Okay, I've read heroic_decepticon's story and here are some of my thoughts...

Quote Originally Posted by heroic_decepticon
We stupidly, really stupidly, authorised our Mum to give away all, yes ALL, our toys to a worthy cause and to people that need it more than us. And my Mum did just that: she gave to the Salvation Army every single one of our He-Man (MOTU), Secret Wars, Super Powers, M.A.S.K., Transformers, Visionaries, Centurions, Ghostbusters, Bone-Age, Dino-Riders, Silver Hawks, TMNT, Starcom and She-Ra toys.

Every-single-one.

I look back at this period with extreme sadness and pain, tormented till this day. Thinking back, that is one of the worst decisions I’ve had the misfortune to make.
...this was the most painful part to read. When I hear about people whose parents dispose of their toys without their permission then I'm filled with great sadness. But in all honesty when I hear of people who actually _allowed_ their parents to dispose of their toys, then this sadness is coupled with some frustration.

You obviously already regret this decision now, but what I'd like to gain further insight as to why you chose to make that decision in the first place. What was going through your mind when you gave away all of your toys like that? At that time did any part of you think that you might regret the decision in future? Or did you think, "I'm too old for toys and I'll never have need for them again."

Quote Originally Posted by heroic_decepticon
I have decided to collect Transformers again.

Well maybe not ‘again’ unless we consider Transformers given to a kid as toys which he smashed into one another, used for fights and Transformed more than a dozen times a day ‘collecting’. This was, I decided, to more serious, more precious, or so I wanted myself to believe.
I still enjoy using my Transformers for fights... I guess this doesn't make me a collector then? <cheek> The only reason I ever started putting my Transformers on shelves wasn't for display but for easy access for playing and also to reduce damage to the Transformer toys (because the alternative was to chuck them in the toy box in which case I would have to rummage to get the toys I wanted). By time I was in year 7 I started arranging them for display in a more aesthetically pleasing sense - but the primary reason has always been for play access.

Thanks for sharing your story with us heroic_decepticon.