No. I hide my arrivals and try to sneak them past my wife best I can as it is.
Do you ever have those moments of realisation where you calculate how much you've spent, on what you've spent it all on, and how you're locked in a vicious cycle that'll never be truly over because these are all Pop Culture IPs that exist solely to be milked?
I get it at least once a month. Then I continue writing my list and scribling "Random C-List X-Men needed for X-Display #2 - 300€" while the news are talking about another national increase on electricity.
WHAT A COLLECTOR'S LIFE!
I wouldn't rant with anyone but fellow nerds because their eyes would glaze over. I get a pass on the 'manhood' thing because of my other activities LOL
I've talked about such things once or twice. With friends, acquaintances and stranges alike. I remember, years and years ago, I was out with this guy once, and we run into a friend of his. She was in Med School, started talking about how much she had to study. I brushed it off, found the semester too early in to be taking things that seriously. The discussion shifted and we ended up talking about tv, movies and the such. The guy says to me "you collect comic books, right". I tried to make it sound less... childish, could see the judgement in their eyes. Imagine how they'd react had I mentioned my then-more-restrained buying habits. God knows what they'd think about my current collection...
Point being, whenever I've talked about such things with "normies", regardless of age or level of familiarity, I was always met with either an air of confusion and slight disgust, or a patronising sense of approval. I do not blame them. All these things are quite infantile. Have you tried reading a (cape) comic book today? I would not take seriously a man who is obsessed with these things either. Me, I'm just a bit of a junkie I suppose. This hobby of ours is based solely on consumption, nostalgia, and acts very well like a drug. We're not achieving anything, unless we're in the custom game. We're just.... collecting. It's a bit underwhelming with how anxious it is...
Weird thing is, I've been met with more genuine excitement and approval with my WH40K kits. Maybe the painting process impresses them, or the models look cool enough for it to be a "weird" but not exactly off-putting hobby.
I've actually always been open about that, some people do a double take but most of them don't care even if they don't get it, and I know a lot of weirdos so they're less likely to judge.
I used to be relatively open about my collecting habits, but I found that people really do think it's weird. And I don't blame them. In fact, I kind of miss when these were "our" things.
I don't feel the "need" to "fit in" so it's not that I feel guilty for my collections. God knows there are worse things to waste money on. But I do often feel that I'm a prisoner of my own compulsions and that it would be better if I was more selective. Have a true endgame in mind. Not get invested too much in it. Be more focused on a certain few things. Not get lost in hypoethicals. I don't know...
Don't worry honey, this new statue was an even trade (for five hundred dollars cash...)
I do that when I ship my Omnis back home to have it all stored together. I tell my folks that they cost 40, maybe 60 euros at most if it's a really big one. I wouldn't dare tell them the actual prices of ~100€+ per book...
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Okay, another classic blogpost. Soooooo... Obi-Wan, huh? I'll be honest, my only hopes for this show are flashbacks so that I can get ROTS Kenobi & Anakin at a reasonable price...
