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For example, I collect SW sets, but only the original trilogy sets, and then only things I find interesting.
I have owned every CMF in the past, except S13 and Mr Gold, but decided about S7 to collect only ones I like, rather than all of them. And sold off / traded earlier ones I no longer wanted.
Me, I go for UCS large sets and anything else I like the look of that has something to do with the OT (which isn't much).
Being a completest in the SW range will be deadly...
I'm curious if there are other people here who try to complete certain ranges/subsets?
I admire the completists and feel the odd tug in that direction occasionally, before the fear of going broke and just lack of mental discipline distracts me :-)
What I collect:
1. Modular buildings
2. Superhero minifigures (displayed among the modulars)
3. A few other sets I really enjoy: DeLorean, Ghostbusters, the big R2D2, Simpsons minifigs, VW Bus
Everything else just doesn't fit. I'd love to buy so many other sets, but I don't want to get into the situation I was in before: becoming a LEGO warehouse for sets I can never find the time or space to build.
My problem is i love minifigures. Often buying sets just for them.
Of course, there have been some amazing sets that i love too, like MetalBeard's Sea Cow, Benny's Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP!, and the Mini Cooper MK-VII. But mostly i just want the minifigures.
I want one of those, and definitely have one on the horizon as long as i can get it before it sells out. MetalBeard's Sea Cow is probably my favorite set of all time. It's just such a comical fun beautiful build. Just when you think the ship isn't gonna get any taller, they add another layer to build! 10/10 in my mind.
Now you have me looking more closely at the Sea Cow - I'm trying to resist!!!
Lego Movie was so awesome i wanted everything. Including _all_ the background characters too. Some i had to make/build myself from other parts. (Like the Duplo aliens, MetalBeards Pirate Crew). I think i'll keep collecting this theme entirely for the time being. seeing as i'm pretty much complete at the mo.
Lego Ideas/Cuusoo was something else i was collecting, but since i've missed the Shinkai 6500 Submarine and i'm not prepared to pay eBay pricing on it, i'm gonna just get the ones i really like now.
Star Wars is just always gonna be an interest of mine, and with the new movie, it'll only grow again. I think i'm going to have to set some boundaries for this theme like you all have suggested here. Buying only the ones i really like, and then perhaps picking up individual minifigures i like from bricklink or eBay.
Thanks so much for all the great comments so far. Really enjoy hearing how you all pick/choose what to collect.
I also avoid SW line and have since about 02-03. Why buy a set only to see it remade (sometimes for the better, sometimes not) in a year or two? It is not like you can sell your old one for anything after getting the new one, and do you really want to keep multiples of the same set?
My guess is that DC and Marvel lines will likely be the same way as SW now (at least the Marvel line as it is Disney now).
I only collect City/Train, creator and the Creator exclusives (like mods, Winter sets, and the special trains and now the amusement park sets) and even then I do not always grab every city set (typically I avoid Police and Fire as again they make new stuff every year, usually better than the last as well).
Ultimately I have found you buy what you really want or think you may want in the future. (Otherwise, as an example, see all of the people lamenting they should have bought the Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium, Town hall, or Haunted house even though they could, but did not initially want to). Try to buy on sale (those sets that can be had on sale anyway) or stack those sets that cannot be on sale ever with promos from LEGO (ie double points and giveaways like mini sets or polybags), this helps with the cost dramatically. I love LEGO but lets face it, if I can get that train set for 25%-30% off of RRP then Ill go where it is being sold (usually Amazon)
Also have no regrets about missing a set if you do. If you are a diehard completion-ist (i.e. you MUST have everything in a theme/line) and are collecting LEGO then you will have likely nights of cold sweats when you miss out on sets like Ole Kirk's house, and the other special LEGO tour sets (like the landing strip and the latest tour train set), or special LEGO company sets -like the #4999- and what not.
I really wish I could get those sets, but at the end of the day I know I will not as I will not pay that kind of money for those sets.
I did try to get every Lego Movie set including the promo stuff. However, as expected Lego 'released' sets that are so hard to get hold off (the SDCC Unikitty, the Cinema set) that it made completing the line impossible unless you are prepared to spend silly money on ebay.
To my mind this is the case with every line so it makes 'collecting' as such a futile excercise. Therefore I only buy sets that I want to build now.
- UCS sets.
- Modulars buildings.
- Some creator expert sets.
- A few sets that don't fall into any of the previous categories.
Collecting is different for everyone and likely evolves as your taste changes. I only buy a few Star Wars now and am a complete collector of Super Heroes and Collectible Minifigures (at least that is the goal for now). On the fence with my Hobbit LOTR collection.
I currently like collecting minifigures as well, and usually buy sets just for the minifigures (if it is cheaper that way). Usually it is cheaper instead of buying all of the figures online. They tend to have a high mark-up also. So it can be frustrating.
The CMF are neat, but my interest has been draining the last few series. Do I continue to buy complete sets with the price hike? It's a tough decision. I am far less into army building than I used to be though, mostly because of the price hike and the designs haven't been army builder potential for what I would want.
I have all of the Hobbit/LOTR sets and would love more, but I know the theme is done. I have a fair amount of Super Heroes, which will continue to grow. I don't particularly care for most of the sets, but the figures are looking great. But then I start to think maybe I don't need to pick up EVERY figure. There are a lot I don't even know who they are or care about (USM mostly). Movie or comic based are preferrable, but if the figure looks cool, I want it. I have a handful of SW sets (mostly the iconic ships) and the main cast, but even then they keep updating them to look better and better...it's tough. And I know 2015 won't be easy with all of the great sets that are coming out.
To go back to the original question, how does one CHOOSE?
Also asking people how to choose is a bit silly IMO as you are going to get many different answers and we cannot see what is in someones head (how are we going to know what someone in a forum really likes?). Again you buy what you want. If you want it all, then buy it all (it is not our money anyway). It is all on the individual on how to choose, not a forum of many random people (mostly strangers to many).
Absolutely not into modulars - if I do buy them it is only for cheap nice coloured bricks (dark tan in Palace cinema, sand blue in Pet shop, etc). Same with other discounted things, if I see the bricks I like and if price per brick is cheap, I'll buy it no matter what it is.
Yellow-era = 90 figs
Flesh-era = 111 figs
Color-era:
Prequel Trilogy = 65 figs
Original Trilogy = 152 figs
Clone Wars = 107 figs
EU = 17 figs
Yoda Chronicles = 9 figs
Rebels = 6 figs
Promos = 24 figs
*Numbers are from 1999-2014
This considers all the figs that have been cataloged by BL with unique sw#. However, this does contain those figs that are only minorly different due to gear or armor selection (think Clones and Troopers), so you might be able to trim these numbers back a bit further.
Still, it is a lot even if i just stick with official movie ones. As other's have said here, i think it might be a lost cause now. There is just so much.
1. cool looking
2. contains rare/army builder/other interesting minifigs
3. fairly priced in my opinion
4. from an interesting subtheme
5. retiring soon
6. not too similar with the ones I have already
7. great for display/MOCs/brickfilms
Personally, I don't have much of a "completist" mindset, so that spares me a ton of space/money. I also don't go wild for minfigs like many people seem to. I mainly just collect sets that strike me as interesting. I also try to go big, over quantity. I'd way rather have a giant UCS-type set than 5 random smaller sets.
I collect Super Hero minifigures. I buy whatever sets I think look like nice builds, and just get the others on BL, and trades. I also buy whatever seems cool from themes I like a lot, like city, Ideas, and TMNT.
I've tried setting parameters about what I will or will not buy, but unfortunately I don't have the discipline to stick to my own rules. Maybe by putting this in "print", I will hold myself more accountable... haha...
That being said, I only truly collect SW and LOTR/Hobbit for myself. I try to limit my purchases to UCS SW sets, with the occasional purchase of what I think "looks cool" from the OT. This ambiguity is what gets me in trouble. But I do force myself to give it a few days, if not weeks, to think about it, rather than purchase on impulse. The worse part is that I just got into SW sets recently, so I'm having to purchase some stuff after-market, which can get pricey obviously.
I've collected every LOTR/Hobbit set, minus the comic convention one-offs. LOTR is what got me back into LEGO after not playing with them since I was a kid. Part of me is glad this line is done, though I wish more was done with Gondor. So moving forward, in theory, I'm only buying SW.
The rest of my purchases are typically for my son, which ranges all over the place, and honestly take up the majority of our purchases. Ninjago, Chima, Superheroes, more SW, etc. So even though I have my own rule of only buying SW, I break it all the time, using my son as an excuse!
For me: less than 1/3. :-)
;p
As a reforming sports card collector, I understand the "completist" feeling.
If it is THAT overwhelming of a feeling, stick to a series/line and NEVER deviate.
You have been warned...
No way I buy just 1/3 of what I have. I may not buy everything twice like @oldtodd33, but I would certainly buy 85% of them over again and many twice; Like CC, GG and UCS MF :)
I bet less than 5% of Lego enthusiasts, such as ourselves, have our collection insured.
These date from the 1950s, 1960s and even 1970s.... from Billund Denmark, Oslo Norway, Leverkusen (Bayer) Germany, Ludwigshaven (BASF) Germany, Wrexham Wales, Grangemouth Scotland, and Loveland Colorado USA.
The recent interest in these has been remarkable, with some examples, such as this 1950 beauty... selling for up to $100...
I just reopened an old thread that I started last September... due to the sudden appearance of some beautiful LEGO bricks that came to light from Scotland, Wales and Colorado USA... with an interesting history that I am currently researching...
Well one thing about collecting 2x4 bricks.... they don't require a lot of storage space!
I'll be posting more info and images on that Marbled Bricks thread in case anyone is interested in those unique and beautiful historic bricks.
Now back to your "new stuff".... ;-)