Collecting Dilemma...Where to go from here?

[Poflymn]

Lately, I've been questioning my Transformers collecting dedication and direction.

I started getting into collecting with the Generations and Combiner Wars line. These lines really brought back my childhood memories of the series as they were more or less pretty consistent in their representation of the G1 figures for the most part. Holding that completed CW Superion was something else!

Of course, as time progress CHUG figures were starting not to cut it anymore. They were great since they were cheap in the grand scheme of things but as the saying goes you get what you pay for. I then went ahead and bought my first MP figure. Wow! Masterpiece figures were a whole new level of awesome. This of course came at a price with the higher price points. But it was worth it. I started small with some Autobot cars and worked my way up with Megatron being the most expensive official Masterpiece figure I've bought to date.

Then I went down the proverbial rabbit hole, I bought my first MP figure, Fans Toys Phoenix. Jetfire, Skyfire, was one of my favs growing up. I couldnt pass the opportunity to grab one when one of my local Hobby shops got some in and I was able to handle it first hand...I was sold! It didnt stop there of course, I also now own 4/5 of the Fans Toys Dinobots and a couple of other 3P figures.

However, as of late, I have been looking at my collection and am not really sure if it still brings me the same feelings from when I started. Sure I still get excited when I see new figures being released, both CHUG and MP/3P. But CHUG doesnt cut it anymore. I pick up the occasion figures to fill a gap in particular characters, such as the Twintwist, Repugnus, etc but now that I've tasted MP/3P this is what I need.

Of course MP/3P comes at a price especially a high price lately as the new releases even from Takara are pushing price points to points never though of before. I'm looking at you BW Megatron! I make a fairly decent income but I also have other priorities. As such, I am looking at maybe only buying a new figure every few months maybe longer.

There are plenty figures I tell myself I'd love to have but with the release schedule of late it feels like I'll never catch up. That I'll always be behind and never be able to finish my collection or keep at a point where I am content. I'm also big into Final Fantasy and there have been lots of new high quality figures coming out for that as well. How do I balance multiple collections with limited funds? At what point do you decide to continue trucking on or just let go? I'll always be a kid at heart and an avid Gamer, I'm in my mid thirties now. I am just at the point now that I do not know if I want to continue collecting Transformers, if I'll ever be content just getting a few figures a year.

TLDR...at what point do you look at your collection and say to yourself, "Is it worth it anymore?" "Can I continue moving forward or am I going to fall behind?"

[optimusb39]

i gave up any and all chug scale collecting and severely cut back on the mps. i have had to select a few groups of bots that i want to have and give up on the rest.
mp comviners devy menasor briticus superion.
the unicron trilogy. specific characters from the movie and the mp scale dinobots. if i happen across any others im into at affordable rates that wont put at odds with baliff collectors ill pick em up. otherwise all i do now is look and drool and fantasize about giant rms full of evey bot imaginable.
if i win the lottery id buy tfsource dry but for now thats all i can do...

[KPhilipsen]

I can't tell you what to decide but I was in a similar position not too long ago. Personally I got more sick and tired of the ever increasing plastic clutter on my walls than the money spent. I ended up dumping my MP and FT collection and started collecting the Flame Toys Kuro Kara Kuri line. Now I have one release a year to look forward to and each piece is worth dedicating a display space for. No more nuts to butts clusterfucks. For the first time in a long time my collection can fit in one cabinet. Freedom. I wouldn't go back unless I had the money for a much larger house with a dedicated display area. The space to put everything is the real killer imo. Before you realize you're being featured on an episode of Hoarders.

[RNSrobot]

Originally Posted by Poflymn

Lately, I've been questioning my Transformers collecting dedication and direction.

I started getting into collecting with the Generations and Combiner Wars line. These lines really brought back my childhood memories of the series as they were more or less pretty consistent in their representation of the G1 figures for the most part. Holding that completed CW Superion was something else!

Of course, as time progress CHUG figures were starting not to cut it anymore. They were great since they were cheap in the grand scheme of things but as the saying goes you get what you pay for. I then went ahead and bought my first MP figure. Wow! Masterpiece figures were a whole new level of awesome. This of course came at a price with the higher price points. But it was worth it. I started small with some Autobot cars and worked my way up with Megatron being the most expensive official Masterpiece figure I've bought to date.

Then I went down the proverbial rabbit hole, I bought my first MP figure, Fans Toys Phoenix. Jetfire, Skyfire, was one of my favs growing up. I couldnt pass the opportunity to grab one when one of my local Hobby shops got some in and I was able to handle it first hand...I was sold! It didnt stop there of course, I also now own 4/5 of the Fans Toys Dinobots and a couple of other 3P figures.

However, as of late, I have been looking at my collection and am not really sure if it still brings me the same feelings from when I started. Sure I still get excited when I see new figures being released, both CHUG and MP/3P. But CHUG doesnt cut it anymore. I pick up the occasion figures to fill a gap in particular characters, such as the Twintwist, Repugnus, etc but now that I've tasted MP/3P this is what I need.

Of course MP/3P comes at a price especially a high price lately as the new releases even from Takara are pushing price points to points never though of before. I'm looking at you BW Megatron! I make a fairly decent income but I also have other priorities. As such, I am looking at maybe only buying a new figure every few months maybe longer.

There are plenty figures I tell myself I'd love to have but with the release schedule of late it feels like I'll never catch up. That I'll always be behind and never be able to finish my collection or keep at a point where I am content. I'm also big into Final Fantasy and there have been lots of new high quality figures coming out for that as well. How do I balance multiple collections with limited funds? At what point do you decide to continue trucking on or just let go? I'll always be a kid at heart and an avid Gamer, I'm in my mid thirties now. I am just at the point now that I do not know if I want to continue collecting Transformers, if I'll ever be content just getting a few figures a year.

TLDR...at what point do you look at your collection and say to yourself, "Is it worth it anymore?" "Can I continue moving forward or am I going to fall behind?"

I sold off almost my entire collection last year. I have my Waspinator swarm and a couple toys. It felt freeing. It's not necessarily about the money, although last year I was in a tough financial spot. It's less stuff, cutting the impulsive need to keep up with the latest and hunt for things. Cut those ribbons in my life, as it were.

I just got a point where I was so overwhelmed by keeping up and the masses of plastic I wasn't having any JOY or happiness with the hobby. Now, I have literally a handful. I have almost every Waspinator as a personal quirky collection and that makes me smile. My kids and I play with a bunch of TR and POTP. I really enjoy Abombinus and Trypticon. And I'm... I'm just good. The few I have make me happy. If that's a couple MP, then go for it.

Albeit the BW mp tempt me. Then I think: That's $1000 on four toys. lol

[Darkroar]

I think what you describe is pretty typical/normal for long time collectors.

I started getting back into Transformers way back around Armada/Energon. I grew up in the 80's and my mind was blown when I saw they finally had made a Unicron. By the time Cybertron hit I was buying everything. Then I was buying all the MP's, lots of 3rd party, etc. I topped out around 1500 figures.

Along the way I started finding a lot of figures didn't hold my interest for long. I found I had other priorities for money as the hobby got more expensive. I also found I didn't really have the space for everything. I worried too about what I would do if I moved, I was spending too much time every time I wanted to reorganize my space.

I took a step back and look at what I really wanted out of my collection. The answer to that is different for every collector. I decided to start selling off a lot of my collection and it's been a slow ongoing process. It's helped me put in perspective figures I buy - I try to imagine the future of that figure. If I can see myself losing interest and it ending up in storage and later being sold I just save myself the hassle and don't buy it. If I don't see that and legitimately feel I'll enjoy having the figure I pick it up.

I try and set rules of what I'm collecting, but the rules seem to always shift, but I come close to following them.

Right now my displayed collection is mostly Decepticons - CHUG, MPs, G1 and Beast Wars show characters. I sub out original Beast Wars for modern figures (MPs/CHUG) when they come out. I also have a specific Beast Wars Megatron collection displayed as well. There are some other odds and ends, but that's the just of it.

As I started selling, I found parting with some figures easier than others. If I'm in doubt I try to hold off on selling those ones, but once I get over the doubt I haven't had any regrets. Having less stuff somehow frees you and it's also nice to have some extra space - even if you just spread your collection out better.

I guess my point is you don't have to give it all up; you can try to focus your collection on what gives you the most enjoyment rather than the "catch 'em all" mentality.

[Deception]

Ya i feel you. Felt the same way. Started with chug, then prime rid, then mps. Its a never ending cycle. Thats why i decided to sell off mps and everything else not being displayed cant enjoy figues in bins anyways. I started collecting marvel legends now too. Im not quitting transformers im just taking a break. There are amazing figures from other brands. Cant be limited to tfs only. Unless you are filthy rich its near impossible to keep up with 3rd party mps. I personally never went 3rd party mps but even with hastak releases the occasional 3p and mp it adds up to the 1000s really quick. Ive learned that if u want more some will have to go. Space will become issue too. Ive refocused my collection. Going back to chug only and marvel legends. Tfs will be easier since i have most characters already.

[oroboru]

My limitations are space related primarily. While I do appreciate the effort that goes into both mass produced and smaller release items, I’ve always been super selective when it comes the the actual buying... that and I’m cheap when it comes to collecting. I think the only lines that gave me enough interest to actually try to keep up would be the recent trilogy, and even the I’m pretty much an Autobot guy only.

Personally, presuming money wasn’t an issue, I’d just to Takara MP only and not buy anything else as it pertains to the G1 line, as it were. People are all getting happy about the new Seige Ultra Magnus because it has a smaller bot inside.

Me? I’m perfectly happy with my MP being the last G1 styled UM I ever buy. It’s also I skipped pretty much all the Optimus Prime figures in the Trilogy.

I’d rather allocate space to new characters like Moonracer and Novastar, as flawed as their toys were.

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Yeah, as others have mentioned, it's something I think many collectors go through.

For me, right now, I'm in the process of reorganizing my shelves and deciding what to get rid of. I've also though about what the focus of my collection is. I've decided that with the price hikes in the main line toys, the Siege line will probably be the last one where I'll be buying most of the releases, because I figure I'll have most if not all the G1 cast, especially the more obscure character, in in Generation's form by then. Afterwards, I'm going to be a lot more picky about things and just cherry pick the best of what I like.

Probably go into update mode, where I'll only buy figures that are better updates to certain characters.

As for MPs, I was into the 3P stuff for a while, but it was expensive, so I was very selective in what I bought. And I always had it in my head that Has/Tak would eventually come out with a cheaper, more accurate version of the character anyway, so no need to be impatient for that class of figure.

But then MP Dinobot came out, and when I saw the pricetag, my arse puckered up but good. I couldn't justify that. And then the MP Beastwars Megatron came out and the new MP Prime. The prices for these things made it so all I could do was put up my hands and say NO. The official stuff is now WAAAY more expensive than the 3P stuff. For the price of that new MP Prime, I could buy two 3P Ultima Guards, a Metroplex-sized Omega Supreme.

The value just isn't there for me any longer. I mean these toys are supposed to be fun. Being scared of breaking a figure because it cost $500+ takes a lot of the fun out of it.
So I'm probably going to be turning my eye toward 3P to fill out my MP collection. But I'm not in any rush. Again, I'm going to be very picky, because honestly, there's always going to be the latest and greatest coming out, if not this year, the next.

It's a never ending cycle, so no need to worry about missing out on anything now days. I've gotten more than any 80's kid could have ever have imagined was possible already. Everything is now the cherry on top.

I think for me, the golden age of collecting is over. It's now a war for the resources of money, time, and space, where only the most fit will survive.

But maybe, one day, a figure will rise from the ranks to light my darkest hour and start things again. But we'll see.

[anotheran]

Still collecting all the chug/siege stuff. Only way to get all the figures from g1 in close enough scaling. I collect some of the MP line but only if the figure looks good (I.e. skipped iron hide). But I stopped collecting 3p. Too expensive and hasbro usually releases something good enough for me later

[supermanTF]

Collecting dilemma indeed. My collection is not complete nor it should ever be. I like collecting because holding a figure reminds me about Saturday morning cartoons, the movie and of course going to your friends house and play. Peoples' reason to collect TF's are different but for me, I like to collect a few pieces that I really really like. FT Phoenix is an amazing TF - very similar to cartoon and huge. There are people here that have just about everything imaginable and I thank them for showing their collections. I have no space, limited money so I pick my favorites and thing I didn't have as a kid growing up.

My suggestion is just buy what you like and don't let this hobby consume you. Oh yeah, right now I seem to like Micromasters

Have fun!!!