Ashley Raburn lives in Tennessee, and works at a local College as an Instructional Technology Specialist. Ashley has been an avid Doctor Who fan his whole life, and runs the website, Life with Fandom, where he talks about pop culture. He’s also involved in a cool new project called “New Monster,” which is a series of videos that cover all sorts of pop culture topics, so be sure to check it out.
Ashley also has a pretty sweet toy collection…
How did your collection start?
My collection started mainly by getting stuff as a kid, and never getting rid of it. Masters of the Universe was important to me, and it remained important to me throughout my life. Mostly, I just kept my childhood toys and began adding to them once I got a slightly more disposable income.
Approximately how many items are in your collection?
I would venture to guess about 5-600, which is meager for most collections, but I have learned to be discretionary. I would say my Masters of the Universe collection is about 300 items.
Do you have a favorite item in your collection?
I’m not sure about favorite items BUT, I know the Item I am most attached to in my Masters collection would be MY He-man. Yes, I still have MY first He-man perched upon my first Battle Cat which sits on my desk at home. This is the item I would run into a fire for.
How do you store/display your collection?
Unfortunately, I do not have a place to display all of my collection at the moment. Most of it is stored in tubs and boxes in closets and spare rooms. I do have little items on desks and book cases as they fit. Recently however I did display my Masters collection at the Library of the college I work for. This display was in glass cases and got a lot of response from the community, it even got a couple of articles in local papers. It was a fun experience to share my collections!
Is there a “holy grail” item that you would love to add to your collection?
I think every Masters of the Universe collector has Eternia on their list, or Titus or Megator or the Laser light he-man/Skeletor.
Do you collect other things?
Yes, For the most part I collect all kinds of 80’s action figures! Super Powers and Secret Wars are high on my list. I play at collecting M.A.S.K. I also love Blackstar, Bravestarr and any number of MOTU knockoffs.
I also collect various Doctor Who paraphernalia when I come across something that fits!
Do you have a favorite collecting story or experience?
My favorite collecting experience would probably be when I got to display my collection at the Library of the shcool I work with. It was a great experience.
Do you have any advice for new collectors who are just starting a collection?
Collect what you love, but be aware of your limits. A lot of times the limts most people think of is money, but space is equally important–maybe more so!
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A huge thanks to Ashley, for sharing his collection with us. You can follow Ashley on his blog, Life with Fandom, for even more great photos of his collection.
If you are a collector and would like to share your passion with other like-minded collectors, just fill out our collector profile form.
(All photos are the property of Ashley Raburn)
Great collection and cool display. My wife is a librarian, hmm I wonder if she would…
Do it!
Kngfu, It was a great experience, and people loved it. people came from all over the community to see it. If you have a chance you really should think about doing it. It was a lot of fun!
A great collection for sure!