When I was little, I had a big collection of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Man, I loved those things. I remember they sold the figures for a quarter a piece, which seems inconceivable to me now. I also had the Chippettes. Some of them were poseable, and some were just stationary. They came in all sorts of different costumes and were a couple inches high. I think I had every one they ever made, or at least that I ever saw. I sold them when I was nine or ten, at a garage sale. I don't really know why I did it; I suspect there was some nudging going on from a certain parental figure. I'm always trying to hold onto things, and my mom is always trying to get rid of them. I've often wished I'd kept my Chipmunks, but my consolation is that the people who bought them were missionaries who took my whole collection with them to Kenya next time to distribute to the children. That's what they said, anyway, and if it was true then it was worth it to pass them along. I also had a ton of various Disney figures and books that were slipped into garage sales and donation boxes while I wasn't looking. *sigh*
But surrently I have a huge collection of Pooh memorabilia. Not really an action figure line; just sorta whatever I get my hands on. The closest to an actual line is the Pooh's Friendly Places series, of which I own all but two or three. Those are really terrific playsets. I haven't seen them on sale lately, and I'm hoping I can get my hands on the last few to complete my collection. I've been collecting Pooh stuff intensively for about ten years, maybe a bit longer. Friends and relatives have given me lots of Pooh things, and I've bought a lot at various places. One of my favorites is a chenille Gund Classic wind-up Pooh that plays "I'm Just a Little Black Raincloud." I found it in a little toy shop in England, and I think it's absolutely adorable, even more so now that my 9-year-old cousin made me a Pooh-decorated paper hat to put on his head.
The other figures I collect a lot of are trolls, as in the odd-looking plastic people with the funky hair. I got my first troll when I was 8 or so in a hospital gift shop. My mom had collected them as a child but had gotten rid of them. Shortly after my first troll, Russ popularized them big-time, and they were available everywhere in a million different costumes. During its heyday, I'd pick one up every time we were at the mall, and I often received them as gifts. I don't see them much these days, but when I happen across one at a yard sale or something I pick it up. I haven't counted lately, but I think I have more than 100.
Erin