Toys and individuality

[roller]

It might be just me, but...

Do any of you feel that your toys sort of take on their own individual identity?

I'm not meaning anything like Toy Story. It's just that, despite being mass-produced objects, I find that the toys-particularly Transformers-I get become something more than pieces of sculpted plastic. They sort of rise above being a mass-produced commodity and sort of become beings in their own right-well, not living beings, obviously, but they just somehow become distinguished from other toys, and other versions of themselves.

no

there names and personalities are dictated by the fiction

[GoktimusPrime]

there names and personalities are dictated by the fiction

That in itself gives the toys individuality and is something I've always loved about Transformers. I like the fact that, generally speaking, each of my toys is an individual.

Though I agree with Lint that this feeling would negated when you have mass multiples and MISP figures as that's when they start feeling more like commodoties than your friends. I must admit that when I take my toys outside with me, it's like taking a little friend with you. My wife and I did some banking today with Henkei Inferno. As I was talking to the bank consultant I put Henkei Inferno on the desk facing the computer monitor so that he can "see" what's happening. Ohohohohohohohohohohohoho!

[Lord_Zed]

no

there names and personalities are dictated by the fiction

I tend to disregard and discard the fiction on some of the newer characters, its just to badly written or doesn't seem to have anything to do with the mould.

An example of this for me is the extended movie range. I consider my Towline and Salvage to be Ironhides proteges given there both tough sorta trucks and well armed like Ironhide. They make a good team.

[SilverDragon]

no

there names and personalities are dictated by the fiction

Well, to an extent, that influences how I see the toys as characters.

Animated Voyager Starscream, for one, used to be the leader of the Decepticons in my room since there were no Megatrons. But then I got Robot Heroes BW Megatron, who kicked him out. However, as a Robot Hero, he can't transform, so Universe Overkill is his body.

And Starscream now schemes against him.

Also, Sunstreaker. It's not so much the bio on the back of the card that influences how I see him, it's the revelation that Dreamwave Sunstreaker was gay. Due to that, Sunstreaker in my collection is now exceedingly camp, not through any overt homophobia or anything, but simply because it means I can have him say funny things.