BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A mother-son duo has collected thousands of action figures and dolls.
Together, they have converted their basement into an area to display and store all the items.
Linda Holderbaum began collecting dolls during the 1960s. Over the decades, she has catalogued and photographed each doll brought into the collection. Each one also has an ID card.
"It just ebbed and flowed over the years," said Linda Holderbaum. "It's just great fun, and I enjoy it a lot."
As she continued her collection, her family grew. Her son Josh now has a collection of his own too.
"I have a lot of toys. It covers a lot of ground," said Josh, who collects mainly action figures and superheroes.
Unlike his mom, he has not catalogued each item he has collected. It's impossible for the two to put an exact number of how much they've collected, but they estimate it's in the thousands.
Each superhero collectible has changed over the years. For example, he has multiple action figures for Captain America or Thor.
"It's a lot of fun being able to showcase characters ... and how they have changed over the years," said Josh.
The Holderbaums have gotten the collectibles from all sorts of places like thrift stores, eBay and garage sales. The two are also part of a doll club in the Battle Creek area.
