Collecting habits on new figures.

[Frenchy99]

I was curious as to what everyone is doing towards collecting the new Mego figures. Like:

Are you buying all the lines ? ( POTA, Heroes, Horror... )

Are you just concentrating on certain lines?

Are you buying just 1 of each?

2 of each ? one for display, one mint in package?

More then 2 of each?

Am going overboard lately and wondering if its just me or its a pattern with mego collectors. In the Superhero lines, I am buying 3 of each so far.

What are you guys doing ?

[Z-man 307]

When Mego first returned, I bought at least one of everything, even if I wasn't interested in the character or TV Line (Target stuff) trying to do my part in helping Mego stick around long enough to get the stuff I really wanted.

So now, I will buy all Super Hero figures released (for completeness) and multiples if it's a character I'm really interested in. I kind have stopped buying POTA, Star Trek, Horror, etc. as I think I have all I need in those lines.

So in summary, I am still all in on Super Heroes, but only an occasional buy on all the other lines.

[Dan2Dan]

PotA. I've bought every modern Mego Pota figure, almost all at full retail price the first time I saw them for sale. Uniquely, I left them in the packages - which isn't something I do much. I did this because the vintage Mego PotA figures were among my favorite childhood toys, and I almost couldn't believe that Mego had been revived and was now making them again. I eventually also bought a second 'copy' of, maybe, half the modern Mego PotA figures and took them out of the packaging. But I bought those when, much later, I saw them for sale at extreme discounts to the original retail price, including at ZLC and DeepDiscount and even Amazon. In this way, I ended up with several Soldier Apes. I made a TV show-inspired lookout tower (with reflective metal signal device) and a 'human jail' and, for a couple of days once when my wife and daughter were away for a weekend, I set them all up on my kitchen table. That was really great. But then they had to go back in a storage box, unfortunately.

Star Trek. I loved these Megos as a kid in the 1970s, as well. So I have enthusiastically purchased any new Mego Star Trek figures from the original show that are 'new' and weren't produced in the 1970s, as well a few figures that are remakes of vintage Mego figures that I never had (Romulan, to name one). I really loved these. Happy to pay full retail price. A personal favorite is the John Colicos Klingon. Also the Salt Monster. I never liked any Star Trek after the original show, however. The original Star Trek is still aired nightly on a TV channel carried on my satellite provider. So when I see an episode that I am inclined to re-watch some (or , rarely, all) of, I tend to pull one or two out and stand them up on a shelf in my living room for an hour or so.

Hammer. I have a huge affection for most of these films as well, especially the Lee Dracula series and The Reptile (for whatever reason). I bought one figure (Lee Dracula) at full retail price the first time I saw it. But then I played 'the long game' on every other Hammer figure and, with patience, ultimately bought every one (as well as 5 copies of the Topps x Mego Zombies and 3 copies of the Topps x Mego Reptile). This took a few years. I love these and I set them up every year on the day before Halloween and put them away again two days later. So great, in my opinion!

Other Horror. I'm not a big horror film fan, but, over a lifetime, I've seen pretty much every really famous horror film. So, to display at Halloween each year, I've also bought a bunch of modern Mego's including, from memory: a Freddy Kreuger (excellent!), one of each of the Universal Monsters, a flocked wolfman, that oddball generic 'disco dracula,' and when I saw it for sale once on very steep discount, a Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy. At Halloween each year, I set them up in my living room in a long line in chronological order of their films, along with a Shindana OJ Simpson in football uniform, carrying a Bills helmet in one hand and wielding a giant knife in the other. We typically have a Halloween party, and this display always elicits complimentary comments. (In contrast, my annual Mego Hammer display, just feet away, never draws any comment -and only once in several years did anyone ask me what they were.)

DC. I was less interested in these figures, as I only had a few Mego super hero figures as a kid in the 70s and my favorites were the 12" Hulk and 12" Superman. So these were less of a nostalgia 'thing' for me. That said, I have ultimately amassed a pretty extensive collection of them (maybe 30+), which I took out of the packaging, by waiting for particularly great deals with the steely, ruthless, parsimonious patience of a buyer who isn't emotionally invested. I bought them to use as 'miniatures' when, a few times a year for a few hours, I pull out my childhood DC Heroes RPG by Mayfair Games and play out a couple of battles according to the rules before packing it all away again, until next time. I really enjoy these times. Though some of these figures don't stand very well on their own I've discovered, disappointingly. Personal favorite: Green Arrow Longbow Hunters. I can't believe this was made and completely love it, and that there are two variations!

Other Pop Culture. I also bought the Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali the first time I saw them for sale at Target and paid full price very happily. But at the time, I think they were selling for $12.50. I couldn't believe what a good deal they were then at full retail price. That said, I was disappointed in both figures. I also bought a Stan Lee, when I saw it for sale online at an extreme discount. (I'm losing hope for an accompanying Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko.)

Other Heroes. I bought a Rocketeer for full price the first time I saw it for sale, very happily. I think this figure is great and, somehow, I've made it an annual tradition to display him on a shelf in my living room on July 4th each year, holding an American flag on a pole. I also loved Ultraman '66 as a child. So I bought one of those at full retail price the first time I saw it and left it in its packaging. It is displayed in a closet along with another Ultraman '66 figure still in its box that I bought in a Tokyo toy store nearly 20 years ago. But then, when I subsequently saw any of the other modern Mego Ultraman Series figures for sale at a steep discount, I bought them, too, despite never having seen any of those shows, as well as a second Ultraman '66 figure, which I took out of the package and keep with my DC Mego figures.

Atlas - Walmart Exclusive. I've now sworn off pre-ordering anything from Walmart, as they've subsequently cancelled 100% of my pre-orders. That included one last year for the Atlas Grim Ghost. I loved the idea of the Atlas line, as I was already familiar with their short-lived comic books from the 1970s. I was disappointed that, of the initial four figures, two were of characters in whom I really didn't have much interest or familiarity: Devilina and Hands of the Dragon, and that it was a Walmart exclusive. But I understand the new owners of the IP were pursuing a multi-media licensing and film strategy, and these figures were part of the marketing for that, more than 'the most toyetic' or potentially popular characters for action figures in that line. The $30 price point also raised an eyebrow. But I did buy Grim Ghost when I was lucky enough to stumble on the in-stock listing at Walmart.com during the few days when it was available. I'm happy with that purchase, and I'd buy more Atlas Mego figures. But my sense from afar is that 'that was that.'

Disney Mego. These have been an easy pass for me. Simply put, my personal interest level is dramatically below the retail price point and the hassle factor associated with trying to buy them. I have no FOMO about these. That said, I am very happy for those who really wanted these figures and were able to get them!

Figures I've Passed On. Even when I've seen them for sale for less than $10, I passed on all those early figures sold at Target based on 70s and 80s sit coms. I reluctantly passed on the Farah Fawcett, only because I'm afraid I didn't think the figure looked very good. Same with the Charlie's Angels figures. Stupidly, I played 'the long game' on the KISS figures and lost, only able to buy Paul Stanley, in the end. I passed reluctantly on Alice Cooper only because I'm just not a fan of his music. Same, more or less, for Jimmy Hendrix. But at the time and now, I feel like I should've bought those Rock Star figures to incentivize more. I totally would've bought a Jim Morrison, or a Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, or Axel Rose or Slash, or the like. I also passed on the Young Frankenstein figures, despite seeing them for sale once at a very good price, only because I am one of the rare people for whom that film just doesn't really resonate. (I recognize that that's a 'me' problem, and not a fault of that classic film.) I also passed on the Twilight Zone figures, only because, despite liking the classic TV show, I couldn't envision myself ever having occasion to display them or otherwise 'play' with them.

[TrekStar]

I only collected the Star Trek line, mostly the aliens and characters not originally released back in the 70’s.

I also did the same thing when EMCE/Diamond Select released them.