When one sells their entire collection and then decides they want to start again, where do you start? Do you try to obtain everything you let go of, or do you explore new opportunities?
This is the question I find myself facing.
Back in 2020, when I decided to sell everything off and "finish" my collecting journey, I didn't have any conflicting feelings. In fact, I felt good about the entire process. A lot of it I mailed off, but the bulk of the boxed G1 items were sold to a dealer who drove up and helped me load all the rare and valuable items into the back of their car. (Given Covid had just hit, this was a little tenuous.)
But as they drove away I wasn't shedding tears of regret or feeling like I'd lost a part of myself. I think at the time I knew it was necessary. And I was ready to embrace something new, a life without collecting. I turned my focus on my work, travel and transforming (no pun intended) what used to be a collection room into something more functional and enjoyable.
And it wasn't as if I didn't buy any toys within those years. Sometime around early 2021 I found myself purchasing some of the Studio Series 86 figures, just for "fun". Because I still love the '86 movie so much (and I actually did keep my original VHS of the movie, thank God) I thought they'd be a fun distraction.
Then I found myself displaying them with their backdrops...and looking forward to new figures. And before I knew it, I had started again.
It was at this point I decided to sell all these figures off yet AGAIN, as I saw myself falling into the same patterns and habits as before. (The collector brain is a hard thing to break). Fortunately it was only a handful of figures at the time, I think they'd only gotten up to the Leader Starscream figure before I let them all go.
But last year, when I decided to come back to collecting full time, Studio Series 86 was one of the lines I began with, because despite everything, I still loved the idea of modern G1 figures from the movie. Not to mention Commander class Prime and Devastator had just been announced. (I really think it was Devastator that pushed me over the edge. I'm a sucker for a good combiner).
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| Gotta start somewhere |
Additionally, earlier in the year I'd found a bunch of the headmaster reissues from Walmart in the G1-style packaging at a yard sale for super cheap. And around this time I began going after the 86 Movie reissue figures from Walmart as well.
So in many ways, the 86 movie was really the jumping off point for my "new" collection. It provided a loose framework to start from.
The other starting point I found myself gravitating towards was AFA. Of everything I sold when I sold off my collection, I kept a core set of six AFA figures, each with their own special meaning for me.
Starscream - obviously my favorite character and the one figure I'd never let go
Bumblebee - another favorite from my childhood who I always felt a deep connection to
Hot Rod - My favorite movie character as a kid
Smokescreen - my very first Transformer
Perceptor - signed by Paul Eiding at Charticon 2013
Shrapnel - signed by Hal Rayle at Charticon 2013
Each of these figures has a special meaning to me and I would never sell, no matter the circumstances. But as I returned to collecting, I found myself more and more enamored with the idea of finally going after a solid AFA collection. It had always been something I wanted to do, as I've detailed on this blog more than a few times. And while I originally gave that up in 2013, I wanted to revisit the idea. Maybe I didn't need a full G1 AFA collection, but it would really be nice to have at least 84 and 85 finished. And maybe not all of those. But at least the cars and the jets. They were just such a big part of my life for so long, why not?
Another avenue open.
But the problem with AFA is you can't physically touch the figures. But I found a way around that:
Ehobby.
Back in the early 2000's Ehobby reissued many of the original 84 and 85 crew. Why not build a collection of those figures as well, then I could still have the tactile sensations of the original toys while still building two brand-new collections?
All in all, it seems like a win/win to me.
This is not to say that I don't regret selling some items and would buy them back in a heartbeat if I could. For instance, the Japanese exclusive Dinocassettes. They were always some of my favorite figures and when I saw a set at Botcon this past year, I knew I couldn't pass them up. They were in almost the same condition as the set I originally sold, and they all had their boxes and weapons. Instant pick up.
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| Back where they belong |
Another few items I shouldn't have sold were my Botcon 2001 Arcee and Tigatron. As an attendee of that show, and considering how much it influenced my Transformers life and eventually Charticon, I feel like I should have kept those. Fortunately I found a local collector who also attended, who was willing to sell his set to me that had never been opened. While they're not "mine", they are as close as I'll ever get.
There are other things I miss. But at the same time, I don't want to retread the same ground. I don't want the exact same collection I had before, because what's the point of that?
For now, this is the plan. And more than likely it will continue to grow and change as time goes on, but at least it's a starting point. I have to admit, I'm more excited to be a Transformer collector now than I have been in probably the last decade. Everything feels so new and fresh in a way I can't describe. Maybe it's because the thrill of the hunt is back, something I had been sorely missing for years. Or maybe a little time a way gave me a new perspective on things.
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| Something a little different |
Whatever it is, I'm happy to embrace the future with open arms...and an open wallet 😜
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