Collecting polybags

chuxtoybox · October 2015

Collecting polybags means you keep them sealed.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

^ If that's you way of doing it, fair enough, but I also collect polybags (well the MARVEL ones mostly), I open & assemble them, cause to me, what is the point of getting them if you don't... Might as well save off a picture of the bag from the web & print it out.

chuxtoybox · October 2015

It's not just about the picture on the bag, although that is a big part of it.

It's about the krinkle sound the bag makes when you hold it, which you can't get from a box or a foil packet.

It's about the sound the elements make shifting in the bag.

It's about the overall uniformity of the packaging. Most polybags are the same size. (I don't dare say all of them are because I don't know if that's true.)

This, to me, is what polybag collecting is all about.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

^ Do you feel the same about SDCC collectibles & the like? *currently swooshing Rocket's Warbird over my keyboard*

Personally, I can't do that, to me it's meant to be built, so I build...

xiahna · October 2015

@chuxtoybox in that case, I guess you could say that I collect the things inside the poly :)

chuxtoybox · October 2015

VorpalRyu said:

^ Do you feel the same about SDCC collectibles & the like? *currently swooshing Rocket's Warbird over my keyboard*

Personally, I can't do that, to me it's meant to be built, so I build...

My response is meant to be civil, not argumentative. This is how I personally view such things:

Yes I do. I am "taken aback" when people take their SDCC minifigs out of the package. The package helps to distinguish it's "importance", for want of a better word. The art on the card. The SDCC logo. It's all part of the collectible,to me.

But you're talking to the guy that wouldn't have taken any minifigure apart 6 months ago and now is ripping off heads and arms and hands to make MOCs. I sure wouldn't do that with a figure I paid $100 dollars for, or that someone else might.

I can understand opening a SDCC exclusive that had to be built, like the Batmobile. I understand it but I wouldn't do it. :) Once again, the SEALED packaging is part of the collectible, to me.

I have the Hulk minifigure that came in a poly and I opened him because he's my favorite and that was the first version of him, so if you asked me if I had the Hulk polybag I would say no, I have the minifigure.

In the grand scheme of things it is of course idiotic to buy something and never use it, but is it not also idiotic to spend $100.00 on something that probably cost 25 cents to make? But that is what collecting is about. It's also something my wife doesn't understand. :)

Obviously there's a million ways to collect LEGO or anything but I always assume these questions are more relative than trying to determine a concrete set of rules that have to be followed in order to consider yourself a TRUE collector.

TheLoneTensor · October 2015

I don't think it's true to say a collector only keeps things sealed. I'd consider that kind of person a speculator, or perhaps even just a renter of the things until they move them on to the next human. Either that, or they just keep things sealed until they get around to using them.

I have sets opened and built, and I consider them part of my collection.
I have sets sealed away that I have every intention of building, and they are part of my collection.
I have sets sealed away that I have not yet determined if I want to build, and they are part of my collection.
I have sets sealed away that are meaningful to me as they are, that I have no intention of opening or building, and they are part of my collection.
I have sets sealed away that are strigtly for resale, and they are just stock to be rotated.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

@chuxtoybox, sorry if you took my responses to be seriously argumentative. As for SDCC type stuff, I still have packaging for all packaging for those, they're just too special not to keep.

@TheLoneTensor, love the descriptions, especially the last, the first two & the last one, I'd say definitely apply to my Lego stuff. Unfortunately, until I get the back room sorted, my building has to stop for now, we don't have enough shelf space out of reach of our little mister almost a year & half...

madforLEGO · October 2015

I have at least two of each bag I wanted. I plan on opening the figure related bags once I finish a display box for them. As for the smaller sets I have thought about displaying one of each in a larger display box, and of course put them out into a lyout once I start MOCing my own city/train layout.

SumoLego · October 2015

^ My thoughts exactly.

donutboy · October 2015

Yes my friends, it's the only way. One to keep sealed. One to open.

chuxtoybox · October 2015

I didn't think any one was being argumentative. :) I believe we can all have differences of opinion and discuss them without animosity.

I'm not suggesting that all collectibles have to be kept sealed. I collect different things and don't treat them all the same way, which is the point I was trying to make in my last statement.

There are many facets to the way I collect LEGO. This is how I do it, not how I expect anyone else to:

If I buy a polybag specifically for my polybag collection I will keep it sealed. Once I open a polybag I no longer consider it part of my polybag collection.

If I'm adding to my CMF collection I open and assemble them because leaving them sealed would just be dumb. Then I display them in the order they are shown on the pamphlet.

If I add a LEGO set to my set collection I build it exactly the way the instructions show right down to the placement of the cups, brooms and wrenches. The only thing I don't do the majority of the time is add stickers. Then I leave it intact. Once I take a set apart and mix it with other LEGO I don't consider it a set anymore, it's now part of my collection of LEGO elements.

If I could afford to buy SDCC exclusives I wouldn't open them.

This is what I like about Brickset forum. You learn different aspects of collecting LEGO and the different ways people view and practice those aspects. I took the definition of a polybag for granted and assumed everyone thought that meant a sealed bag. Obviously I was wrong and learned something new.

I didn't even know that some people specifically collected polybags till I read about it on Brickset. :)

SirBen · October 2015

How about building the set in the sealed polybag? Although should I choose to sell or trade it, would it then be used in a sealed bag (UISB?)?

chuxtoybox · October 2015

SirBen said:

How about building the set in the sealed polybag? Although should I choose to sell or trade it, would it then be used in a sealed bag (UISB?)?

I realize your probably joking but I would think that it would be impossible to assemble something in a poly without marring the bag. The condition of the package is a factor for me, though not a strict one, and might be for other collectors who keep the bags sealed. Plus assembled sets would be bulky and ruin the uniformity in a collection.

Leaving parts in a bag would conflict with the way I like to build which is to dump contents and rummage for pieces as opposed to sorting everything first. :)

CCC · October 2015

Its fairly simple to assemble a minifig in a bag. Some of the monthly builds were also pretty easy, if in clear bag.

CCC · October 2015

VorpalRyu said:

^ An interesting viewpoint, makes sense, but by that definition, Lego collectors would assemble the sets, else its just bricks in a box...

Not necessarily. Sealed set collectors have no need to build the set. They buy a sealed set, they have a sealed set. Whereas minifig collectors, they buy a sealed set and they have no minifigs, just minifig parts they cannot see mixed in with a load of bricks. If they want the minifig, they have to assemble it.

SumoLego · October 2015

donutboy said:

Yes my friends, it's the only way. One to keep sealed. One to open.

And One to Rule them All...

SirBen · October 2015

chuxtoybox said:

I realize your probably joking...

Yes, I am partially joking, but I also appreciate the challenge of assembling the set within the confines of the bag. While not technically a polybag, I currently have #41042 assembled inside the clear bag that comes inside the pouch.

I believe I also assembled #30187 in the bag before opening it. On the other hand, #30225 was simple too large to assemble within the bag given its overall dimensions.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

@SirBen, I would have been curious to see if someone could manage #11910 while still in the bag, except TLG were spoilsports on that one & put some of elements in a secondary bag. Or is there a trick to opening bags inside of a polybag without damaging the main bag?

SirBen · October 2015

^ I'm sure it would be possible, but I've only tried it with single bags containing all of the parts.

If anyone wants to send a #11910 to me, I'd be glad to give it a try.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

^ I see what you did there... & I applaud you efforts, well played. :)

chuxtoybox · October 2015

SirBen said:

chuxtoybox said:

I realize your probably joking...

Yes, I am partially joking, but I also appreciate the challenge of assembling the set within the confines of the bag. While not technically a polybag, I currently have #41042 assembled inside the clear bag that comes inside the pouch.

I believe I also assembled #30187 in the bag before opening it.

But can you do it with your eyes closed?

SirBen · October 2015

^ Yes! I checked using #5001622.

brownbricks720 · October 2015

Me personally I am a huge fan of the art on polybags. It just really appeals to me. I will always try to get 2 at least. I love going on a hunt for polybags and try to track them down. I always check my local TRU and Target. I still get excited when I find a polybag that I don't have in my collection. My most prized polybag is the Chrome Darth Vader from the 10 year anniversary.

chuxtoybox · October 2015

SirBen said:

chuxtoybox said:

I realize your probably joking...

Yes, I am partially joking, but I also appreciate the challenge of assembling the set within the confines of the bag.

You should start a new trend in LEGO enthusiasm, building sets in sealed bags. Buy a set the size of #75099-1, dump all the elements into a gallon size storage bag and build it inside the sealed bag.

Then work your way up to bigger sets in bigger bags until you can assemble a modular in a sealed black contractor bag.

Then and only then will you be able to call yourself a Master Polybag Builder.

VorpalRyu · October 2015

Thanks @SirBen, after reading this thread, my wife has decided to try her hand at build the set while still in the bag (she's attempting #30285).

Collecting polybags

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