Collecting Advice Please ?

[Womp Rat]

Hi all,

First post so go easy

I'm just starting out in the world of collecting and was wondering if I could get some advice before I waste all my money
I'm looking to collect mainly carded figures but I do like the look of some of the scaled weapons and helmets by Master Replicas (the full size ones are too expensive).

Any advice on which ranges I should collect, or avoid ?
Are there any rare items I should look out for ?

Thanks in advance
Simon

 

[Ruby2511]

Hi Simon, what style do you like, think of budgets, collect whatever you fancy, their is no script to follow, collect what pleases you.

I prefer loose vintage from way back when I was a kid. That makes me happy and that's what I am sticking with.

Some fellow collectors like MOC's, some like graded, some loose, mint in box or a mixture of all.

Some collectors like modern pieces or limited edition pieces.

It's a minefield, one thing is that if you need advice, just ask.

Good luck and look forward to seeing what you acquire in the future

Hope this helps :?:

 

[Nita Nitro]

Welcome Simon, following on from what Ruby2511 has said, if it's modern stuff you are looking to collect, there is so much of it out there that it can be easier to break it down into sub-sections of a particular line and start there, for example if you are looking at POTF2 figures you could start with the Shadows of the Empire sub-line and expand from there, or if you were going for Episode 1 figures, maybe start with figures with lightsabers. This also applies to vintage stuff but the main thing is that you should collect what makes you happy.

 

[Womp Rat]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

I have decided to start collecting the 40th Anniversary black series figures and any rare/exclusive figures from 2000 onwards

I like the look of the rocket firing Boba Fett mailaway figure and the GL stormtrooper in disguise. Are there any other hard to find/limited pieces worth looking out for ?

Regards,
Simon

 

[Womp Rat]

Anybody ?

Any help would be much appreciated

Regards,
Simon

 

[UKS]

What I would do is first buy figures you really like in the ranges you may be interested in.

Then, once you have a lovely set like that, then start filling the gaps with the less interesting ones.

I wouldn't;t go chasing the weird rare stuff straight away as it's expensive and you may not be sure if it is really something worth having or just a "special edition".

If you go too hard too fast you will burn money on things that just sit in a plastic storage box. try and find the things that you like first, then you can turn into a completist once the rot has set in.

I did the original figure range MOC recently. I started with cheap as chips figures like Bib Fortuna and Weequay on ROTJ cards and finished with a Yakface. I wouldn't have said I'd pay 1000 pounds for a toy at the START of the journey..... but by the end? :mrgreen:

 

[Womp Rat]

Thanks for the advice. I have already made a start buying the figures I like the most

I have chosen the modern figures as my aim would be to complete each series of figures I choose to collect.

I agree about buying the pieces you are interested in first, but on the other hand I would like to know what I'm getting myself into i.e. how much is it going to cost me to complete a series ?

So to do this I would like to know which are the most rare or "special" figures in the modern ranges ? This way I can estimate how much each series would cost me.

 

[monkey_roo]

Hey - Welcome along

I think the key bit of advice has been given, buy what interests you and what resinates the best and if you want to dip in slowly stick to smaller sub-lines. Personally i would avoid the exclusives wherever possible, they are really hit and miss and range from easy to find all the way to never going to happen.

When i started collecting modern it was about getting everything (back in the 90's) and then i sort of broke when i realized i just had rooms full of shipping boxes and never actually enjoyed the toys, so had to slim and chose to focus on just the things that really hit home. More recently i have begun grabbing smaller lines again and some of the VC figs but not too much... Honest...

Some of the stuff i have kept does include exclusives. For example i own all the Comic 2-Pack line (a great sub line to collect as it covers all 6 non-disney films and all the old dark horse graphic novels) and two SDCC exclusives and a few Target/Walmart exclusives (there are 66 sets in total i think) so it will take time to get a full house, but not too pricey and the exclusives are easy enough to find.

On the other hand if you go after all the VC figures (180+ since 2010 i think) they you will want to get the SDCC Death Star Revenge set of 12 - that will cost you a kidney and more if you ever find one (I think the last one i saw on evilbay was over a £1000), so not really a realistic goal (unless money is no issue). You would also need the Jar Jar in Carbonite figure and that is a £400/£500 fig on it's own these days. and there are dozens of exclusives on top of that, mostly Target and Walmart 2 and 3 packs, but i would wager it would take years to track them all down now.

While there are exclusives that fit within lines (as above) most don't so as a collection maybe don't sit so well, unless your collection is SDCC or SW Weekends or JediCon or one of the others there have been over the years as they became a way of releasing figures and toys that didn't fit into any other line but fans wanted.

Good places to browse through ranges area to get an idea are:
www.jeditemplearchives.com
&
www.jedibusiness.com

The Black series is nice and i would bet starting with the 40th will lead to other waves being bought (I am sure you know but the 40th has 3 exclusives in it, 2 from Phantom, 1 from Empire) -

For me just look at the line and see if it relates to something within the SW universe you love. If it is or does then grab it, if not - pass.