Have you ever had to whittle down your collection, if so how?

[Trazz]

Title says it, faced with whittling down your collection, how do you choose what to keep?

[Trazz]

I started organizing figures in to top 1-10 top 11-20 etc etc, hoping I would be able to pick an easy cut off point I got past 66+ and still felt like I was having trouble making cuts.

[Lantern_Lad]

I would get rid of all my Transformers, ME Joes, and 95-2001 Star Wars, in order to keep my Joe's, M.A.S.K. figures and vintage Star Wars.

[sharky]

I think the first step is admiting you have a problem. :D Just kidding.

I've had to do this. Actually, the first thing I did was to purge any extras that I really ddin't need. I would keep one figure of each for my 25th collection and 4-5 of the army builder figures.

The general idea is to make a firm decision of what kinds of things you want to keep and stick to it. It's very hard I know. At one point you had a reason why you wanted everything you have, so deciding what you don't want anymore can be a challenge.

[Viper6]

i have a room full that i periodically thin out, it aint easy. limit vehicles to 1-2 each and army bldrs to 2-5...its a start.

[Trazz]

I do have a problem, I realized the other day I keep buying and buying and buying this stuff. When I looked at JoeCon and saw new 30th molds of figures like lady jaye and flint and my gutcheck reaction was holy crap that looks so much better I want that, and then I thought what the hell would I do with the older one, it will just sit in a box. That coupled with yojoe.com putting the catalog solution in, I went in and started marking figures I have acquired in the last 5 years and I had over 169. 169 at $10 a pop is $1690 in plastic toys. So I started thinking about which figures I have that I really want to keep. I don't collect SW or TF or anything else so this is just ME Joes since 25th and I couldn't get my list below 66.

[Also I really don't collect vehicles, I do have a RHINO and Skystriker boxed, a tigerclaw and firebat plane, and that RoC jet/Ret swamp boat all of which I bought because it was cheaper than buying the figure separate/were given to me]

I think the first step is admiting you have a problem. :D Just kidding.

I've had to do this. Actually, the first thing I did was to purge any extras that I really ddin't need. I would keep one figure of each for my 25th collection and 4-5 of the army builder figures.

The general idea is to make a firm decision of what kinds of things you want to keep and stick to it. It's very hard I know. At one point you had a reason why you wanted everything you have, so deciding what you don't want anymore can be a challenge.

[Trazz]

Although I would buy an ME H.A.V.O.C or a ME Tomahawk in a heartbeat if they made them because those were the only 2 vehicles I had as a kid.

[Trazz]

What if you have no Army builders? I don't have any troop builders, closest I could say would be multiple B.A.T. versions from the different sets I got other figures with.

[zedhatch]

Start with all those Snake Eyes, Cobra Commanders, Duke's ect and keep your favorites, it shocked me how much that did to my collection alone.

[Trazz]

I did, 18 SE down to 3, CC 7 to 1, Duke 9 to 0, Storm Shadow 13 to 5, but he is my favorite character so its hard to loose more.

Start with all those Snake Eyes, Cobra Commanders, Duke's ect and keep your favorites, it shocked me how much that did to my collection alone.

[Stryker927]

I try to come up with a point of focus for my collection such as favorite characters, favorite years, favorite lines, etc. Then that helps me figure out what I want. I have thinned down quite a bit and it really helps me when I go to shows or conventions because I know what I am looking for as opposed to just being overwhelmed by everything.

[atomatron]

I do have a problem, I realized the other day I keep buying and buying and buying this stuff. When I looked at JoeCon and saw new 30th molds of figures like lady jaye and flint and my gutcheck reaction was holy crap that looks so much better I want that, and then I thought what the hell would I do with the older one, it will just sit in a box. That coupled with yojoe.com putting the catalog solution in, I went in and started marking figures I have acquired in the last 5 years and I had over 169. 169 at $10 a pop is $1690 in plastic toys. So I started thinking about which figures I have that I really want to keep. I don't collect SW or TF or anything else so this is just ME Joes since 25th and I couldn't get my list below 66.

[Also I really don't collect vehicles, I do have a RHINO and Skystriker boxed, a tigerclaw and firebat plane, and that RoC jet/Ret swamp boat all of which I bought because it was cheaper than buying the figure separate/were given to me]

only 169?

[Trazz]

Yeah, I understand there are people here that dwarf that but to me that's a crazy number, when I started I just saw a 25th carded SS that reminded me of figures I wanted but never had as a kid, I never intended to buy almost 200 figures worth of stuff.

only 169?

[atomatron]

Yeah, I understand there are people here that dwarf that but to me that's a crazy number, when I started I just saw a 25th carded SS that reminded me of figures I wanted but never had as a kid, I never intended to buy almost 200 figures worth of stuff.

i hear ya, i was into TF thanks to the movie reigniting those juices.
even remember telling my wife "dont worry, i wont get these" lol
5 years and a whole lot of "what have i done" laters, i like my joe collection :)

the purge will happen....i already did a little with some "extra" arctic/desert sets... arctic had televipers *sigh*, desert *vipers and a minority cobra* ugh... but had to be done....

now to convince myself i dont need SDCC BATS *6 please, anyone? hint hint*

[Trazz]

This is a good idea, I had kind of started doing this
I went through the 169 and pulled pics of the figures that jump at me, like I would be sort of sorry to see go vs. fodder that just came with packs.

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w382/trazz5/Linked%20from%20Hisstank/collection.png

I would definitely keep my original squad. I really like the DoCI pack so it would be hard to let that go. And then I started grouping into top 10, top 20 etc.

The top row doesn't even fit into the top 30 but I still like them.


I try to come up with a point of focus for my collection such as favorite characters, favorite years, favorite lines, etc. Then that helps me figure out what I want. I have thinned down quite a bit and it really helps me when I go to shows or conventions because I know what I am looking for as opposed to just being overwhelmed by everything.

[Trazz]

I should probably credit that idea as well, on some other thread I remember a tanker giving the advice of only buying things you had when you were a kid saying he had countless times thrown out or sold other stuff but the nostalgia figures always were worth it. It was that advice that got me to hunt the original figures I owned as ME updates and it was money well spent.

[atomatron]

I should probably credit that idea as well, on some other thread I remember a tanker giving the advice of only buying things you had when you were a kid saying he had countless times thrown out or sold other stuff but the nostalgia figures always were worth it. It was that advice that got me to hunt the original figures I owned as ME updates and it was money well spent.

noooo whole reason i started buying was to a)get the stuff I had but more importantly b) get the stuff i didnt have and always wanted! like to army build cobra troops and BATS to start with!!

[Trazz]

I'm not saying I would not buy other stuff PoC Ultimate SE, Ren SS, and PoC Hawk I will probably still have in a drawer when I'm 100. I think he just meant that the other figures will resonate with significance to you longer than random new stuff. I personally bought shipwreck and joe SS and Se from that period because they were figures I almost had but didnt get as a kid also Tomax and Xamot but I'm still looking for those.

noooo whole reason i started buying was to a)get the stuff I had but more importantly b) get the stuff i didnt have and always wanted! like to army build cobra troops and BATS to start with!!

[Trazz]

I agree with this, I don't collect the other stuff but those are fantastic representatives of the line.
HOH 3 3/4" Storm Shadow << completely agree trying to get this
Sideshow Firefly << would totally believe it, its why classic is in my top 10
Sideshow Cobra Commander
Hot Toys Batman Begins Batman
POC Wv3 Snake Eyes << completely agree
ML Winter Soldier
SideShow Darth Maul
TF Masterpiece Grimlock
ML Bucky Cap
Sideshow Zartan << same as firefly

This is my 5000+ piece collection defined in 10 items

[Xerofall]

I'm trying to only collect the 25th, 30th and ME stuff that represents the original ARAH stuff...

Basically it means I collect the POC Low Light, but not Shadow Tracker. Lifeline but not the 30th Stalker.

Of course I can't pass up Cobra army builders no matter who they are.

[Lantern_Lad]

The actual whittling down of my collection happens regularly... it's like Disneyland, it will never be complete. Things go out to make room for things coming in.

Most notably I removed any and all items revolving around the Star Wars prequels... carded, loose, vehicles, figures, boxed... you name it. GONE.

Then I got rid of 90% of all my loose Star Wars figures, just keeping one ULTIMATE version of each character in each costume. Then I got rid of some Star Wars playsets.

I don't know what's next to go... but the time is coming soon.

Maybe a large chunk of my comic collection... I dunno.

[SonOfMindbender]

Once you narrow down your definitive versions of Duke, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander, Road Block, Firefly, Zartan, etc you can reduce your collection by 25% at least.

[atomatron]

Once you narrow down your definitive versions of Duke, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander, Road Block, Firefly, Zartan, etc you can reduce your collection by 25% at least.

unless you repurpose them as other characters ;)
SE is soooo cobra to me, not sure i can make that leap, but i can see it

[Trazz]

So I like this idea and it works well for some figures but for some I struggle. For one is Zartan I probably have 4 or 5 zartan's none of which quite fits the bill. Its like I need a PoC ultimate snake eyes rendition of him. When I got the PoC snake-eyes I was like I can toss all the others except v34 and v 59 which fit periods I want to keep. Same for beachhead have like 4 lean towards PoC but each one has a little something.

Start by creating a list of your all-time fav characters.

Take the best version of each one in each scale you collect. Once you have a solid selection, decide if you need a version of each scale.

Pick the absolute best version of each character and commit.

It's tough to do...when I did my list of 10 fav items, I know I forgot a few, but it's pretty close to being my fav items and is based on preference, not resale value.

[Trazz]

This is what I did to start I ordered figures in terms of high, medium and low appeal and then went from there. My high list still has too many figures.

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w382/trazz5/Linked%20from%20Hisstank/collection2.png

[Crazy Legs]

NEVAH!!! And if any women makes you do that she doesnt love you!

[Xerofall]

I had to put a dollar figure on my collection a few years ago for insurance purposes and they only allow retail prices, but it came to over $6000! Holy hell, that's not even taking into account customs and my one of a kind items like autographs because they can't put a value on them.

Had to scale back a bit when I moved into a smaller house. I cut the movie stuff.

[Trazz]

Holy crap $6000? I can not imagine.
I had to put a dollar figure on my collection a few years ago for insurance purposes and they only allow retail prices, but it came to over $6000! Holy hell, that's not even taking into account customs and my one of a kind items like autographs because they can't put a value on them.

Had to scale back a bit when I moved into a smaller house. I cut the movie stuff.

[Xerofall]

Holy crap $6000? I can not imagine.

And I know others have even more than me. Hasbro really made a lot of money on me when they did the 25th retro packaging, I bought two or more of each figure.



My old Joe room. Probably have twice that now.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e213/Surlon/GI%20Joe/P8030135.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e213/Surlon/GI%20Joe/P8030139.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e213/Surlon/GI%20Joe/P8030136.jpg


http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e213/Surlon/GI%20Joe/P8030142.jpg

[Trazz]

That's fantastic, I love that row of mini white shelves for the singles. I wish I had space like that to display mine. That looks very very cool.

[QUOTE=Xerofall;3806294]And I know others have even more than me. Hasbro really made a lot of money on me when they did the 25th retro packaging, I bought two or more of each figure.

[Shipshape1983]

I just stopped collecting lines other than Joes.

[Cardboard Jedi]

you don't collect Joes. they collect YOU

[nerdsgetchicks]

I started to store what I do not want to display. It makes it fun to put them away then pull out the boxes later. What a suprise!!

[gijoe071681]

I started to store what I do not want to display. It makes it fun to put them away then pull out the boxes later. What a suprise!!

I agree, I routinely forget whats in the boxes until I reopen them. As for the collection, I suppose I would just get rid of a kid or two first :P

[Xerofall]

That's fantastic, I love that row of mini white shelves for the singles.

Seriously... the week after I started putting up those little shelves, IKEA decides to discontinue them. I had to hit local classifieds to get the rest, lol.

[Headman]

I've been scaling down for the last two years. I've sold 3 of my Fortress Maximus', my MISB Brave Max, my Liokaiser giftset, my MIB Raiden Train bots, my MIB Deszaras and most of my other Japanese transformers. I've also sold most of my MIB and loose G1 collection with exception to a few items that I can't live without. I still have a shit ton of stuff I've gotta sell, but I'll do it when I get around to it.

[Troynos]

I narrowed it down to my favorite characters/figures/vehicles and those were the "untouchables". Everything else is up for grabs.

[Headman]

I narrowed it down to my favorite characters/figures/vehicles and those were the "untouchables". Everything else is up for grabs.

So I can have your Jinx's?

[Lifeline 71]

I'm probably doing the same as a lot of you. First, I looked at what I really want to collect, primarily Joe and some Transformers. I've sold a bunch of TFs and some superhero figs already. Now, I'm trying to get rid of extras In my joe collection. If I don't need a figure, either as who the character is or custom fodder, it's up for grabs. Vehicles, I decided I don't need that many Joe planes when I really only like a couple. My 30th SkyStriker is a must-keep, for example. And, I'd have to be really desperate to sell my 21st Century Huey, it's a thing of beauty.

[uberthawk]

why would u cut down a collection...just get a bigger house


j/k

i find it easier that i only collect joes not mu tf or whatever,,,
(i have sum halo and other stuff but i don't get geeked out about it) so i dont spend sh!tloads of cash on "other" stuff

so its fun 2 get joes and hunt trade and buy them...
once its not the room will get sealed off till i get the itch...
organizing them is my biggest set back as of now.

good luck w/ ur collection>>>i like looking at mine 2 much 2 part w/any of it

[goodguys9]

I'm not reducing my collection; however, I'm only displaying select items because I'm limited on space right now.

[Ripcord]

If it ever came down to picking certain figures over others I'd have to choose my vintage O-ring figures to keep. It's what I had as a kid and I have more of an attachment to those figures.

[Toyreaver]

I'm sure most of you will give me a hard time about this. I parted with all my G1 Transformers 100+ all original and complete (kept Jetfire), all ARAH GI Joe original and complete 125+ figures 20+ vehicles (kept the FLAGG), Star Wars 95-2004 all carded figures. All of these were from my childhood. I took excellent care of my toys so these were probably the most complete single owner collections around at the time.
Now I have started to get rid of older 25th Joes if they make a better ME figure (POC Snake Eyes).

[Headman]

I've been known to whittle a whittle.