There comes a point where a figure collector bumps against the space in their current dwelling. Right about now I’m wishing I took the ground floor apartment with the den instead of the second floor apartment minus the den, so then I could put off having to retire figures to their boxes where they will likely stay until I move. I could buy another case for them, but that would be ridiculous.
Unsurprisingly, most of the figures I’m relegating to living within boxes stored in my closet are from my early years as a collector. Much of the newer stuff just looks better made. Anyone who has been collecting for a while has seen figure quality improve, in spite of the recent grumbling that some corners are being cut now.
Some of these boxed up figures I wasn’t huge fans of to begin with, such as the Aria 1/6 figures from Solid Works, 1/6 Feema Fam Earthlight from Atlier Sai, or the Solid Works 1/8 bandaged Shana. I didn’t even bother to box the truly awful 1/8 Saber Holiday Version from Alter. That was one of their worst figures, her face was just two clicks above the infamous Sader, so I just threw it in the trash.
On the other hand, I couldn’t save Alter’s 1/6 Rin Tohsaka swimsuit version. To clear some space I also retired Alter’s 1/6 Sakura Matou swimsuit, though there was nothing wrong with her. I don’t like mixing scales and I couldn’t squeeze her into one of the other detolf shelves with 1/6 scale figures. Not that much gets made in 1/6 anymore, so that case would be almost empty for too long. For the future, 1/7 Max Factory Ignis and Pachira will probably be retired when I have to do this again, same with their 1/8 scale Van and Wendy (GunxSword). Hime-Kuri girl, Burst Angel Amy, body board Rider, and Simca are also on deck for retirement.
In passing, I did wonder at the waste of it all. But, it really isn’t any more of a waste than any other object one buys and no longer wants because they grew bored with it or the object is done doing whatever it was bought to do. Do we actually plan on keeping all our objects forever? There might be some defense mechanism that causes this sort of reaction when discarding something, like a comforting illusion of having learned from a mistake. Either way, the latest WonFest tells me I need the space.
Hm. I always wanted that Pachira figure… and always passed on it because it just isn’t that great, at least for the money.
But yea I know what you’re saying. I’m about at my max now, any more will have to go into deep storage.
Yeah, OOP figures are just ridiculous to buy because the prices often seem unreal.
aw… thats a shame but i guess for the greater good? right now in my stage of collecting i cant imagine throwing any of them away… and indeed looking at some of the wonfes pictures i know im going to have to dig deep to fulfil the wishlist i’ve made haha…
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Oh yes, there are half a dozen things that I really want that I saw in the wonderfest pictures. Not exactly sure if all of them are actually going to be for production. I have no Miku, but I like two of the ones they showed that I might actually get.
same! i dont have any scale miku figures either so i am definitely looking at the love is war and tony taka mikus <3 am hoping the tony one will come with striped panties though.. =3
Yes, we wish for the same thing. =3 Though there was another Miku I liked better than the love is war one. I think it was a MaxFactory thing that was just a sample.
the maxfactory one… u mean the miku append figure? i dont like the new design of the miku append costume unfortunately =(
Yeah, that’s the one. It looks sexy. I’m not that big on Miku, so the change of costume probably appeals to me.
Curious, your shelving space allows for how many figures?
If I cram as much as I can, 5 detolf cases held 128 figures. Unfortunately, it looked cluttered that way. Ideally, 5 cases should display 80-100 figures and give them enough room to breathe. There are a couple of beastly figures like Exelica Meteor that take up one whole shelf.
Am running into space constraints as well. Might just opt to sell off a few of my figures as putting them in storage seems sad.
Guess most of us wonder about the waste and sheer futility of it all, but if we weren’t putting our funds in this, we’d put them into something else, you can be sure of that. In the end most such hobbies could be seen as futile or a waste.
But if it’s what pleases us and entertains us, isn’t that enough to justify it?
.-= Smithy´s last blog: Orchid macro =-.
Oh yeah, it would be wasted on something else, which is why I don’t think there’s much value in thinking about what you would have done differently. Enjoy it while you have it. Move on when you need to, but no need to poo-poo when you go. Just be happy you had fun while it lasted.
You can always sell them, at least that’s what I tell myself. I think that’s at least better than putting them back in their boxes and letting them collect dust in some storage space. As for me, I won’t take them out anymore since there are new figures to come.
I like my collection and have just bought a display case because the two glass shelves on the wall won’t hold everything anymore. There are times when I think about all the money I’ve thrown into them.. I could’ve bought a ticket to Japan, bought a camera, an eBook reader, prettier furniture, art supplies… And I don’t even earn money. v_v Maybe I should part with some more of them…
.-= Eefi´s last blog: Alice Margatroid 1-6 T’s System =-.
Eefi, I’m generally lazy when it comes to money. When it comes down to it, I don’t feel any sort of financial crunch so there isn’t much incentive for me to go through the trouble. Maybe if I kept a budget for things and was very strict about when I could spend during any given month, selling would make sense so that I could get all of the stuff that was shown at wonderfest.
If you want a camera and art supplies, it makes sense, but you know I think useless junk brings about a certain amount of joy.
If money’s no issue, why not do a giveaway/contest every now and then? If figures you’ve looked at enough don’t appeal you anymore, I’m sure they can make others pretty happy.
.-= Eefi´s last blog: Minori Mai Cosplay Angel Beats! =-.
Good point.
I’m at the same point but I’m finding it difficult to pick out a lot of figures that I want to put back in their boxes. It doesn’t help that I tossed out the boxes for most of my older figures, which are the ones I want to retire.
It also doesn’t help that I have a strong sense of history, particularly as I get older, and when I look at my collection, I’m reminded of what got me into both collecting figures and into taking pictures. Assuming the Rider that you mention is the one I am thinking of, I remember seeing her on RIUVA, where I was very envious because as I recall, it was a magazine exclusive and you needed some sort of coupon clipping just to buy her. And I remember seeing their pictures of that figure and thinking that my own photos (taken with a camera that I never learned to operate properly) were never going to be any good.
I was cleaning out under my bed last weekend and I came across my binder of basketball cards. I loved collecting basketball and football cards as a kid – tearing open packs, hoping for a particularly desirable card, trading and comparing cards with friends, getting those rare copies of Beckett’s price guides (which were seldom sold in Korea), trying to complete sets. I looked through that binder and felt nothing. I wonder if I’ll view figures that way, one day?
.-= Tier´s last blog: Meiya Mitsurugi from Muv-Luv Alternative Volks X-brand Version NSFW =-.
Yes, it’s that Rider.
Our interests change, which is both what makes people great and annoying at the same time. We do keep some things around for a while. I find as I get older I’m less likely to completely lose interest in things and just backburner stuff instead. Interests ebb and flow and I try not to junk on what I liked before. Some years I almost all but ignore my sports teams. Others, I’m reading articles everyday and reading blog articles.
Figures do have the advantage of living outside of a binder.
Thats a very good topic
actually I’m happy that I’m able to display all of my figures in my rooms
without letting them appear like a messy otaku house XD
Im still having place for some more figures, nine further ones would be the limit I think, before I have to put some back into their boxes.
thinking about putting them away hurts a bit because there is the possibility that I’ll never open their boxes again.
I could also consider to sell some of them to people who admire them more than I, who intends to store them in the cellar.
.-= Fabienne´s last blog: Marisa =-.
I think I want to keep them because I anticipate buying a house in the next couple of years and would have a den where I can throw all of my nerd crap in and revel in the glorious excess of it.
Selling them might be an idea no?
im sure they will be others wanting them, you never know =)
I guess im in a way lucky since i started collecting only this year =)
Facing the same dilemma. And as you said, last wonfes tells me I need space too ^^;;
It is always hard to get ride of something. There is always a little voice in our head saying to keep stuff in case of a possible future use, or in case of figures, to keep them until the time we would have a huge place to display them all.
I also got a bunch of ‘old’ figures I am no longer interested in, and sooner or later, I will have to throw them away.
It is a waste to throw any of these figures away – how do you know someone isn’t searching for them? Haven’t you seen any of the Collectors-type shows where people are scouring op-shops and markets for everything that’s no longer made, from 20-years-ago action figures to retro-195os dukeboxes? Particulary as they seem to stop making the figures when they stop making their series. At least try selling them on e-bay first – you might make someone’s day (or decade).