Loose figure collections

SublevelStudios

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When I got back into collecting again over 6 years ago the first thing I did was put together a loose set. Then rarer loose figures lige VCJ's and variants.

Over time my focus has shifted and I've always felt like a loose set is the corner stone of any vintage collection, and without such, it's missing a key element of the whole vintage line.

But is this really true?

I figure most new collectors aim for completing a loose set first but I've found that I'm really not bothered by them any more, I don't collect any Jedi stuff so all the Jedi figures I have hold no real value to me, and I've always felt the last 15 (if you're old skool) are grossly overrated and over-priced.

I've recently decided to let got of pretty much all my loose figures. I have 3 cabinets I use to display my collection and my re-seals are now going to move into my loose set cabinet. Whatever I can't display gets moved on.

So does everyone have a loose collection despite having other focus' or is this the exception to the rule?
 

SAVORY100

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It was interesting chatting about this with your last week, made me think more about what I'd 'easily' let go compared to things that I wouldn't.

I think I'd thin my loose down to one run (rather than multiples of every figure), but I don't think I could break it beyond that and not hold a complete run of loose in my collection as they're the corner stone for me. Though what complete is is a very thick, blurry line anyway!

The easiest thing for me to let go would be my 12 backs. They're relatively common, take up more space, easy to buy again if I wanted to, would deliver a good return (though cost to re-buy) and are before my era for nostalgia.

Completely understand and respect your decision and I'm looking forward to seeing how you develop your collection over the coming year!
 

lejackal

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I've never had a full run, the most I've had is about 40 or so and then chopped them in to buy a MOC or whatever turned my head at the time.

I'd like a run one day and currently have about 20 loose.

I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable having much more than a grand tied up at any one time though so might never get there.
 

Pomse2001

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SublevelStudios said:
When I got back into collecting again over 6 years ago the first thing I did was put together a loose set. Then rarer loose figures lige VCJ's and variants.

Over time my focus has shifted and I've always felt like a loose set is the corner stone of any vintage collection, and without such, it's missing a key element of the whole vintage line.

But is this really true?

I figure most new collectors aim for completing a loose set first but I've found that I'm really not bothered by them any more, I don't collect any Jedi stuff so all the Jedi figures I have hold no real value to me, and I've always felt the last 15 (if you're old skool) are grossly overrated and over-priced.

I've recently decided to let got of pretty much all my loose figures. I have 3 cabinets I use to display my collection and my re-seals are now going to move into my loose set cabinet. Whatever I can't display gets moved on.

So does everyone have a loose collection despite having other focus' or is this the exception to the rule?

Funny I just talked with joseph about that a few hours ago :lol: he do not have a full loose set because there is a few figures that he does not like :lol:

About myself, I would maybe always have a full set, I would fell something was missing, even as I do not like anakin and imperial dignitary so much :lol:

But I would not say there nothing wrong with selling your corner stone, if you do not want it, then there is no reason to keep it. Sell or trade it for items that will make you happy :wink:
 

reddogblues

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Bit different for me, as my loose collection is what I had from childhood. I have added a couple of figures since then - Yak, A-Wing, small head Han - as well as some blasters etc that got lost back in the day.

But for me, they are the most important part of my collection. They are what started it all 38 years ago and I would never part with a single figure that I own :)
 

TrooperWill

Padawan
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Nov 4, 2017
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i feel a little different, in that i think a loose set is a great place to start, a great display and a very visual reference for collectors. in completing a set you learn every figure in the series by heart, become familiar with weapons, capes etc. its entirely up to you if you then decide to get rid of it and focus on one character or group and sell off the others, or pop them in storage, but its so satisfying to track down the last few you need and complete your display.

i loved putting together my first run, especially as i did a lot of it through Facebook trades so i wasn't melting my credit card on eBay, it was a great adventure, i met some great collectors and learned a great deal. im now in the process of upgrading some of my rougher figures to nicer examples which make me even more proud of my display. im not one for lining them up on parade either, preferring to do dioramas and scenes like Hoth and Endor shelves. this means im always fiddling with them and changing the displays, which keeps them fresh. i can see how people can become bored of 96 figures on parade, but setting up the bar from Tattooine or the trenches of Hoth is great fun and very rewarding too.

but thats the beauty of your collection, its YOURS! do what you like, keep them in a shoe-box and display your MOC if that what you like, but be happy and proud.
 

subzero

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My collection now only consists of figures that have a connection to my childhood, no variants, no figures I didn't have/play with as a kid, and no MOC's, just sweet loose figures like how I remember having.

My collection now consists of 33 loose complete figures, it was double that number before I decided to rid myself of all the non-childhood pieces I acquired. My loose figures are now part of the center piece of my entire vintage 80's / 90's collection and I don't think i'd ever bring myself to sell those because they're important figures to me, unless i'm desperate for cash one day or turn into a crack whore then they're staying put. :lol:
 

Ruby2511

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My collection consists of loose figures, I aim to collect the full run and funds permitting the last 17.

Not got any interest in moc's or boxed figures, just good old honest played with figures and ships/vehicles.

I like the fact that you can handle the figures and ships and can see the wear and tear on them.
 

ChallengerFox

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Jul 31, 2013
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My collection is mostly Loose figures and army building an Imperial Army, want to eventually have a display like the Emperor's arrival in ROTJ with all the troops lined up etc.

I couldn't justify paying the kind of prices that MOC's fetch, one 12 back for £4k could get you a complete loose set so they've never really made much sense to me, plus there's always a concern that the bubbles will fall off or crack etc one day.

I do however have a target of getting all of the vehicles/creatures etc boxed but MOC's are just too expensive now.

The last 17 are probably my favourite line, I think it's because they were so hard to come by or too expensive for me when I was collecting in the early 90's so they've always been a bit special to me.
 
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I've got over 50 Mocs in case fresh condition, Star Wars , esb, Rotj , they would bring me good money, however my loose collection in good condition with original weapons, missing a few of the last 17 , not interested in vinyl cape jawAs etcetera. I've got about $ 2000 in my loose collection and I regard it as complete . It has brang me the most joy out of all my items , easily , the hunt was extremely fulfilling. I'm looking forward to buying a display cabinet and placing them in there . Once I've displayed them I'll greatly enjoy them and I won't give a dam about them being damaged by the sun , can't display my Mocs , the sun will damage them . Loose vintage are the most satisfying of all the vintage , that includes better than dt moc darth Vader's .
 

spoons

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My loose collection is where it all began and still big part of my collection. Like you Mark it doesn't have the same draw as it once did and I did sell off some variants recently, but the basic set of 101 figures is going nowhere (includes VCJ and Blue Snag).

It really is just background noise in my collecting room but I just love that off gassing plastic smell when I do open the cabinet door :D
 

Michael Sith

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I think there a good point made here about childhood collections, which I would say in the main a collector would keep, therefore by default have a loose run

For me I only have a few loose but do have first 12 loose on the Mail away stand which was a must for me as far as loose was concerned.
 

Robstyley

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I love my loose figures, it's still my favourite part of my collection even after ten years. It's the reason I started collecting. I set out to collect a full set even before I knew of the last 17 or had seen any Mocs for sale. It's still not finished..! It could have been by now but I started buying Mocs and space ships, and I'm in no rush. Although I wouldn't consider myself a completist I'm close now and do intend to finish it. I can understand becoming bored with them once it's complete or you've had them a long time. Most collectors need a goal, something else to collect. I like Mocs but I feel a bit like that about them. They all kind of look similar and I realised I don't need 40 of them. It's each to their own but for me the figures are everything, they tie it all together. Everything else is made for them and they depict the real human and alien characters in the movies.
 

subzero

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spoons said:
I just love that off gassing plastic smell when I do open the cabinet door :D

Ooh I have a similar feeling when I open my Detolf cabinet and all I get is a nice waft of that vintage paper and cardboard smell from all the boxes and packaging in there, ****ing love that smell!
 

Stuart Skinner

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Funny you should bring this up at moment, I sold my loose run last year and haven't had any on display except a Greedo for several months.

Last couple of months I've been feeling pretty Star Wars'd out, so I've decided to tone it down and put together a loose collection again to hopefully ignite the passion again. Looking forward to spending the next few months piecing it together once more and the first few arrived today and really enjoyed getting them out and onto stands.

Saying that I totally get why you'd move them on especially when displaying space is limited.
 

_Lee_

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Call it coincidence, but im contemplating getting rid of my last 17 so i can purchase the last 4 Palitoy 12 back reseals i need for my collection. Those alone give me what i want from my collection.

I never had any last 17 but felt my collection needed them. Call it the completeist in me which has long since left but now i dont really care. Technically they are part of the universe but some people think Droids and Ewoks figures count aswell, but i never remember them anyway.
 

SublevelStudios

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Stuart Skinner said:
Funny you should bring this up at moment, I sold my loose run last year and haven't had any on display except a Greedo for several months.

Last couple of months I've been feeling pretty Star Wars'd out, so I've decided to tone it down and put together a loose collection again to hopefully ignite the passion again. Looking forward to spending the next few months piecing it together once more and the first few arrived today and really enjoyed getting them out and onto stands.

Saying that I totally get why you'd move them on especially when displaying space is limited.

I can totally see me wanting to put another run together at some point - so with that in mind, I've earmarked several figures I won't sell, mainly first 12 and some ESB ones - just so I'm not starting from scratch again.

Just the right time for me at the moment to shift the collection round - generate some dollars to buy stuff that really keeps my collecting fire lit.

And funnily enough Stu, I've felt a bit jaded with collecting on the whole at the moment. I guess when you're so involved with it and your FB feed seems like nothing but vintage collecting and Star Wars it can get a bit much. That said, it's only fleeting for me, something always pops up and I'm all guns blazing again.
 

SublevelStudios

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_Lee_ said:
Call it coincidence, but im contemplating getting rid of my last 17 so i can purchase the last 4 Palitoy 12 back reseals i need for my collection. Those alone give me what i want from my collection.

This was the same kind of reasoning for me to sell my loose. I need to buy some 30 backs re-seals - I get way more pleasure looking at and collecting those than I do my loose set.
 

Taffius

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SublevelStudios said:
So does everyone have a loose collection despite having other focus' or is this the exception to the rule?

I thought I was a re-collector until I found SWF and realised there was no order to previous collections. I aim to complete a loose (minus last 17 for now). I have recently like gaining Jawas and Rogue One modern.

So not complete with anything at moment so hunting still keeps me going.
 

Palifan

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I've never put a complete loose run together and never really wanted to for some reason. Growing up with SW figures from the first 12 those first figures where the only complete set I had that I played with all the time. I remember not getting Hammerhead from the next released wave and then probably getting around half the set from ESB and probably only a fifth from Jedi as the film didn't quite land for me and I was getting out of playing with toys.

It's probably for the above that I set out to just concentrate on the first 12 released when I got back into collecting. This was the first completed loose run I worked on before moving onto the first 12 mocs and then finally first 12 Palitoy reseals. Since getting the reseals I then picked up the next 8 released loose along with all the Lukes and R2's from the first 3 films. I have also ended up with some nice ESB ones that were in lots I bought and for some reason I thought it was funny to put all the Ewoks together :lol: . The one thing I've found with the loose figures is that they don't seem to take up much space for me as they can normally be put in front of other bigger items or squeezed into gaps. Saying that though I don't really have any on display at the moment as I have lots of other loose figures out from other toy lines.

Putting a complete loose run together has never been a goal for me so I'm happy with what I have although it's probably time to sell off some of the spares now as those are taking up storage space. The mocs/reseals are pretty special to me though and a big part of these figures is the card art so I can see why these can overtake the appeal of loose for some. Also with the carded figures they have the figure inside the bubble so you already have the figure which makes it less necessary to display a loose one along with it.

With all of collecting it's each to their own so I say keep what's most important or particularly hard to get hold of and don't worry so much about the rest. I've always been impressed with how you let things go Mark when you've had enough of them, I tend to keep hold of everything but it doesn't really work with space which is why I'm now trying to thin things down. All the best with what you decide to do though, I'm sure it will be the right decision for you.

Ian
 
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