Collecting all Superheroes in existence

[NotTheSinger]

I have started collecting every single minifigures produced by Lego for superheroes theme including the old Batman/Spiderman sets and exclusive minifigures from SDCC and ToyFair, etc. I think I am at around 98% complete.

I wondered if anyone has done the same and how do you display them? Any advice on getting hard-to-find minifigures?

[Douglas_Jon]

If you have a look at the link in my signature, it'll direct you to a quiz with every single Marvel and DC Superheroes Minifigure available to date (not including the Batman and Spider-Man older themes). Hopefully that will be of some help to you.

I've almost completed the themes myself, and I just display my minifigures on Baseplates. One for Marvel Heroes, one for Marvel villains, and the same for DC too.

[Captain Nemo]

I've been collecting them for a few years now , and what I've largely learned is that it's really a waiting game--especially for the old Batman/Spider-Man/Superhero figures.

It's really easy to get any of the new figures, especially if they're on the shelves, but it is becoming more challenging to get even some 2012 figures for a decent price. In general, the new Superhero figures go for about 10-15 dollars individually, and they really only go up from there. This is especially true for popular characters who appeared in only one set, and like many other licensed themes, the fact that they most likely won't reappear for a years helps keep their value way up. The Superheroes theme is all about the characters after all.

But on the challenging portion are the old figures. Ok, first off, yes they are available--and if you don't care about money you can get them all pretty quickly if you trade off a king's ransom. Or the king. The challenging part however is getting them on the cheap. I spent a better part of two years collecting almost the entire Batman 1 wave (I'm still missing Bruce and Alfred), without spending a fortune. It's been a while, so I'm loosing the figures/costs, but I think I averaged 15-20 for the main baddies. Some, like Catwoman I snagged for a cheap ten. Other's I even got for free from the generosity of the Lego community. Largely, I perused Ebay for long periods, snatching up bid figures for cheaper prices than Bricklink's fixed figures. It is really a waiting game.

As for displaying them, personally, I largely don't really--but I do keep my Batman 1 figures in a clear toy case such as in the picture below (which is rather old now):

The only time I ever take our every Superhero figure I own (for a short display) is once a year on December 28th for a photo (otherwise they'll start fighting each other when I look away). Incidentally, these photos are a great way of showing how fast a collection of Superheroes can grow in just a few years. Comparing 2012 to 2013 and then last year's photo below really shows that. It also shows how terrible the lighting was back in 2012...

[Ultron]

I'm currently collecting every Marvel character available through sets. (Don't have money for those SDCC exclusives...grr..) The only ones I don't have are two of the iron man armors and green goblin. I'm waiting to see what the next summer wave includes before I shell out money on that juniors set.

I would collect the DC ones but unfortunately, as a college student, I live on minimum wage and can't afford both subthemes. Which is a shame because the last JL wave was really good.

[DarthBrickus]

Oh hey, those are yours?

Nice, i found those on Google-Image-Search some time ago and always liked the setup.

Mine is totally boring (and flat)...

I'll be looking forward to December 28th then!

[Captain Nemo]

Oh hey, those are yours?

Nice, i found those on Google-Image-Search some time ago and always liked the setup.

Mine is totally boring (and flat)...

I'll be looking forward to December 28th then!

Well it's a set up that takes a couple hours, so that's why I only do it once a year!

Although I do look forward to it too!

[NotTheSinger]

As for displaying them, personally, I largely don't really--but I do keep my Batman 1 figures in a clear toy case such as in the picture below (which is rather old now):

Awesome! Thanks for the advice- quick question: what minifig is that next to the Scarecrow and behind Mr. Freeze??!?

[Robianco]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice- quick question: what minifig is that next to the Scarecrow and behind Mr. Freeze??!?

That looks like the Christo custom of Hush. If you want to start adding Christo customs into the mix then I hope your pockets are prepared to go a little deeper! There are some great pad printed customs by several people including members of this forum.

I've recently narrowed my collecting to just DC and I'm going something similar to Nemo in taking things slowly in picking up older figures. I have all of the Batman / Robin / Nightwing figures so it's just a case of picking up some of the baddies... Alfred will be a very patient game to pick one up at a reasonable cost.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Robianco

[Captain Nemo]

Yes, he's a custom printed Hush minifigure by Christo: based off the character's 'official' design appearance from Lego Batman: the Video Game. After you collect enough official figures, you can discover the secret bonus level of custom Superhero minifigures!

I've recently narrowed my collecting to just DC and I'm going something similar to Nemo in taking things slowly in picking up older figures. I have all of the Batman / Robin / Nightwing figures so it's just a case of picking up some of the baddies... Alfred will be a very patient game to pick one up at a reasonable cost.

Being patient is the best strategy. Alfred is a really good example of this. He's probably the most expensive non-SDCC Superhero minifigure out there.

[Blondie-Wan]

Wow, Captain, that is a most impressive collection. Congratulations!

[kevkipo]

Check my Signature, i say display them as a Hot Toys figure, spend the days by making connecting display stands who look like: Ruins / Streets / Forests

It's a nice way to pass time, and it's fun to do

[Graham Gidman]

Like Captain Nemo already said, just be patient with your buying and opportunities usually arise. (Though I'm still waiting for mine regarding the Fellowship... )

I've been collecting them for a few years now , and what I've largely learned is that it's really a waiting game--especially for the old Batman/Spider-Man/Superhero figures.

It's really easy to get any of the new figures, especially if they're on the shelves, but it is becoming more challenging to get even some 2012 figures for a decent price. In general, the new Superhero figures go for about 10-15 dollars individually, and they really only go up from there. This is especially true for popular characters who appeared in only one set, and like many other licensed themes, the fact that they most likely won't reappear for a years helps keep their value way up. The Superheroes theme is all about the characters after all.

But on the challenging portion are the old figures. Ok, first off, yes they are available--and if you don't care about money you can get them all pretty quickly if you trade off a king's ransom. Or the king. The challenging part however is getting them on the cheap. I spent a better part of two years collecting almost the entire Batman 1 wave (I'm still missing Bruce and Alfred), without spending a fortune. It's been a while, so I'm loosing the figures/costs, but I think I averaged 15-20 for the main baddies. Some, like Catwoman I snagged for a cheap ten. Other's I even got for free from the generosity of the Lego community. Largely, I perused Ebay for long periods, snatching up bid figures for cheaper prices than Bricklink's fixed figures. It is really a waiting game.

As for displaying them, personally, I largely don't really--but I do keep my Batman 1 figures in a clear toy case such as in the picture below (which is rather old now):

*snip*

The only time I ever take our every Superhero figure I own (for a short display) is once a year on December 28th for a photo (otherwise they'll start fighting each other when I look away). Incidentally, these photos are a great way of showing how fast a collection of Superheroes can grow in just a few years. Comparing 2012 to 2013 and then last year's photo below really shows that. It also shows how terrible the lighting was back in 2012...

*snip*

I am very much jealous of your collection there...

[dmarvin]

Patience is a virtue indeed. Were I not patient, I would have been one of the hundreds who immediately paid $30 for a Maria Hill minifig. As it stands now, even the $15.99 ones I see listed on Bricklink don't seem like too good a deal to pass up. The thing I tend to do is NOT buy the ones I want the most just to have them. Instant gratification is a killer. It's best to track Bricklink regularly for all your wanted figures and find one seller who has several reasonably priced ones so you can buy those up and save on shipping.

I'm still waiting on Quicksilver prices to drop. I know that figure will never come up again in another set, but the set itself is a poor seller, and should be marked down considerably inside a year at TRU.

I'm also good with finding things like rarer polybags (any theme) and flipping them so I have the budget to splurge on the occasional superhero minfig. I recently acquired Deadpool because I didn't start collecting the theme until after that set was off shelves (too preoccupied with LOTR at the time I think).

[Ultron]

I'm still waiting on Quicksilver prices to drop. I know that figure will never come up again in another set, but the set itself is a poor seller, and should be marked down considerably inside a year at TRU.

I wouldn't be so sure. That particular Quicksilver may never come in another set (unless Marvel decides to resurrect him) but I would not rule out a comic version down the line. We may be waiting a while, but these themes are evergreen so I think it's possible to see him again one day.

[dmarvin]

Yeah, I was specifically referring to a MCU version of Quicksilver. Heck, he could even appear in an X-Men set, but it just won't be the same. I really like the MCU figs the most. I covet the Captain America sans headgear from the Helicarrier, but I refuse to pay $20+ for basically a unique headpiece.

[agoodfella77]

My MARVEL Universe is pretty solid. I've got all the official figs put out via sets thus far. Although I don't have any of the official SDCCs, I have some variant / custom / MOC / MOD of every exclusive or polybag put out so far -- Sam Wilson is a work in progress:

MOC-xclusives [GROUP] [MOC] by agoodfella minifigs, on Flickr

And I've got a bunch of MOCs / MODs that don't appear anywhere officially (some noteable ones being X-Men characters, Thanos, Crossbones, Juggernaut, Namor, etc.)

Edited August 19, 2015 by agoodfella77

[JaseTJ]

Just curious, to those of you who have/do collect them pretty seriously... Do you ever search for individual parts? Or do those end up being just as expensive?

I by no means care to collect all of the older figures at this point, but I missed out on Deadpool as well, but I haven't gotten him yet still :/ I literally was at a store, looking at the set, and a week later when I went back to buy it, it was gone forever...

[agoodfella77]

Just curious, to those of you who have/do collect them pretty seriously... Do you ever search for individual parts? Or do those end up being just as expensive?

I by no means care to collect all of the older figures at this point, but I missed out on Deadpool as well, but I haven't gotten him yet still :/ I literally was at a store, looking at the set, and a week later when I went back to buy it, it was gone forever...

Just go to BrickLink, tons of stores will be selling the standalone figure -- no need to buy the whole set if you are only after the figure.

[dmarvin]

Just curious, to those of you who have/do collect them pretty seriously... Do you ever search for individual parts? Or do those end up being just as expensive?

I by no means care to collect all of the older figures at this point, but I missed out on Deadpool as well, but I haven't gotten him yet still :/ I literally was at a store, looking at the set, and a week later when I went back to buy it, it was gone forever...

In general, I don't seek out individual parts, but it could be worth doing for the right minifig. In Bricklink you can see how much a particular part has been selling for, so I checked to see if anyone parted out Maria Hill and sold the pieces that way. The ONLY unique piece is her torso with SHIELD printing on the arms. Only one standalone torso had been sold when I checked, but someone paid less than a buck for it. So seeking individual parts obviously worked well for that person. I've only ever put together a Professor Trelawney (HP theme) minifig that way, and it saved me a ton.

For Deadpool, I just got a mint one for $20 and messaged the seller on Bricklink to make me a free shipping deal if I agreed to buy two other ones I needed from her. I figure Deadpool is about to go up in price when his movie comes out, and who knows when we'll see another one released. His movie is not only Fox but R-rated.

Edited August 19, 2015 by dmarvin

[Robianco]

I've bought parts before to make minifigs up.

There's a seller based in Norway that I buy from regularly and normally pick up parts to resell figures on eBay which then makes the parts I want basically free after the others items are sold.

This has helped in picking up parts for things such as original Poison Ivy and original Harley Quinn etc. It can take a bit of time to make a BL order worthwhile to find things to resell to add to an order but for me it's been worth it to get the things I wanted for little to no cost.

[mediumsnowman]

Here is my current collection of Marvel figures:

[MOC] MCU Figure Display

I find using CMF stands and building a base-thingy for them is the way to go. I don't have a huge collection of SH figures, but my brother gets the sets I don't, so I suppose together we have most of them. (Except of course the SDCC figures )

[dmarvin]

Should we be suspicious of sellers on Bricklink who have, say, 50 of a popular minifig like Maria Hill and have no other figures or parts from the set for sale? I see this all the time, and the sellers usually have many transactions and generally very good feedback. I ask because these are the ones generally offering the lowest price on those figures. How do they get them and can we be sure they're 100% legitimate?

[Robianco]

I know there are sellers on Bricklink who have things like 350 of the original Poison Ivy torsos etc. I know Lego has sold individual items and parts from licensed figures over time but how people get that much of something I'm not sure.

I think I know the seller you're referring to... Sounds suspect but you can always send it back if you're not happy.

[Elgard]

I started to collect both subthemes, Marvel and DC, but decided to go only for the Marvel Heroes. I like this theme a lot more than the DC line, propably due to the movies.

So far I got all of the sets excluding the Hulkbuster which is hard to get and the junior's Spiderman set. I will add them later this month to my collection. Apart from that I got also some of the polybags including Electro, Iron Patriot (fromt the looks one of my favorite minifigures), Winter Soldier and Rocket Raccoon. In addition to that I collected several custom figures, mainly X-men. All of my figures have their place in simple picture frame. I really hope to add more to the collection.

[Nickcastle101]

Check out this kickstarter! https://www.kickstar...dark-defender-0