How many figures constitute a... (2 Viewers)

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wadepat

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Gentle friends,

In the K&C forum, Gustavflyer asks collectors how many K&C figures they have in their collection. His question hints at something about which I have wondered for some period of time. Let me see if I can articulate it.

I have always considered my collection to be a small/modest one. However, my recent move to a new house and the almost limitless amount of time I have spent packing and unpacking toy soldiers has caused me to reconsider the label I would use to describe my collection. Generally speaking, what number of figures do you believe one must have in order to appropriately and/or accurately apply one of the following labels to his/her collection:

How many figures constitute a...

Small/Modest Sized Collection: 1 to ???? figures. :)

Medium/Moderate Sized Collection: ???? to ???? figures. :rolleyes:

Large Collection: ???? to endless number of figures. :eek:

My question is not linked to how many one might have that are produced by a single manufacturer. I am referencing all the figures in a person's collection regardless of the manufacturer. In short, one's entire collection.

If you have thoughts on this rather mindless question of mine, I would enjoy hearing them.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat ;)
 
Pat,

My question would be none of the above. I don't think it matters whether you have a little or a lot as long as it brings you enjoyment. I get a kick out of many pieces of my collection but some not. So, whether in real numbers, it may not be as large as the one Malcolm Forbes used to have, as long as it gives us enjoyment when we look at it, that's all that counts. I had never even though about how many different figures I had until the question was posed today.
 
wadepat said:
Gentle friends,

In the K&C forum, Gustavflyer asks collectors how many K&C figures they have in their collection. His question hints at something about which I have wondered for some period of time. Let me see if I can articulate it.

I have always considered my collection to be a small/modest one. However, my recent move to a new house and the almost limitless amount of time I have spent packing and unpacking toy soldiers has caused me to reconsider the label I would use to describe my collection. Generally speaking, what number of figures do you believe one must have in order to appropriately and/or accurately apply one of the following labels to his/her collection:

How many figures constitute a...

Small/Modest Sized Collection: 1 to ???? figures. :)

Medium/Moderate Sized Collection: ???? to ???? figures. :rolleyes:

Large Collection: ???? to endless number of figures. :eek:

My question is not linked to how many one might have that are produced by a single manufacturer. I am referencing all the figures in a person's collection regardless of the manufacturer. In short, one's entire collection.

If you have thoughts on this rather mindless question of mine, I would enjoy hearing them.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat ;)
Click to expand...

Pat I find your question much more interesting than Brad. First, I think a collection by definition is an accumulation of items, so a small collection would at least be say 12 items. Working on a collection is 1 to 11. Obviously a number of variables, like discretionary spending levels and the amount of time spent collecting, influence the size of a collection. But generally speaking, for the average K&C or toy soldier collector, I think a small/modest collection would be in the range from 12 to 120 items (Items being figures plus structures plus vehicles, etc.) I think a medium size collection would range from 120 to 1,200 items in size. A large collection would be just that, 1,200 to 12,000 items. I don't think many collectors have over 12,000 items, that generally goes beyond the term "collection." I have been collecting for about 5 years and my collection is dominated by pre-1966 hollocasts and in the medium size range as proposed above. I never knew people had large collections, other than the Joplin's, Forbes, etc., until I became a member of the forum. What do you think about this mid-American logic?? Should we start a club of medium size collectors or wait until we can join the LARGE COLLECTOR'S CLUB? Just a little humor, sorry for revealing the existance of the secret LARGE COLLECTOR'S CLUB! The secret handshake involves secretly passing single figures without letting anyone else see. Have fun collecting. BOYER
 
wadepat said:
Gentle friends,

In the K&C forum, Gustavflyer asks collectors how many K&C figures they have in their collection. His question hints at something about which I have wondered for some period of time. Let me see if I can articulate it.

I have always considered my collection to be a small/modest one. However, my recent move to a new house and the almost limitless amount of time I have spent packing and unpacking toy soldiers has caused me to reconsider the label I would use to describe my collection. Generally speaking, what number of figures do you believe one must have in order to appropriately and/or accurately apply one of the following labels to his/her collection:

How many figures constitute a...

Small/Modest Sized Collection: 1 to ???? figures. :)

Medium/Moderate Sized Collection: ???? to ???? figures. :rolleyes:

Large Collection: ???? to endless number of figures. :eek:

My question is not linked to how many one might have that are produced by a single manufacturer. I am referencing all the figures in a person's collection regardless of the manufacturer. In short, one's entire collection.

If you have thoughts on this rather mindless question of mine, I would enjoy hearing them.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat ;)
Click to expand...


Hi Pat,

I don't think its a mindless question,in fact its very interesting.I suppose if i add together all my collections i have in the region of two-three thousand soldiers.These are made up of collections from K&C,Airfix,Toy Army Workshop,Little Legion,Trophy,Anni and Del Prado.

To answer your question more directly i'd say 1-50 would be a small collection,50-200 would be a medium size, and anything over would be a large collection.But thats only my opinion and i'm sure some will disagree with that.Actually until i read your post i hadn't thought much about my collection as a whole as only my K&C stuff is on display at the moement.The rest of my troops are boxed up in the loft.

Its funny because i have a History of having 'phases' of collecting where i would collect something for a year or more and then move on.But since discovering K&C thats has stopped altogether.I think i've finally found my collecting niche!.Sorry pat wandered from the subject there!:eek:

Best wishes

Rob
 
Interesting question, Pat. When I first read the thread Gustavflyer's post I thought, "Gee, I hardly have a collection." Much as Rob stated I really only considered my K&C/Conte figures as part of my collection. However, once I started thinking about it and counted the plastic and die cast figures I realize I've got a fair size collection.

Here's my stab at arbitrarily defining the size ranges of collections:

1 - 25 Small/Modest

26 - 125 Medium/Moderate Sized Collection:

126 - infinity and beyond Large Collection

Of course, I am a relatively new collector and as my collection grows I will change this definition so that I can honestly tell my wife, "Actually, it is considered a rather small collection by most standards. You should see the guy who has a personal museum. Now THAT is a collection." :D
 
Is there a difference between an accumulation and a collection?
Regards
Damian
 
Pat

10 to 250 is small 250 to 350 modest 350 to 2000 large 2000 to 5000 is a collection 5000 and above serious collector has addiction genome. Collection needs seperate building and a curator.

I am in the large range but have only really been at it in the last four years. Some of these guys have been doing it 30 years or more

I would further add that to a "large collector " My little collection (in my mind) would be a trifling.
 
Rob said:
Hi Pat,

I don't think its a mindless question,in fact its very interesting.I suppose if i add together all my collections i have in the region of two-three thousand soldiers.These are made up of collections from K&C,Airfix,Toy Army Workshop,Little Legion,Trophy,Anni and Del Prado.

To answer your question more directly i'd say 1-50 would be a small collection,50-200 would be a medium size, and anything over would be a large collection.But thats only my opinion and i'm sure some will disagree with that.Actually until i read your post i hadn't thought much about my collection as a whole as only my K&C stuff is on display at the moement.The rest of my troops are boxed up in the loft.

Its funny because i have a History of having 'phases' of collecting where i would collect something for a year or more and then move on.But since discovering K&C thats has stopped altogether.I think i've finally found my collecting niche!.Sorry pat wandered from the subject there!:eek:

Best wishes

Rob
Click to expand...


I was thinking these exact numbers in terms of small, medium and large collection.
 
Perhaps the designations are in the eye of the beholder.

Think of it this way. If I have 20 figures, any collection of over 100 figures seems pretty large. If I have 100 figures, a collection of over 1000 seems huge. Even a person with 3000 figures in their collection can find someone with an 'enormous' collection to talk about. Where you begin has a lot to do with it.

I know that some of the people on this forum have larger collections, which would skew this question much higher.

Kinda like asking a person who makes $10 million a year whether he's rich. He could easily say, "Compared to Bill Gates, I don't make all that much..." It's a matter of perspective.

Interesting to consider, though.
 
Hi Guys,

As usual there are many good answers to a very good question. Thanks to Pat for asking it especially since we have had some rather lengthy discussions of this very subject. I think its difficult to put a number on what is small and what is beyond control, like Peter said its truely a matter of perspective. I feel like I have a large collection but if I were to use a number to define it against some one like Louis I would consider myself as a very small collector in no uncertain terms, I will also offer the added dimension of what the wife thinks, mine is fine with it as long as it remains mostly confined to the manly man room but if I were to jump into the den or another area in the house I might find out she thinks its time to get rid of some "stuff".

Again many thanks to Pat for asking this thought provoking question.

All the best

Dave
 
Hey fellas:

I agree with Peter and Brad. I really don't think this is one of those things that can be quantified within any reasonable constraints.

For example, say I go buy the St. Pete Carthiginian war elephant at $1,500. Would that be "1" toy soldier. For the same amount of scratch, I could go out and buy an entire regiment of high quality plastic figures and, now I would be in the "large collector" bucket- same amount of money spent, vastly different quantity of figures.

And then there is the scale size- where would a collector of tiny 6mm figs fit in to this? What about the 120mm figures. I just think it is impossible to quantify your collection this way.

If you were going to take a stab at it, I would perhaps base it on dollars spent in a year- I used to think I spent WAY too much on this hobby but running into these guys on this forum, I believe I am in the lower- middle range.

Another way would be to break it out by vendor, which, I believe most people do. I would venture to say for KC, a medium size collection could very well be 750 pieces- maybe even 1,000 given the exhaustive lines and single figures. For Britains, probably about the same though I would believe 1,500 Britains figures is attainable for someone who collects Britains over the course of 15-20 years.. St. Pete, I have felt that 200-250 is a sizeable collection of their figures. What about companies like Honor Bound or ONWTC?? Their catalog is pretty limited due to their "newness" to the hobby. It's quite conceivable that you could own their entire catalog and still own a small collection.

We haven't agreed on what a "Toy soldier" is by definition so I think it is impossible to try and assign a rating to a personal collection given that as well.

Take care
CC
 
I think that Chris has hit on a possible best answer to Pat's question..Figure out how much your collection is worth or total original cost thereof..up to $1000 is small, $1000-$3000 mid size, $3000 - $6000 large....beyond ,too much disposable income:D Michael
 
A very interesting question, with a very difficult answer.

To those of us married men, your wife can provide a quick answer.......

A small collection is one she doesn't notice.........

A medium collection is one requiring several "gifts" to compensate her displeasure........

A large collection is usually determined by her refusal to enter the room....or
rooms....followed by a "What now"? when a package is delivered!

I long ago learned that occasional sales of items just prior to the arrival of large quanites of new "treasures" made home life easier!

:)
 
I started my count with the Seven-Years War. Two and one-half shelves in one cabinet. I counted 182 John Jenkins figures (and 1 horse and 2 cannon), 29 Frontline-John Jenkins figures, and 8 King & Country Woodland Indians and then I decided, well I tried, then I got an attitude - I said to myself, "Well crap....I'm tired of doing this sh^%."

It's only three shelves, and it's only counting, but I have 3 rooms full of stuff so I guess I have a large collection. I am not going to add up how many I have or how much I have spent. I don't like guilt or regret and there is no sense in tempting fate.

So I guess the moral of this little tail of mine is - estimation is close enough.;)
 
I think that a small collection is anything under 250 figures. A medium sized collection is 250-4,999. A large collection is 5,000 figures and over.
 
maddadicus said:
I think that Chris has hit on a possible best answer to Pat's question..Figure out how much your collection is worth or total original cost thereof..up to $1000 is small, $1000-$3000 mid size, $3000 - $6000 large....beyond ,too much disposable income:D Michael
Click to expand...

I agree. Chris has definitely illustrated the best way to quantify a collection. Doing it by cost makes everything else equal IMO.
Cheers
H
 
Njja said:
A very interesting question, with a very difficult answer.

To those of us married men, your wife can provide a quick answer.......

A small collection is one she doesn't notice.........

A medium collection is one requiring several "gifts" to compensate her displeasure........

A large collection is usually determined by her refusal to enter the room....or
rooms....followed by a "What now"? when a package is delivered!

I long ago learned that occasional sales of items just prior to the arrival of large quanites of new "treasures" made home life easier!

:)
Click to expand...

:D:D:D:D:D A classic definition
 
maddadicus said:
And where does your collection of 18,000,000 figures fall? Michael
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I am not even sure if I qualify as large anymore under my definition. I used to have somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000, but I have given so many of my Trophy, Toy Army Workshop and Frontline figures since I started focusing on K&C, that I am not sure if I have 5,000 figures any more.
 
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