What to do when you hit the wall...

[NewForce]

Rick you want to branch out to other lines while your in holding pattern . You got Treks, right? how about some POTAs, Super Knights, Mad Monsters and Westerns?

already owned them...they just don't "do it" for me...

I did break down and started collecting WGSH vehicles, but I believe I have them all secured now (sans a few variants of course) but I have at least one of each I think...

and, I even started buying some CAH vehicles...

sigh

[AJ Collector]

If I am not mistaken Rick you recently posted that you were thinking of collecting boxed vehicles, did this come about as you realized you were almost at the end of collecting various packaged figures?
And also going by what I have read, if you were to sell your collection, I could see you getting the bug again in 5 years time and start all over again…..from that I would say you definitely love the hunt, so why not try what Clem suggested and branch out to the other lines. Imagine you completing everything Mego!!

As for me, I have made up my mind that I am very happy with just collecting AJ and a complete set of loose WGSH; I have no need to spend exuberant amounts of money on a line I know very well with all the other things in my life that take priority, I will never succeed in finishing.

[clemso]

Rick you want to branch out to other lines while your in holding pattern . You got Treks, right? how about some POTAs, Super Knights, Mad Monsters and Westerns?

[NewForce]

my last 2 pieces I need are a Solid Box RM robin and a carded Green Goblin...

over the past month, I have made contact with 2 folks that actually have them and entertained the idea of selling them to me, to help complete my collection, but as of today, both have decided to keep in their collections, which is understandable and I truly am thankful that at least a dialog was opened and consideration was made...it is closer than I have been since 1997 "completing"

... and at some price I am sure both could be in my collection (throw enough money at something, and at some price everyone sells)...but while I don't "need" the money, I also won't pay what I consider to be an "unrealistic" price just to have

so for now, I will just remain in a holding pattern....don't want to sell, really, just figured it would give me something to do lol

[david_b]

I think of what Yoko Ono said once..:

"If you're pressed up against the wall, imagine no wall."

Philosophically-stating, it's taking yourself out of the situation you're putting yourself in and thinking outside the box.. Sorry, your post title made me think of that.

As for collecting, I'm a lot like Samurainoir ~ Either I'll casually pick it up if it's at a good price, but I'm definitely NOT a Completist by any stretch.. I just grab the ones I've always wanted.

More likely, I'll save $$ to lob another $50 at something to get the very best/mintiest 'holy grail' I can find, like my '73 Idea Spiderman playset, Inflatable MMMS plastic pillow, or my FINE Fantastic Four 49 (my Grails from last year).

And if my latest 'Grail' is WAY over-priced. I just put a 'reminder' in my Outlook email to look in 3 months.., typically the price has dropped by then.

[VintageMike]

While it's frustrating not to find those last pieces I wouldn't sell if you don't have to. Reason being more often than not if you do and get the itch again years later the prices only go up. Even though my overall collection is bigger than at any point in my life I am still missing stuff I had 15 or so years ago because prices were so much lower then.

[megozilla13]

I hit the wall with Mego POTA a few years ago. The 2 pieces I needed to have everything, I hadn't seen in my 10 plus years of collecting. I do know someone that has both of them but they are not for sale. I do hold out hope that one day I will have them though and it does not bother me that the collection isn't growing or reaching its end.
Unless you need the money for something, I would hold on to it, You never know when what you seek is going to turn up on ebay.

mikej

[warlock664]

About 10 years ago, thanks in large part to the advent of ebay, I had amassed a near-complete set of just about every 8" line Mego produced. WGSH (boxed, only one of each character not every variant), POTA, Mad Monsters, Pirates, Robin Hood, Knights, Trek (no aliens), Wizard of Oz, Starsky & Hutch, Our Gang, One Million BC, Waltons, Dukes of Hazzard, Chips, Action Jackson, Dyna-Mite ... you name it, I had it. I didn't have any ultra-rare variants or the Secret Identity figures, but I had just about everything else.
Eventually new interests came along, and I sold off every Mego piece I had acquired. About 3 years ago, my interest was rekindled thanks to Ben Holcomb's book, and I started collecting again, this time concentrating on a loose, complete, all-original set of WGSH. After a year, I had collected nearly 100 loose mint figures, including several variants. Once again, though, I ended up thinning out my collection, keeping at most 2 of each (a T1 and T2 of those that came that way).
So I understand where you're coming from: the act of completing the collection is often more fulfilling than the actual collection itself. Once I've "hit the wall", my fervor usually dies down, and my interests are piqued by a new challenge. That being said, you have an amazing collection, Rick, and if I were you I don't know that I'd be able to part with any of it. In my case, I'd reached the limits of what I could realistically afford to acquire, so I could always rationalize that my collection would never be fully "complete". In your case, being so close, I'd want to see it through.

[MIB41]

Enjoy the hunt

I agree. It's the JOURNEY that counts. Stay hungry!

[kresge1]

I have been there..I was a completists and had to have everything that mego produced..I came pretty close to that goal..I sold off some stuff to help with real life issues and to buy other harder to find stuff,plus I just didn't have the room for everything..I am still in it though..I like the hunts, I like the finding the deals to keep a reserve in case I find that one piece I have to have. I like the newer stuff and the customs..s there is always something to peak my interest..do what makes you happy, take a break, get recharged..it's a great hobby we have here..so enjoy it

[drmego]

I could never sell my collection. I'm still upset that my first collection was
destroyed by my friend's brother in 1976.

I have three figures in my display case that my wife gave me in 1982
for my 18th birthday. Because I have had to send rare megos to
China - never to return - I hate to part with any of them.

[NewForce]

I agree. There needs to be more Pocket Hero lovers around here...LOL!!

as a kid I had CAH, so I completed both my loose and carded set of those, and I have even expanded it to include card variations...

just at some point, I wonder how much longer I will keep "hitting the wall"

[vintage spideyfan]

Add a small line to your collection -- say carded Bend-n-Flex or Pocket Heroes -- to keep you active while hunting for the last grail pieces.

I agree. There needs to be more Pocket Hero lovers around here...LOL!!

[vintage spideyfan]

I've always been a character driven in my collecting efforts and have not really collected "lines", save for carded Pocket Heroes, which I'm four cards away from completing. It is maddening to hit a "dry spell".

With that said, it's been a treat to watch your collection evolve in your Toyroom Central thread.

[Timothy2251]

Been there as well. The only goal I had in mind was to get at least one of every WGSH figure in the best, most complete condition as I could. Luckily, I was able to accomplish that (minus the Teen Titans - they ain't cheap!), picking up a lot of terrific bargains (thanks, Museum folk!). Thanks to Toyroom and Rebox Your Mego, I got 'em boxes as well. Along the way, I got the CTVT versions of the Monsters, Cowboys, Knights, Pirates, and Robin Hood sets, too. I was content.

Then I saw the customs here at MM. Oh, the customs opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Then came BifBangPow, ZICA, CastAway, and EMCE. Then the Retro Heroes.

Sure, you have a magnificent collection, and yeah, two more figures to being totally complete is an impressive feather in your cap. I say, keep the collection you have - Two more figures to go... DON'T STOP NOW! Pass it on to your kids when they're older. In the interim, go after the newer figures, and try your hand at customizing, too!