It really is an adult thing

[@n_explosion8199]

Army Building also takes patience and money. 2 things most kids tend to lack. If you only have money for 1 fig, the impact on the playpattern is much bigger with a random figure then 1 extra trooper. The reason I passed on those trooper-3packs you showed was: no articulation. So in their case only usefull in battles. I think of you put 5 of 10 armed and articulated stormtroopers in a bag and sell them for the price of a big bag of green army men, they would fly off the shelves

[@spectorcreative1872]

Good point. Maybe a second paper route?

[@n_explosion8199]

@@spectorcreative1872 for the glory of the Empire. These rebells aren't going to defeat themselves 😄

[@gerainthorton8980]

I remember as a kid looking at a Horde Trooper or a Joe Viper thinking there should be more of them like a 3 or 5 pack would be cool. I did understand why I didn't get multiple as it stretched my parents budget and I'd miss out on another figure. I've been trying to get some armies with my MOTUC only discovered the line recently as I have young kids. Got some Snakemen on the way.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice. Hope they love em

[@Portal2099]

I don't remember really ever wanting more than one of each figure until I got older. I could imagine the same stormtrooper being hundreds of them. I did get a few of them and I'm okay with 4 or 5 of them tops now. I don't even think in big scenes like the Emperor's shuttle there were even that many actors in costumes in those stormtrooper outfits. It was probably a painting. Pretty impressive on screen, but jeez... I'm trying to cut down now that I'm at half-life!

[@Portal2099]

Oh! I meant to say at first, that... I may not have actually grown up or out of that habit. One of each or less is great, nowadays. Especially at 15-25 a pop.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, toys can be an addiction and army building is the biggest dose!

[@matthewclark2004]

Hey! New to your channel but enjoying the content I’ve gotten around to so far! I was curious if you had any experience with fast food Kid’s Meal toy lines and if there was maybe enough content for a video? Ex: Since they are “simpler” toys, is the production schedule shorter and closer to the release of the movie or media release?

[@spectorcreative1872]

I';ve been thinking about an angle on Happy Meal toys. I'll keep thinking...

[@bdrive5663]

Now you just got me wondering more about the Green Army Man play pattern and why it works. They still sell the darn things even many different versions. Often on the discount isle but I have never seen them completely go away. I would very much like to see an episode on that. But as a kid I remember we loved to create huge battles in our backyard or living room floor with the little green army men. But we also did the same with our 3 3/4 inch G.I. Joe figures and vehicles. We were so eager to make them as big as possible it was not uncommon to see Captain Power or Silverhawks filling in the ranks too. Heck between 4 of use we must have had 15 B.A.T.S. and 20 or more COBRA troopers. But now that I think about it we only had like 1 of each G.I. Joe.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Green Army men mostly appeal to younger kids who want to recreate huge battles and feel a sense of control in a world that is large and intimidating.

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

My dad taught me how to play with army men the way he and his friends did back in the 1950's. You'd line up your men at opposing sides and flick a matchbook back and forth trying to knock them over, with a limited amount of coins to use as "mortars". IIRC you had to surrender when you were down to 10 men or less. Fun times.

[@bdrive5663]

@@spectorcreative1872 that explanation makes sens to me as when we did that I was about 5 or 6 years old at the time.

[@williamthompson5504]

Army building is a double edged sword. Figures are always improving and the newest thing is collected until a relaunch of whatever line. Then collectors buy those and neglect the previous line that they were obsessed over.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It truly is. Way said

[@RetroActionUK]

Kenner, Mattel and Hasbro all showed multiple figures and vehicles in the background of their adverts or commercials. From Stormtroopers - Horde Troopers. Interestingly enough the only army builder in the Masters Of The Universe (1982-1987). Kenner was even pushing the idea for a mail away offer for the Micro Collection titled “Build your armies!” It was deliberately done to increase the amount of forces and fleets across many toylines and this still goes on today. Actually Star Wars Micro Machines did this too by offering starfighters across different playsets and 3 packs. Everyone needs a legion of Stormtroopers and a fleet of X-Wing Starfighters!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh yes this has been tried many times. Hasbro offered troop builders of clones and jedi at retail but the only time they have done well is online such as the upcoming Stormtrooper 4 pack pm Hasbro Pulse

[@RetroActionUK]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yep.

[@larryzeffert1043]

I don’t army-build, per se. I squad-build occasionally. I have a squad of ARC Troopers in their decorated gunship, and a squad of Storm Troopers in the new troop transport. I guess I just like staffing vehicles...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Vehicles can be army built too!

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

The one time I wanted to army build as a kid was when GI Joe vehicles would come with a driver/pilot and needed multiple figures to fully staff the vehicle. Of course, I couldn't have done that even if I could have gotten my parents' ok due to not being able to buy multiple expensive vehicles.

[@larryzeffert1043]

@@spectorcreative1872 In my defense I never buy a vehicle twice!

[@bundleization]

I like army building 6 inch stormtroopers because you can get so many differnt good looking bodies that look slightly different. I mix figuarts, modelkits, and blackseries. With blackseries they have 2 different bodies now so it's even more diverse. Makes it feel more like an Army made up of different people with different body types and not just the same dude x12

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup, and that is the heart of the matter for adult collectors

[@genesanford9412]

LOL.. im thinking right off the bat ,of those bags of 100 plastic soldiers .Affordable.Im also reminded of Dan in the photobooth ,& his "Bobba-Set" ...i lost count..over 300..lol .. That type of customer is GOLD to a line...lol...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Too funny

[@IRONMANHALO66]

guess I was a weird kid then anyways what really helped for star wars army building when I was a kid was the clone wars cgi tv show that featured all different kinds of clones troopers and droids so even when I wanted variety I could still build my army at the same time I guess it was also a great deal for hasbro too because they could release the same clone over and over again in different colours without retooling it was also great for me because I could collect the different units but they would still be similar enough to be an army It also helped many of the named characters where clones and belonged to the same units so they matched colour wise so you could have 4 named characters and a generic clone and still feel like you had an army that and they released a ton of 4 packs featuring new made up squads with unique decos and commanders or themes sucks kids don't like that sort of stuff but I loved my plastic army men and I'm happy I grew up when hasbro made an entire line based on the concept of army building

[@spectorcreative1872]

Not at all, we all buy and play the way we want!

[@Tord-is-bord-chaos]

👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Right back at you

[@randyortonsdickbulge]

I always wanted to own at least 12 basic clones in order to set up scenes.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It is a dream we all share!

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

Those snowtroopers from Solo are beefy Good details I'd like to get a couple more

[@spectorcreative1872]

The ones with fur? I liked their look

[@Futuredynamo]

I do agree that adult collectors are more interested in army building than kids are, but I don't think that it means that kids have no interest in it what-so-ever. The issue is more so that kids generally don't really have disposable income (or any income) of their own to purchase toys with, and are often limited to whatever amount of toys their parents will buy for them. Some may be lucky and get the random toy purchased for them here and there, but things like birthdays and Christmas is when they will really get a lot of their collection. And since they are relatively limited in how many figures they can get, sure, they are going to likely ask for different characters that they don't already have instead of several of the same figure. And as others have stated, it also comes down to what parents are willing to buy. If I kid does ask for several of the same army-building figure, more often than not (especially back in the 80s and 90s) their parents would likely say that they don't need more than one of the same figure. All of that being said, if a kid were given the option to have multiple of the same army building figure IN ADDITION TO all of the unique figures in the line, I doubt that most kids would say, "oh no! I don't want that!" Even if army building isn't their main concern, I doubt that most kids would pass up such an opportunity to have at least a few of the same army building figure. Sure, kids may not really be concerned about having 30 or 50 of the same figure, but given the option of say somewhere roughly around 5 to 10 of the same figure would probably be at least somewhat appealing. Anecdotally speaking (as I realize that my childhood preferences don't necessarily represent the majority opinion), the idea of army building as a kid was interesting to me in some instances. I'm on the younger end of the MOTU fan spectrum, and while I'm sure I would have loved an army of Horde Troopers as a kid, I never had one of them, let alone a few, and at that younger age the idea of buying many didn't really occur to me. But during the latter part of my childhood years in the late 80s and early 90s, as someone who was into both TMNT and Kenner's Batman / Batman Returns lines, I personally found the idea of having multiple TMNT Foot Soldiers FAR more interesting than buying a neon yellow scuba diving Batman, or most other similar random variants. Yes, I did have a couple of Batman variants that i thought were cool looking, so to your point on that topic, they did sell me more than 1 figure made from the same tooling. But none the less, I remember even at the time wishing that I could get a Commissioner Gordon or Alfred figure to go with my collection rather than 12 random versions of Batman. Getting back to TMNT, I only ever had one of the original Foot Soldier figure. I even remember another kid who wasn't as into TMNT as me, but saw some of my figures say, "If I were you, I would get a ton of these foot guys!" And I thought the same thing, but my options were somewhat limited. When the Movie Star TMNT line eventually happened, I was able to talk my mom (with a little help from my now step-dad who she was dating at the time) into letting me get 4 of the movie versions of the Foot Soldier (1 for each Turtle to fight). Ideally at the time I would have loved to have anywhere from 8 to 12 of them to at least decently out-number the Turtles, but it was a small miracle getting the 4 that I had, so I was happy with that. I wouldn't have "needed" more than that as a kid. As an adult collector, I've done some degree of army building with a few lines. Most recently I've gotten about 4 to 6 Foot Soldiers for each of the collector TMNT lines from NECA and Super7 (cartoon, arcade game, Turtles in Time game, and movie from NECA.... updated toy versions from Super7). I would love for those armies to be bigger, but with so many TMNT lines all going at the same time, the cost adds up. By far my most wanted army builder in my adult collecting years were the Horde Troopers with MOTUC. And between the original two-pack release and the later single-card release, I have 30 of them. It was expensive, but damn it, I wanted my Horde Trooper army!!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, the lack of funds is a big part and why as adults we feel liberated by the ability to do this

[@user-do2ev2hr7h]

Just my experience, but as a kid, I never knew anybody who army built. Between wanting to spend limited funds on new figures and parents saying "you already have that guy", the concept honestly never occurred to my friends or I.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah, it really is an adult thing!

[@iampoch01]

Same here. We weren't rich growing up. Heck, my parents could only afford to buy me toys 6 times a year: every academic quarter (as a prize for good grades), my birthday, and Christmas. I had lots of toys, though, because my aunt in the US sends me them. But my rich cousin, who can buy toys at a whim, also didn't bother buying more than one of the army builder characters. We were more into acquiring the most unique characters/versions we could.

[@FunKorpseZombiePops]

Yeah I always wanted an army of the Horde robots, as a kid, to complete the horde, like Hordak had on the filmation cartoon series I have sone ok ideas for a new action figure line, lol, no idea on how to really produce them, but a couple good character and overall concept ideas, little word play names and stuff like that to go with them also, :-) maybe I need a room of 3D printers and a 3D scanner

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well thst would be worth a room

[@_Nyx_]

Does color variants etc still count as army building? My mom was always good at getting a few of each type of bad guy grunt she could. Mostly star wars when I was 10 lmao but I had a good dozen b1 droids from ep 1 and 2 and stormtroopers, scouts and sand troopers as examples. Small armys, but still felt awesome for me!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Their is no specific rule, but I wouldn't say buying all the Power Rangers counts as army building

[@dustingdustin]

I make dioramas, and for some of them, I need armies. I have a Battle of Hoth Diorama that has 36 Rebels and 40 some odd Snowtroopers. It's all about scale and making it look more impressive. The Emperor's Arrival scene wouldn't exactly look as cool if I had one of each kind of Imperial present. As a kid, it was all about trying to recreate what I saw in the movies and cartoons I watched. There wasn't just ONE Stormtrooper or Cobra trooper for the heroes to battle. They didn't just face down Darth Vader and Cobra Commander and I wanted to make my little battles occupied with more than just one bad guy.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Dioramas due breed army building!

[@ToyInsanity]

The one I want to army-build with is usually short-packed 😕

[@spectorcreative1872]

See here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5jdpJ1pfpuHa5o

[@brianartillery]

01:23 - 'Britains' Camel Corps figures, in lead. I have only seen one boxed set of these, and that was when I worked in a museum. Star Wars figures: one Stormtrooper, or Hoth Rebel soldier, or Bespin security guard, even, just won't cut it - you have to own several. The vintage Kenner boxes for vehicles and accessories, and the TV ads always showed kids with more than one 'background' figure. So, yes, as kids, we did try to buy multiples. I collect 5" scale Doctor Who figures. I have dozens of Daleks and Cybermen, multiples of each iteration of The Doctor, and eight or nine different versions of the TARDIS. I know, in my heart, it would have been the same if they had been available when I was a kid. One of an adversary, if you're used to seeing them in twos or threes, feels wrong, to me, at least.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I can see why that would be

[@deathstroke9365]

I believe I understand the "economics" of it. Retail toys will be purchased by retail customers and making the toys best targeted to that audience is what determines how long the line lasts. Since the only Mattel line I collected was the "DC 6 inch" line, I'm going to stick to my lane. I believe (I could be wrong) that the only army builders offered in that line were the Parademons and the Manhunter Robots. I didn't see either peg warm. Heck, I was only able to get one Manhunter and never saw the parademon. I'll also count Low, Maash, Skallox, Nite-lik (really...), Medphill and Naut Kei Loi. I also bought multiples of the DC Superhero Brainiac robots at the time, believing you would release a humanoid one (which you did). My point is that, most of us just wanted figures that "would be" considered army builders to be offered. I know there were plenty of figures that weren't made, but I can guarantee that kids would had bought a League of Assassins (name change maybe) ninja with an extra Merlin head, or a well armed GCPD SWAT officer with a extra Gordon head. I'm sure these would had sold much better than Mary Marvel did.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It does help to move more units!

[@AzraelThanatos]

I think that it heavily varies there. I'd always tried to get a few of the generic troopers in order to be able to have forces like I'd see on TV and movies. Star Wars was one of the few where it wasn't a pain to go hunt them down. It was easy to get a second imperial guard to have with Palpatine for things. Stormtroopers were ones where I got a bunch of different ones that were re-released in different sets some with different modifications. I've still got a few of the Shadows of the Empire Luke in guard armor that I think I glued the helmets on to have more trooper types scattered in. I've got a massive pile of battle droids from Episode 1 with both duplicates and alternate deco ones...I'd bought several and then my uncle bought be an entire collection of the Episode 1 figures. Lord of the Rings was different because the goblins/orks/uruks/ect tended to each be different, you didn't have a standardized force there. It feels weird to have a lot of the same grunt in a force unlike things where there is a lot more standardization. Also, for most universes, the side that tends to get the army building side are the villains, a lot of them don't really have the hero grunts around for anything more than just to fill the screen. GIJoe did have their green shirts that looked like generic army grunts compared to the actual characters, but they never really did anything while Cobra always seemed to have several of their various vipers, BATs, or other forces there. And multiple vehicles was common if you could get them...I had a few Cobra RATs, unfortunately, only one remained relatively intact and I ended up cannibalizing the two that broke on me to upgrade and customize the remaining one, but things like the SkyStrikers, there were several people who had two of them, one person who got the Flag actually had 4... But every good villain needs to have a goon squad. Of course, I'm more of a wargamer who collects some things I used to have or wanted as a kid most of the time...so, I'm army building anyway with a lot of minis to paint and have battle it out with others, they just got smaller in size and larger numbers...along with set rules since we're old enough to not need adults to intervene in the conflicts.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is true. Usually the villains are the ones with nameless armies. Just ask any Marvel Avenger's villain

[@SlashTheWeasel]

I just found your video! The title stopped me on army building. I agree with other posters here about children not thinking about army building much or at all. I think I first army build around 15 years ago with Transformers Energon. I am an adult and for some reason knowing that some of the toys have "clones" in the show prompted me to buy multiples of them. The big one that became the "joke" in the household was the Energon Arcee which I have all colors that I could get my hands on. Only later did I learn that pink Energon Arcee was single character. . .. . well now I have motorcycle gang of them. I have built Transformer army building of Sharkticons with Generations making it so easy. Its hard for me to think of army building of Decepticon jets as army building cause if so how would I count all the other Decepticons iwth it?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah building a true transformers collection clearly requires some duplicates or more. Until all are bought.

[@SlashTheWeasel]

@@spectorcreative1872 "Until all are bought"!! I'm taking that line and puting it somewhere!

[@katiepersons6575]

For me it was never "variety", it was MONEY. I had Luke and Vader from power of the force 2 and that was IT from star wars. I was damn glad to have them. The thought of "collecting them all" was an unimaginable dream. I envied the kids if any that could, though I basically never got even a single "army builder", much less two.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah as kids our access to money is a bit more limiting.

[@midwestmonster9886]

As a child, I never got a Foot Soldier or Storm Trooper because I thought it was pointless to have *one* generic henchman being ordered around by Shredder or Darth Vader. I always thought it would have been wiser to have sold those characters in multipacks so that the villain would have a group to command. I'm honestly surprised to find out that they don't sell well. I'm not arguing with the data. I just would have thought that it would have been different.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I totally follow that!

[@superjoe7]

Scott were you in charge of Matty collector or was that a separate division.? I ask because I only remember you getting all the shrapnel for anything that people had issues with Such as digital river or the white screen of death.

[@spectorcreative1872]

My main job at Mattel was running the DC brands at retail. I ran Mattycollector as a passion project in my "spare time". It was never an official position at Mattel which is why when I left I was not replaced.

[@biostemm]

I think part of the issue is that the "generic" soldiers are sold at the same price-point as the signature characters. From a planning vantage-point, they should offer the basic soldiers of each side with simpler designs and a lower price to match; If they were solder 2-for-1 when compared to the main characters, then you may see an increased interest in such "army building"...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well I do like what hasbro is doing online with army builders like Hellfire Club for 5.00 less than a normal fig

[@joshpotter9261]

Had they made the Star Wars: Command figures in the 28-32mm scale range, they would have flown off the shelves. They were released at a time in which there were no SW figures in that scale.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well Command didn't exactly fly off the shelves... if it was a hit it would still be at retail

[@joshpotter9261]

@@spectorcreative1872 I agree, notice my point about the scale. If they had been in a more conventional size for gaming figures, they would have had a built-in market as there wasn't anyone servicing that audience at that time. Gamers would have been building armies, hands down fact. Now as to whether or not Hasbro would have actually kept that line alive, even if it sold better, is a matter of debate.

[@atariboy9084]

Back in the 80s I army building alot with Two figures of G.I.Joe the Grunts and the Cobra soldiers

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah joe natrually lends itself to this

[@williamwilkinson6665]

To me army building is the same as hoarding . I only ever brought multiples I'd the same figure twice . first was with the attack of the clones Clone Troop pilot . you need 4 to man that ship and plus they came with the laser cannons to attach to the ship so you had to buy at least 2 anyway. Then I bought 4 of the 2009 Gammorean guards, I kept one in package opened 2 and gave one to my cousin as a Christmas present..

[@TheUnboxer073]

I never bothered to army build or have any intentions to do so when I was a kid. I have a mindset of 5 soldiers of different army such as Lego Battle Packs, I never once dared or thought of buying another battle pack even today. Right now in present, I still have a mindset of 4 soldiers and one officer, and not attempting to have 20 or 50. Just basically squad and that's about it.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey and it is great that we all have the option!

[@TheUnboxer073]

@@spectorcreative1872 I am always fascinated by army builders for so long, but never have the interest to make army build. I just settle of handful. It is amazing how people army build so much.

[@jaicro89]

i always wanted an army of B1 battle droids from Star Wars, is a shame i dont have the space or money T_T

[@spectorcreative1872]

More shelves? Less family members?

[@stephencerhit]

When I was a kid I always wanted to have a bunch of Storm Troopers lead by Darth Vader when I played with my Star Wars figures. I wanted a couple of Cobra Vipers to go with my GI Joes. As I got older I still want to Amy build, but money comes into play. So I made the decision to buy only 3 of no name characters unless it is some one like Marvels Multiple Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Ha! I have three of him. ;-)

[@pmurphy199q]

I wanted buy a second foot soldier as a kid. Mom said no...

[@spectorcreative1872]

And that is the key to adult collecting. We can buy what we want!

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

I wish that I could put a pic here I'd show you guys my custom stormtroopers

[@spectorcreative1872]

You can always post a link!

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

Transformers are based around a conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. Transformers is designed for army building the ranks of the two factions and sometimes including the Maximals and Predicons. Of course the line has figures that are designed as generic troopers like the vihicon drones from Transformers Beast Machines and Transformers Prime or the Seekers whenever a new Starscream is released.

[@spectorcreative1872]

You can never have enough Starscreams

[@selkie76]

As a child the nearest I came to army building was the astronauts who came with all my lego sets (Classic Space was e'er the best theme ^.~). 'tis still not a thing that appeals to me, though I acknowledge it can look impressive - one of my friends has a vast legion of Clone Troopers which serves as evidence of that. ^_^

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey Lego figures are awesome to get en mass

[@kingwiku9735]

I think you're very correct that when children buy toys, getting multiples of the same figure isn't part of it. Things like MUSCLE men, and baseball cards let you collect a lot, but getting 'doubles' was never a good thing. I think you're mistaken about the metal soldier collectors. I don't know how familiar you are with the mini gaming scene, but it's quite HUGE, and everywhere. Though mostly targeted at adults, it's not all about painting and building dioramas. Many of the figures are used for Roleplaying games like D&D (owned by hasbro), and the very popular 'war games' which are made by lots of companies, but are really nothing but fulfilling that 'army builder drive'. Though companies like fantasy flight, and CMON are big, the biggest is Games Workshop, maker of the Warhammer games, along side many others. Though there soldiers aren't metal for the most part anymore (everything is plastic or resin) they do tend to be seen in retail stores from time to time, typically in the board game sections in the USA, though I see them sold at major retail chains in most of the other countries of the world I've been too. Their market is pretty big as well, and Games Workshop is typically one of the most profitable companies in the UK every year (it helps when your customers do all your painting (with your own paints) and assembly for you). I'd check it out this sort of 'sub-genre' of the toy industry, as, while kids tend to buy less toys than in the 80's, these companies have really blown up in the last decade.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well yes D&D and role playing games is a vey different type of purchase and even with Magic the Gathering having double of the same card in your deck can be beneficial.