Buying Duplicate figures ( or sets) ? (1 Viewer)

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Rudi Starnberg

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Apologies if this is a wacky query, or one lacking in a sense of perspective, but upon seeing a set or an individual figure that you think is exceptional ( in sculpt, paintwork, fits in to your ideal collecting area etc) to what extent do you have an urge to buy it in duplicate ( just in case some sad fate may befall the figure...or set, that so impresses you....you have a reserve in waiting) ?

Do you give in to the urge, or is it so indulgent ( and/or expensive ? ) that the urge can easily be suppressed or batted away ?

To buy duplicate figures, or sets, when only one can be displayed at a time...is this simply a sign of collector mania , where good sense and reasoning cannot prevail ?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts ....from any armchair or professional psychiatrists welcome !
 
Ps. If you feel so inclined, and you have given in to such an urge, please let me/us know what figure or set tempted you....
Cheers !
Ps mine has been the Standing Patrol AK 011.
 
Hi Rudi,

I have bought doubles of figures on several occasions. If a figure really appeals to me sometimes I think maybe I should get two. I've done that many times with some of K & C's early Crusaders as well as some BOB Germans, one being BBG-002 (one of the best figure sets ever), a BOB GI, and a few DD and WS figures. I haven't done it in a long time now because the way the pricing is these days. Some of the figures I bought doubles of I still have while others I ended up selling. It really is an interesting question, but I can say the thought rarely if ever crosses my mind anymore because of cost. In the past I could easily justify buying a double for $29 or a four figure set I really liked a lot for $89. But buying a double today would generally mean not buying something else I wanted altogether. So it just no longer makes sense to have two of figure A and zero of figure B. This would apply to figures that have no alternate versions.

I collect Russian figures and part of the appeal w/ those is you might sometimes find a figure you already have but painted completely different and/or painted by a different artist. So the desire to have a double in such cases can be much stronger because sometimes the same sculpt with different paint work looks almost like an entirely different figure as it can possess its own individuality. Sometimes Russian figures are painted not only by different artists but to different paint grades too. So that's another variable that contributes significantly to the thought process of doubling up. In cases like that I have multiple doubles and beyond. Sometimes I end up selling such figures or using them in a dioramas.

Really fun topic for discussion!
Joe
 
Just sit back, catch your breath when the urge comes to buy duplicates. It will go away. Believe it or not when I first got into this hobby I had the same urge. There is just so much out there, and quality stuff, spend your money on other sets.
On another note. If you do buy duplicates I guarantee at a later date you will want to sell them and the secondary market will more than likely cost you money.
Gary
 
the only duplicates I buy are...

"firing lines"...
standing /kneeling firing to build a formidable firing line...

"marching lines"...
multiples to represent a marching formation...

officers, flag bearers and casualties...

I know that sounds like a lot...
but it is and it isn't...

I never buy "one off's" in duplicates...

and avoid repaints by the same manufacturer...
ex: XXX001a...XXX001b...XXX001c...etc...
 
I buy duplicates of russian figures if I see one that I like the painting better than is on mine and I’ll buy doubles here and there for masses troops. My latest double was the idf tank
 
I would have thought you bought at least 8 of the IDF tanks...
and 10 of the Moshe Dayan and Benjamin Netanyahu figures...^&grin

I don't buy repaint schemes of the same figures anymore...
I did for a year or two...
but when you set them up...
you're not fooling anybody...
it's still the same figure...
I just don't buy them anymore...
 
Never.I even never repeat a diorama 2 times( for example, never 2 snow dioramas, nor 2 desert dioramas). And if a figure falls down, I will accept it for the natural rule of the impermanence of all the world things.
 
mikemiller1955 said:
I would have thought you bought at least 8 of the IDF tanks...
and 10 of the Moshe Dayan and Benjamin Netanyahu figures...^&grin

I don't buy repaint schemes of the same figures anymore...
I did for a year or two...
but when you set them up...
you're not fooling anybody...
it's still the same figure...
I just don't buy them anymore...
Click to expand...

In the evenings they march on his bedroom and demand in unison “Take me to your leader!!”
 
mikemiller1955 said:
the only duplicates I buy are...

"firing lines"...
standing /kneeling firing to build a formidable firing line...

"marching lines"...
multiples to represent a marching formation...

...
Click to expand...

To get a realistic battle scene or a parade it's a must to have duplicates and by selling the figures as individuals the collector has that choice, which I like :)

John
 
mikemiller1955 said:
the only duplicates I buy are...

"firing lines"...
standing /kneeling firing to build a formidable firing line...

"marching lines"...
multiples to represent a marching formation...

officers, flag bearers and casualties...

I know that sounds like a lot...
but it is and it isn't...

I never buy "one off's" in duplicates...

and avoid repaints by the same manufacturer...
ex: XXX001a...XXX001b...XXX001c...etc...
Click to expand...

As Mike mentioned I have "MANY" duplicates of the same figure.

The American Revolution is one of my favorite eras. In some cases I have 20 or more of the same figure (Marching / Standing firing / Kneeling Firing / Loading, etc) . I also love Flag bearers and have multiples of them (4,5,..)

With the USMC and the JN series I won't have quite as many as the warfare style is different, but in some cases YES I have multiple. For example, I have 5 sets of the JN02 Flight Deck Crew .... and they all can be used in different circumstances depending on he situation. I will have three or four sets of the "JUST" release stretcher bearer sets and the flag draped stretcher. Other figures we will have to see how my scene works out.

---LaRRy
 
Rudi Starnberg said:
upon seeing a set or an individual figure that you think is exceptional ( in sculpt, paintwork, fits in to your ideal collecting area etc) to what extent do you have an urge to buy it in duplicate ( just in case some sad fate may befall the figure...or set, that so impresses you....you have a reserve in waiting) ?
Click to expand...

Hi Rudi,

Interesting topic and one applicable to any brand. I've only purchased duplicates of one Kriegsmarine figure (pictured below). While cost can certainly get expensive if one wants to purchase duplicates/or reserve figures (for whatever reason), the toy soldier hobby is so diverse, I'm getting to a point that space/storage is a limiting factor. There's no end to the hobby and with so many items available (from multiple companies), I've become more selective in what I buy (and I really don't want to go down the "duplicate road".


Kriegsmarine on Alert by Western Outlaw, on Flickr
 
Larry Allen said:
As Mike mentioned I have "MANY" duplicates of the same figure.

The American Revolution is one of my favorite eras. In some cases I have 20 or more of the same figure (Marching / Standing firing / Kneeling Firing / Loading, etc) . I also love Flag bearers and have multiples of them (4,5,..)

With the USMC and the JN series I won't have quite as many as the warfare style is different, but in some cases YES I have multiple. For example, I have 5 sets of the JN02 Flight Deck Crew .... and they all can be used in different circumstances depending on he situation. I will have three or four sets of the "JUST" release stretcher bearer sets and the flag draped stretcher. Other figures we will have to see how my scene works out.

---LaRRy
Click to expand...

Larry...
when you did your diodrama of the AWI...
I thought you were using mirrors...^&grin
 
Hi Rudy
I buy duplicate sets all the time. I have to have a small stock of figures at my disposal all the time . I receive a demand from a collector to make a diorama on a particular subject.
I do the research on the subject and I use ( buy) figures accordingly in agreement with the collector;
I only do WW2. BOB is very popular and so is the Normandy campaign.
I sometimes have several assignments at the same time on the same subject for different collectors. So buying multiples is a must for me.
When I like a figure- in my imagination- I put it in different scenes and buy 2 or 3 sets of the same figure . ( I never know if the figure will still be available when needed)
and from time to time I make a diorama for my own collection, thus buying multiples is something normal for me
I hope I explained my view point correctly
guy:)
 
I just remembered another set I bought two of....EA-009 featuring four British soldiers advancing under fire. It's my favorite British set K & C did for this theater. The figures in this set are great.

Joe
 
Hi Rudy,


I ought to be totally honest with you...sometimes I couldn't help myself! :rolleyes: The answer is...yes, I've bought duplicate figures but, at the moment, I've become more selective in what I buy for so many reasons... due to lack of space...money...Anyway...I can tell you one thing for certain...I'm not going to stop collecting toy soldiers and hanging around this forum!
I love sharing that great hobby with all of you! :smile2:

Cheers

Enrico
 
Interesting answers, thanks gents. Yes good point about making a variety of diorama's and wanting to try out that favourite figure in a number of settings...I might have to usethat as an excuse :)

It seems sensible to override the collectors urge to simply "hoard" such a figure, in duplicate, to instead put that money towards a new and different figure, given the vast and growing choice that is out there...

Reminds me of Bruce Chatwin's great short novel, " Utz " ( a collector of Meissen ) , and how we have to be careful not to become the prisoners of our own collections !
 
Rudi Starnberg said:
Interesting answers, thanks gents. Yes good point about making a variety of diorama's and wanting to try out that favourite figure in a number of settings...I might have to usethat as an excuse :)

It seems sensible to override the collectors urge to simply "hoard" such a figure, in duplicate, to instead put that money towards a new and different figure, given the vast and growing choice that is out there...

Reminds me of Bruce Chatwin's great short novel, " Utz " ( a collector of Meissen ) , and how we have to be careful not to become the prisoners of our own collections !
Click to expand...


That's a good suggestion... :rolleyes: I look forward to reading that book! :)

Thanks a lot, mate!


Cheers

Enrico :salute::
 
It's a good read , Enrico ! Humorous too, with good observations on the mania of collectors, and the sacrifices some make ! Chatwin used to work for Sotheby's before becoming a writer so would have known the type well .
 
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