It happens to the best collector. It’s that time of the year when you simply can’t get it up any more. Your enthusiasm for new toys, for looking at new toys, for buying new toys just, wanes. It usually happens this time of year, you start thinking about holiday shopping, other people, maybe even get a little end-of-the year depression.
Even the toy companies recognize toy fatigue, it’s rare there are new releases from the major companies during this time of the year, they tend to come right at the end of the year during the Christmas return season. Even Bandai schedules its last show of the season right at the beginning of the toy fatigue season.
There is no cure for toy fatigue, there is no Viagra, or drug that can take the edge off. It’s not a physical ailment, it a mental one. After spending all year long hunting and buying and enjoying toys and action figures your brain needs a break. Your spirit needs a break.
Japanese toy companies are working on a cure. Bandai and figma schedule single figure releases during these months, cautiously planted and priced, choosing characters that they know will get the blood warming. figma will be releasing Motoko (Ghost in the Shell), Guyver, Goro and many others. Bandai will try to keep you up by throwing DC Injustice Batman and Joker at you, and many, many more.
For many collectors, these foreign offerings aren’t enough, they aren’t figures that you can hunt, drive all over town attacking Wal-Marts, ToysRUs’s, Targets, and Barnes and Nobles to find. They are mail order brides.
Perhaps the way to avoid toy fatigue is to take advantage of the fall sales, Black Friday, the Christmas sales, start stocking up on endless Marvel Legends that will fill your customizing or army building needs. Customizing is always a great way to spend the dark cold fall and winter days as we wait for the first shred of spoils coming at Toy Fair 2015. You can spend the hours dremmeling, sculpting and painting characters that Marvel and Hasbro never dreamed of putting on a brick and mortar shelf, like the Eternals or more Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Agents of Atlas, or the Invaders. There is still so much rich history to be exploited.
There is no cure for Toy Fatigue, none at all. It’s up to each and every toy collector to go out there and find their own means of dealing with this serious problem.
