Collection Completion

Interesting topic.

For some lines I collected, the line ended before it got to a couple of figures I would have really liked to have. So there are a few lines that may never feel fully complete. To me that is a little frustrating.

Some other lines I probably collected past what I originally was interested in. In those cases, at some point I pulled back/stopped and sold off the excess. I am in that mode now for Legends, which is focusing more and more on eras that I didn't read, so the ratio of "have to get it" to "kind of interested" to "not for me" is shifting more and more towards "not for me". And in retrospect I have many C-listers and redos and variants I likely don't need in the "kind of interested" category I bought but probably shouldn't have. So like TSI, I am somewhat focused only on the number of characters I really would 100% add is probably less than 20, which isn't a lot for a line with over 1,000 releases. 

So I'm not sure I have ever felt "complete" about a line that was ongoing until Star Wars 3 3/4" switched focus to the Sequel Trilogy, and I decided I was not going to follow down that route given the huge number of figures I already had - and that was before the films came out so not a commentary on their quality, I just decided I was fine with the OT and PT stuff, and likely wanted to reduce the PT stuff. Even though I felt done on Star Wars, I have added here and there but I have nothing I feel I need, that is all supplementary stuff, like the playsets they have done recently.

But many smaller lines I definitely knew when I was done - and it is a nice feeling to have a shelf or display that seems finished, or can stand on its own. Those I have no interest in getting rid of. Interestingly, most of those were lines that I would say were not collector based, so they came to a natural conclusion once the main core was competed, and were pretty efficient in what they released. 

As for me, as far as "completion" not there yet. Problem is, im not focusing on my main figures. i tend to zig zag with other lines. I almost quit collecting when Covid hit, i started selling my collection but then, when covid kinda stopped, i stopped selling my stuff and decided to come back but im super selective now. my main figures would be what i call the 'big 5' (TF, MOTU, JOE, Tcats, TMNT) Still need alot of figures from those lines, good thing is im NOT a completionist.

Great thread idea!
My TMNT collection starts and ends with the recent NECA Mirage 4-pack. I might add Splinter if, but he's an afterthought. G.I. Joe will be done when I have replacements for the ones I had, or always wanted, as a child. Street Fighter is done when I have all the SF2 World Warriors and New Challengers. Star Wars is expansive enough that it might not ever be done. I like Jedi, Sith, bounty hunters, Mandalorians, and clone troopers. Marvel Legends are similar, but they're definitely closer to being complete than the Star Wars collection is. Then of course there's the occasional original figure from a smaller company that just looks incredible.

Posted by: @tsi

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But if the action figure market crumbles after 2024, I'll be satisfied with what I've got.

What does collection completion look like for you? Will you ever reach it? If you do, how do you think it will feel? If you have, how does it feel?

Yup, same.  The market could crumble now and I'd be just fine.

What does completion look like to me?  I collect a lot of lines, and the closest for me is my Power Rangers stuff.  I Upgraded to the Remastered Lightning Collection figures this past year which I am pretty happy with and after I did, I trimmed a lot of the fat. I have my core team of 6, I have the head honcho bad guys, and of the half dozen or so deluxe monsters they made, I have my two favorites. Like just about any other franchise out there, Power Rangers spans decades with a wealth of characters and variations of characters.  I set a limit for myself so that there is an end in sight.  This line is "on hiatus" right now.  What does that mean?  Do I believe it's coming back?  Honestly, it doesn't matter.  I have a relatively small, manageable set of great characters I like.  You asked how it feels?  It fells great!

I am now committed to chasing that feeling with the other lines I collect:  Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and GI Joe.  With the first three I mostly just need to cut.  I have all the guys I want, I just need to trim the fat to the nice, lean number that my PR figures are at.  With GI Joe I'm going to continue with extreme cherry picking.

In all honesty, for me, looking at my figure displays with nothing but 6" figure after 6" figure gets a bit monotonous...they all start to blend together, and the figures of characters I really like and have a connection to start to blend in and get lost among all the others.  I also like to display stuff from the 80's and 90's.  I want to display my 90's Beast just as much as Hasbro's newest and best offering.  I want variety in my displays.  I think my 6" stuff is just about wrapped up.  It's in a good place.

If NECA actually does put out Macbeth and Coldstone next year, the entire industry could collapse and I could say “I’m done” and not feel an ounce of regret. The culmination of 30 years of Gargoyles fandom, 20 years of serious toy collecting, and a decade of being the biggest NECA fanboy on the planet: my favorite toy company made all the major characters from my favorite franchise, it’s such a rarity in this hobby for all three to happen, your lucky to get two, and if you get two you always wish it had been all three. NECA GARGOYLES ACTION FIGURES! Not just Gargoyles action figures, Gargoyles figures FROM NECA! Not just Goliath BUT THE WHOLE CLAN! Not just the whole clan, THE HUMANS TOO!

combine that with The ‘87 Toon Turtles line kinda just playing on house money now and NECA having knocked nearly every major slasher out of the park… I’m good!

On the other side of the coin though, I watched PixelDan’s “GI JOErney” video and I don’t want that. I want to want to look for new world’s to conquer, maybe if an interesting new indie line catches my eye or if someone is foolish enough to attempt Mummy’s Alive… but Joes, Transformers, Star Wars, Hot Toys, Joy Toy, Power Rangers, Army building Naughty or Nice Santas/elves/deers, another sub line of Ninja Turtles… nah, I’m good, I’m fine just being an outsider checking out the amazing photos people take, happily knowing in another life time if different paths been taken that could have been me.

Oooh this is a good one. Yeah, I think I'm more or less "done" as well.

Minus a Rachel Phoenix (who I expect we'll get this year), my X-Men/Marvel Legends collection is basically complete for all my big wants. The stuff I have earmarked outside of her is gravy (like Lilandra/Broodverine and maybe the Fixit/Patch or Wolvie/Psylocke) , as is my Star Wars and Indiana Jones stuff. GI Joe Classified was always just gravy on the side as my interest in GI Joe has always been just dipping a toe in. I'd like to grab the Iron Grenadiers and a version 2 Destro if one ever comes out (which seems likely now they'd package him with the same vehicle he originally came with, and I'd be ok with that).

Otherwise everything I'm looking to buy now is cherry-picking from smaller independent lines. The Fresh Monkey stuff, the Epic HACKS, maybe some of these new cheaper Fwoosh ninjas. But it's all for either troop building or just "hey that's a cool figure". I'll probably still buy a few a year, but yeah, the big wants are all there.

Everything I've bought lately has been to help put together some custom dioramas to really display everything I've got in style. I'm looking at cabinets and LEDs and figure stands and such. I'm picking up raw materials to do some laser cut projects since I've got access to a 48" laser cutter at work, and that will likely be most of my "toy" budget this year. 

I read this when it was first posted and it's been living in my brain since then because I actually don't know how I feel about it. Embarrassingly, perhaps, I don't know what 'complete' looks like for me. Partly because how I view my collection keeps evolving. And partly because I know there's always something else on the horizon that will drag me back in. I thought I was 'done' with MOTU at the conclusion of MOTUC. But over time those figures showed their age (and some were kind of shit when they were new) and I lost my love for them. Then Origins and Masterverse came along.

Marvel Legends is, if you'll forgive me here, an absolutely unstoppable juggernaut. I can never feel like I'm done because there's always going to be 'better' versions that I'll want to buy. Same with something like Star Wars. And by the time these types of lines finally die and therefore there are no more figures to collect and I can actually be 'done' - well, toy technology will have moved on and some even BETTER line will come out.

And all of that is kind of distressing when I sit to really think about it. I'm never done because there's always more. But that means -I'm never done- and I don't know how I feel about that. But if we put it into the perspective of 'if the toy industry collapsed today and action figures became totally inaccessible financially or stopped being made entirely... would I be okay with that?'  Well, yeah. I think I've become disillusioned with toy collecting a bit over the last few years, with the unfettered greed of toy companies finally really getting to me. Toys aren't so important that if they stopped being accessible I'd be utterly distraught. I love action figures - but I have other interests and lots of great toys I could probably enjoy for the rest of my life, really.

Honestly, I've already slowed way down on my collecting because there's so few things I feel like I really 'need' in my collection. There's tons of stuff I'd like to have if action figures were significantly less expensive and I had endless space to display them - sure. But realistically thinking about what I can display, what I can afford to buy, etc - I'm not looking to add too much these days.

There's some things I REALLY want in my collection that I don't know will even be made. There are lines that I imagine I'll pick and choose from until they stop being made. But there's nothing I'm even remotely 'all in' on anymore. So maybe, in a way, I already am done. And by that I mean. .contented with what I own. Always willing to add to the collection, but feeling less and less anxiety over 'missing' anything or feeling like a shelf isn't 'complete' yet.

I don't know if my entire collection will ever be 'complete.' There's still a lot I'd like to see when I think about it and I'm always open to starting new ones if my interest is piqued.

But I do think I'm at this point with my comic Spider-Man rogues gallery, which was one of my biggest collecting goals. Suuuuure, maybe there's a couple more I could add-- I wouldn't say NO to a Crime Master, Overdrive would be cool to finally get, and that new Jack O' Lantern is certainly tempting, but I've got all the big ones I set out to get once I finally got that Walmart Lizard. If they stopped, I'd be at peace with that. Even if I would like an updated Green Goblin and Hobgoblin...

In general, I feel like my comic Spidey stuff is there, really. Again, there's always more I might be open to get and there's some that I'd like to see upgraded for sure, but all the big priorities have been cleared out with that Mania they released last year. Spider-Man was the biggest focus of my collecting, so it's a very surreal feeling to just... be done with it. Satisfying, but maybe a little bittersweet too.

I mean, I've since opened up my horizons to movie Spider-Man figures now that we're finally getting toys based on the Sam Raimi trilogy, so in some ways the cycle repeats. Cartoon Spidey figures too, but I don't mind mixing those in with my comic figures so I don't really consider it a new collection and I got most of what I'd want to see out of that anyway.

I think most of what I've been buying lately have been upgrades of my absolute favorite characters since companies are either not making new stuff I'd like to see (dear GOD someone give me a Slayers line already) or I'm good with what I got now. While I don't know if I'll ever truly be done, it certainly feels more possible now than it did just five years ago.

I've never been all in on any line really but have certainly been a devotee to many. I can still see 100 or so additional Marvel Legends characters  I want on my shelves but the days of buying a different version than the one I want are long over. Even with that large # of wants and willingness to buy "upgrades" I still probably only want about 1/4 of the ML they offer; especially now that the focus seems to be so much 90s. I maintain most my discipline though; almost classic Falcon won't cut it.

There are a few current running lines I'm still pretty committed to. NECA Universal/Hammer in particular. Also would be willing to stay with Jada Toys if they make more 70s cereal mascots or whatnot and am open to more Super 7 classic Peanuts.  I'll always buy the onesie / twosies things I like. I could see myself selling everything I own of a few lines or buying a few dozen more depending which way the wind blows. Looking at you MacFarlane, Cosmic Legions, Marvel Select, 1/12 FigurArts when I make that statement.  Of course there are lines if done well I'd be all over. If for some reason someone made additions to the Memory Lane Rankin and Bass lines or did a good classic Looney Tunes line I'd melt.

I'm of the opinion you should always be selling something at all times. All my collections are getting a little unwieldy. Worked in record stores for decades and still am interested in comics and cartooning. Compromise where you can. For examples I see no point in owning classic comic reissues on  high gloss modern paper; or even most modern big 2 comics physically at all. The paper is so inappropriate for the colors of the original work a digital file is just as good if its going to be that inaccurate to the original old pressing process. Unless we are talking about a well curated Fantagraphics release or something. Fully realize I'll be dead soon and something needs to give. So i chip away at it every day.

Ugh don't even want to start thinking about my Halloween and Xmas decorations.

Interesting. "Done" to me doesn't mean closing my wallet to toys for good. I get too much joy from being a part of this community, scrutinizing high-res photos of new reveals, and, yes, Daddy Capitalism, buying toys, to stop cold turkey. I'm 30 now, so if I stopped buying toys tomorrow, I imagine my collection would look like some well-preserved Kenner figures by the time I die.

The next challenge for me is learning to accept what I've got. While I've dealt with collection creep before, I tend to go in the opposite direction. I've moved across the country twice, so an unhealthy part of my brain is always thinking about how to downsize for the next move (one that I hope never happens). Between that and a keen awareness of the hoarding tendencies in my family, I often have to fight the urge to purge my collection even though it's reasonably sized and bringing me joy.

I haven't read through everyone's posts because there's so many words. So my apologies if it comes off like I haven't, because I haven't. Y'all type a lot.

I have MANY collections. My overall collection will never be complete, but of my many collections, there are some that I consider complete because either- they're discontinued, or I've bought what I want from that collection, or both. An example of the former would be Palisades Muppets collection. They don't make 'em anymore, so I'm not buying anymore. But I guess it's also a case of both, since I've bought what I want from what they offered. There's definite holes in the collection, but I don't need variant Muppets in tuxedoes to consider the collection complete.

My most recent "complete" collection would probably be NECA's cartoon Ninja Turtles. I've bought everything I want from that line, probably more than I had planned. But I'm definitely not adding to that anymore. It's currently on shelf display, but I think I'll be pulling them down soon, since the adjacent GIJoe Classified shelf needs expansion. That's definitely a line where completion is no where in sight.

As far as my overall collection goes, I doubt I'd ever be able to stop without some kind of outside force coming into play. Economic collapse, world ending, family illness or emergency, that sort of thing. Because as long as there are companies that continue to innovate, even in the smallest ways, I'm a sucker for buying new things.

I do find that I'm becoming less interested in some things I used to be all in on. Star Wars has become less interesting to me, so buying those figures has become less urgent or imperative. Same goes for MCU figures. I think that specifically has to do with oversaturation. Those used to be mainstays, but eventually, interest can fade.

I quit comics cold turkey when my kids were born. I had been buying monthlies for about a year, but not reading them and letting them physically pile up. That was my cue. So I guess I could eventually do the same for figure collecting? I think I could do it for SOME of the many collections, not all. I'm just too far in when it comes to Marvel Legends or Transformers. I definitely get overwhelmed by the volume, but I also get equally satisfied looking at them all on a shelf.

I’m 57 years old, so what completion looks like for me is being on a fixed income and downsizing my home. 😛

Until then, I’m just enjoying the ride.   Eighteen months ago, I had no idea I would be collecting lines like Mego Worlds Greatest Superheroes 50th anniversary; S.H. Figuarts Spy x Family, Jujitsu Kaisen, and Hell’s Paradise; Jada Toys Street Fighter; and Storm Collectibles KOF 98 and Soul Caliber.   Those are just off the top of my head.  I’m sure there’s a few more…and even more to come.

As far as that feeling of “Everything from here on out is gravy” goes, I’d say I was probably there by the end of 2019.

Like many of you though, I am getting burned out on the big box mass market retail lines and all of their shenanigans.   I think that era may be coming to an end, and we’ll see the hobby move toward “boutique” lines like the ones I mentioned above.

I'm still collecting, the Jada Street Fighter line in particular is one I'm looking to be buying for the next couple of years.  But the two biggest collections for me were X-Men Marvel Legends figures and Super7 Ninja Turtles Ultimates.  With the Super7 figures, I really loved them at first, but then I fell out of love with them, and then grew to resent them.  I have a ton of issues with Super7 I won't get into here, but I gave up on that line and sold all my figures with the exception of the four Turtles.  I've thought about replacing that Turtles display with a NECA cartoon one, but I don't have the desire to start hunting down those figures since that line's been going for a while now, and at this point I'd have to use ebay to get a lot of the older figures.

With the X-Men, I'm just about done.  My focus has always been the '90s X-Men, and I own pretty much all the characters I want at this point, with a handful of exceptions.  They keep releasing new versions of these same characters over and over again, first the VHS line and now the X-Men '97 line.  Maybe if they were doing different eras of X-Men, I might get tempted to start a different X-Men display in addition to my '90s version.  But I'm not interested in re-buying the same '90s costumes over and over again.

And I see people saying how these new X-Men figures are such huge improvements.  But I don't see it.  Maybe I'm too used to the figures I've had for years at this point, but I like the older ones better.  I don't care about pinless joints, pins have never bothered me unless they stand out as a different color, like on older Spider-Man figures.  But if they ever did bother me too much, I'd just paint the pins myself.  So I don't really see the new pinless joints as the huge improvements that others do.   And I think the cartoon-based figures look too simplified and basic.  I prefer the more detailed looks of the older figures.  So I don't know, maybe my tastes aren't the same as the majority of collectors anymore.

But either way, even if I liked the new figures a lot better, I wouldn't want to re-purchase all the figures I've already owned.  If it's a huge upgrade, like if MAFEX makes a character I care about, I'll be interested in upgrading to a MAFEX.  But I'm not too interested in re-buying all my Hasbro figures with new ones, especially figures like the X-Men '97 wave that I don't like as much. 

Long rant, but basically, I'm still buying figures here and there.   Just recently bought some NECA Universal Monsters and Fresh Monkey Santa figures.  I'm just not going super deep into anything at the moment, except for the Jada Street Fighter line.  And Jada's only released three figures so far.  So without me going deep into any line at the moment, 2023 was the year I bought by far the fewest figures since I started collecting as an adult.