Never Underestimate What You'll Want to Pick Up

After last SDCC last year, I thought the first part of 2012 would have been a nice break in toy fever. Well, I was wrong. The problem isn't that there are so many things I feel like I need to add to the ever-growing ranks of my collection. As it turns out, the handful of items that I want are on the high-end side.

Hot Toys is about to give me a panic attack with the Christopher Reeve Superman, Batman & The Joker from the '89 film, and the ridiculously awesome Captain America and Red Skull from last summer's blockbuster, I'm banging my head against the wall trying to decide which two I might be able to splurge on this year.

Also on my "must-have" list are the new Medical and Weapons Specialist figures from Transformer compatible third party toy producer iGear. These babies are looking pretty money, and should look great alongside my TF collection.



Since we're on the subject of Transformers, I am also dying to finally get my hands on a Masterpiece Optimus Prime. With recent release of the MP-10 Optimus Prime, I have been hoping to reel this puppy in sooner than later.



When it comes to missing out on things, no item I have missed has made me more heartbroken than last year's Mattel Ghost Trap. When push came to shove, I just didn't have the bones to put forth to land one of these. So, now I'll have to shell out nearly twice what I would have if I'd bought one in October.



AND I still haven't picked up the SDCC Marshmallow Man, Vigo, or "Ready to Believe You" Venkman w/ Taxi Cab Ghost. And now, the Hot Wheels Elite Cult Classics 1:18 Ecto-1 is up for pre-order. This stuff just keeps snowballing!

I figured with no new G.I. Joe vehicles on the horizon, I'd have a break in the action there too. Nope. I'm going nuts trying to find the most recent waves with Lifeline, Sci-Fi, and the new Renegades figures.



If I factor in how behind I am on Pursuit of Cobra (and I don't even want to think about how far behind I am on Sideshow Joes...), I'm constantly playing catch-up here, too.

I thought this year I'd have a chance to catch up on Star Wars, and finally be able to pick up some more Vintage Collection from the Original Trilogy, Jabba's Throne Playset, and the Legacy Millennium Falcon.



Also, on the plate is all the new Lego DC stuff. Which, knowing how fast Lego increases in value, it'd be silly not to grab it while it's on the shelf at retail.



This summer I parted with my Lego Batman and Justice League Unlimited collections--and I'm still feeling a hole in my heart. So, I'm thinking these collections may have to be rebuilt, as well.

Contrary to my predictions this summer, it looks as though this year will be like any other year. I will have to cut corners and really decide what I really want to pick up. I pick up a few odds and ends throughout the year, but typically have only one major splurge of purchases, which I try to keep at or under $1K. So, it's going to be a paramount task, trying to figure out what I need to get sooner than later. What will be the most likely to hike in price the quickest? What might be the most difficult to find later? What can I wait on? What items will maintain stable prices on the secondary market?

Any collector knows these are tough calls to make, but it's also part of the fun. If you could get it all and get it now, it would just be too easy. And that's no fun at all, right?

The moral of this blog entry: as a collector, NEVER underestimate what you'll want to pick up in a given year. And try to keep some extra $$ on hand for those surprise releases (or that have simply slipped past your radar).

Next Blog Entry I will try to break things down into my budget and finalize what this year's big purchases will include. Stay tuned!!