Toy Collecting and the Phenomenon of Cosplay

Toy collectors, especially those who collect comic book, science fiction, and fantasy toys, often move into the rapidly growing hobby known as cosplay. The portmanteau of the words costume and play has developed into a large group of people who take time to create amazingly accurate costumes and they even take on the persona of the characters they are dressed as.

Since toy collectors already know about the characters that they love so much, they find the transition into cosplay rather easy. Many toy collectors already have costumes and accessories in their collections, so it becomes easy to join a cosplay group and get in on the fun. Once collectors get into the cosplay subculture, they see how the two groups of hobbiest are so interconnected.

The majority of popular cosplay characters come from video games, films, manga and anime, as well as comic books. When people take on a cosplay character, they not only dress like that character, but when they are in costume, they behave the way the character would. This can be fun and challenging, especially when people dress up like characters who have very few lines in their favorite movies. It is very common with cosplayers to see them switch gender roles; for example, there is nothing wrong with a woman playing Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, just as men can easily dress up like Lara Croft or Smurfette! It is also very common for people to choose characters because they are incredibly appealing, which is why there are so many women who want to look like Princess Leia.

Cosplayers are not limited to dressing up for real-life events. There are many social networks that allow cosplayers to learn about activities and chat online. This hobby is quite young, having only been in existence since the 1990s, but it has rapidly transformed into a way of life. In Japan, it is quite common to see people dressed in cosplay outfits as regular everyday clothing.

Creating a cosplay costume is very different from creating a Halloween costume. Part of allure of cosplay is in creating an extremely detailed costume to really show the nuances of the character. While toy collectors take time finding the perfect toys for their collections, cosplayer use toys, images, and research to find the perfect elements for their costumes. Many cosplayers will create their own costumes rather than buy a Halloween costume from a manufacturer. They often use fiberglass, wood, rubber, face paint, and other textiles to create a perfect costume. They will usually buy wigs and have them styled or even grow their own hair to replicate the look of the character. Cosplayers take considerable joy in the journey of creating the perfect costume and the social media sites revolving around cosplay costumes help cosplayers with the task. The journey of making the costume is what joins many cosplayers together.


Once cosplayers have their perfect costume, the next step is to show it off at a convention. Just like toy collectors can display their wares at conventions, so can cosplayers. Many cosplayers will attend Comic-cons, Star Trek, or Star Wars conventions because so many of the characters come from those types of stories. There are also opportunities for cosplayers to enter into competitions, too.

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