My Year in Toys 2013
I fully intended to do a whole picture-heavy post for this, but kind of ran out of steam. Let's just sum it up this way: OVERWHELMING. Between Monster High, Ever After High, Winx Club, Masters of the Universe Classics, Integrity Jem & the Holograms, random Disney Store purchases, some Pullips, and lots of Vocaloid Figmas....I need a break from toys for awhile.
I have so much stuff still in boxes that needs to be dealt with. (You know, when I feel I have to "deal with" toys, I think there's a significant problem going on here.) But seriously, things that remain in the boxes take up so much more space that I'm almost entirely out of room. Sure, there are some things - like stuff Integrity produces - where I'll always keep the boxes, but lots of other stuff needs to be deboxed like whoa. I should take a few of my next days off and just have a deboxing/photo party.
But taking a line-by-line look at things.
Ever After High: This is probably currently my favorite line out of everything. The dolls are full of great details, and I love the universe and characters of this franchise. I am reminded of how I felt when Monster High was a new thing, and it feels nice. But I go into EAH with more of a game plan. Only new characters and a maximum of one other version (right now that's Legacy Day because THEY'RE AWESOME).
Monster High: I feel that with Ever After High coming along, my interest in Monster High is starting to wane a bit. The line has been going for 3.5 years now, and while I wouldn't say they're running out of steam by any means (some of the most recent lines like New Scaremester have been some of the best!), my ability to keep up is just not there anymore. I still have so many of them in the boxes going all the way back to the Wave 2 (aka "School's Out!" line). I'm entertaining the idea of culling the herd at this point and only keeping 1-2 versions of each character (sans the boys, of course - I'll pick up every release of them). I just need to corral this into something a bit more manageable.
Winx Club: Added lots here this year, with the Harmonix, Sirenix, and Dark Sirenix Trix lines! Jakks makes nice dolls for Winx, but I really with they had better character selection and could still be found outside of Toys R Us. These were a pain in the ass to find for me. I'm not sure what the future is for Jakks-produced Winx, but it doesn't look too good. Still, if they go I'll be sad to say goodbye to Winx again.
Masters of the Universe Classics: Against my better judgement, I signed up for the 2014 subscription. I did the quarterly shipping option this time, however, in hopes that I can deal with the packages better four times a year instead of twelve. I really want my complete She-Ra line, though, and that's really why I signed up. They continue to be awesome figures pretty much all around as well. The crown jewel of the year was Castle Grayskull, though. That thing is huge and I have no idea what to do with it. XD
Integrity Jem & the Holograms: This is a gorgeous line. All the attention to detail is amazing. Integrity's prices blow, however. Glitter & Gold are the only character duplicates I have, and I'm probably going to try and keep it that way. All of these are still boxed too, which makes me sad. They definitely deserve display space.
Japanese toys: This was the year I started getting into Figmas and Nendoroids. They're really adorable and poseable. They different faces and looks add a lot of personality as well. For the moment I mostly just have Vocaloid characters, though I plan on adding the Sailor Scout figures as they come out.
I picked up a couple Play Arts Kai Street Fighter figures as well. They have great sculpts, but the joints are a bit wonky.
I also added several new Pullips/Taeyangs this year as well: Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Peter Pan!
Disney: I caved to several of the Fairytale Designer Collection sets. I got Snow White/Prince, Rapunzel/Flynn, and Aladdin/Jasmine. I wanted the others, but they got snatched up crazy fast. I also picked up the set of four Frozen dolls, and they're tons of fun (especially next to the cheap Mattel versions). Hans jacket is actual corduroy!
Barbie: Not much in 2013. A few of the Life in the Dreamhouse dolls (Ken, Midge, and Raquel), a few of the Fashionista guys, and some collector dolls (Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a few Twilight dolls, and Batman '66)
Anyway, I picked up other tidbits throughout the year, but just looking at the list above makes me a little sick. It was way too much. January has brought several more purchases, but I definitely need to step back and take a good long look at what I have/catalog it. I'm pretty much out of space for display and enjoyment now...and without that why continue buying?
I have so much stuff still in boxes that needs to be dealt with. (You know, when I feel I have to "deal with" toys, I think there's a significant problem going on here.) But seriously, things that remain in the boxes take up so much more space that I'm almost entirely out of room. Sure, there are some things - like stuff Integrity produces - where I'll always keep the boxes, but lots of other stuff needs to be deboxed like whoa. I should take a few of my next days off and just have a deboxing/photo party.
But taking a line-by-line look at things.
Ever After High: This is probably currently my favorite line out of everything. The dolls are full of great details, and I love the universe and characters of this franchise. I am reminded of how I felt when Monster High was a new thing, and it feels nice. But I go into EAH with more of a game plan. Only new characters and a maximum of one other version (right now that's Legacy Day because THEY'RE AWESOME).
Monster High: I feel that with Ever After High coming along, my interest in Monster High is starting to wane a bit. The line has been going for 3.5 years now, and while I wouldn't say they're running out of steam by any means (some of the most recent lines like New Scaremester have been some of the best!), my ability to keep up is just not there anymore. I still have so many of them in the boxes going all the way back to the Wave 2 (aka "School's Out!" line). I'm entertaining the idea of culling the herd at this point and only keeping 1-2 versions of each character (sans the boys, of course - I'll pick up every release of them). I just need to corral this into something a bit more manageable.
Winx Club: Added lots here this year, with the Harmonix, Sirenix, and Dark Sirenix Trix lines! Jakks makes nice dolls for Winx, but I really with they had better character selection and could still be found outside of Toys R Us. These were a pain in the ass to find for me. I'm not sure what the future is for Jakks-produced Winx, but it doesn't look too good. Still, if they go I'll be sad to say goodbye to Winx again.
Masters of the Universe Classics: Against my better judgement, I signed up for the 2014 subscription. I did the quarterly shipping option this time, however, in hopes that I can deal with the packages better four times a year instead of twelve. I really want my complete She-Ra line, though, and that's really why I signed up. They continue to be awesome figures pretty much all around as well. The crown jewel of the year was Castle Grayskull, though. That thing is huge and I have no idea what to do with it. XD
Integrity Jem & the Holograms: This is a gorgeous line. All the attention to detail is amazing. Integrity's prices blow, however. Glitter & Gold are the only character duplicates I have, and I'm probably going to try and keep it that way. All of these are still boxed too, which makes me sad. They definitely deserve display space.
Japanese toys: This was the year I started getting into Figmas and Nendoroids. They're really adorable and poseable. They different faces and looks add a lot of personality as well. For the moment I mostly just have Vocaloid characters, though I plan on adding the Sailor Scout figures as they come out.
I picked up a couple Play Arts Kai Street Fighter figures as well. They have great sculpts, but the joints are a bit wonky.
I also added several new Pullips/Taeyangs this year as well: Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Peter Pan!
Disney: I caved to several of the Fairytale Designer Collection sets. I got Snow White/Prince, Rapunzel/Flynn, and Aladdin/Jasmine. I wanted the others, but they got snatched up crazy fast. I also picked up the set of four Frozen dolls, and they're tons of fun (especially next to the cheap Mattel versions). Hans jacket is actual corduroy!
Barbie: Not much in 2013. A few of the Life in the Dreamhouse dolls (Ken, Midge, and Raquel), a few of the Fashionista guys, and some collector dolls (Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a few Twilight dolls, and Batman '66)
Anyway, I picked up other tidbits throughout the year, but just looking at the list above makes me a little sick. It was way too much. January has brought several more purchases, but I definitely need to step back and take a good long look at what I have/catalog it. I'm pretty much out of space for display and enjoyment now...and without that why continue buying?