T.O.R.C.H. - The People of R.T.A-F.*: Kenneth Whelan

Kenneth Whelan

REAL NAME: Kenneth Whelan
HANDLE(S):
DATE OF BIRTH: March 7, 1974
SEX: Male
LOCATION: Ireland
OCCUPATION: student / musician / computer programmer

EMAIL ADDRESS: kwhelan@precision.ie
WEB SITE: working on one........to be continued

WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?

Well, it started off with just X-Men.......but..........it's slowly spreading into Spider-Man/Fantastic Four/Iron Man/Hulk territory. I basically love collecting any Marvel-related toys and am awaiting 3 figures to complete my 1991-1996 X-Men/X-Force collection!! (I'm assured that they're in the post....I bought them from rtaf-ers!)

I also have a small collection of my original Star Wars figures and vehicles......unfortunately I reckon I lost half my collection over the years so I treasure the ones that survived.

WHEN DID YOU START COLLECTING AND WHY?

I started really collecting in Winter 1993. Wolverine II was my first figure, and I guess it snow-balled from there! I've always had a fascination with figures but couldn't really afford to start a collection until then. I recently found my Mego Batman....a little bit worse for wear....but he still had a basic costume, so that has directed my interests towards the Famous Covers lines!

HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND THE TOYS YOU WANT?

It's almost impossible to get X-Men figures in Ireland. Some stores get maybe a few selections a year but generally are a year behind the US. Water Wars X-Men arrived in my local toy store this month. Other than that I have to buy in the comic stores and the prices are quite high. (~$16 for the New Mutants.......see what I mean!) Luckily enough I've been able to make frequent trips to New England and New York so I tend to buy quite a lot of figures while I'm there. My vacations invariably end up as figure-hunts.....scouring TRU, KB etc for the figures that I want. I reckon I've bought about 70% of my collection in this way. I've also had some great dealings with people from rtaf who have filled the last remaining holes in my X-Men collection. I'd like to be in a position to help other people find figures that they want, but unfortunately the prices of toys over here are usually higher than their US equivalent, so that combined with the shipping costs usually rules any sales from my end out.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON SCALPING?
WHAT IS "SCALPING" TO YOU?
HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT FROM A SCALPER?
WOULD YOU?

I think scalping is wrong....it galls me when I see figures being advertised at really high prices even when I know that I could get the same figure here in Ireland for a better price. I don't think I've ever bought from a scalper, most of the stuff that I've bought from rtaf has been reasonably priced. My comic shop's toy prices are quite high, but I know that they have a lot of hassle even getting the figures in as they are such a small player in the market. That's why I don't resent buying figures there that are expensive, plus they have great sales!! (I once bought 40 X-Men figures there at a price of approximately $2 each!!)

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER HOBBIES/INTERESTS?

I play soccer, Gaelic football, music and generally read a lot. At present I collect about 20 Marvel titles a month, 4 PC mags, 2 music mags and read loads of articles over the web. I play accordion in a trad Irish group called Gan Ainm, and we're slowly building up a following here in Dublin. Unfortunately I've had to take a hiatus from the group as I've a thesis due in August, but I'll be back!!! I've recently returned to playing soccer after a series of injuries and scored my first goal in 4 years!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?

Umm.....thanks to everyone on rtaf for some interesting and varied discussion. I tend not to post very often, but I read the group every day. Usually brightens up my day, and on occasion provides a few laughs!

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