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In lugnet.general, Orion Pobursky wrote:
> I love LEGO but I have a problem that's hampering my creativity. I have a large general collection made up of several lots that, over the years, I won on eBay. In addition to this, I own just about every Star Wars set and a good number of recent Technic and Adveturers sets. My problem is I'm having trouble resolving myself to part out these set and mix these sets in with my general collection. One side me of says that the pieces will still be there once they're mixed in and I still have the instruction booklets if I want to make a model again. The other side can't stand to see these model be taken apart since doing so will destroy the uniqueness of my collection. I'm curious if anyone else has had this problem and, if so, how it was overcome.
Orion,
Just the other day I had a conversation with a friend about this very topic.
Now he is not a LEGO builder or collector. But he is into plastic model kits,
Hotwheels etc. so he has an appreciation for my hobby. I sent him a link to the
AT-AT set to show him one of the larger models in my collection. He was
interested but was almost shocked when I told him that the model was long since
taken apart and mixed in with the rest of my collection of parts.
I assured him that this wasn't a problem since, as you note above, I also had
the instructions and since I have my collection rigorously sorted and stored
that it wouldn't be a problem to rebuild that set at any time. In fact I'm
quite looking forward to taking apart the UCS Rebel Snowspeeder as it will
nicely increase my collection of both white and light grey plates. Once again
though, I'm confident it can be rebuilt at any time.
Are there still some sets that don't get integrated into my collection? Yes,
indeed there are. One in particular that comes to mind is the 8444 Technic
helicopter. It was a surprise (i.e. she went and bought it without any input
from me) Christmas gift from my wife a few years ago. It holds a very dear
place in my heart, so it stays (currently unbuilt) in its original box. At the
moment my Santa Fe locomotive is assembled, and there are no plans to take it
apart since it makes such a nice display piece. When it does come apart though
I'm undecided as to whether or not to integrate it.
But for the vast majority of sets I buy there is very little to decide. They
get built, get taken apart, and become part of my available building pieces. I
look at it this way... LEGO is too expensive to keep everything built and just
buy new stuff all the time. Also, a built set is more likely to sit there and
collect dust. Taken apart and properly stored, those pieces will probably stay
newer longer and once again are then available to become original models.
So should you (Orion) integrate your models into your regular collection? Well,
perhaps you could try a quick test like this... decide on a less common piece
from one of your Star Wars or Technic sets. And ask yourself, "if I went
looking for more of these parts at this moment, where in my collection would I
look?" If you know the answer, then I would go ahead and mix them in. If your
collection is organized such that it would be difficult to find them, or for
whatever reason you couldn't find them quickly, then I might hesitate to
integrate them. You have to ask yourself whether or not it's more important to
be able to have them on display or quickly available in their original box to
rebuild, or whether you want their parts to be available as a resource for your
own creations. And if the answer to that first question, "where would I look?"
isn't clear, but you want it to be, then perhaps it time to revisit how your
collection is sorted and stored. I'm in the process now of upgrading several of
my mid-sized Plano boxes to the next largest size. This is part of the hobby is
fun for me, but I realize that not everyone loves to sort their pieces.
I'm curious about one comment you made. You said that by taking apart these
models will "destroy the uniqueness of my collection". I was wondering what
exactly you meant by that statement. Isn't your collection unique no matter how
you sort or store it? Unless you've bought exactly the same sets/pieces as
someone else you know. ;)
I realize that I haven't really given you an answer to your question, but
perhaps you can go through the pros and cons yourself and figure out what it is
that you want to do with these sets. The bottom line, as far as I'm concerned,
is to do what makes you the happiest. There is no right or wrong answer. :)
All the best,
Allan B.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Problem with integration
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| I love LEGO but I have a problem that's hampering my creativity. I have a large general collection made up of several lots that, over the years, I won on eBay. In addition to this, I own just about every Star Wars set and a good number of recent (...) (21 years ago, 24-Jan-04, to lugnet.general)
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