IS TROOP/ARMY BUILDING BAD? IS IT HOARDING? WHAT IS MY OPTIMAL NUMBER?

[@Pop.Culture.In.Plastic666]

I don’t troop build but i do like seeing photos of collections of folks who do it. They look great. If you want to do it then do it. Spend your money your way.

[@loganpark2530]

Army building is completely fine. As with any kind of *potentially but not automatically* addictive behavior, it’s about the relationship you have with the figures (the motivation why you’re accumulating) and little to do with how many you have. It moves the needle between a fun pastime and maladaptive coping behaviors. Put another way, does the army building enhance your wellbeing or undermine it? There’s the answer for any individual. Is it a planned, bounded creative project or emotional junk food behavior? For me I’m troop building a set of G1 Jetfire transformers to make a ginormous custom combiner. Clear and specific project.

[@kenten]

There's a panel in GI Joe #76 (page 9) where Cobra troopers are stacking trashed BATs. It would take 14 to make that pile, so I ended up with 14 Classified BATs.

[@Thangarth]

I collect Transformers. There isn't as much troop building, but there is still some. When it comes to Quintesson characters. I wanted to have 5 each of the Allicon (WFC), Sharkticon (SS86), and the Battle Masters Slitherfang (WFC). Also 5 of the Deseeus Army Drone (WFC). Otherwise the only other figure I've picked up multiples. Is the SS86 Sweep which I have three. 5 of a figure is my cut off point.

[@kenten]

I bought 4 Scourges not thinking they would (obviously) put out a Sweep. Then I replaced 3 Scourges with Sweeps. But I'm the same with the Alicons, Sharticons, etc.

[@thetitan914]

People saying mean things on the internet??? Kind of hard to believe.....😊 I agree, I think 3 is a good number for troop building depending on the scale and line.

[@francoisregis2155]

I personally do troop building with my old gi joe and star wars figures. Most of them I found them in flea markets and I usually have at least 8 figs each and even if they aren’t complete I usually put them in vehicles. My biggest army would be my clone troopers that with time I found at least 50 clones to put in my at-te walkers And I did something similar with the original kenner stormtropper that I mostly bought in garages sales or flea markets. My magic number is 8 but I also have to consider space…

The question should be WHY they are troop building ,because they actually love that character or to show off on IG or a FB group so people can ewwww and awwww over them ? I say its probably the latter and indicates an insecurity needing some form of compensation . Ofcourse i dont see why ppl buy every spiderman or batman repaint either .

[@masavant]

There is no issue with buying multiples of things or in some of my cases family gifting multiples, in my opinion the issue is when those multiples serve no purpose, for example I do have 5 of the Bandai Storm Troopers with 2 of them been the Han Solo and Luke Skywalker head variants, 6 if you include the Sand Trooper, likewise I do have multiples of X-wings, Tie Fighters (including the New Order), New Order Troopers, Seekers and Sweeps all that can be displayed as a variation with the exception of the Sweeps, heaven help me if Bandai made the Clone Trooper variants for the clone wars show. With all things in collection spaces is to know your limits, if there is no purpose then buying this stuff is junk filling the void and what is worst is there are people who do go into debt to feed the void.

[@jerrycorrea5974]

Haven't bought anything in a hit minute but I used to collect 3.75/4" Cobra and Lego Star Wars clone troopers.

[@christopherbee8800]

Just depends on the situation. I was in a store and a guy had a transformer in hand. After a little kid had spotted it. He was troop building. However if I wouldn't had been standing there. The little kid wouldn't had got it. I reminded him, they are our future collectors.

[@gregarcher8177]

I started troop building classified and 10 crimson bats are the most ive gotten. I wish I had 10 regular bats but have 6, 4 alley vipers may get 4 more bats and 6 Alley vipers while bbts still has them and I think 6-7 crimson guards, one with fred head and one retro and put up some of the crimson bats or just line all my different bats up together. Also troop built pp vipers, bats and officers but as many figures as they are dumping out RN I had to stop although I want 4 retro troopers to go with my other versions of the trooper/officer(fire team, regular and others) classified is getting too expensive and im outta space anyway so I'm forced to sell off my marvel legends and McFarlanes to make room. Also preordering the 4" hiya GI Joe line but probably won't troop build even though I prefer the looks of those vipers troopers and crimson guards. Overall 10 is a good number for me as far as ranks of your army, they look great lined up in rows surrounding the main characters.

[@TransformsIntoAGuitar]

I think 'hoarding' is keeping stuff that serves no purpose, or might come in useful one day but probably won't. I don't think troop building is the same. I'm not justifying my own troop building because the closest I've come to that is having Insecticons from four different 3rd parties displayed together.

[@TransformsIntoAGuitar]

Troop building MIB *is* hoarding.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

The Autobots or Decepticons can be considered an army. No one complains when a completionist buys them all.

[@Cyril29a]

That isn't the same thing. The complainers assume that the volume of these toys is far lower than it really is. Companies want to make money so they are very aware of what the market will support. Buying one of every figure on the other hand is not considered hoarding with these people because their imagined rules of fairness allow for one figure per collector per skew. I bet these types of people read Karl Marx and think they are owed these figures blaming shortages on the evil capitalists deliberately depriving them. Morons the lot of them

[@TK-yz3wt]

So troop building drives one BATS? It depends on the scale for me. I wouldn't troop build 6" figures but I would with 3.75" figures to a limited extent. I did this with the 3.75" SW figures in the mid to late 2000's especially the clone troopers. I got about four or five of the standard clone troopers and their clone commander (501st, 212th, 41st). Tbf, it was encouraged since a few multipacks were released such as the 327th Star Corps and the Mace Windu one. As for the stormtroopers, there weren't that many variations released during this time (stormtrooper, sandtrooper, and biker scout). Since then 4 packs have been released of death troopers, shore troopers, Fleet troopers and Hoth troopers.

[@JRJohnson1701]

For me, I'm doing stop motion, so I need the extra figures to fill out scenes.

[@gtoney]

Great vid ✨️😎

[@joshmorales770]

I'm not big on troop building but have nothing against collectors who do; 9 times out of 10 the figures at the center of a collector's army are ones that are in stores in great abundance so its not like army building is keeping others from collecting figures they want.

[@Hurricanelive]

If it's for Copeium the numbers don't lie.

[@goaway3487]

15 Random Maketoys recolred seekers later and I'd say no. 😆 They made too many Autobots to Decepticons and I needed them to balance the displays. They don't match the originals but a few look a lot like Thundercracker. 😆 Thankfully I don't collect GI Joe or Starwars or I'd do the same and then they would all match or at least closely. 😂

[@douglasrood2650]

I am right there with you brother, i buy all the seeker recolors as well

[@Roadpigjohn]

Who's channel is that one army building Phyton Patrol Mike? I love that sub line and I bought several of the classified Vipers and BATs...😀💡✌️ I see nothing wrong in army building as many as you want. You can have 10 of one figure and I may have 5 but it's how they will fit in our collections at home 🏠...😀💡☕✌️

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Here is a link to one of his vids kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6mrXoSCaad3d6M

[@SpiritOfBagheera]

Troop building does not look impressive or cool. It screams “I am single and throw my money away” or “my wife puts up with me throwing my money away.” It also looks exceedingly childish and ridiculous. If you want two of a trooper/guard to flank, say, Cobra Commander? Cool. Now stop there. Or you are seriously running the risk of appearing as a “man child” to the rest of us.