My actual earliest memories are watching my dad playing Alex the Kidd which is what got me into gaming, and I think my 4th birthday(?) I got a G2 Optimus for Christmas, followed by an Optimus Primal for my birthday a month later fresh off the release of BW. My dad was also a huge collector, had some 2k Hotwheels, Johnny Lightning and other toy cars, and so every time we'd go to TRU, he'd get something for himself and something for me. Wasn't so much one toy as much as literally as long as I can remember I was collecting stuff.

That being said, when I was hitting my teenage years and getting back into collecting after TF Armada's toys were so bad they knocked me out of buying toys until I was 17, I'm pretty sure it was Revoltech Shin Getter. One of the first toys I bought with my own money, and set me off buying a bunch of other Revos, ironically helping me get into SRW, which pushed me into gokin stuff, more plamo than just gunpla, and the insane amount of crap I own now. Was the dawn of the "modern" age of japanese toys imo, where while we had the new Chogokin line and MSIA, Kaiyodo blew the doors off with revo and the earlier line that preceeded it in terms of sculpt and articulation. Raised the bar and specifically showed me personally how cool toys could be, and really dragged me in. Helped that a Revoltech cost a whopping 30 dollars canadian, which is unthinkable now that such a good toy could be so cheap. Ironically stopped buying them entirely because no way a revo is worth over 100 bucks now lmao.

Still waiting for a new fucking Shin Getter-1 that isn't panel lined and has modern articulation actually!!!!!!!!!!! Hoping that the Getter Dragon/Poseidon/Ryger in that new Pose+ line sell well enough that they don't cancel the whole thing before reaching the Shin Getters....