A few thoughts and questions on this collecting malarkey... (1 Viewer)

fierytheangelsfell

fierytheangelsfell

Private 2
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
87
Collecting is expensive. How can one do it 'effectively' without being a millionaire? The figures in the King and Country range alone are so enticing! How do you control the collecting urge? Do you specialise in one historical area? Or two? Or three?

Any thoughts?
 
Heck, where I work I see "regular guys" making wages with expensive motorcycles they can only drive in the summer around here. Several don't find missing front teeth a problem but they have the biggest and best bikes. You just take care of priorities first then hobbies.

Me I paint my own figures or collect plastics as I love "mass."
 
You learn to paint your own ;)

Seriously, though, that is an option, as you'll see among many of us here. Some of us buy kit castings and paint them, others also cast our own, and we even have some sculptors among us. If you have any experience in building models, you might consider it.

But you've already mentioned one common strategy--focusing on a specific subject, like a time period, or maker, or some combination of criteria to focus your purchasing. For me, I focus on 54mm, 18th Century, and Imperial German, gloss finish preferred, and I cast and paint my own. Though, I have started buying commercially finished figures, as makers like John Jenkins and Frontline have begun producing figures from the Seven Years War.

The other thing I always keep in mind is that it's my hobby, not my job, when budgeting. I try not to let it keep me from meeting my obligations. Having said that, as someone who does paint castings, I can get a lot for my money by scouring the vendor tables at shows, and flea markets and auctions.

Prost!
Brad
 
I only collect one series and only really get new additions at Christmas or my birthday, I have only been collecting about 4/5 years and in that time the average cost of a figure has brutally risen from $21.00 to $38.00, so not getting many figures at all now sadly....:eek:
 
You come from nothing; work very hard; come up with a few innovative ideas; become a millionaire; then you buy anything you want anytime.
 
If you don't have endless funds then don't try and buy everything you like, be choosy, take your time and really want each set you buy. I only buy what I can afford and just don't throw it on the credit card and worry about it later, I plan and think things through a lot. Part of the fun of this hobby is the choice itself. Once you accept you simply cannot buy everything (took me a long time!) its more relaxing as the pressure is off and you can just enjoy what you get a great deal.

That's how I go about it.....oh and making sure the family know what I want for Christmas and birthdays:wink2:

Rob
 
you can plan to some extent if you collect other manufacturers who are not as prolific as say K&C because their release output is not anywhere near as volumous. I think Rob hit the nail on the head which, I would say applies equally to everything. Once you accept you cannot have everything and, be happy with what you have and can afford I think it makes it more enjoyable and, you appreciate what you have more.

If you miss something odds are it will be released again at some stage or, that there will be something else as equally as nice the next month
Mitch
 
Hi Fierytheangelsfell,

It looks like you are getting some wonderful and sound advice. I second the advice provided by Rob and Mitch. Take some time, identify what you want most that your resources can handle, and enjoy the hobby at your own pace.

TheBaron and Scott also offer good advice if you are talented or if you are inclined to learn how to paint figures. Painting figures can add a great deal of fun to the hobby while your collection progresses at financially responsible speed.

In addition to their advice, I would offer the following thoughts.

1.) Watch the "For Sale" section of this forum. Many times, there are excellent figures for sale at a reasonable price.

2.) Watch the secondary market (eBay) as you can occasionally obtain figures at a wonderful price.

3.) Specializing in an era, an event, a manufacturer, or style can help you focus your collection while avoiding the temptations of purchasing beautiful, but unrelated, figures.

4. I also want to add there are some outstanding plastic figures available. You might want to explore this area as the plastic figures are usually less expensive than metal figures.

In whatever manner you decide to approach the hobby, make certain it is fun. There are no "rights" or "wrongs" in the hobby and the chief goal of the hobby is to bring joy, relaxation, and pleasure to the person engaging in it.

Good luck and keep us informed regarding your hobby decisions!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat :)
 
I had conversations on this very subject last week with Rich Schuster (NYsoldiers), Carlos Souza (Sentaapua) and Mark Hoffman. I am lucky in that I built the lions share of my collection in the 1990's, when collecting was substantially more affordable (the average K&C figure retailed for about $14 when I started collecting, and you could frequently purchase retired figures that had sat on dealer's shelves for years for a fraction of retail). That being said, at one point I was a true K&C "completist", purchasing every figure as it came out and trying to find all of the early production pieces I had missed from the 1980's. I kept this up through about 2004, when Andy had started producing so many ranges, and releasing so many figures each month that I just couldn't afford to keep up. I started limiting myself to just WWII, then just WWII vehicles, aircraft and aircraft related figures, and finally just ran out of space and stopped buying new production items in around 2010. Now I limit my expenditures, and preserve what little display space I have left, by focusing on only retired items that are hard to find from cottage makers like Heco Tinplate Models, Toy Army Workshop, Bengurion and CJB Models. If I am lucky I find maybe one piece every month, and enjoy the hunt for these items far more than the scramble to keep up with the new releases. I still buy the occasional new release that strikes my fancy, but my cost of collecting has decreased 90%.
 
I started collecting first King&country back in 2007. They have continued as my own personal main brand,but have since then added Thomas Gunn, Figarti, and Collectors Showcase WWII items to my collection.I dabbled 2 years ago with Revolutionary war and the Alamo but have since then traded those items in so to speak so I could stay
within my favorite era to collect WWII .... Matte. The priority here was figures and armored vehicles,but have branched out to WWII aircraft within the last 2 years.
Once you get into the planes they too can be addicting !!! My advise as others have mentioned would be to determine which era is "YOUR" absolute favorite......
Napoleonics, Civil War, WWII, etc and go from there. The great thing about collecting today is there are a lot of quality products and choices !
Hope to see some pics once your collection gets off the ground !
 
Last edited:
I do well on the horses,i have two expensive habits.........................^&grin
Seriously you have to be disciplined it took me a awhile to say no to everything new and just stick with WW2 German (that's my main line)
but its a expensive hobby no doubt but worth it.
Also if you miss out on something don't panic sooner or later it will turn up,and the hunt for a rare retired piece is half the fun.
 
All good comments and sound advise:wink2:.....Stay within your budget....Common Sense.....Collect only what you really want because you will be looking at it for a "long time"....Don't buy OVER-PRICED JUNK or buy out of HABIT.........contrary to some opinions on this forum TS are NOT AN INVESTMENT so don't exspect to get your money back in secondary markets....Lastly consider space problems.....Some of us will only slow down when we run out of avaiable space.....or MONEY{eek3}
 
Vezzolf said:
...TS are NOT AN INVESTMENT so don't exspect to get your money back in secondary markets....
Click to expand...

That is an excellent point, and it's true of anything we want to collect. Collect what you like, what catches your eye, and don't collect something because you think it'll pay for your kids' college education some day. Seldom does that work, and look at all the folks who bought Beanie Babies, Franklin Mint collector plates, etc, etc, thinking that they would parley their $59.99 into hundreds.

Prost!
Brad
 
Sad thing is I think it was true for a while. I don't think the market is the same now or, ever will be again
Mitch
 
theBaron said:
That is an excellent point, and it's true of anything we want to collect. Collect what you like, what catches your eye, and don't collect something because you think it'll pay for your kids' college education some day. Seldom does that work, and look at all the folks who bought Beanie Babies, Franklin Mint collector plates, etc, etc, thinking that they would parley their $59.99 into hundreds.

Prost!
Brad
Click to expand...

Beans have no history,,no base but those on hoarders,,ever see any britains on those trash filled houses,,not that I would ever watch tho detroit pawn shop is a tad,,,,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2024 XenForo Ltd.
Back
Top