how do you decide what to collect?

[SuperSenpai]

Ok, so I realize that for quite a few of you, the answer to this is "everything". But for the rest of us who collect on a more limited scale, how do you decide what pieces to add to your collection? Or to put it another way, does your collecting have a particular focus or theme? Only Yamato VFs? Only vintage toys? Only vehicles for certain characters? Do you try to get a representative piece in each scale? Do you only collect particular paint schemes?

[Benson13]

I tend to focus on a particular set, for instance I'm after Mac Plus stuff right now. However if a great buy comes a long then I'll probably hop on that. As for what scale, I decided to go for 1/48 for DYRL since it was more widely available and cheaper than 1/60 at the time and I'll be doing my SDFM in 1/60.

[plastik]

I'm relatively new to this hobby and was initially overwhelmed by how expansive the Yamato VF-1 line is. To narrow it down I chose DYRL and started collecting the VF-1S skulls which included Roy, Hikaru and Max. Then expanded within the DYRL universe and started looking for the VF-1A skulls and the armored VF-1J.

[Dimis]

Ok, so I realize that for quite a few of you, the answer to this is "everything". But for the rest of us who collect on a more limited scale, how do you decide what pieces to add to your collection? Or to put it another way, does your collecting have a particular focus or theme? Only Yamato VFs? Only vintage toys? Only vehicles for certain characters? Do you try to get a representative piece in each scale? Do you only collect particular paint schemes?

The most tactical purchases in fact were my VF-1 weathering versions. I wanted them, but because i didn't want to end up purchasing the same models more than once i just got those when i found them. I generally don't play much with my valkyries, so i tend to buy the rarer release.

[skullmilitia]

whatever i can afford, between macross/MP Transformers/3A my wallet bleeds.

[apolloneo]

completely depends on which animation I have watched. I watched ROBOTECH and VF-0 series Macross F series, so those are my focus area...

For my personal like, I like more Su-27 style than F-14 style...

[anime52k8]

whatever i can afford, between macross/MP Transformers/3A my wallet bleeds.

This, plus Gundam, mainline transformers and animu figures on top of that. I buy what I want when I can afford it but I generally try not to re-buy molds so i can have as much diversity in my collection as my limited space and funds will allow.

[dapro]

I just want one of each of VF-1a,s,j

[eugimon]

at this point, with supplies dwindling and folk making a mad dash whatever remains? Anything you can.

[dapro]

at this point, with supplies dwindling and folk making a mad dash whatever remains? Anything you can.

How come? there are plenty of stocks left no?

[Chronocidal]

Not by a longshot. Most of the Yamato valks are disappearing off the shelves as people speculate about the company going under. Funnily enough, they're still much easier to find than anything Bandai makes.

Far as collecting.. I buy what I think looks cool, trying not to duplicate paint schemes unless I really love a mold (mmmm.. VF-19s... )

Edited March 21, 2013 by Chronocidal

[Shaorin]

budget and space are extremely spare, so i have focused on what i wanted the most.

for the most part i have it all. i'd like to add a VF-11C, (11B would do in a pinch)

and perhaps a 1/55 VF-1J Hikaru T.V. (TAKATOKU or BANDAI reissue)

and, in a perfect world, (ie. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN) a VMF50 DYRL Minmay.

but what i currently have does just fine by me, all considered;

* 1/60v.II VF-1S Focker DYRL

* 1/60v.II VF-1J Hikaru T.V.

* 1/72 HCM VF-1J Hikaru T.V.

* 1/60 VF-19S Docker EMERALD FORCE

* 1/8 GUTTO KURU Lynn Minmay DYRL

- indeed, that is pretty much the core of all i ever felt i couldn't live without in the end, MACROSS wise,

and anything further will be merely icing on the cake for me...

Edited March 21, 2013 by Shaorin

[plastik]

I've been fortunate with my shopping in the past 3 weeks in getting my valks from overseas with very little markup. From what I've been noticing I don't think the stocks are dwindling as fast as it appears but online retailers have been pulling them, marking them out of stock and selling them on ebay at a higher premium. This is creating a false sense of demand and driving up the prices on ebay

[Kicker773]

No right answer.

A little bit of this...

A little bit of that....

[skullmilitia]

No right answer.

A little bit of this...

A little bit of that....

little he says!...

[eugimon]

No right answer.

A little bit of this...

A little bit of that....

You must have a different definition of "little" compared to the rest of us.

[Shaorin]

it ain't all that much, really...

Edited March 21, 2013 by Shaorin

[raptormesh]

Whatever the hivemind here compels me to buy usually, somehow I NEEDED that VF-4G... Otherwise I just buy valks that's interesting and looks good to me and not being too bothered about having to complete a series.

[Valkyrie Magnus]

Everything but VF-21's and VF-22's because I don't like the battroid mode on it

[claude grant]

For me, it's 1)- if I like the the story, animation, and music of the tv series, ova, movie, I would tend to gravitate toward the mechanics of that particular property, 2)- what's the largest scale I can get that properties mecha in that has the best detail & posability for my taste, 3)- is the price point reasonable for my modest income, and 4)- can I complete the series of collectibles I'm trying to acquire?

Turned out that the Yamato 1/48 Valks satisfied all 4 of my criteria, and the blessing was that I bought practically each one as they were released. Only missing the 'holy grail' 4 & the 'weathered' versions (which are just highlighted/accented duplicates of what I already had), so no biggie.

Macross Plus was real easy; 3 Valks & you're done! (just ordered the VF-11B from HKC @ a good price)

But Macross Frontier (version 1) was where I started to grow weary of how these collectibles were being offered to the masses...enter the Tamashi Nation Exclusives. Got all the Messiahs & their TNE accessories, but was disappointed that these items didn't come with the original releases.

Oh well, that's just a little insight as to how I collect...interesting thread this is.

[plutoniumhunter]

I'm a M7 and SDF fan, but I was originally skipping the VF-1... Till I got the VF-1A Cavaliers and it started my hunger for more...

[KH355hamdi]

I only collect those that I have watched. Macross Zero and Frontier.

[GU-11]

I don't usually abide by any strict rules, but usually I go by storyline. If I like the story, I'll probably buy the figs; example, Macross Plus and SDF Macross. That said, I do buy valks from movies I don't like or that I've never watched before, like Gamlin's VF-22S, or even the "non-canon" YF-19 Double Nuts repaint.

In short, if it looks good, I buy it.

Scale-wise, I try to keep everything in the same size.

[SaitouSad]

I only collect those whose designs I really liked (also helps if I watched the show, but VF-19 Kai and P were exceptions).
So for example, I can't stand the YF-21 and VF-22 designs, so I'd skip them.

[mechaninac]

I collect whatever strikes my fancy, that happens to fall within my buying "pain" threshold.

[Loop]

I collected all of the v2's from Yamato with the exception of the weathering versions and the YF-29 25th Anniversary and the Bird of Prey variant of the YF-19. I currently also have all the releases thus far in the Bandai Mac F renewal line + the Alto YF-29 and the 30th YF-29. If I run across a bird of prey I might buy it. Iwas more focused on the "cannon" schemes and somehow let the bird of prey slip by. I did secure a double nuts from a user here on the boards. I just plain did not like the 25th Anniversary scheme YF-29 at all. I am not sure how many more of the Bandai renewals they are planning on making, but I want to complete that collection.

Beside Macross, I was not planning on any Gundams until Veef sold me on the Fix Figuration Metal composite MSZ-006A1/C1[bst] Z Plus blue version. From there I moved on the "metal build" line and think I will continue with that line if they keep making them.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Loop

[Valkyrie23]

I usually just go by set (or changing) priorities. I'm not much into the old takatoku stuff anymore. I have a few of the Bandai reissues and that's good enough for me. Also with 1/48 I just want my VF-1S strike Roy/hikaru and a GBP for future display. The rest is all 1/60. My priority hierarchy is:

• Yamato v2 1/60 VF-1 SDFM (want to complete this line b/c its the best ever - cavaliers, low vis VF-1S, oh my!)
• Yamato v2 1/60 VF-1 DYRL (mainly just skull squadron, VT-1, Elint)
• Macross Plus (only 3 of them, what the hell....)
• Macross F (want most of the renewals)
• Macross 7 - just a few of the ones that I like (VF-19S/P/F, VF-17D, VF-22S Gamlin) and am willing to wait for prices to fall
• Non Macross - a few selected MP Transformers that are the best representations of their G1 counterparts
• Marvel Legends (just favorite characters)
• Hot Toys (just started on this, and am really trying to keep it small. Only a few select figures)

I try to follow this list as best as I can. If I make big Macross purchases I try to balance it out by getting rid of some non-Macross items. MP TF and Hot Toys are good sacrificial candidates b/c they tend to rise in value at times. I always take care of my collectibles so they are easily sold.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Valkyrie23

[plutoniumhunter]

I collected all of the v2's from Yamato with the exception of the weathering versions and the YF-29 25th Anniversary and the Bird of Prey variant of the YF-19. I currently also have all the releases thus far in the Bandai Mac F renewal line + the Alto YF-29 and the 30th YF-29. If I run across a bird of prey I might buy it. Iwas more focused on the "cannon" schemes and somehow let the bird of prey slip by. I did secure a double nuts from a user here on the boards. I just plain did not like the 25th Anniversary scheme YF-29 at all. I am not sure how many more of the Bandai renewals they are planning on making, but I want to complete that collection.

Beside Macross, I was not planning on any Gundams until Veef sold me on the Fix Figuration Metal composite MSZ-006A1/C1[bst] Z Plus blue version. From there I moved on the "metal build" line and think I will continue with that line if they keep making them.

I have both the red and blue Z Plus, well worth every cent I got the BOP off caslon here, at a premium price though... I literally paid the price for being late into the game... For now, VF-1s are the way to go for me...

[ff95gj]

Day one, you set rules.

Then you keep on re-writing the rules.

At the end of the day, the rule becomes "anything appealing and affordable".

[SaitouSad]

I collected all of the v2's from Yamato with the exception of the weathering versions and the YF-29 25th Anniversary and the Bird of Prey variant of the YF-19. I currently also have all the releases thus far in the Bandai Mac F renewal line + the Alto YF-29 and the 30th YF-29. If I run across a bird of prey I might buy it. Iwas more focused on the "cannon" schemes and somehow let the bird of prey slip by. I did secure a double nuts from a user here on the boards. I just plain did not like the 25th Anniversary scheme YF-29 at all. I am not sure how many more of the Bandai renewals they are planning on making, but I want to complete that collection.

Beside Macross, I was not planning on any Gundams until Veef sold me on the Fix Figuration Metal composite MSZ-006A1/C1[bst] Z Plus blue version. From there I moved on the "metal build" line and think I will continue with that line if they keep making them.

Is the Fix Figuration Metal composite line any good? I've seen the Unicorn ones go for insane prices, and it's my favourite Gundam at the moment (it's what got me back into Gundam, and my 1st entry into the UC timeline)

[Mommar]

While I do own quite a bit I usually buy by what I think looks cool. For instance, I don't own a Kakizaki SDFM VF-1A because I won't care for his colors. On the other other hand I'm a HUGE fan of Max so I have is SDFM 1A and 1J, DYRL 1A and 1S and his 22. I don't have anything from Mac Plus, unless you include the Double Nuts YF-19 because it's the only color scheme I like.

[Edi]

As long as I like the series, I will most likely end up buying something from it. As SDFM was the first ever series I watched and loved while growing up, majority of the stuff I've been buying have been from that series. I also enjoyed Macross Frontier, so I've been buying them as well. Same with Gundam Wing, Seed, and Unicorn, along with Guilty Crown and Muv-Luv.

[Loop]

Is the Fix Figuration Metal composite line any good? I've seen the Unicorn ones go for insane prices, and it's my favourite Gundam at the moment (it's what got me back into Gundam, and my 1st entry into the UC timeline)

I almost bought a Unicorn several times, but Macross has always taken the front seat in my collection. The Fix Figuration Metal composite MSZ-006A1/C1[bst] Z Plus blue version I bought just for looks I have only changed it to the beast mode robot mode and put it into a display case. The Metal build line is where it's at though. I have the Metal Build 00 Seven Sword, the 0 Raiser + GN Sword, and the Metal Build Freedom. I like them a lot, they have a good feel to them and are really poseable ,overall really good quality figures. The GFF Metal composite line Unicorn is said to be pretty cool, but not very poseable.

[Kicker773]

You must have a different definition of "little" compared to the rest of us.

[SaitouSad]

I almost bought a Unicorn several times, but Macross has always taken the front seat in my collection. The Fix Figuration Metal composite MSZ-006A1/C1[bst] Z Plus blue version I bought just for looks I have only changed it to the beast mode robot mode and put it into a display case. The Metal build line is where it's at though. I have the Metal Build 00 Seven Sword, the 0 Raiser + GN Sword, and the Metal Build Freedom. I like them a lot, they have a good feel to them and are really poseable ,overall really good quality figures. The GFF Metal composite line Unicorn is said to be pretty cool, but not very poseable.

Ahh, darn. Guess it could be the transformation gimmick that limits the poseability.

Hey, Kicker! Seeing as you have a ton of Valks, how do you go about storing your Valk boxes? If you folded the boxes, won't that damage the boxes?