I came across Xine’s blog Toy Pusher when I was checking up on entries about last year’s 2009 Anime Festival Asia. I was delighted to find out that my friends and I were not the only ones insane enough to board an airplane to attend an anime convention. Several e-mails later and Xine and I have become online buds, and I am delighted to introduce her awesome toy blog to you guys.

What was the inspiration for Toy Pusher? How did all of this get started? 🙂

Toy Pusher started just about the same time I was starting to collect toys, that was July of 2009. My friends tell me that I have this way of influencing other people into liking something. Now that I’m into toys, I’d like to share my finds, the joys and disappointments of being a collector and anything that may be related to the hobby. My husband and I came up with the name Toy Pusher, I guess it’s suitable and quick to remember.

For you, what is the best thing about the hobby?

The best thing about the hobby is getting the stuff that I want. I told myself that I should have started toy collecting when I was a lot younger but then I would have been broke at an earlier age. Lol. Seriously, this hobby makes me happy. I’d rather play with my toys and take photographs of them instead of getting wasted in some bar here in the metro I guess. That sounded rather geeky, don’t you think? Lol.

Which figure is your favorite? What were your most unusual purchases? Which item cost you the most $$$$$$$$?

I guess my favorite is Black Rock Shooter by Good Smile. She’s also the most expensive. I have a very modest collection, I don’t have toys which cost higher than $200. I guess I just control my spending when it comes to toys. I have a long wishlist though. Lol. As for unusual purchases, I don’t think I have any right now but for the if I may say, uninitiated, like most of my (offline) friends are, toy collecting may be kawaii but unusual at the same time. Lol. I find those QB figs interesting but I think I won’t be buying anything castoffable anytime soon. I’m just not ready for that. ^^;

What is the hardest part about maintaining the blog? Have you dealt with any problems?

I guess targeting a certain number of posts per week or per month is the hardest part about maintaining my blog. I’m working at the same time studying Nihongo so I don’t have a lot of time to update my blog. Toy Pusher has a very minimalistic design and I still like it up to now so I don’t have any redesign plans or anything. It’s barely a year-old blog. As for the technical maintenance, my husband Ali is a web developer so he takes care of that aspect.

What advice would you give to other collectors to start their own blog?

For me blogging is a fun way to share with others what you’re passionate about. I guess anyone can write about anything but I like to write about what I know and be sincere about it. Blogging is a way of connecting to other people especially those with the same interest and they would know if you’re just pretending or something so it’s best to keep it real.

You can see more of Xine’s toys at Toy Pusher.