The thing with figures (more so than with more than plastic aircraft & armour kits) is that companies seem to pop up and then vanish again without trace, and so figures are more likely to go OOP. Then there's the "Limited Editions" thing, which seems to be gaining traction now among producers.
So for years my mantra has been to grab it while you can if you like it, because you never know. Then at some point in the future you can always offload it if you decide that you're unlikely ever to paint it. And in the meantime there's also a certain enjoyment to be had just from owning nice pieces. This has resulted in me now owning (at my rate of painting & completing) several lifetimes' worth of unstarted pieces (around 400 at the last count)
From time to time I have a bit of a clearout of stuff that I've deemed surplus to requirements, but the proceeds are inevitably spent on acquiring new releases. I just can't help myself! I have become a bit more selective, and less prone to impulse-buying, but I'm not too bothered if the figure stash continues creep along on an upward trajectory because it takes up relatively little space and as said, it's nice just to own.
Plastic kits on the other hand take up far more space both built and unbuilt, and over the past couple of years I've managed to shrink my stash by about 100 from around 230 to 130-ish. In the next step I'm aiming to get it below 100 and then take it from there. That will free up more loft & garage shelf space, and with plastic kits I have a policy of not buying another until I've built or sold two. And I (mostly!) manage to stick to that. My wife also has instructions about what to do with all my stash should I kark it before she does. She was surprised when I told her its retail value, and I'd want her to get at least part of that back!
- Steve
