I have too many figures. In an effort to decide which figures to downsize, and reduce my future purchases, I'm creating a strategy on each genre of toys, starting with Marvel.
My plan is to identify discrete categories and subcategories of figures, figure out which ones I value most, and then downsize as well as avoid future purchases of anything that doesn't fit. The rationale is I like to display figures together in ways that make sense.
Here's a working list:
- Avengers
- SHIELD
- X-Teams
- X-Men
- X-Factor
- X-Force
- Wolverine
- Spider-Man
- Friends/Family
- Cosmic
- "Street-Level"
- Fantastic Four
- Mystical
I only collect comic figures. I could use help in figuring out how to adjust the categories and subcategories. From there I'll make my decisions on what to keep and what to downsize.
When I had more room, I would display characters like Beast between Avengers and X-Men, characters like Captain America between Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't know if that helps, but it's what I did for awhile.
You might want a dedicated section for Heralds of Galactus.
You can possibly subcategorize to geography? At one point I was thinking about New York based figures only. When I downsized, I planned to keep X-Men, street level, and female figures. I did not stick to this strategy because I felt like I was losing good figures and keeping bad or mediocre just because they fit or didn't fit the category.
I think that's a pretty good breakdown. I am cleaning up my collection as well and thinking about this as well.
I will also likely have a 1st/Early Appearance shelf, with classic X-Men, AF15 Spidey, early years Avengers, Red/Yellow DD, Grey Hulk... add in the Stan Lee figure (and hope we get a Kirby and Ditko someday)
I am thinking of an Iron Man Hall of Armor shelf, Cap with SHIELD, and Asgard with its own shelf- I may not end up with a true Avengers display after that?
Spidey to me is more about his whole rogues gallery - I envision all of Spidey's rogues spread out against him. But I might do a Spiderverse section.
Not sure where to put the classic bad guys - maybe their own shelf? I like the army building so will need to put Hydra, AIM, Skrull armies together - might add them to other spots though.
Maybe a Secret Wars shelf?
Definitely Galactus with his heralds and FF.
Mutants by era/team.
I have realized I am somewhat indifferent to the Cosmic, Mystical and Street level - I would like a DD and Dr Strange display but maybe not much more than that.
That's very similar to my setup. Although I have lots of shelving units and space to display. I set them up with each shelving unit a theme with the individual shelves being sub-theme. For example, I have a shelving unit for Spider-Man with each shelf dedicated to a sub-theme: Costume variants, Friends and Allies, and then 3 shelves of villains, 60s-70s, 80s-90s, 2000-current). You probably don't have the space for that granularity, but I think focusing on grouping the characters in the same shelf who "belong" together looks the best, visually.
I curate my collection quarterly (rolling 3 months). I always go back to my Prime Objective and move outward from there.
-It helps me appreciate what I have instead of just buying what's new/available for the brief dopamine hit.
-It keeps my figures in good condition.
-It keeps my collection visually fresh and allows me to do functional display updates (lighting, layouts, dioramas)
-It helps fund upgrades (above)
It's time consuming and its frustrating, but that's what makes it much more satisfying. The process keeps me grounded. It's a collection, not just a hoard.
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