Good info all, makes me feel a little more caught up. I def. remember when I went off the grid that folks were already saying all the RxH releases were a problem, and looking back it appears that yes, way too much stuff is coming out. I think one release every month, now there's a reasonable plan of attack. Oh well, what can you do? Again,t hat's why I'm pretty happy dropping $300 on a new 3A Ashley Wood robot when it drops, it's something unique,t here are only 100 or so in that colorway, it's an amazing toy on all levels from a quality and uniqueness standpoint -- but a million new RxH figures? Nah, I don't need that.

Well, I do want to pick up some Itokin Parks I think, they speak to me more than "monsters" or "fight figures" do these days, although Iw ill always love all of it. Maybe need to see what new Dream Rocket sculpts have dropped in the last 12 months.

It seems the board here is much more quiet though than it was a year ago, where the hell is everybody? In vacation mode? Just, gone from things like I was?

It's a whole vicious cycle of too many releases coming out each week, too many people going broke trying to keep up, then massive sell off's at much reduced prices to buy the next hyped thing. I've seen it happen here over an over an over. Prices have steadily gone up but it's hard to justify buying it new when you know you'll see it reduced sometimes a week or two later.

For the record I've not stopped buying and I'm pretty poor but then I don't really go for big big ticket items either (just what I love). Only road block that's occurred for me is now I've reached maximum space for display in my apt.

When it comes to Real Head, maybe I'm wrong, as I don't know Mory, just what I'm guessing. Mory took the plunge, opened a store and took it up full time. He has to support himself and keep the store open, so he always has to be releasing product to pay the bills. So unfortunately I don't see the RXH pace slowing anytime soon. If it slowed it would probably mean RXH takes a hit and Mory closes shop or stops working on it full time. Again just what I would think.

So many things I see posted as postives are negatives in my opinion. distro, s7 lines, yja, flooded sales, etc etc

I've way backed off buying anything retail b/c it seems they drop to 45 the week after on the aftermarket.
I'm not for secondary value, but I don't want to get ripped off.

I think things are starting to pick up, I don't remember anybody shooting themselves in the face for at least a couple of years

yes, according to the soothsayers, the "scene" has been in a steady decline for almost the last 4 years.

I disagree.

why?

If the scene has been in a steady decline for four years, there shouldn't be anything left at this point. But there is. More companies than ever are making these kinds of toys. Yes, there are ups and downs like anything else, but I think some really amazing toys have been released in the last four years. Skull Captains, Ojo Rojo, Boogies, DBM Masks, Rebel Ink, Rangeas, etc, etc. the list is long.

Are there too many releases? Probably. But this does make it easier for us to get toys we like.
As a result, is the thrill of the hunt taken away? Yes I think so too. But there are still toys that are hard to get. they are just different toys.
Are collectors fatigued? Yes. there are too many releases to keep up with. I agree some of the excitement has definitely died down.
Has the scene grown? I think so. I bet there are more colectors of these kinds of toys now than four years ago. there are certainly more toys and manufacturers.

maybe I don't buy into the doom and gloom.

I remember when I signed onto Skullbrain about 5-6 months after it started, there were some saying the end was near. And, for them, it was. Probably half of the OG is now gone. Then, there was concern about too many trying to get the few releases there were (and some wanted to be part of an exclusive club).
Now, it seems, there are too many releases b/c too many jumped on the bandwagon for a little while & now are jumping off.
There will be adjustment, but there will be survivors. Gargamel continues on a slow & steady clip, as they always have and I think others will fall back to this strategy. There are also new companies/people emerging, like Elegab, that have enough originality & quality that they will probably stick around.
The J-vinyl scene is changing, but what isn't?

In the case of the RealHead stuff, I love the fact that I can get most figures I want for what seem like fair prices, but it sucks at the same time that the actual retail price seems so shitty at this point. I understand how Mori works and all, but it seems like with the increase in releases the price point itself could be adjusted to work with the seemingly larger purchase base. I love the figures, but 60's always seemed like alot for a figure. I know the exchange rate plays a shitty role in it all as well, but if I could get brand new RxH from a retailer for like, $45, I'd probably buy around 3/4 of the releases that come out. If the secondary market can't get retail for the figures, maybe the retail price is no longer as valid, barring any knowledge of Mori's costs and situation.

Besides that, I fail to see how more designers and releases is a bad thing... the doom and gloom over an increase of fantastic toys to buy makes no sense to me. I can appreciate the whole 'burn out' from being overwhelmed by releases, but there are ways around that, seeing as almost no figures at this point besides some of the more marque stuff ends up unobtainable, so just pace it out better as a buyer... you won't die without all the toys at once, and if you're going broke buying toys you don't deserve them.

good point. a lot of what bums me out most days is that the people i loved talking to on here are now gone. not to say that i don't have some great friends here now, but seeing so many people fall off the map so to speak can be a bit disheartening.

like kirkland says, I am trying to avoid the doom and gloom. personally, i stay far far away from the customs and resin section. this is mostly to avoid huge spikes in my blood pressure looking at awful customs that nobody else has the balls to say are bad. i'm not going to be attacked for my opinion anymore, so it's easier to avoid it altogether.
some of the resin stuff is cool, but again, not really my thing .

i think the big thing for people is to learn what makes you "genuinely" excited. not liking something that everyone else likes because it's popular, because it's the "hot new thing", or because there are only 5 of them. that gets old really quick, for both the collector and also the people who have to read their posts whining about how they can't sell it for even half of what they paid for it a month later.

go out on a limb, find something new, share it without caring people's opinions. and please, PLEASE...say something other than +1, or "that shit is dope" .
that gets very tiring. say why you like it...what about it speaks to you.

these are just some of the things that keep me from posting most days now. it's too exhausting to wade through 5 pages of "+1's"

sorry for the rant. i've needed to vent for a while. this seemed like a good thread to do it in.

I think the "scene" has been dieing.
And I say good riddance.
I hope it dies.

Long live the toys.

+1

Just kidding Ed!

just for that, no shadow zombie for you

I think there's less chatter since a lot of us have learned the ropes and are settled in + just doing our thing. There's less of a "learning curve" than there was 3-4 years ago.

So in a sense, the "mystery" is mostly gone, and the hobby (which is still young for "original" sofubi - only 5 years old for most of the makers) is maturing. So there's a lot of shake up and pull back.

I agree more new collectors + a price drop on new releases would be a big help. If new figures sell for $60, and everyone knows they'll be up for sale on the secondary market for $40 just a few weeks or months later, then a + b = c, right?

The first thread I read on skullbrain in 2006 was a thread from Audio talking about how the board and the toy "scene" sucked now. it's good to see nothing has really changed.

right on...! But thankfully, I'm no so into his newer stuff. now if I could just kick this mini cat habit...

As long as there are people who still honestly dig/sell the toys and we can share thoughts and pics here (all BS aside), then I don't care about what the "scene" is doing. I collect for my own enjoyment, and I'm alone in this when I'm not online. So being able to connect with others who enjoy it too is always fun. I'm not even sure what the "scene" is--or how it's "going to shit" or dying affects me. Now if RxH quality goes to shit, then I'll have a problem.

Its gotten worse.
Almost 90% of the people who were around when the board started and had been into it (at least the fight figures etc) are gone are don't post anymore. Its too bad, there were a lot of really interesting cool people in a pretty tight knit group back then.

I wasn't talking about the board.

Was that a ZINGGGG?

This sounds about right. If you look at the first 100 members (excluding S7 staff), probably 9-10 are still active. The rest are gone or have virtually no presence.

which proves the fact that inhaling vinyl fumes is not good for your health

I have been around since the begging and the scene hasn't changed a bit. There are still loads of cool people and there are people that are transient. The old members you speak of lost interest and moved on to something else. Doesn't this make them the trendy passionless kind of people Audio and Liquid seem to enjoy loathing (ad nauseum). Of course Audio hasn't met any cool new people; why would cool new people want to get to know a grumpy douchebag?

You get out of collecting what you put into it. If you think the current state of the community sucks it is probably because you are a sucky part of the community.

From my vantage point at the S7 office the community seems to be growing nice and steady. In any garden there will always be weeds to pull but that doesn't mean the crops won't keep blooming. You just have to put a little effort in.

this "scene" that is mentioned is probably better off dead, because i hate scenes.
for me personally, since i started collecting and being interested in these toys, the feeling hasn't changed much.
but i haven't been around since the beginning, so i must not know what i am talking about...

i havent bought anything at all in ages

i think the last thing was a tony the tiger toy on ebay a few months ago