Do you live with the damage or does a little piece of you die inside?

[Lejuan]

Poverty is one that comes to mind.

..trouble with the missus is another one

 

[dominishin]

And space!! I don't know when the detolfs will just stop!

 

[lt0778]

it drives me nuts if i know about it, i lose sleep over stupid little damages like that.

 

[fins]

This thread reminds me of an Edgar Allen Poe short story titled The Tell-Tale Heart in which the main character obsesses over someone's eye and eventually murders the guy and buries him under the floor boards. Great catharsis for me in reading the replies about how it initially drives you to the brink, and then you realize the humanity in all the figures, so to speak. For example, I love the Hot Toys Bank Robber version of the Joker, but Hot Toys needed to make the suit a little bigger or should have gone with slim version truetype body to make it true to the film, because in the film the suit is baggy and looks like it came off the rack at a second-hand-donations outlet. Out of the box, the suit is crumpled and needs at least some ironing, yadayadayada... Couple that with the fact that when Hot Toys shows images of its figures, they're posed by pros and I'm sure there's some photo-shop going on, yadayadayada.... In the end, you need to be realistic, need to do your best to make the figures look as good as possible, and then stand back and relish how cool 99% of it looks.

 

[a-dev]

>sigh< cigarettes. I f___ing hate them. Why. Why does anyone take up this habit? Y'know when something smells f___ing horrible, when it chokes you and makes your eyes water, when it instantly makes you need a shower because your skin reeks - thats something I tend to wanna avoid. So again I ask...why? WHY?

Yeah I'm pi$$ed off about my toys (and me) being exposed to cigarettes in my own goddamn bedroom. Right now I have no finalised shelves, and none that are sealed to any degree. All my figures are open to dust and filthy air.

Definitely have to push forward with detolfs or any kind of tall sealed cabinets ASAP. Theres a sensitivity issue with my g/f at the moment that I feel I can't ban her smoking outright which I would so f___ing love to do.

 

[DiFabio]

Has she thought about quitting?

 

[Lejuan]

Definitely have to push forward with detolfs or any kind of tall sealed cabinets ASAP. Theres a sensitivity issue with my g/f at the moment that I feel I can't ban her smoking outright which I would so f___ing love to do.

No comment on the smoking girlfriend But the best moment of my short figure collecting life was when I sealed my shelves. We live in a house that is heated by a firebox, and every time that sucker gets opened it belches out a puff of wood ash. I wipe down my surfaces every week and the state of the cloth afterwards is not pretty. Winter in these parts is coming to an end thank goodness, but of course the sealed shelves will remain. Detolf's don't really 'fit' with my decor - instead I got a bunch of clear acrylic backless/bottomless boxes made up and they just sit on top of the shelves. Less than 100 bucks each and they're good for 5 or 6 figures across.

You spend that much time on researching figures; that much money on buying them; and that much time posing and admiring them - bite the bullet and get those babies protected a-dev!

Make it a weekend project, you won't regret it

 

[gunm]

It bugs me a little, but as mentioned before, if you're a collector you'll definitely run into that kind of thing.

I think I've broken something on every Soldier Story fig I've kitted up--it's impossible to avoid. And like the other threads about Hot Toys' rubber bodies and stuff, it's something you'll have to live with or stop putting money into if it becomes that much of an issue to the individual.

 

[Lejuan]

I think I've broken something on every Soldier Story fig I've kitted up--it's impossible to avoid.

My very first military figure I knew nothing about patience and using the right tools - I managed to break little things here and there on a few items. I got straight online and ordered replacements and even some 'back-ups'.

Since then I've got a magnifying glass on a swivel arm and a bunch of tweazers and skewers. My girlfriend thinks it's hilarious when I get a new military figure and spend two hours hunched over it kitting it up like I'm a surgeon or watchmaker. Haven't broken anything since that first time! (touch wood).

 

[greatwall]

I am a true collectors not flippers, so it doesn't bother me that much.

 

[Lejuan]

I am a true collectors not flippers, so it doesn't bother me that much.

I don't think it's about flipping figures but the varying degrees of obsession with perfection that some collectors have.

 

[iampoch]

It bothers me, yes

 

[kl241]

Question is will Hot Toys revisit all the figures they've already produced or offer new muscle bodies that are character specific i.e. Rambo that can replace the damaged rubber ones?

 

[iampoch]

Question is will Hot Toys revisit all the figures they've already produced or offer new muscle bodies that are character specific i.e. Rambo that can replace the damaged rubber ones?

Well, the best chance is if HT makes a DX version of the older releases. They did it for their first three DX, and those figures were from recent releases. Their latter ones, however, were not. But if a character is iconic, then, there's that high probability since that's what DX aims for: iconic characters in pop culture.

Rambo is as iconic as it can get, so I wouldn't be surprised if it gets the DX treatment. Well, unless of course if their license for either Rambo 1 or 2 has already expired. In that case, they might just as well do a Rambo 3 version. Personally, I'd rather get a Rambo 1 DX, but the look of Rambo in the aforementioned two sequels are more ingrained in popular culture than his look in the first movie.

 

[a-dev]

Has she thought about quitting?

Sure, like anyone who smokes. But theres always a reason to postpone the attempt. And yeah obviously I'm concerned for her health but the attitude would probably be 'if I have to give something up you have to give something up'. And guess what I'd be told to give up? F___ that!
The smoking in my room though is something I foolishly allowed early on and its stuck. I've passed enough comments and made enough faces that she has cut it down to a minimum but, its not enough. I don't want any smoking in my bedroom at all anymore, even now that I can open a window - oh yeah, before, I wasn't able to open the window - it was so old it was sealed shut. Thank ___k that situation was addressed. The open window refreshes the room after a while, either that or I just get used to the smell but in the meantime its getting into my clothes, on my skin and presumably onto my figures.

No comment on the smoking girlfriend But the best moment of my short figure collecting life was when I sealed my shelves. We live in a house that is heated by a firebox, and every time that sucker gets opened it belches out a puff of wood ash. I wipe down my surfaces every week and the state of the cloth afterwards is not pretty. Winter in these parts is coming to an end thank goodness, but of course the sealed shelves will remain. Detolf's don't really 'fit' with my decor - instead I got a bunch of clear acrylic backless/bottomless boxes made up and they just sit on top of the shelves. Less than 100 bucks each and they're good for 5 or 6 figures across.

You spend that much time on researching figures; that much money on buying them; and that much time posing and admiring them - bite the bullet and get those babies protected a-dev!

Make it a weekend project, you won't regret it

Interesting idea that. Actually who was it who had the custom-made clear boxes to encase each of their figures - 'tewhitte' I think. I'd probably go more towards your set-up, sounds easier and less expensive than an individual 'case' for each figure.

I'll look into that as an option for anything that I don't fit into a closed cabinet....if I can find decent cabinets of the appropriate size.

I also want some sort of air filter.

 

[a-dev]

Not the most ideal solution to preventing cigarette smoke exposure but for the time-being, until my proper shelves are built whenever the hell that will be, I've tacked bubblewrap to the fronts of the 2 bookcases I'm currently using. It looks ridiculous and I have to untack them and lift up this bubblewrap veil to see my figures but I want at least some kind of shield against the smoke - because I don't think its all going out the window.

Its not exactly a 100% seal but I'm hoping most of the crap from the smoke will be blocked by this bubble wrap. Every now and again I'm sticking my head under and sniffing the air around the figures - unfortunately I can't tell if what I'm smelling is fading new-toy smell or the goddamn smoke but there is some sort of smell.

 

[jonny88]

I noticed a little bit of damage to the rubber skin on my King Leonidas the other day - I didn't notice it out of the box, and can't think of when I might have done anything to it... but there it is now, a microscopic chunk missing from the inside thigh and it's HUGE.

My question is, do you have any figures with minor damage that will have you replacing your figure with a perfect, minty mint version as soon as you win the lottery? Some paint that rubbed off in the post? A stain on the figure that won't come off? A broken part that you managed to repair but you KNOW it's not factory fresh?

Maybe you don't need the lottery win and have already replaced a figure because of damage that to others is invisible but you can't live with?

Or, are you a practical sort who just says, 'meh, it's all part of the wear and tear of having collectibles that get handled from time to time'.

I think I am the former but would like to be the latter...

well that will 100% happen with hot toys rubber. best to stay away from that stuff.

 

[Lejuan]

Not the most ideal solution to preventing cigarette smoke exposure but for the time-being, until my proper shelves are built whenever the hell that will be, I've tacked bubblewrap to the fronts of the 2 bookcases I'm currently using. It looks ridiculous and I have to untack them and lift up this bubblewrap veil to see my figures but I want at least some kind of shield against the smoke - because I don't think its all going out the window.

Its not exactly a 100% seal but I'm hoping most of the crap from the smoke will be blocked by this bubble wrap. Every now and again I'm sticking my head under and sniffing the air around the figures - unfortunately I can't tell if what I'm smelling is fading new-toy smell or the goddamn smoke but there is some sort of smell.

If the bookshelves you are using have shelves that are all flush with one another, you can just stick a single sheet of clear acrylic to the front using velcro. If you use a velcro strip around the entire edge of the bookshelf it provides a pretty decent seal against smoke and dust, as well as lets you detach the sheet whenever - and with the added advantage that you can actually see your figures! Good luck

 

[A2G]

a little piece inside me dies and I live with it.....hassle to replace or find a new one is not worth it to me....unless its heavily damaged