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Where do you draw the line?

Started by Mitsukuni, January 06, 2020, 04:30:34 AM

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Mitsukuni

Hello everyone! I've been collecting on and off for many years but only recently joined the forum. I've struggled in the past with collecting because I've felt overwhelmed with the amount of figures out there, and how to obtain them, and where to draw the line with my collection, and a couple of years ago I ended up selling my entire collection (mostly comprised of Schleich) off. At that time I kept three striped hyena figures I had but stopped actively collecting. Fast forward to a few months ago and I'm again actively collecting but only striped hyenas, I have a small collection now and am working hard to expand it :)) I'm also planning on collecting select models of spotted hyenas, African wild dogs, wolfs, and wildebeests/gnus in the future.
So to finally get to the question I wanted to ask you guys, where do you draw the line with your collections? I noticed some forum members seem to collect every figure they can find, do you have some figures you wouldn't add to your collection? Certain brands? Do you not collect certain materials figures are made with like composition, rubber, wood, or plush? Some members like myself collect specific species or types of figures, where do you guys draw the line? Again are there certain materials you don't include in your collections? Some brands? Are some figures too unattractive / inaccurate for you to add? Do you only collect figures made in particular time periods i.e. figures made from 1980 - present?
Anyway that's what I would like to know about your collections, I'm sorry this is so long and I also apologize if there is already a topic on this subject or if this is in the wrong place :-[


Isidro

Each collector here have particular tastes and requirements for their collections. For me, the line is a bit more strict than usual in other members. After the line there is the tons of figures that I don't want to my collection:
-Any figure of a species that I already have. My collection is synoptic: one of each species.
-Any figure that is not realistic and extremely well made. No Chap Meis in my collection for example. I have no vintage figures.
-Any figure that is in a scale too extremely shocking when compared with other animals. No insects, no reef fishes, not for the most of birds done by major brands: all are too big. No Wildlife Wonders in any sense, except maaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe the elephant. No very small Kaiyodos for medium-big animals. I recently rejected a Bullyland javan rhino because it's as big as my white and black rhinos.
-Any figure of a farm/domestic animals. I draw my line just after wild species. Domestic animals includes not only horses, cows or chickes, but also, for example, white tigers. My tiger is tiger-coloured.
-Any figure of prehistoric animals. I accept extinct ones but only recently extinct, enough recently for existing taxidermy specimens that allows to know exact appareance and colours.
-Any figure of cubs, calves, chicks, tadpoles, fries, larvae, nymphs.
-I dislike figures with bases and avoid it when possible. I have only one: the Kaiyodo Iriomote cat.
-I dislike figures that must be assembled. I only can accept them if the seams are almost unnoticeable. The Kaiyodo Iriomote cat and the Ikimon colossal squid are my only assembled figures. In both the seams are almost invisible. In the same sense, I don't accept figures with very noticeable seams even if they don't must be assembled. Many Kaiyodos ruled out, all Yowies Australia ruled out.

So here is where I draw my line. Will be interesting to hear where others draw theirs.

sbell

I have certain animals that I will always collect. Primitive fishes (non teleosts) and interesting (primarily freshwater) fish, prehistoric mammals, unusual carnivores--especially hyenas ( @Mitsukuni you'll have to show your striped hyenas, just in case I'm missing one... I have chap mei, starlux, play visions, and CollectA, plus a hand blown glass one).

And whatever else interests me. I used to collect almost everything, but display space is limited, and I prefer not to keep things in storage.

Avian

I have several rules when drawing the line-

  • Must be reasonably to scale with the other figures: i.e. no Kaiyodos of larger animals, no insects.
  • Price must be reasonable, I'm not putting a hole on my wallet for a Japanese figure the size of a pebble.
  • No figures that are not well made and realistic.
  • No figures with noticable seams, nor scuffs if I'm buying used.
You must understand the past before you can change the future.

bmathison1972

#4
Well, historically when I collected arthropods, I had no line LOL. But now that I have a Synoptic Collection, going forward with arthropods I will be more selective.

Going forward:

Arthropods:
1. number of figures per species has no limits
2. from major companies (or at least identifiable to a given company - no more dollar store bin sets)
3. identifiable to at least the genus level (family OK for rare taxa or if meets the criteria of number 2, above)


Other animals:
1. one of each species. Exceptions might be:
a. sexual dimorphism of male and female (with rare exceptions, I have not done this yet, but I might consider it, for example, females of bovids and cervids; I have a few male/female pairs of birds).
b. adults and young of the same species (again, I haven't really done this much yet, but might going forward; for example babies of cats, dogs, bovids, cervids, etc.)
c. exotic breeds of cattle, some sheep goats, poultry

2. should be comparable to each other in scale within a taxa (I like my rodents to be all the same size or so, but a rodent doesn't have to be in scale with an elephant)

3. extant, or extinct mammals, birds, invertebrates, rare fish and reptiles. For now, no dinosaurs, but I have decided if I start with dinosaurs, I will focus almost entirely on Safari and thing released within the last several years.

I have a feeling once my 'base' Synoptic Collection is in good shape, I might just start getting random things that appeal to me. This might mean a duplication of some taxa (probably smaller taxa, such as invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, non-shark fish), but for the most part my Synoptic Collection will remain as such. I will NOT be getting things like, a herd of elephants or a pride of lions ;-). Duplication of smaller taxa should be different in some way (for example, a bird in flight and on the ground).

Who really knows. But for now, consider all realistic arthropods and synoptic representatives of other species.

Isidro

Quote from: MammothProductions on January 06, 2020, 12:38:10 PM
  • Price must be reasonable, I'm not putting a hole on my wallet for a Japanese figure the size of a pebble.

Oh, I forgot this one too for my "line". I will not buy the Jose Miguel Aparicio homemade Spanish ibex, despite how much I love it. With extremely rare exceptions (large whales maybe), I don't want to spend more than 15€ per figure.

Halichoeres

My rules:

1. Only species that lived in the Paleozoic or Mesozoic. Nothing that first appears less than 66 million years ago, and nothing that went extinct more than 540 million years ago (back then, most things were just films of snot on the seafloor anyway).
2. One of each species, usually the most accurate or attractive version, regardless of which company made it. Occasional exceptions if there is controversy about the appearance of an animal, or if it's available in very different scales (my shelves are pseudo-dioramas), or if I can't decide between two versions of very similar quality. This means I have more than 85 companies represented in my collection, which I did not anticipate when I started collecting.
3. Almost exclusively toys, so typically plastic, but I'll consider wooden or metal figures if they are painted and seem intended to be toys rather than high end art. I make exceptions for fishes (i.e., vertebrates outside of the crown-group tetrapods), so I have quite a few resin, 3D-printed, and plush fishes.
4. If a newer, superior version comes out, I sell the old version as soon as possible. Some species I've replaced as many as four times.
Where I try to find the best version of every prehistoric species: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3390.0

sbell

Quote from: Isidro on January 06, 2020, 03:02:14 PM
Quote from: MammothProductions on January 06, 2020, 12:38:10 PM
  • Price must be reasonable, I'm not putting a hole on my wallet for a Japanese figure the size of a pebble.

Oh, I forgot this one too for my "line". I will not buy the Jose Miguel Aparicio homemade Spanish ibex, despite how much I love it. With extremely rare exceptions (large whales maybe), I don't want to spend more than 15€ per figure.

I probably should have included that line too. But you know full well it's not a hard and fast rule for me! As always, depends on the model...and the source.


Advicot

#8
I collect wild and domestic animals but I have stopped collecting domestic animals. My collection is 1000+ strong. I try to get figures that are of all different species, and are in scale with one another. I would get the CollectA narwhal but not the Kaiyodo one as I class it as too small for my collection. I do collect insects and arachnids that are of a certain size: No bigger than the safari hidden kingdoms tarantula. I also try to get more than one animal per species or sub species. I haven't stuck to this as 160+ of my figures are only one of a certain species/breed.

I will also spend around £15 per figure except for the odd few, I don't buy homemade models as they are a lot of money just for one figure.
Don't I take long uploading photos!

AnimalToyForum

I'm only a completest when it comes to prehistoric marine reptiles, and even there I draw the line at plush toys (though I do have a few).
Otherwise, I collect only animal figures that really take my fancy or that I have some personal connection to e.g. a souvenir from a day out, or a figure of an animal I'm working on in the museum.


Mitsukuni

@Isidro
I agree! Seeing everyone's collections on here is what made me so curious about what everyone's criteria is, everyone is very different in their tastes and rules.
I love a synoptic collection! They just always look so amazing:D
This is definitely something I'm exploring right now, with my striped hyenas there really are so many that were made and at some point they just become too crude/ primitive for my collection and I have to draw the line, however, I do collect vintage and antique figures as long as they are recognizable as a striped hyenaXD  I can especially see the need to do that when it's a synoptic collection though since you can only have one of each figure, you want that one figure to be the best example you can find.
For your scale criteria I have to say that makes a lot of sense, synoptic collections are always visually appealing but I notice they are especially nice to look at when there is some cohesion in the scales.
Me too, no domestic animals. I had never thought of that but I also really appreciate your point about the white tigers being domestic.
Same, no prehistoric figures. I've even considered getting some of the prehistoric hyena figures that some companies offer, but in the end I have to draw the line and stick to extant animals.
I agree with you, most baby figures just don't appeal to me.
Again same here, I'm avoiding getting any figures with bases (though I mostly only stick to that rule when it comes to modern figures, if it has a base but it's vintage I'd probably still get it) and I don't care for the puzzle type animals, the seems just bother me too much.
And I agree with the point on having a budget, I think we all have to have a price we just won't pay otherwise we'd all go bankrupt lol. However, I do have to say that I'm a bit more in agreeance with sbell, if I saw a certain figure I really wanted even if it was expensive I would most likely still buy itXD

@sbell
I have to say it's really cool to talk with you, you were one of the original inspirations for me continuing to collect hyenas. I've loved hyenas since I was a kid but seeing your collection on here years ago inspired me so much, and I saw some of the figures that are on my wishlist (for example the starlux striped hyena) from you first. You sort of showed me that it wasn't weird to collect as many of a certain species as one can find, lol weird tangent sorryXD
Anyway, your collection sounds fascinating. I don't think I've ever seen any of your fish, do you have them posted on here? I have some hyenas still coming in but once they arrive I'll post them on here, my collection is still very small, I have CollectA, Chap mei, Elastolin, and one unknown antique composition figure.

@MammothProductions
Those are all really great rules! So then do you pretty much collect every figure you can find that doesn't go against one of your rules?

@bmathison1972
Like I said to Isidro I really love a synoptic collection, I actually just got caught up on the thread about yours, you have a truly incredible collection.
Your criteria reminds me why I asked this question, I feel like we all have very specific requirements for our collections and we think about, plan, and curate them with a lot of care, when I asked I knew that everyone's answers would be so unique and interesting.
With number 2 I think that's a perfect way to put that, I'm sure it's much easier to get approximately the same scale within a taxa versus trying to get your whole collection to be the same scale.
With expanding your synoptic collection in the future I think that's a great idea! There are so many amazing figures made by so many companies I'm sure it's so hard with some species to choose just one example, I also think it will look very cool to have more than one of some of the smaller taxa but each in a different pose.

@Halichoeres
I hadn't thought of that but it makes a lot of sense that someone who collects prehistoric figures would have cut offs for the time periods the species were living. Wow that's amazing that you have that many companies represented! I also like the idea of having your shelves be pseudo-dioramas:D
With your figures being intended as toys I think that's a really great way to judge if you want to add a figure to your collection. I mostly collect plastic and composition but I definitely include examples made from other materials, pretty much anything that isn't plush or fabric.
I was wondering if any of the members that have synoptic collections did that, it makes sense to me that if you found a figure that you liked more than the one you already had that you would replace it with the better example.

@Advicot
When I had my huge collection of Schleich I ran into the same thing, it feels like there are double the amount of domestic animals released as compared to wild animals, I ended up having a huge amount of horses and cows by the end. Wow that's an impressive collection!
That's so interesting, so your criteria is mostly based on the scale of a figure and whether it will fit in with the rest of your figures then?

@animaltoyforum
That's so cool, what originally made you interested in prehistoric marine reptiles?
That makes sense, and it might be how my collection progresses in the future when I've got more of my hyena collection completed.

sbell

Quote from: animaltoyforum on January 06, 2020, 10:33:20 PM
I'm only a completest when it comes to prehistoric marine reptiles, and even there I draw the line at plush toys (though I do have a few).
Otherwise, I collect only animal figures that really take my fancy or that I have some personal connection to e.g. a souvenir from a day out, or a figure of an animal I'm working on in the museum.

I also forgot that--if there's an animal with some kind of connection for me, I will probably pick it up.

I also forgot to mention salamanders. I like them. Fortunately, there aren't many, and I have the holy grail Safari ones already!

sbell

Quote from: Mitsukuni on January 07, 2020, 01:05:19 AM

@sbell
I have to say it's really cool to talk with you, you were one of the original inspirations for me continuing to collect hyenas. I've loved hyenas since I was a kid but seeing your collection on here years ago inspired me so much, and I saw some of the figures that are on my wishlist (for example the starlux striped hyena) from you first. You sort of showed me that it wasn't weird to collect as many of a certain species as one can find, lol weird tangent sorryXD
Anyway, your collection sounds fascinating. I don't think I've ever seen any of your fish, do you have them posted on here? I have some hyenas still coming in but once they arrive I'll post them on here, my collection is still very small, I have CollectA, Chap mei, Elastolin, and one unknown antique composition figure.


@Mitsukuni I think, somewhere, I have some photos of my fish around...I think there's a primitive fishes thread somewhere here but it is badly out of date now. And elsewhere is a series of my shelves, from then. I have since moved the shelves and reorganized again. I have a lot of fishes. They get a large part of the centre piece cabinets!

And never say never about prehistoric figures--I have a few prehistoric hyenas which are awesome!

Badger

My rules. I'm keeping them vague for ease of posting, but If anyone wants specifics, just ask:

1. Figures must be a consistent size relative to eachother (what size this is depends on group of animal)
2. No 'models'
3. Nothing domestic (although I do keep some domestic animals in my collection that I purchased prior to making this rule)
4. Should be good value for money (although I say 'should' as this rule does get broken occasionally)
5. Prioritise taxonomic groups that I'm interested in (for me, this is birds, non-fereungulate mammals (excluding elephants), cetaceans, sharks, and the odd families/genera/species not included in these groups that I happen to like).
(a.k.a. Ravonium, on the DTF and STS)

Avian

@Mitsukuni, basically. Figures are hard to get and come by where I am, as there are not any stores close, so I take what I can get.
You must understand the past before you can change the future.

Advicot

Pretty much @Mitsukuni, I don't really want a mouse that's the size of a Schleich elephant or an elephant that's tiny. Sometimes I get surprised by the size of figures like the Maia & Borges sea otters.
Don't I take long uploading photos!


Mitsukuni

@sbell
I'll definitely have to go digging in the forum to see your fishes when I have time:D

agreed, you never know how your feelings on a figure might change in the future:)


@Badger
Like I said with other members, I really think that's a great way to determine what scale to go with, just keep the scale the same within a group.

I would love for you to expound on what you personally would define a model as:D


@MammothProductions
I'm sorry you don't have access to many figures where you live:( I can sort of understand as I only collect the one species so I have to exclusively shop for them online and some of them can't be shipped to the USA if they're in Europe.
Maybe one small upside for you is that when you do find figures in stores around you it's a bit more special than if they were readily available.


@Advicot
That makes perfect sense. I know, I'm continually shocked by the size of certain figures.

Badger

@Mitsukuni I meant anything made out of resin rather than a more durable material (e.g. PVC). As an example, anything from Likaon is disallowed for this reason.
(a.k.a. Ravonium, on the DTF and STS)

Mitsukuni


sirenia

A couple of rules usually help to ensure no over collecting. Mine our:

Prehistoric ones are based on certain t.v. series, unless they are especially interesting.

Modern ones are usually based on trips and visits to zoos or museums, unless, again, they are particularly odd species.

Mind, I tend to be quite flexible with these rules.