How many times can you buy the same toy?!

I was re-setting up my display shelf after moving home, and this crossed my mind, so i thought it might make an interesting discussion

When i started collecting again, i couldn't justify even a single repaint - why buy a toy i've already got when i could get a new one? I held fast for a while, until i picked up Classics Ramjet to fight alongside my Classics Starscream. As time's gone on, i have become more lax - i have 2 of each Alternity mold as they're my favourite line and i think they display best with car beside robot. I have Henkei Thrust & Dirge now, making 4x of the classic seekers mold. I also have ROTF Leader & his fancier Buster Prime repaint - as it's one of my favourite toys.

I try and avoid doubling up wherever i can, and a few times i've sold on my double after deciding which one i really prefer. I think, as long as the toy is exceptional, i can bring myself to buy a repaint... but afterwards, i still feel some buyers remorse looking at the same toy on my shelf.

So vote in the poll - just how many times could you bring yourself to buy the same toy if variants existed?

And, tell everyone the toy(s) you have the most of and how or why you can justify it.

For me, the most prominent repaints/retools are the Classicsverse Seekers. :rolleyes:
It was inevitable and a hard thing to avoid, picking all these up:
Starscream, Skywarp, Acidstorm, Ramjet, Thrust & Dirge - as they all represented their own personality and I also wanted them to.round out my Classicsverse Decepticon forces. :p

The sad thing is I'm still, like many others, hanging on the hope that HasTakTom will release a Generations or Reveal The Shield Thundercracker based on this mold, then I'll be happy. :D
Where I myself draw the line with repaints are the pointless repaints of the same character/personality :mad:, e.g:

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub...p?id=16655&t=1

I reckon it depends on the characters. If its a repaint of the same character, I ignore it. But if its the same mold of different characters, if I like it enough, I'll get it. This is especially true with Sideswipe, Red Alert and Sunstreaker as well as Prowl and Bluestreak... I mean Silverstreak... along with the Seekers.

Really, its a matter of taste I reckon.

When it comes to a different character, I will more than likely pick it up. Seekers, Prowl/Smokescreen/Silverstreak, Red Alert/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker are all different characters for me so warrants me to pick each up. For me it is just the same as buying all said figures in G1, a number of repaints there as well. But one good thing that they are doing with the new figures, is at least giving them new heads or something. Unlike Silverbolt/Darkwind, Powerglide/Stormcloud, etc...

I find it unnecessary to own more than one version of a mould at a given time except in 'special' circumstances. That doesn't mean I haven't bought numerous iterations of the same toy, of course - like many people here I've owned a dozen G1 Seeker mould toys over the years, but have since sold all of them except one of my G2 Ramjets. Generally I whittle down my collection to the single version of the mould I like the most with 'special' exceptions, e.g. Lugnuts and Sky Shadows.

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Originally Posted by Hursticon

For me, the most prominent repaints/retools are the Classicsverse Seekers. :rolleyes:
It was inevitable and a hard thing to avoid, picking all these up:
Starscream, Skywarp, Acidstorm, Ramjet, Thrust & Dirge - as they all represented their own personality and I also wanted them to.round out my Classicsverse Decepticon forces. :p

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Likewise for me - I have all the Hasbro releases of the Seekers along with all the Henkei releases (if available) and intend on even picking up the Botcon ones (if I can find them at a semi-reasonable price - most unlikely though)

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Originally Posted by gekisou

I reckon it depends on the characters. If its a repaint of the same character, I ignore it. But if its the same mold of different characters, if I like it enough, I'll get it.

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Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1

When it comes to a different character, I will more than likely pick it up. Seekers, Prowl/Smokescreen/Silverstreak, Red Alert/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker are all different characters for me so warrants me to pick each up.

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My collecting habits kinda follow this path too - straight repaint of same character? Maybe not, only if I like that character and mold enough. Redeco into another character? Most likely, once again dependent on how much I like that character or mold.

For me, it depends on the characters also. Case in point would be the seekers. I bought Dirge and Thrust not only because I already had Ramjet, but because they are a group-of-sorts unlike some of the other repaints which have no real association with each other.

All the versions but only for a few selected moulds.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering, for those that buy the redecos, do you open them all and put them all on display or do you simply display one and leave the rest MISB/MOSC?

I open most of my ones (Seekers, Sideswipe mold, Prowl mold, etc) but leave quite a few sealed (Onslaught/Hardhead, Mirage/Fracture/Drag Strip, Silverbolt/Darkwind/Skyfall, Alternitys)

I guess for me, if I'm a big fan of the mold, I liberate them from their plastic prisons (although for some reason I opened all my Prowl molds despite my dislike for that mold but for some reason I keep my Alternitys sealed even though I love all the redecos of Convoy and Megatron :confused:)

ask STL :rolleyes:

I've got no prob with repaints if I the characters are different and I want them (typically only g1 honored characters). And for lines I like, I get at least 2 of each (of the exact same toy), sometimes more depending on love level, rarity and/or value. There's exceptions too. Like yourself, I have 2 ea. of Alternities, but I have two of each color, even if it is the same character (Convoy, Megs).

I'm a sucker for new characters, even more so if they have a new head/hat.

Hmmm, I am in the same boat with the seekers I think as everyone else. They are easily jutifiable as they are different characters by themselves. I won't buy duplicates if the mould is bad (armada hotshot), ugly colours, or pointless recolour if I do like the mould and character (Animated Roadbuster Ultra Magnus).

However if the colour is good, or the mould is awesome I can buy more than one. Animated Shadow Blade Megatron (good colours, cool toy, although not justified colours in the cartoon), Animated Blurr, I had about 6 of, once I had managed to get my hands on the Takara Tomy one, as I love the toy sooo much.

A new head or change to a new character can influence me really.

Oh, Sentimental value. I.e if I have a story for a toy. For me, that would be MP01 Convoy, even though I have the 'complete' Convoy as well. I wouldn't sell 01, as I would have been one of the first buying it in Japane when it was released. I picked it up 30 min (10am) after the shop had opened on its release day, and only one other one had gone from that shop, so I reckon I may have been pretty close to (within first 1000 ;) ) . Thats what I tell myself anyway.

I voted for "One version of a mould only". Except for a small handful (which I consider 'special circumstances'), I generally don't buy multiples of the exact same toy. Other than that all my doubles were gifts that people gave to me when I already had the toy, so I keep the spare sealed. I have quite a few variants of the same toy (e.g. US and AU Transmetal Optimus Primal, Armada and Micron Legend Hot Shot, Hasbro and Takara Transmetal Megatron, yellow and blue Binaltech Tracks, and of course, various original G1s and reissues) - and having those variants gives me the chance to display them in robot and alt modes.

But usually when I buy one version, I don't intend to buy another version. I sometimes buy variants later on because that variant appeals to me and at the time I bought the original the variant didn't exist. For example, when Binaltech Tracks first came out, it was the yellow version, so I got it. Then later on Takara went and released the blue version, which of course looks a lot nicer from a G1 POV, so I went and bought that. Likewise when Masterpiece Starscream first came out in Japan, it was "Greenscream" -- then much later on Hasbro went and released their version with G1 colours, so I bought that. Had I known that those more appealing variants were to come out later on, then I would have held off and waited for them. But alas I can't predict the future (cos if I did I'd retire and win Lotto for the rest of my life :p).

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering, for those that buy the redecos, do you open them all and put them all on display or do you simply display one and leave the rest MISB/MOSC?

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I'll open them and display them, that way I can display one in robot mode and the other in alt mode. The only time I'll leave something sealed is if it's an exact duplicate - and I usually end up with duplicates because they were gifts. :)

e.g.: my 1984 Autobots shelf:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...010_1984a1.jpg
Dion, Wheeljack and Prowl are the only figures on that shelf which I don't have another version to display in alt mode, but with the exception of Mirage and Sunstreaker, the second versions of all of those toys aren't true multiples, they're variants (e.g. originals and reissues). e.g. I have original G1 yellow Bumblebee, red Bumblebee, Bumblejumper and the various reissues of Bumblebee (as well as Glyph and Spectre ;)). My second Mirage and Sunstreaker were given to me for free. :D

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I voted for "One version of a mould only".

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"Then you probably didn't understand the situation."

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Dion, Wheeljack and Prowl are the only figures on that shelf which I don't have another version to display in alt mode, but with the exception of Mirage and Sunstreaker, the second versions of all of those toys aren't true multiples, they're variants (e.g. originals and reissues). e.g. I have original G1 yellow Bumblebee, red Bumblebee, Bumblejumper and the various reissues of Bumblebee (as well as Glyph and Spectre ;)). My second Mirage and Sunstreaker were given to me for free. :D

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You, good sir, are insane. One of each G1 fig so you can have one in vehicle and one in bot mode? I salute you.

Also noticed the Sabretron 2004 exclusives there. Wish I had more than one. *hint hint* :p

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Originally Posted by Sky Shadow

"Then you probably didn't understand the situation."

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Well the poll question states "How many times can you buy the same toy?!" -- which I'd assumed meant buying multiples of the same version of the same toy (e.g. STL's army of Classics Jetfires or Deceptic_Optic's squadron of HFTD Terradives etc.).

Of course, kurdt_the_goat did say,

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Originally Posted by kurdt_the_goat

So vote in the poll - just how many times could you bring yourself to buy the same toy if variants existed?

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...which I guess could mean he's asking if we would collect variants of the same toy. I dunno... I got confused as to whether this poll was asking about collecting multiples/doubles or variants -- I judging from my understanding of the way the poll question itself was worded, I went with multiples, which meant I discounted the collecting of variants.

If I were to vote based on collecting variants, then I would vote on 2-3 versions... so if that was the actual intent of the poll, then umm... oops. :p

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Originally Posted by gekisou

You, good sir, are insane. One of each G1 fig so you can have one in vehicle and one in bot mode? I salute you.

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I didn't set out to collect like that 'on purpose', it just works out that way. I got my original G1s during the 1980s and have kept them for the past 26 years... but of course, being well loved toys, things get worn... e.g. sticker wear, chrome chipping, missiles get lost etc., and worse of all, other children would BREAK my toys (like my cousin sitting on my G1 Bluestreak one Saturday morning while we were watching Transformers on TV!!). So when HasTak came and reissued them, it gave me the opportunity to get them again, spanking new. :) And some reissues just come with other reissues that I wanted, e.g. I didn't particularly want TFC Wheelie or Encore Bumblebee, but they came with other reissues that I wanted (i.e. Targetmaster Kup, Outback etc.). So sometimes when these reissue sets come out, I ask if anyone wants to split with me, so for example I split Encore #17 with dirge (he took Ratbat and I took the others and we split the cost accordingly).

Other times I get variants because, as I said, because the later variant is more appealing than the first (e.g. Binaltech Tracks, MP Starscream). Had I'd known about the more appealing variants coming out later on at the time I got the initial versions, I probably would've held off getting the originals and waited for the variants.

But I'm not really the kind of person who will, from the outset, buy variants just for the purpose of displaying in different modes. I just happen to get variants because of circumstances, and I think to myself - well, since I happen to have these variants, I might as well display them in different modes. :)

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Originally Posted by gekisou

Also noticed the Sabretron 2004 exclusives there. Wish I had more than one. *hint hint* :p

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We gave away a Spectre as a lucky draw prize at last year's OTCA stall at the SMASH! anime convention, and other remaining Chainmasters were given away as trivia prizes at a Parramatta Fair social quite some time back. There are none left now (moral of the story: attend meets! :p ;)).

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I voted for "One version of a mould only".

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Originally Posted by Sky Shadow

"Then you probably didn't understand the situation."

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Yes, perhaps i should have said "basically the same toy"!

Everyone else seems to have got it but me. :( Probably because I was out training for 2 hours this morning before getting saturated by gravity-defying torrential rain. :( Either that or I'm dense. Let's go with the former. :p ;)

Nah, combination of the two :p

I'm a little too willing to buy repaints actually. My problem is that usually I wind up liking the second version of a mold more (ie I like Skullgrin more than Straxus, even though they are the same toy). I'm one who would wittle down the collection later, however, I think having 2 versions of a good mold is the way to go. I'll rarely buy a direct repaint without a fiction element though.

I like repaints that are either accurate to the media they appear in or their own unique character eg seekers or ratchet and ironhide.

I use to avoid buying them and even minor retools. Now i think if it's justified it's ok. I draw the line at Bumblebee though...to many out there already.

so far the only repaints/redecos i have bought are classics ultra magnus and classics/generations seekers, oh and generation blurr.

other than those, everything else is unique.

If it's a straight repaint I'll ignore it. But if it has a remolded head then I'll buy it. The only reason I'll buy a straight repaint is if A) it has a precedent in G1(ie Classics Prowl/Silverstreak/Smokescreen, the Seekers, etc) or if it looks spectacularly better than the original. (ie ROTF Buster Prime/Jetfire 2pack.)

I don't mind repaints. I know some people hate them but I have no issue - if I don't like them I don't buy them, and if its a good mold (like Gen Blurr, RotF Dirge, etc) I get both.

I ended up with four of the RiD Prowl mold, although only two survive to this day (I had the original Western release - which broke, 2 of the power up version - one of which was to replace the missing original, and the Sideswipe OFTCC 2003 Exclusive). This is because it's my favourite deluxe ever.

I have three of the Classic Seeker mold (Original Starscream, Classics Ramjet, Generations Thrust), something I can justify in my mind despite it being a turd of a mold because they're all remolds that were released over a period of 4 years.

I ended up with a bunch of RotF Breakdowns by virtue of a kitbash I was doing with it (they're cheap and plentiful you see, so I thought I'd use it as my base figure because im massively clumsy so it would be easy to replace). Oh and also like 4 Movie 2007 Dreadwings, 3 of which remain unopened (I suppose I'll crack them open if I'm ever creating a drone army, of which Overcast would probably be the leader) (which brings me up to 5 of that mold :o) (and I still want to get my hands on a Fearswoop too :o)

I've got doubles of a bunch of molds (mostly through redecoes as opposed to buying the same toy again), so I'll just mention the bigger ones- RotF Long Haul, Animated Starscream, Alternators Sideswipe/Sunstreaker, MP Starscream.

I've got a myriad of deluxe originals and then repaints too long to bother listing.

Two or three sounds about right, but as with most things it depends on the circumstance. I don't go out of my way to buy multiples of the same mold/simple retool but at times the variations do tend to "speak" to me.

Omega Supreme and GADEP are different enough as characters to me for them not to not be the "same." So I have no problem having both (I always imagined Omega having a blank face anyway, despite the cartoon. An impersonal doomsday last-resort weapon).

Then again I have G2 Dreadwing & Smokescreen, Starscream and BB, as well as Smokesniper and Gigant Bomb and while have little or no connection to any of their fictions the mold is strong enough, and the decos are strong enough for me to like each of them.

this is a really interesting topic, it looks like a lot of people are thinking along the same lines with similar exceptions.

I used to be very much a single mold kind of guy. I think one of my first double was alternators dead end, followed by Sunstreaker and sideswipe. I got hold of dead end because i found him and didn't think I'd ever see the other two. then my (now) wife bought Sunstreaker for me while she was in the states once, and I picked up Sideswipe from CaseFresh. My first alternator was smokescreen, later I got silver/blue streak because I saw him at kmart cheap.

I've also gone the other way and picked up a single version of a mold just because I wanted to see how it worked. Alternators nemesis prime is a perfect example. didn't want the prime because I had MP-01, don't get the whole Nemesis prime thing but it was $20 and I needed to see the transformation.

Now I have 3 takara masterpiece seekers, and they are fine. I bought mp04 from Target because it had the trailer and long smoke stacks.

I didn't get classics starscream because I was aiming for masterpiece seekers but now I've started picking up the coneheads and I got skywarp in the two pack with magnus, so I'm looking for a screamer and hanging for TC.

Apart from that though, I try to reserve my non-bottomless transformers funds for the characters/concepts/designs that really appeal to me. If I see a new mold come out and I like it but think I will see it later in a preferred character form, I will wait and hope, sometimes I regret this other times not.

straight repaints like a lot of the movie figures, I don't care so much for, especially the ravage! I got the $12 one from big W and I still feel ripped off, it doesn't matter how much they dress that up it still stinks.

great thread, love it. interesting to see the different drivers to why people only pick up a few repeats.

I voted 2-3, but that's usually for G1 series (seekers, Lambos) or the odd awesome repaint. I bought most BT toys, mind you, but I don't consider those extensive retools to be the same toy anyway (:

Well I voted 4-6 .

I tend do army building as a sorta ongoing liegeverse story/lore-fiction....

G1 - A swarm of insecticons:p I have 4 sets at the moment plus 1 e hobby version so 5 sets in total. Of course the Seekers, cassettrons, the ZFairlady etc, etc. I will include in this the G1 homage for later versions of the same characters (seekers, et al) - Generations/Classics, Baymovieverse, Animated, etc.
Energon - the 4 terrorcons gets 3 subordinates at least each ( serves as clones) I have yet to complete this - energon ravage and insecticon just dont come around too often:p (read: cheaply priced)

Cybertron - for army building - Unicron tanks - which I have 7 as of the moment... and a couple of Scrapmetals - 8 so far....more will be added to these two since I am making and army of em - in liegeverse these are part Unicron's Horde:D (including the Energon Terrorcons)

Straight repaint ... if I like it, Ill buy it as long as it's a different character altogether - but if it's just a "stealth", "Powerup", "Urban style", etc recolor of the same character... I'll skip.

i think it is all a mater of circumstance and desire for me.

for instance i like the "WFC" Toys so i have purchased two of each character one to display in vehicle the other in bot mode

same was for BT i got 2 of every mould where i could (police version prowl still eludes me) and those that know me know i have always wanted to reproduce the early g1 catalogues, multiples of 84, 85 and 86 to display in all modes...

then there is the seekers how many versions are there atleast 7 from the US lines (Starscream, Anime Starscream, Acid Storm, Skywarp, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust) as well as

and i do like the sound of scourge and his sweeps......

so on average i got 3-4