...did a wee bit of dusting last night, and it struck me how my toy habits, from what I collect to how I display them, has changed. I used to be a rabid completist, if I bought one figure from a line, I had to have the whole line. That gradually went out the window, and while I do have a few complete sets of some lines, I don't have to buy sets...feel no urge at all. (Not that I don't still do so, occasionally)
That, in turn, affected my displays...I also used to feel the burning need to have "unified" displays, so that every single shelf had some kind of "theme" to it, even if the figures were mixed from different series. Not so much, now. In fact, I rather like just tossing together figures that look very, very different from each other, just for the hell of it. Hence I have a shelf with The Undertaker, Galadriel, Ultimate Thor, Dawn, Lara Croft, a Pred, a giant spider, and FF8 Odin all standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Sounds weird, but it looks pretty cool to me.
So, anyway, what are you people doing with your toys these days? What are you buying and how do you display it? How has your habit evolved since you started out?
I turned into a very, very selective collector. last complete line I got was Tortured Souls one I think and after that I only bought some here some there. Nowadays I only buy a figure when I absolutely, definitely need it. I have several versions of Kroenen for example because I loved the Hellboy movie.
guess I develeoped from a rabid collector who liked too much to a selective pennypincher
Well i never was into buying sets, but i have few, i started out with spawn, i collected every differnt spawn from every line, so if every line had a spawn figure i bought a whole set.
My spawn fire has slowed down a bit seeing how he's been done a million differnt ways, im now more into collecting anime and buying guitar stuff.
As for my display most of my stuff is still MIP but i have some open spawn figures displayed, most of my open stuff is anime and takes the biggest display space.
That's were im at right now. [img]smile.gif[/img]
<font color="#cd6600" size="1">[ March 23, 2005 08:17 AM: Message edited by: Guitardeth? ]</font>
Other than Dragons and the Motley Crue box set, I haven't been buying anything lately. I'm making more stuff than buying it now. I think I'm pretty much done with Spawn. I just don't need anymore versions of him.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I did buy a couple of Red Wing figs recently.
<font color="#cd6600" size="1">[ March 23, 2005 08:18 AM: Message edited by: Andyman ]</font>
i only buy what i like, i don't have to complete a set. i just re-arranged the other day and i put all my chics together on one shelf, odds and ends on another, now i put all my spawns around my new tv in my bedroom with the 12" jazz hands and that looks real cool [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
I'm a reformed "completist" as well. I think the only complete set I have left is the DC Direct HUSH series. When I was younger, I swore that I would have every Spawn figure that came out as well as every Marvel Legend figure that was produced, but I have since changed my ways. I now only collect the figures that I like.
As far as displaying them goes... I'm a MOC collector and up until recently, I had my collection displayed on one wall of my garage, but we're in the process of looking for a house so I've since packed them all up for the impending move. I have grandiose visions of how I want to display my collection (including figures, statues, prop replicas & movie posters) in our new house which is playing a large part in choosing the next house we decide to buy.
It all depends on the line - I can be a RABID completist on some things, like the Muppets or Simpsons, but on other lines it's just what I like. For example, the Now Playing stuff - one Darkman, one Nightmare Demon. No need for all the variants etc.
But when it comes to displays, I do try to keep like stuff together. Same shelf might have the Futurama figures with the Family Guy with the Pink Panther, and another shelf has nothing but Batman stuff from 10 different DC Direct lines.
Then again, that doesn't always work - I have a shelf right now with 12" X-Files, 12" Young Frankenstein, and all the Invader Zim figures. Not really a theme!
Michael
MWC
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...we are like addicts, aren't we? Do you ever catch yourself looking at an upcoming series and thinking you should just buy them all? Or buying a couple of figures, then getting them home and thinking you should have bought the whole set? I have to mentally slap myself for that kind of thinking sometimes...Originally posted by Maximus28:
I'm a reformed "completist" as well.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">...now, I don't know...I'd say its a "stream of consciousness" kind of theme...or maybe a Rorsharch (sp?) theme... [img]wink.gif[/img]Originally posted by Michael Crawford:
I have a shelf right now with 12" X-Files, 12" Young Frankenstein, and all the Invader Zim figures. Not really a theme!
there are a few lines I did the completitist thing with, but it was because I loved 'em all.
Viking Age for example.
Shadowrun for another, although I have yet to get all of those. (007, we still on?)
there's still 15-20 LotR figs I want (I have 3), but there's no way I'd try to get ALL of them.
hell, there's even some Micro toys I don't want...although if I found 'em, well...
[img]wink.gif[/img]
then there was the Thundarr figs.
I loved Thundarr. had to have the toys.
even though I had little interest in Princess Ariel, I bought her. wouldn't be right if she wasn't there. mind ya, being a completitist on a line with only 3 figs isn't really a big deal.
the only line going on right now that I KNOW I will buy everything from is McF's Elvis stuff...what can I say?
I'm a hunka hunka burnin' love. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
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