Completing the collection?

[Sim]

Something I've been thinking about recently is whether my collection will ever reach a point where I can consider it complete.  For me that would mean that I could still add to it new releases that I want, but they aren't necessary and my collection has everything I would very much like it to have.  There are more great prehistoric animal figures getting made now than ever before, so I wonder, will my collection eventually become complete?  I don't know.  I'm also curious what other members think of that question regarding their own collections.  Do you think your collection will eventually become complete?

I've also had to make more space for prehistoric animal figures four times now, the last time being very recently.  So I've got a nice amount of space for more figures.  But a related question is, do you think you'll have room for everything you'd like?  I don't know the answer to that question for myself.  Partly to help give me an idea of what I would like to have room for, and partly to share what I feel is missing from my collection, I will list below what I need for my collection to be complete.  You are welcome to do the same, in addition to answering the two questions in bold above.


I won't list figures I'd like for my collection that are available but I don't have yet (e.g. Safari 2023 Utahraptor, PNSO Gorgosaurus).  What I currently would very much like to have in my collection, and would like companies to make:

Theropods
Ceratosaurus nasicornis
Cryolophosaurus (feathered)
Dilophosaurus
Kelenken
Herrerasaurus
Ornitholestes
Saurornithoides mongoliensis
Sinornithosaurus
Spinosaurus (adult in 1:35 scale)

Ornithischians
Achelousaurus
Centrosaurus brinkmani
Chasmosaurus belli
Chasmosaurus russelli
Denversaurus
Edmontonia rugosidens
Scelidosaurus
Scolosaurus
Stegosaurus ungulatus
Tuojiangosaurus
Utahceratops

Sauropodomorphs
Amargasaurus
Eoraptor
Lufengosaurus
Plateosaurus trossingensis

Non-dinosaurs
Edestus heinrichi
Harpactognathus (without a crest)
Hydrotherosaurus
Nothosaurus mirabilis
Rhamphorhynchus muensteri

[Faelrin]

I never really had an end goal with collecting in mind. But most of what I wanted for years I've managed to find and knock off like the Play Visions prehistoric amphibians set, or the Kaiyodo Ichthyostega and Yi over the years. Edit: Favorite's Cambrian set too. Edit 2: I guess the Rebor Deinonychus clan I sat out on and nearly missed as well. That said I did miss on out on the Acrocanthosaurus set, and I'm still behind on the Tenontosaurus corpse, but I believe Happy Hen still has that in one stock.

There's no shortage of prehistoric genera I'd like to be made (especially among the Paleozoic, although the recent life game figures has knocked out a bunch of that more or less for me), but some at the top of that list includes Aenocyon, Herrerasaurus, Kulindadromeus, Tiktaalik, and Tullimonstrum (plushies aside for those latter two).

[Ikessauro]

I think one will never have a complete collection in terms of species/accuracy because science is discovering new species everyday and new reconstructions of old animals are always being made. You might be able to be satisfied with what you have for a period of time, but that will inevitably change once a better sculpt is released or technology improves toy  manufacturing.

I think one can only call complete collections in terms of brands/lines once they have acquired all figures released by a particular brand or all figures from a particular line.  You could set a goal for yourself, like, once I complete the collecion of Brand X and  Y and line Z, I'm good and will stop. Then you could say your collection is complete, but again, there's the chance a new brand/line gets released that sparks  your interest and then  you decide to start collecting that line. In that sense you could only call a collection truly complete if you complete the sets/collections you are looking for and then decides firmly to never buy anything else after completing those.

I myself am a completist collector, but I seek to complete collections/sets for defined brands. So I decided to complete my Toyway WWD collection, that was my main goal for years. Now that I have that complete, other brand/line takes its place as the main focus. I don't collect a single line each time of course, I'm always buying from different brands, old and new. But the goal is always to someday complete the set. So, I don't buy only considering accuracy, despite that being a major factor in a purchase for me when buying toys.

That leads me to the space issue. For now I can say I have plenty of space for my collection as it is currently, but if the time comes when I'm in need of more space, I think I'd seek a larger space to put the collection instead of downsizing it, for the sake of completeness.

Each person is free to define their own goal for their collection. Someone might consider theirs complete once they have 1 figure of each discovered species. Others might consider it complete if they complete a single line and someone might be happy to call their collection complete once they manage to buy 1 figure of each Jurassic Park dinosaur. In the end it all depends on your style of collecting.

[Lynx]

I feel like my collection would only be complete when I can sit down, and genuinely feel I don't want anything on my wishlist anymore. When I feel sufficient with what I have, when I don't have to look forward to a company releasing a specific species. That is when I feel like I'll be complete.

[BlueKrono]

I don't collect lines because chances are I'm not going to love every species a company makes. I collect specific, rather niche things, but my collection can only be complete until the next company comes out with one. I started collecting seriously 9 years ago and in that time I've managed to acquire most pieces in my designated collections. Just got a slew of CollectA aquatic critters from 2022 from Minizoo. But I'm a little more catholic than just limiting myself to major toy lines. With an eye on China and Japan the number of figures needed rises dramatically, and if you wade into 3D printed stuff your options are nearly limitless.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

The only line I ever completed was the Carnegie/Safari one. 

There are too many hits and misses and just VOLUME of merch anymore to really complete anything I feel. Say you do settle on a line, what if it goes away? Then your stuck starting a new line. It's kind of tedious.  I just buy what I like anymore. I don't need everything.

I think a healthy collection is one that grows and changes over time. You keep a piece for awhile and enjoy it then sell it/pass it on to another collector.

[ceratopsian]

My collection will never be complete because the hobby is always evolving. And evolving on two fronts: new dinosaur discoveries create opportunities for animals not previously possible in model form; and companies are always issuing new models of animals previously known from the fossil record. Add to that new companies periodically burst upon our consciousness, bringing a new excitement with their fresh aesthetics, such as PNSO early in my collecting, BotM, and more recently Haolonggood.

That said, the emphasis of my collection shifts over time. I consider my Carnegie collection complete. (Not that I have every model in all its variants, but just what interests me.) I'm not actively looking for any Kaiyodo Dinotales anymore. 

In time I'll either have to find new homes for items that don't thrill me anymore. Or start putting things in boxes.

[Ikessauro]

The only line I ever completed was the Carnegie/Safari one. 

There are too many hits and misses and just VOLUME of merch anymore to really complete anything I feel. Say you do settle on a line, what if it goes away? Then your stuck starting a new line. It's kind of tedious.  I just buy what I like anymore. I don't need everything.

I think a healthy collection is one that grows and changes over time. You keep a piece for awhile and enjoy it then sell it/pass it on to another collector.

I agree with you on that in part at least. I think if you settle down with a complete collection, the hobby kinda fades away, you are not really  collecting anymore, you just own a bunch of things. A fun collection is a live collection, where you are constantly adding stuff and if you feel like it, selling some too. I have an end goal of completing some sets, but they are usually sets of figures I really enjoy, regardless of accuracy or quality. And that is where I am a little different than you in my opinion. Sometimes what people consider "misses" I just consider diversity in a toy line.

When I was younger I didn't wanna sell anything from the collection or trade. I was too attached to all of it. But as time went on and I grew a bit older, I started to notice that some pieces didn't bring me joy anymore and sold a bunch of toys, gave some to my nephew that I had lost interest on. This week I set aside an old Bullyland soft Mammoth to give to him, because I don't really like soft squishy items anymore.

Right now there are a few lines/sets I like and would not part with for any reason, but who knows what will happen in 15 years.

[Concavenator]

Imagining a scenario where every single company producing figures of prehistoric animals stopped putting out new releases and a world where paleontological discoveries just stopped, I have quite the lengthy wishlist already, both figures of new (for my collection) species and replacements for figures I already have. But obviously this is not reality: prehistoric animal figure producing companies are (probably) more active than ever, and paleontological discoveries keep taking place.

Personally, I'm a collector who's after scientifically accurate figures of some specific taxa. Some of them I already have in my collection, some have already been made and are on my wishlist, and others have not been made yet (or I'm not satisfied with any existing version), which depending on the particular species could take more or less to change (or forever). There are other species I may not necessarily request a company to make, but if certain figures of them are released and I like them enough, then I'll plan to get those. On another hand, if a certain figure of a species I already have is released and is more accurate and I like it more than the version I own, I'll be entering a sell-buy process, so that's another activity. Another activity I can think of, buying some display risers (and maybe eventually a cabinet too) to make the display look nicer. Or commission some customisation for particular figures, which is something I've never done but that I could try at some point.

I'm also a rather slow collector usually, so with everything I've exposed, I think it's not realistic for me to say I'll ever reach a point when I feel like "I have completed my collection" (or at least, that could take a very long time to happen). Funnily enough, 2 years ago I reached a point when my space was getting pretty scarce, and so I said to myself I would only get 1 or 2 figures more and call it complete and guess what happened?

Spoiler

[close]

Yeah... Between 2021 and 2023 I reduced my collection in more than a 60 %, and in addition to that, I've increased the space available to display figures. Anyone who sees my collection setup will see that I have quite some space available (not totally updated, but it's very similar right now). So I think I have enough space for what I want, and if I don't, I'll find a way to change that, probably by repeating what I already did (sell figures and/or increase space). But again, given my collecting strategy (1 figure per genus, only after some specific taxa, plus using scientific accuracy as a criterion and being a slow collector), space is not a concern for me at the moment.

As @Blade-of-the-Moon brilliantly said, I also think collections undergo a natural and constant evolution process.

[Sim]

You might be able to be satisfied with what you have for a period of time, but that will inevitably change once a better sculpt is released or technology improves toy  manufacturing.

I think this is true.  In my case it might get to this point, if everything I want gets made.  But I'm not sure that will happen, there's still a lot I'd like made.  And on that note, I forgot one animal I'd like to have in my collection: Deinosuchus!

[Gwangi]

There's too many species I want for my collection to EVER be complete but there are particular species/genera or groups that I  feel are well represented enough in my collection that I do not need more. This is especially true now that I strive for one-figure-per species. For example, thanks to PNSO, Safari, and Haolonggood, there aren't too many ceratopsids that I need. Chasmosaurus is really the only one left that I really want. Sure, there are others, and if they're ever made I'll get them, but if the last ceratopsid I ever purchased were a Chasmosaurus I would feel content with what I have. Likewise, since I have both Safari's and PNSO's Pachycephalosaurus (among others) I doubt I'll ever buy another one. Same with Carnotaurus, I have plenty of good ones, even if the arrangement of their feature scales is incorrect I'm still happy with them. A Carnotaurus would have to be exceptionally good for me to want it. As much as I love collecting it does feel good when there's a level of completion with regards to something.

[Bread]

I really do want to have a full on "Hell Creek" and "Dinosaur Park" formation in my collection. So I guess that could be considered a completion, which at the rate of it's going it could be achieved soon.

Other than that, with the amount of repaints, customs, releases, I doubt I could complete my collection unless I ran out of space.

[Halichoeres]

A complete collection would be less fun. I'm pretty good on space right now, but if I ever ran out I would probably start culling very similar animals from groups where most genera have a figure. Like I'd thin out some tyrannosaurids, ceratopsids, carcharodontosaurids, that sort of thing, which could be done with minimal loss of morphological variety.

[CityRaptor]

The Collection is complete once I no longer collect. So presumbly when I'm dead.

I also agree with the notion that collections are ever evolving. New things come, old things go.

A certain monster girl probably once said it best:

Look at this stuff
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn′t you think my collection's complete?
[....]
But who cares?
No big deal
I want more!

[shahinos]

Really early I realized that I neither want nor can afford to buy everything there is on the market. I don't appreciate having hundreds of models either, it just becomes a big clutter, regardless of space. So I decided to focus on certain formations, just like Bread mentioned. That also creates a goal for me and makes it easier to completely disregard PNSO this year for example. As an aside I like sauropods.

In the mid 90s there was a huge hockey card collecting fad in Sweden. You usually collected cards from one team, maybe a second and then an individual player from a third team. So formations would be my first and second team, sauropods overall my individual player who I like a bit more than the rest.

That also means that the collection will never be complete. It will, however, grow very slowly.

[Paleo Flo]

For me, there is no goal. There are too much offerings these days.
But personally I will take a real break soon. My plan is to get one or two models, which are in my mind since years or months.
After these items, I will shut down active buying. The only exception could be a great new iguanodon and the Eofauna Rex.
I hope to shut the actice buying process down for 5 years.
Then it will be thrilling to see, which new discoveries have benn made to change our point of view once again for these amazing animals.