7/21/2011

We all have "To Do Lists" of projects we want to do but which never seem to get done.  One such project on my list has been the updating and revamping of the Playsetaddict website.  I started this site in the early nineties when I discovered how cool it was to use the emerging technology of digital photography to memorialize my Toy Soldier playtimes.  Some people make permanent dioramas to be displayed in cabinets or on shelves.  I make set-ups which I photograph and then tear down to make room for the next adventure.  The website gave me a way to keep my displays after they were history. 

I started out a pure plastic collector.  I just liked recapturing my childhood passion for the figures.  Then I became a vintage Marx playset Collector and went crazy for a few years building up a nice Collection. I made some good finds and I spent enough to make the dealers happy to see me coming.  And then a financial crunch came and I sold off most of the Collection.  And eBay rose up and it became far harder to find playsets in Antique Malls and Flea Markets.  But, it turned out I was at the right place at the right time as the 20th century ended.

In 1999 Conte Collectibles burst on the scene with some of the most amazing figures and playsets ever made.  I met Richard Conte in the halls at OTSN and was one of the first collectors to see his amazing product.  And I was one of the first to get hooked.  I got the first Warlord playset off the truck as I had to get back for work on Sunday and couldn't stay for the show.  Zulu and Beau Geste followed, with the Longest Day sets not far behind.  Somewhere about 2000 or 2001, I started a fan site for Conte called the Conte Collector.  He had such amazing products and such a lame website.   I wanted to show him what was possible. He loved what I was doing but our communication broke down as world events intervened.

Conte had a tough 2001 as his manager's brother was killed in the September 11 attacks and he cancelled his OTSN appearance. I think it was also about then that he moved from Las Vegas to Colorado.  I didn't see him again until the 2002 show and I was blown away when he asked me to take over his website.  I wasn't expecting that, but I was pleased.  Now I would get to play with Conte's amazing painted metal figures like I would play with playsets.  And so another chapter began for me.  This site became my hobby site while most of my effort and attention went into what I was doing for Conte.  One of the things I am proud of is knowing that what I did on my blog on the Conte site inspired other collectors to grab a digital camera and use it as a key part of their Hobby enjoyment.  I can still claim to be one of the first to meld Digital Photography and Toy Soldier Collecting, but I can no longer claim to be the best.  Rob in England, Rodrigo in Canada, Alex in New Jersey and even Mike in Madison are continually raising the bar.  (And don't even get me thinking about what Ken Osen does or Joseph Neumeyer.)  Anyway, I still enjoy what I do, and it seems many others enjoy it as well.

I still take pictures for Conte and we remain good friends, but he needed to have someone closer at hand to maintain the e-commerce site, so my role is now less defined and still very enjoyable.  I still have the blog on the site and post pictures of my battles featuring his stuff.  But I also have time to play 'just for the fun of it.'  What  I don't have is enough money to take advantage of all the new cool stuff coming out on the market from other manufacturers.  So I started looking into getting sponsors for the site that might help me feed my addiction.  Conte, of course, is my Manufacturer Sponsor.  Matt at Hobby Bunker has recently agreed to be my Dealer Sponsor.  I may do projects for other Manufacturers as opportunity presents, but who knows. 

So now the Update project begins.  I wonder if it will ever get finished?

Joe

Questions or comments?  E-mail me at playsetaddict@charter.net