Signs You’re Burned Out By The 1/6 Hobby

1. You’ve lost all interest in the most basic and simple 1:6 figure offerings.
2. You’re procrastinating on placing timely pre-orders for new 1:6 figures and missing them.
3. Your “MUST BUY” list is overwhelming.
4. The 1:6 hobby doesn’t provide enjoyment or relaxation.
5. You’ve lost all sense of “fun” about the 1:6 hobby.
6. You’re getting overly irritated by other 1:6 collectors.
7. You’re on autopilot when it comes to the 1:6 hobby.
8. Your thoughts about the 1:6 hobby is negative.

9. You don't know where the hell you can place all the 1:6 stuff in your apartment any more.

I don't know about the others, but #9 is definitely a sign of the opposite -- you are NOT burned out by the hobby.

GubernatorFan wrote:I don't know about the others, but #9 is definitely a sign of the opposite -- you are NOT burned out by the hobby.

Yep. ^

I’ll go with an amalgamation of #4, #5, and #6:

“You’re getting overly irritated with the 1:6 figures you’ve been buying.”

I may not have the temperament to be in this hobby over the long run. It seems like almost every purchase requires subsequent purchases to repair or replace something broken, acquire a more suitable body due to skin tones not matching or the build not being ideal, my own sense of aesthetics, etc.

I have a combination of personality traits that I don’t see in many…if any…other collectors here:

A high level of impatience
A low level of creativity
A tendency to obsess over minor flaws

If I’m going to stay in this hobby for any length of time, I need to find a way to chill.

IMO most of the above could be avoided by not collecting commercial products and, instead, bashing your own figures and dioramas. There is a deeper sense of accomplishment when you make something yourself instead of taking it out of a box. We hold a more personal connection to an object when we've invested our own time and effort into it compared to going to the shop and buying it. The most precious things I own are those that I've made myself or that others have personally made for me.

Totally agree with Shazzdan.

I would have to guess it's probably both budget and interactivity with the hobby.

I used to be a 1/6 sideshow star wars completist for original trilogy and then dive into the prequels. It was just buy, open, display, buy, open, display, and keep, and the cycle repeats.

It got pretty routine, and no longer keeping me sane at my worklife...

And I stopped. (Possibly that was the time that my local distributor also got swiped out by the hottoys distributor due to licensing and distribution rights for star wars.)

Lately, due to the pandemic, and having slightly more time, I am slowly getting back into 1/6 again, but mainly mix-&-match from current stock on taobao(china's online shopping platform). It's way cheaper than local, and shipping takes about 2 weeks.

My current raves are Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, then Star Wars, I guess.

I would say, the first sign of burnt out is probably routine, and no longer enjoying the hobby.

6, 7, 8, and 9 apply to me.

9, too much stuff and not enough space, along with a lack of time to pursue the projects I'd like to, seems to be triggering a general weariness about the hobby for me.

I don't know if I have specific points on that list, but I have cycles in all my hobbies. Whether it is photography or 1/6 stuff, hiking or gaming - I'm always super invested in everything I do, but every few month' I need a brak for about 1-3 month and then be back in full force. Always been that way for me.
I think it has to do with my "if I do it, I'm all in"! Not taking any half-measures. But that can be exhausting after a while and thus I'm glad to have several hobbies I can cycle through and never really burn out.

The only thing from the list I would disagree with is the 'Must Buy' list being long --- I have hundreds of 1/6 scale parts and accessories saved in my ebay, aliexpress, and etsy shopping carts, and it's all because I still (miraculously) have a bit of enthusiasm for this hobby. But that is speaking from a creative perspective, not a collecting one. So, yeah, I agree with shazzdan on the sense of fulfillment that comes with customising and/or kitbashing. Perhaps Xavion2004, you can look at it from that perspective...that the purchases are like a 'base' to use to create something even better and more to your personal tastes. I realise that is easier said than done, though. ;p

My biggest struggle right now is financial -- for various reasons, my current monthly budget for this hobby is extremely low (and has been since the pandemic started). If anything, I'm dying to finish paying off my various pre-orders so I can finally afford to buy parts and supplies again. :/ So, while I'm still enthusiastic about the creative side of the hobby, I'm feeling frustrated that it's so expensive to even just collect the parts and supplies I need. Even more so because you don't always know what will work until you have in in-hand, and it's just an extremely slow and drawn out process. The irony is that the slowness of collecting everything then cools my initial enthusiasm, so I end up finally getting all the parts I need but then feel very little motivation to actually finish the figure. sigh.

6. You’re getting overly irritated by other 1:6 collectors.

If i´m irritated by some work, maybee i´m just not intellectual enough to see the real Art in it. That happend to me in a museum.

skywalkersaga wrote:So, yeah, I agree with shazzdan on the sense of fulfillment that comes with customising and/or kitbashing. Perhaps Xavion2004, you can look at it from that perspective...that the purchases are like a 'base' to use to create something even better and more to your personal tastes. I realise that is easier said than done, though. ;p

I’m an accountant.  This is what it looks like when I try to use the right side of my brain:





Seriously though, I enjoy buying boxed figures and sets.  I just don’t want things breaking, falling off, or flaking off my boxed figures when handling the figures, and when I buy sets and the recommended body, I want the skin tones to match, the clothes to fit, and the head to sit properly on the neck.  In other words,  I just want what I paid for, no more and no less.

I’m coming from the world of mass market 1/12 plastic figures that are, by nature, far less complicated.  I’m used to just opening a figure and posing it with no real issues.

I’m also coming off one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve had in over 25 years as an adult collector, so I’m a little jaded right now.  Many of the figures I’ve bought have been great.  As a rule of thumb, the newer the figure, the better the overall quality.  Most 1/6 companies have come a long way in the last couple of years.

I am not sure exactly what this is about, are we supposed to give feedback and add additional points to this clinical self evaluation test or are we supposed to self evaluate and share the results?

Now that I gave it some thought and read your responses, I realize there might be a much larger distinction between collectors of boxed figures and collectors who customize and kitbash etc. While every collector can turn into a customizer and kitbasher, there are different motivations at play.

Anyway here the self reflexion to share with the therapy group:
1. You’ve lost all interest in the most basic and simple 1:6 figure offerings.
I have not, even though I buy very little while still looking at the new releases, just out of interest, looking at the great promo pictures etc.
But I work on 1/6 customs multiple times in the week so they are omnipresent.
2. You’re procrastinating on placing timely pre-orders for new 1:6 figures and missing them.
I never pre-ordered a figure. I accidentally pre-ordered unreleased 1/6  products on ebay, though. This point is aimed more towards boxed figure collectors, I guess.
3. Your “MUST BUY” list is overwhelming.
I have a list including heads mostly and some clothing, again on ebay, but nothing is a must, more a 'maybe some day' saved in impulse before I forget about the item. I have most of what I need already and have to create the rest. The 3d printer helps a lot with saving money on a lot of items that would have to be shipped here from China, at the same time you have more creative control.
4. The 1:6 hobby doesn’t provide enjoyment or relaxation.
It can be more stressful than enjoyable sometimes, but most of the time it's more enjoyable and relaxing. The stressful thing about customizing for me, you have different self set goals to reach and they might be too many, or too time consuming, or you need a certain diorama before you can even start photographing etc. Although time spent with enjoyable tasks is no time wasted.
5. You’ve lost all sense of “fun” about the 1:6 hobby.
Oh I have a lot of fun.
Sometimes you lose sense of fun for anything, then the 1:6 might not be the main reason.
Like Valiarde mentioned, sometimes you get tired of one hobby, than continue with another and come back with fresh motivation.
6. You’re getting overly irritated by other 1:6 collectors.
Irritated, maybe sometimes, or confused, but not overly irritated.
7. You’re on autopilot when it comes to the 1:6 hobby.
What's that supposed to mean in this context? Like buying something on the phone OCD?
8. Your thoughts about the 1:6 hobby is negative.
They are not negative, not even after reading this thread.   Like 5. there might be reasons beyond 1:6 why thoughts are negative in general.
I guess it can be negative when confronted with the desire of buying boxed figures and looking at the rising prices, or the general realization how dependant we are on the Chinese economy to buy affordable toys collector items. Also shipping, taxing, customs, borders, Brexit, etc etc.
Also the space, I get what people say about the space.

Ovy wrote:Now that I gave it some thought and read your responses, I realize there might be a much larger distinction between collectors of boxed figures and collectors who customize and kitbash etc. While every collector can turn into a customizer and kitbasher, there are different motivations at play.

I make 1:6 miniatures and I like building 1:6 dioramas. I'm not particularly interested in 1:6 commercial figures (even though I own a few of them) so the above list doesn't really apply to me. I don't get bored or burnt out because I have a long list of projects that I keep jumping between. If I lose interest in one project then I'll leave it for a while and work on something else.

The downside with this is that I rarely finish anything (and my workspace is always a mess). Once a project gets to 80-90% complete and I can see how it will turn out, I lose interest and move on to something else. It annoys other people but doesn't bother me because it is the process that interests me rather than the end result - the journey rather than the destination.

The upside is that making your own stuff is cheap. I spend less than $50 a month on "crafty stuff" such as paint, glue, popsicle sticks, and Dremel consumables. The other materials are scavenged, scrounged, and/or repurposed for free, which I find interesting in and of itself. It is fun to try and work out ways to reuse something that normally would go into the trash.

Also the space, I get what people say about the space.

Yep. 1:6 dioramas are BIG. Need more space. More workshop space. More display space. More storage space. More photographic space. I've started making outdoor dioramas so that the house doesn't get any more cluttered.

shazzdan wrote:IMO most of the above could be avoided by not collecting commercial products and, instead, bashing your own figures and dioramas. There is a deeper sense of accomplishment when you make something yourself instead of taking it out of a box. We hold a more personal connection to an object when we've invested our own time and effort into it compared to going to the shop and buying it. The most precious things I own are those that I've made myself or that others have personally made for me.

I’m really starting to understand this now.  Most of my personal disappointments and frustrations are with products that don’t live up to my expectations or have some elements that I really like and some elements that I don’t.

If you’re a kitbasher or customizer, you don’t have set expectations, because you just start putting figures together and see where it goes.

You also don’t have to “live” with aspects of a figure that you don’t like, because you’re only buying the pieces that you do like.

It makes perfect sense.  It seems very likely that the more you lean towards the Artistic side, the more enjoyment you’re going to get out of the hobby for the reasons above and the simple fact that you’re putting more into it.

Let me get this out of the way first, I missed the discussions in forums, I really do, it's actually nice to make us take a step back and think before typing in a comment. Kinda sad that facebook had became more popular instead, but archiving that and searching for info is a pain and it seems so superficial.

Now back to the discussion, I would probably say the first sign of burnt out is non-enjoyment of the hobby. Things that are enjoyable are effortless, and regardless of the amount of tasks needed to be done to achieve the end(i.e. waking up super early to queue before the scalpers, visiting every local brick and mortar store available, waiting for the countdown on the ebay timer to snipe that auction, etc), it would seem effortless because we enjoyed it. Time spent is irrelevant, budget is probably debatable too.

For me, before I lost my job at the start of the pandemic, I was a workaholic, and I would pre-order and just buy almost every sideshow 1/6 starwars, and even troop building on 6" black series too.

This was my attempt at 100 6" FOTKs back in 2016.


This is the partial opened collection on loan to a museum back in 2013 (of 50 figures)


And to me, that was supposedly enjoyable, because despite having no time to sit down to enjoy the figures, my goal was not missed out on any new release.

Well, back to current situation, I do have a part time job now, and even more time since it's work-from-home(WFH) arrangement due to the pandemic, but with the limited budget, I now focus on customizing, and getting my stuff direct from source where possible. (directly on china's shopping platform).

While I do selectively collect starwars 6" figures (mainly mandalorian), my focus now is very much so on customs and diorama making. And this is probably am at the stage of life, where I have more time now.

So it really depends on the individual, and not the mode of collecting. The main query is, are you enjoying the hobby?

I would say 1 & 2 pertain to me. I would say that sometimes I feel like 7, in that the constant wait for things to arrive (particularly when it pertains to a genre that I’d like to delve into) tends to put a damper on my enthusiasm when it’s sometimes years from the time I place an order until the items arrive. I have so many embers in the fire for different projects that I’d like to tackle, but the delay in getting parts gathered and even some boxed figures released that by the time things arrive I may not even care any longer. I do agree that “making” stuff is often a lot more gratifying than flat out purchasing stuff, but at the same time, not everyone has the skill necessary (or the eye-sight, finger dexterity, etc.) to make a lot of their own stuff. Or the room. I really want to delve into Western stuff, but with so few available accessories, locations, a reasonable amount of space to build a “town” or building facades, etc. — not to mention readily available (and proper) horses and Western tack, that by the time this stuff gets made, or you have someone make it for you, the time and cost involved becomes so prohibitive that one could end up dead before realizing anything. Like shazzdan, I find myself with so many unfinished projects it’s not even funny. I have custom figures (started by others) that I have to finish — whether it’s a head to be painted, an outfit to be assembled, etc. — that most of them are still sitting in boxes. I have 7 characters that I want to make from that Fantasy book I wrote for my wife (the one where I showed her mini-me already -- and it's not even finished), but I have so few actual parts for them, that I may never actually get them done at all. It's disheartening when I think about it.

Stryker2011 wrote:I really want to delve into Western stuff, but with so few available accessories, locations, a reasonable amount of space to build a “town” or building facades, etc.

Heh. Right now I'm building a facade for an Old West saloon. I spent a week just making louvered batwing doors. It is going to be a feature in one of my outdoor dioramas. I'm trying to find a realistic-looking 1:6 scale horse cast from plaster or resin that I can leave outside in the weather.

I decided to use the Ovy Method of replying to these, feels more efficient than writing a long paragraph plus its easier for me to breakdown my thoughts, specially at 1 am.

Stryker2011 wrote:1. You’ve lost all interest in the most basic and simple 1:6 figure offerings.

I've lost interest in some items after seeing the price tag.  

Stryker2011 wrote:2. You’re procrastinating on placing timely pre-orders for new 1:6 figures and missing them.

I've never pre-ordered anything in 1/6, I just wait for stuff to be parted out and then like a vulture I sweep in and get my bits, that is if I'm on time.

Stryker2011 wrote:3. Your “MUST BUY” list is overwhelming.

My "must buy" list is more of a list of recommendations, "this looks cool" kind of must buys that I most likely won't buy because I just browse until I find something cool then get it.... So I don't really know why I keep a bunch of watch list items on eBay.

Stryker2011 wrote:4. The 1:6 hobby doesn’t provide enjoyment or relaxation.

The hobby has always been about freeing the mind for me, yeah games are fun but have you ever sat down to put together something and then watching it go from a pile of stuff to what you imagined? Pure bliss to me. Surely there are moments where the enjoyment and relaxation is close to 0, like putting on molle pouches for example.

Stryker2011 wrote:5. You’ve lost all sense of “fun” about the 1:6 hobby.

Don't think I have yet.

Stryker2011 wrote:6. You’re getting overly irritated by other 1:6 collectors.

I really have never met anyone in this hobby who irritates me, there are things I could say I disagree with or that I don't like but they don't irritate me in the slightest and specially not people. Then again I don't go into arguments or heated debates with anyone, specially not over dollies, like imagine if instead of a forum we where all in a park somewhere and all of sudden two grown adults started arguing over what dolly is best?   .

Stryker2011 wrote:7. You’re on autopilot when it comes to the 1:6 hobby.

I have no clue what this means, 1/6 zombies? collectors who go bump in the night and snatch your figures?!Horrifying!

Stryker2011 wrote:8. Your thoughts about the 1:6 hobby is negative.

I mean if my thoughts about the hobby where negative then I would say its time to leave, if I find neither joy nor respite in a hobby or pastime then Its best to move on, not do like some people (specially in video games) who can't seem to let go of a game they absolutely despise and hate but yet continue to play and follow everything about it. That to me is unhealthy.

Good thread. I can relate to some of these pains.
I got into this hobby about 7 months ago. Just wanted ONE (no, really, just one) female figure for Robbie the Robot to carry like in the movie poster of Forbidden Planet...
Some 20 figures later, Robbie still doesn't have a date for prom but I have made all kinds of other crazy characters.
I love the creativity of making stuff, repainting or just touching up faces. The photography also.
Even though I know that I'm mediocre, I find it satisfying.

But now, I'm getting a bit burned out/bummed out on everything I'd like to get is sold out or discontinued.
It takes a month for Aliexpress items to get here.
The stuff available right away is kind of...meh...
The last heads I ordered, 3 were way too small, one was too big.
Some of the heads look way off from the picture.
Color matching heads and bodies is a crap shoot.
I realize if I have twice as much from now, it won't be half as much as what I want tomorrow...
I also realize that Phicen/TBL got their suntan color from a dead body they found in an alleyway...

MX-V wrote:But now, I'm getting a bit burned out/bummed out on everything I'd like to get is sold out or discontinued.
It takes a month for Aliexpress items to get here.
The stuff available right away is kind of...meh...
The last heads I ordered, 3 were way too small, one was too big.
Some of the heads look way off from the picture.
Color matching heads and bodies is a crap shoot.
I realize if I have twice as much from now, it won't be half as much as what I want tomorrow...
I also realize that Phicen/TBL got their suntan color from a dead body they found in an alleyway...

Xavion2004 wrote:
Seriously though, I enjoy buying boxed figures and sets.  I just don’t want things breaking, falling off, or flaking off my boxed figures when handling the figures, and when I buy sets and the recommended body, I want the skin tones to match, the clothes to fit, and the head to sit properly on the neck.  In other words,  I just want what I paid for, no more and no less.

And right there is where a lot of us are in regards to this list. When you're spending this much money on items, you don't want to get said items and have them be not in scale or even match the recommended body they stated to use. And the crab shoot really starts when you purchase an item from a third party manufacturer and you spend up to an hour just trying the match the skin tone of the head to an available body you have stash away in your work room only to realize much later after much fruitless searching that you don't have the correct tone anything.

Worse is the pain saved for those that only collect Hot Toys figures. The sob stories I read on FB Groups of collectors complaining of the deterioration of materials on said figures is painful to read especially when it comes from those that paid high end third party prices for a sold-out figure they've long sought after only to finally get one and open the box and see the material either cracking or peeling. Like many I've learned the hard way through 23 years of collecting and nowadays, as a rule of thumb, I stay away from anything that has rubber, vinyl, elastic bands, or pleather these days.

Matching skin tones is my greatest frustration. Followed by sellers lying about what scale their products are.

MX-V wrote:But now, I'm getting a bit burned out/bummed out on everything I'd like to get is sold out or discontinued.
It takes a month for Aliexpress items to get here.
The stuff available right away is kind of...meh...
The last heads I ordered, 3 were way too small, one was too big.
Some of the heads look way off from the picture.
Color matching heads and bodies is a crap shoot.
I realize if I have twice as much from now, it won't be half as much as what I want tomorrow...
I also realize that Phicen/TBL got their suntan color from a dead body they found in an alleyway...

This is the sad reality of this hobby — especially the custom/kitbash end. It’s an expensive and time-consuming process that has pretty much been this way since around 2000 when people really started to explore the idea of making their own figures (obviously using existing bodies, some existing parts, and making their own stuff).

Luckily the invention of 3D printing has helped in many cases, and sewing and other crafting skills helps. But when it comes to matching heads to bodies, clothes that fit, etc., it is ALL Trial & Error, and the chances of that ever changing are nil. That problem has plagued those of us who have been doing this for decades have (unwisely perhaps) come to expect and to a degree accept, though rising costs and ridiculous increases in parted out goods often curbs anyone’s enthusiasm. It also helps that manufacturers of clothes generally design them for a specific body, and if folks choose to use something other than the recommended… well, that’s on them to try to figure out how to make it work, and if it doesn’t, the blame lies with the end-user.

As I said, it helps to have some skill in crafting, but often that isn’t enough and “settling” for something that may not be exactly what we want is often the result. Don’t feel too bad or get too discouraged on your journey. While sites like this one are here to help as much as we can, we are not the end all be all for this hobby.

As much as I despise Google (and the commie b%#@h that runs it), it can often be your friend to find early examples of what folks who are masters in this hobby we’re able to achieve. The “Old Site” (onesixthwarriors) was/is a goldmine of information. Sadly, since 2016-17, when it was bought and consumed under an umbrella of forums, it has become a virtual ghost-town, and the search function is virtually useless (hence Google). So many talented artisans (like Tony Barton, who pops in here from time to time) have tutorials over there that are truly remarkable.

There is also customonesixth, an off-shoot of CollectorFreaks (formerly SideshowFreaks) that has many skilled artisans (though most tend to work on group projects rather than “one-offs”.

Don’t get too discouraged this early in the game. I’ve been in this hobby (off and on) for many decades, and I have boxes and boxes of loose accessories, clothes, head sculpts and bodies — many of them with nowhere to go because of all the things you mentioned.

When I’m upset or disappointed, I like to vent and commiserate with others.   I try to be considerate and keep it to a minimum, but at the end of the day, that’s just who I am.

However, before I get typecast as a miserable person that gets no enjoyment whatsoever out of this hobby, here are some of the positive experiences I’ve had:

Very Cool Complete Figures  Yes, I had some issues early on with Kerr, but once I got them straightened out, she became my favorite 1/6 figure.  Villa, the Jenners, and Miss Spetsnaz have all been fantastic.  There’s some room for improvement when it comes to the build quality of the assault rifles and a few of the hard plastic items, but overall, I’d say Very Cool is the most consistent company out there when it comes to producing quality figures.

Super Duck Kits  Color matching is pretty much impossible on some of their earlier offerings like Mai and Chun-Li, but they’ve improved tremendously since then.  What’s always been and continues to be great is the clothing and accessories.  I have 6 or 7 sets at this point, and haven’t had any issues whatsoever.  The sculpts can be a little bland at times, but when it comes to overall build quality, Super Duck is tough to beat.   Tifa was a home run for me and is my second favorite 1/6 figure next to Kerr.

TB League Nancy from Hell  Why can’t all TBLeague figures be this good?  I’m familiar with the source material, and she’s about as close to perfection as you can get.  She’s also proof that you don’t need a boatload of accessories to make a great figure.

Android 18 - iminitoys Head Sculpt/CDToys Outfit/TBL S10D body This was my first “build” and everything fit together beautifully right out of the boxes. In some ways, I have to blame Android 18 for some of my later disappointments, because I thought building a complete figure that looked so seamless out of items that came from three different companies was the rule, not the rare exception.

SooSoo Toys Mr. Butcher and Damtoys Leon Kennedy   I obviously have a soft spot for the ladies when it comes to personal favorites, but objectively, these are the two best 1/6 figures I own.  Sometimes you get a figure of a character that’s so definitive that you feel like you’ll never need another one.  That’s how I feel about these two.

So, yeah…there have been some big disappointments and some money pits along the way (especially lately), but when I stop and look at everything I’ve bought so far, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

Valentin, those are some awesome displays. I'm sure they have brought a lot of enjoyment to many many visitors.