Apparently I have a problem. As I wrote last month, I’ve recently begun collecting vinyl, including Star Wars vinyl (which allowed me to work my vinyl collection into THIS blog, thanks Star Wars!). Several of my friends have said the same thing to me when they find out about my new collecting venture: “Yeah, as if you needed something ELSE to collect.” I’m not sure how I feel about that…
Actually, I know exactly how I feel about it. I don’t care! Bwahahaha! I am who I am and that’s all that I am. I’m a collector. It started with Star Wars, it will end with Star Wars. However, as I’ve mentioned several times in this series, I obviously can’t collect EVERYTHING that I would like to, not even if I confine it to Star Wars items. There’s just so much. So, choices have to be made. Choices HAVE been made. And those choices have made sense at the time, and most of them continue to make sense. The only thing these choices haven’t taken into consideration is the emergence of NEW avenues of collecting (like vinyl). What happens when something new comes out that I want to explore and invest my time and disposable income in? Do I discontinue another collection, or do I just make room for the new infatuation? Decisions, decisions.
My friend Carlos has an interesting rule designed to keep his collection in check: Any time he buys a new item, he has to get rid of an item. This way, he always has the same number of pieces in his collection, and he can be assured of having a spot to display his new acquisition. This obviously requires a great deal of self-control on his part, and self-control is not something we collectors are really known for, thus our propensity for behavior that borders on hoarding. How Carlos does it, I’ll never know, but I’ve gone through phases where I wouldn’t allow myself to buy something unless I knew exactly where I would display it. That never lasts long, though, so I just rotate items out on a semi-regular basis.
Regardless of your methods for keeping your collection at a manageable size, that all flies out the window when a new option presents itself. Every time a new Star Wars movie comes out, I get excited about the merchandising, especially the toys. I always go overboard at the beginning, then I realize I have nowhere to display the new stuff, so I say “Next time, I’ll be more selective.” I’ll let you guess how well THAT particular advice gets followed.
With all of this in mind, I’ve begun pondering what other areas of Star Wars collecting might appeal to me, and this internal debate has begun to focus on displayability. What segment of Star Wars collectibles would be the easiest to display, either on a wall or on a flat surface. Wall space is always more plentiful than shelf space, so I’ve started thinking about items that can be hung up. There are posters, but those are awfully large and can be expensive. There is fan art, which is always an option, but then you have to think about framing, which can get expensive as well. Vinyl is easy to store, and doesn’t take up too much space, and it has the added advantage of being utilitarian, since I can play the records for my listening pleasure.
The problem is, all of this discussion is strictly academic when I realize that my REAL passion is what it’s always been: Toys. Maybe statues or busts, but mostly toys. I love toys. To me, they’re every bit as much pieces of art as a sculpture. I’m not giving up my search for other collectible niches, but the fact remains that my first love is toys, and my last love will be toys. I suppose it helps me to stay in touch with my inner child, or maybe it’s just a product of my immaturity. My Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff cohost, Mr. Taylor Lymbery likes to say that he has a “plastic addiction” and I think he may be on to something. Even when I know I don’t have room, I want the toys! Is that so wrong?
Now that I’ve come to this realization about myself, it will be interesting to see how I react to all the new Rogue One toys that will be coming out soon. My guess is that I will buy significantly less than I did when the last round of new toys came out in September. My guess is that I will still buy more than I intend to. And you know what, I’m ok with that. I am who I am, and that’s all that I am. Popeye had it right.
What say you? Should I start a betting pool on how many Rogue One toys I buy? If I took a portion of all the wagers, I could probably make enough to buy even MORE Rogue One toys. Which is a circular logic problem that’s making my head hurt, so I’ll stop thinking about it now.
Are there any suggestions anyone has for a collecting segment I’ve not thought of? What are some of your off-kilter collecting choices? Please share in the comments!
Until next time, May the Force of Others be with us all.
Jeff can be heard weekly on Assembly of Geeks (www.assemblyofgeeks.com) and on his own podcast network, MarvinDog Media (www.MarvinDogMedia.com) where he hostsThe Pilot Episode, Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff, and Bantha Banter: A Star Wars Chat Show. He is also co-host of Comics With Kenobi with fellow CWK blogger Matt Moore, on CoffeeWithKenobi.com, which you have already found if you’re reading this blog. You can contact Jeff at jeffm@coffeewithkenobi.com.
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