Some thoughts after YEARS without a castle theme

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Hello folks,

I decided to share this with you because I felt to.

I had no "dark age" but I re-started buying LEGO in mass in 2009. 13 years ago.

Considering that, from 1978, you had always a "castle theme" (if it wasn't castle, it was vikings or ninja, so something similar)  and that in 2009 we were in Fantasy Era, and that the medieval market village was on shelves, it would have been impossible for me to think that in 4 years everything was going away for God only knows how long.

In 2009->2014 I wasn't that LEGO buyer. I didn't even buy all the castle sets from Kingdoms and the 2013 series. I didn't like them much and I wasn't back in LEGO that much to understand what was happening. I bought a LOT of chessboards, that was sure, but after that I was just interested in having minifigures and on bricklink you could have them for very affordable prices.

In fact, the sets weren't that good. Only some of them, like the mill village raid, or the kingdoms joust. I got them.

And now?

I am in 2022. I have already 2 Lion Castles. Do you know why?
Because having NO castle sets since 5 6 years, when my LEGO passion has grown and I would want to spend more money on LEGO, is telling me "well, buy the most close thing to castle you can, you never know when LEGO is stopping doing that." I bought 2x medieval blacksmith and 4x castle 3in1 from creator. 

If LEGO released a new castle theme for 2023, I would definitively empty the shelves in no time.

So what did actually change?

I believe that I was simply USED to see castle sets, so I didn't care for them. I just said myself "well, they're there, when I want them I buy them".

When I came back from the dark age, I didn't expect LEGO sets to last THIS shortly on the shelves. 

When I was a little kid, time flowed differently. Sets stayed on the shelves for much longer, and time flowed really slow. So, the same 2013 castle I didn't buy because I didn't like it much, if it was 2023, I'd buy 3 or 4 of that stuff. The mini set, €10 for 4 minifigures and a dog, I remember that, I would buy EVERY single set I could find, just to army build.

This has changed A LOT for me. I wanted to share this to check with you if you have the same feelings I have.

[jtooker]

I agree.  My view on some of the castle lines in the 2000s/2010s have changed a bit, but some were not as great as others.

I do not believe a castle line is coming soon, so I've been buying up more of the current castle sets than I would otherwise (that and the fact LEGO hasn't had any castle sets for years before this!).  I still haven't picked up a second Lion's castle though.  Maybe next year sometime.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

16 minutes ago, jtooker said:

I agree.  My view on some of the castle lines in the 2000s/2010s have changed a bit, but some were not as great as others.

I do not believe a castle line is coming soon, so I've been buying up more of the current castle sets than I would otherwise (that and the fact LEGO hasn't had any castle sets for years before this!).  I still haven't picked up a second Lion's castle though.  Maybe next year sometime.

So basically, LEGO pushed us to buy a lot of castleish related stuff which is not castle itself, because they don't make it anymore.
Even the Lord of the Rings would work a lot this way for me, but a single $500 set? Pfff...

[woodford86]

I consider my dark age to have ended a year ago, but I was watching Lego as an adult since probably 2013 - there was just never any castle stuff so I never dove back in. Fast forward to today and I've got...shoot...10 of each 3/1 castle and blacksmith? and 3 lions castles. Pent up demand is huge. Just wish there was a cheaper way to collect those older medieval CMF's, I get a little jelly when I see guys with 40+ tournament knights in a build.

I fully plan to get a couple more lion castles over time but don't see why I'd want more than five total. So if TLG doesn't release more castle sets in the future...well, then I guess I stop buying new Lego again.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

46 minutes ago, woodford86 said:

I get a little jelly when I see guys with 40+ tournament knights in a build.

Are you saying that this

isn't good? :D

[SirBlake]

I’m in almost exactly the same boat, with the one notable exception being that I loved everything about Kingdoms. It may have been plain when compared to Fantasy Era, but Fantasy Era also had a lot of oddball things to it that I didn’t love. So kind of flip-flopped to your perspective, I only got 2 FE sets (MMV and the drawbridge set with the gold knight). If I had a time machine, I’d pick up the Troll Warship too. 
 

I can’t explain the drought. Likely a mix of licensed properties that step on Castle’s toes (Harry Potter) and some arcane research that tells TLG that kids aren’t interested in non-licensed castle. I don’t know what data they have to support that, but my guess is that 2013 castle underperformed and they blame a shift in the market instead of the shortcomings of that theme. 

[MAB]

It is interesting isn't it, all those years without castle and yet the historic forum remained quite lively. Castle was gone from shelves but never really went away. Star Wars sets have provided some excellent natural and greys parts packs and come with strange characters that you can hold for a year or two, then sell for more than the set cost.

If a new LEGO Castle theme came onto the shelves today, I'd probably leave most of them on the shelves. I'd buy the torsos, helmets, weapons and shields from online PAB or maybe BL depending on the relative prices. But I think I'd leave the sets on the shelves. I doubt they would provide much I hadn't already got. But I would keep buying Star Wars sets with their valuable minifigures to be sold off and keeping the free parts that come with them.

1 hour ago, woodford86 said:

Just wish there was a cheaper way to collect those older medieval CMF's, I get a little jelly when I see guys with 40+ tournament knights in a build.

It's funny you call those "older", the Tournament Knight was 2 years ago! Although it is incredible how quickly he increased in value, presumably due to people collecting armies of him even though he is really a one off in the sense that other knights would have their colours not his. Similar rises were seen in the S2 Spartan and to a lesser extent the S3 Elf back in the 'olden days' of CMF and also rises to the S6 Roman Soldier after some time. I remember buying up Romans on ebay for £3 and sometimes £4 thinking it was a lot for a generic figure. But just last week sold the legs, torso, helmet and shield of a used one for about £20. The Spartan and Elf actually decreased in value for a number of years, I guess with people stopping army building them as they were so expensive. Whereas these newer knights could be bought reasonably cheaply not so long ago and once you start a faction you keep going but newer people don't get into building that faction.

53 minutes ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

Are you saying that this

isn't good? :D

I guess it depends what you are into. If they are on their way to a large castle then combined with that they would look epic. Whereas if they are just on an isolated baseplate, then for me they are a bit boring.

At one stage I amassed over 100 of the S6 Roman soldier. But with all my builds I would use maybe 20 at most at any time. More than that and the army becomes the focal point rather than the actual built scene. So I got rid of most of them. I did the same with S3 Elves, Gorillas and Tribal Warriors, S4 Musketeers, Hazmats and Vikings, S5 Guards, Dwarves and Lizard Men, S6 Aliens, Bandits and Surgeons and many others in later series. Now I tend to stick to 16 for a faction or part of an army. Once I have that many, I am unlikely to use any more of them. I might have multiple similar groups in an army, but too many of the same and they will just sit unbuilt in a box. Luckily most of the ones I collected in high numbers where wanted by other people in high numbers and so made a nice investment when never used.

Edited October 14, 2022 by MAB

[icm]

I feel somewhat the same way about Space. I was pretty "meh" about Galaxy Squad and didn't buy any of the sets when they were on shelves, but since then I've been buying most every set that reminds me of Space (except Nexo Knights). Granted, there's been quite a bit more Space-like content than Castle-like content, and I've never been one to complain about the lack of an ongoing Space theme. ... I did end up buying a couple sets from Galaxy Squad on eBay, a couple years late ... they're ok, but not great.

[woodford86]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

If a new LEGO Castle theme came onto the shelves today, I'd probably leave most of them on the shelves. I'd buy the torsos, helmets, weapons and shields from online PAB or maybe BL depending on the relative prices. But I think I'd leave the sets on the shelves. I doubt they would provide much I hadn't already got.

I think thats one of the saving graces to Castle. While minifigs and accessories are in constant need of refreshes/new releases, the actual builds just use a lot of generic gray/brown/green pieces. If I could choose I'd take a dedicated castle CMF series every year or two over a full blown theme revival. But I do like getting flagship sets like 10305 because lego designers come up with some pretty great building techniques. That said, I'll continue to buy plenty of castle sets just to support the theme if nothing else.

1 hour ago, MAB said:

Whereas if they are just on an isolated baseplate, then for me they are a bit boring.

I gotta agree here, I never understood the appeal of amassing 100+ semi-identical minifigs. I find if there's more than about 10 clones in close proximity it just looks copy-pasted. I try to avoid big armies in my builds and stick to smaller skirmishes, like 5-10 soldiers chasing down some bandits or something. My thinking is everything Lego is scaled down from real life, so the armies should be too.

1 hour ago, icm said:

I feel somewhat the same way about Space.

This is the one wildcard for me, I'm all in on castle but every once in a while I get the urge to get into space moc's. But that would mean a whole new collection as the only space stuff I have is galaxy explorer. Definitely looking forward to the Blacktron GWP next year (although I would have preferred Ice Planet instead! Jus' sayin')

[Sir Jedrus]

same thing happened to me. I got into lego shortly before the last pirates theme was released (2015 iirc) and was able to find a few castle sets. I was thinking to buy more but the general opinion was that the theme wasn't that great (it wasnt...), that prolly wouldn't have deterred me as much BUT at the same time people were talking about an upcoming BIG BANG castle theme. No brainer - thats were I was gonna invest in. LMAO!!!  Nexo knights sure wasn't my thing and I regretted not having bought more castle sets of the 2014 wave when I had the chance. The return of the black falcons and lion knights more than makes up for it (I just wish they would make them available on pab online)

[MAB]

15 hours ago, woodford86 said:

I gotta agree here, I never understood the appeal of amassing 100+ semi-identical minifigs. I find if there's more than about 10 clones in close proximity it just looks copy-pasted. I try to avoid big armies in my builds and stick to smaller skirmishes, like 5-10 soldiers chasing down some bandits or something. My thinking is everything Lego is scaled down from real life, so the armies should be too.

 

It really does depend on the build. I only very occasionally now display at a convention and if it is a huge build it does need a lot of figures to look "lived in". Whereas the builds I can display at home are much smaller and cannot take so many figures. And these tend to be close detailed scenes rather than a larger epic-scale display. I find a reasonable rule of thumb is about one figure per 200 or 250 parts. Of course it will be different if you use a load of small 1x1 or BURPs at the other extreme and similarly flat landscapes will be different to vertical buildings. Maybe it should be based on standing area instead!

[Itaria No Shintaku]

19 hours ago, woodford86 said:

I gotta agree here, I never understood the appeal of amassing 100+ semi-identical minifigs. I find if there's more than about 10 clones in close proximity it just looks copy-pasted. I try to avoid big armies in my builds and stick to smaller skirmishes, like 5-10 soldiers chasing down some bandits or something. My thinking is everything Lego is scaled down from real life, so the armies should be too.

It strongly depends.

Armies ARE identical people, since they wear uniforms to avoid being mistaken from other people during a war.

If you have dwarves instead of human

You can use very different inspiration because they can easily recognize themselves.

[Dutch Thriceman]

On 10/15/2022 at 4:18 PM, Itaria No Shintaku said:

It strongly depends.

Armies ARE identical people, since they wear uniforms to avoid being mistaken from other people during a war.

As you said, it strongly depends, some armies might have been very similarly dressed/indentifiable individuals, but a lot of armies throughout history also didn't.

As far as I know if we are talking about middle ages/medieval armies then an Army of 'X' amount of identical minifigs does not look realistic at all.

At the same time somebody who isn't a history buff won't care for accuracies and bringing something to an event like a huge battle scene most people won't really know what is 'right' or 'wrong' from a historic standpoint, besides if it is fantasy then it doesn't really matter as anything goes.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

2 hours ago, Dutch Thriceman said:

As you said, it strongly depends, some armies might have been very similarly dressed/indentifiable individuals, but a lot of armies throughout history also didn't.

As far as I know if we are talking about middle ages/medieval armies then an Army of 'X' amount of identical minifigs does not look realistic at all.

At the same time somebody who isn't a history buff won't care for accuracies and bringing something to an event like a huge battle scene most people won't really know what is 'right' or 'wrong' from a historic standpoint, besides if it is fantasy then it doesn't really matter as anything goes.

I have personally the belief that 90% of the people criticizing army building isn't at all caring for the realism or the actual impact. 
I simply feel there's much jealousy behind their words. Of course, there are also people genuinely not impressed or interested, but their thoughts are not seconded by the awe of people and mostly kids standing hours looking at the battle scenarios I usually make.

[SirBlake]

I don't feel the need to collect large armies. +/-30 of any faction is about the sweet spot for me. But I get it, and large armies a fun to see. For my sanity, space and wallet, I'm glad I'm not compelled to build them, lol.

[CobaltMoon98]

On 10/14/2022 at 12:21 PM, woodford86 said:

I gotta agree here, I never understood the appeal of amassing 100+ semi-identical minifigs. I find if there's more than about 10 clones in close proximity it just looks copy-pasted. I try to avoid big armies in my builds and stick to smaller skirmishes, like 5-10 soldiers chasing down some bandits or something. My thinking is everything Lego is scaled down from real life, so the armies should be too.

Glad to see someone else who thinks this too. I tend to scratch my head when seeing armies of identical minifigs. Always seems lacking in creativity and a bit wasteful, but hey not my money to waste I guess. However it is annoying when all of the good PAB pieces get wiped out within hours of restocking due to all these army builders. Still don't have a new Black Falcon, but I see people on here and Reddit posting like 50 of them just standing in a grid and I have to wonder what they're getting out of it.

[MAB]

6 hours ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

I have personally the belief that 90% of the people criticizing army building isn't at all caring for the realism or the actual impact. 
I simply feel there's much jealousy behind their words. Of course, there are also people genuinely not impressed or interested, but their thoughts are not seconded by the awe of people and mostly kids standing hours looking at the battle scenarios I usually make.

If there is a lot of brick built landscape, and castles or other historic style buildings around I'd agree. That type of thing does look epic at a show and you sometimes need a lot of minifigures to flesh out the scene to make it look real. A 1m x 2m display of brick built terrain with only 10 figures is going to look very bare but with 100 will look more alive. Whereas if it is just baseplates with figures lined up on them, without any actual bricks/building, then to me they look more like figures arranged for sale on a simple display stand than a convention display.

I don't think it is jealousy, but more wanting to see creativity in LEGO builds and not just shows of how many figures someone has bought.

 

[Ravelino]

I see some folks beat me to the punch on the army building comment but here is my 2 cts: Sure, I'd like to build a great battle scene one day with a lot of minifigs (200+) on it, but my criteria will be that the build must look almost equally impressive without the minifigs on them as well.

Back on topic:

I think the greatest take away here is that, although the tables are turning a bit the last couple of years, TLG still doesn't feel the need to cater to the historical LEGO community. This includes ninja, pirates, adventurers and western, as well as the well known licensed themes and unreleased themes like the post medieval time before the great wars and actual sets on ancient Greece, Rome, Northeast Africa and Asia.

Don't know why, since among people with a bit of money to spend on LEGO (AFOLS and their kids) this niche along with Sci-Fi is becoming a lot larger than it used to be.

One argument could be the fact that they want conflict (between good and evil) in their sets but refrain from anything related to war/realism.

Spoiler

But I wouldn't be the first to point out contradicting themes like LOTR, Ninjago, Superheroes and/or Star Wars. Fictional as they may be, it incites the love for battle in kids as much as a WW2 set would and sometimes lean heavily on the real life implementations of conflict. I mean, Star Wars, Marvel, DC and LOTR are the biggest examples of extracting real life politics and submerging them in a fictional universe, and it has contributed in them being the biggest franchises the world has ever seen. So much so that Disney, who was the progenitor of not wanting IRL mixing with their fictional universe has bought up two of the aforementioned franchises!

And sure you can't keep everybody happy but if you nibble a bit of budget out of each theme you have a chunk of money gathered to fund a team specifically for these themes and just let them alternate year after year. I know they have quite a couple of designers in house that would love to fill the spots for such a team and would do it justice.

Also, I don't see people amass collecting 3 or 4 of the same modular building, whereas it's not uncommon to find at least two of the big castles among the castle builders out there, especially with online PAB/B&P being in the state it is now.

At the same time I see people who are more city focused also buying a copy of the Medieval Blacksmith Shop, if not the big castle that was released now. 

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Ravelino

[woodford86]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

I don't think it is jealousy, but more wanting to see creativity in LEGO builds and not just shows of how many figures someone has bought.

This pretty much sums it up for me. I would rather see a large display with lots of buildings/landscape features, and then a whole pile of little scenes with +/- 10 minis. These guys are fighting a dragon, that patrol is rounding up some bandits, a band of forestmen are about to ambush the tax collector over there, is that a DnD party of adventurers over there? And on and on. That's just so much more visually interesting than filling every spare stud with another $3 purchase.

That said, I have seen some army displays that were done very well (attacking a massive castle), but its difficult to pull off…I think it relies on using the landscape and smaller stories to break up the monotony.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

I see that everyone has their point.

My point, supported by the fact that even in this thread it was said "I don't like army builders because they get the minifigures I would like to have"  or "I don't like 40 tournament knights because I couldn't get them" ( both opinions are literally jealousy ) is that minifigures are way more expensive than parts. And animals too. And this is why most people do not have tons of them. Not because they don't want, but because they cannot afford them and they just play pretend they don't like armies.

So if you do a giant landscape with 3 or 4 minifigures in it, it's as wrong as a baseplate with no landscape but just lined minifigures. In media stat virtus. The most impressive things, and I do LEGO fairs since 12 years so I guess I know it a little, are usually large scenarios with lots of minifigures in it. Not just lined up, but fighting, or doing something (not all minifigures are battling. A town is very nice, but it's quite nothing if you don't put animals and minifigures in it). 

And BDPs (brutal displays of pieces) are just as much as cocky as an army of minifigures. The very same way I read people not liking "too many minifigures" I'd expect them to also criticize giant dioramas, or a very very tall build. I'd call hypocritical complaining for an heavy number of minifigures but at the same time clapping hands for an heavy number of other-LEGO-parts. Minifigures (and also animals) are just LEGO parts. Just more expensive, because, you guess, they're most wanted. Because people like them.

[Yoggington]

3 hours ago, SirBlake said:

I don't feel the need to collect large armies. +/-30 of any faction is about the sweet spot for me. But I get it, and large armies a fun to see. For my sanity, space and wallet, I'm glad I'm not compelled to build them, lol.

Even this seems a bit subjective. 30 to me feels like overkill +/-10 of any given faction is more than enough for my needs.

[CobaltMoon98]

1 hour ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

My point, supported by the fact that even in this thread it was said "I don't like army builders because they get the minifigures I would like to have"  or "I don't like 40 tournament knights because I couldn't get them" ( both opinions are literally jealousy ) is that minifigures are way more expensive than parts. And animals too. And this is why most people do not have tons of them. Not because they don't want, but because they cannot afford them and they just play pretend they don't like armies.

No pretending here. I simply don't like the majority of army posts because they're typically unimaginative but also because they signify a Smaug level of hoarding that directly impacts those with less resources. The "jealousy" as you put it (I'd personally say it's more spite and disdain) is well deserved because army builders not only take more than their fair share of stock but also inflate after market prices for everyone else. I recently had to pay $20 per tournament knight, yet there are hundreds sitting on some grey baseplate out there doing nothing but satisfying an army builder's greed. People are welcome to populate their builds as they see fit, but I feel like saying "oh you're just jealous" is super tone deaf and disrespectful to the many people who can't afford to throw hundreds or thousands of dollars at their plastic toy hobby.

[SirBlake]

1 hour ago, Yoggington said:

Even this seems a bit subjective. 30 to me feels like overkill +/-10 of any given faction is more than enough for my needs.

Well of course it’s subjective, lol. I was just stating my own preferences. 

1 hour ago, CobaltMoon98 said:

No pretending here. I simply don't like the majority of army posts because they're typically unimaginative but also because they signify a Smaug level of hoarding that directly impacts those with less resources. The "jealousy" as you put it (I'd personally say it's more spite and disdain) is well deserved because army builders not only take more than their fair share of stock but also inflate after market prices for everyone else. I recently had to pay $20 per tournament knight, yet there are hundreds sitting on some grey baseplate out there doing nothing but satisfying an army builder's greed. People are welcome to populate their builds as they see fit, but I feel like saying "oh you're just jealous" is super tone deaf and disrespectful to the many people who can't afford to throw hundreds or thousands of dollars at their plastic toy hobby.

I think it is equally tone deaf and disrespectful to define army building by describing it as “greed”. The market is what the market is, and if you have a problem with it, that problem is rooted in the basics of commerce. There’s no such thing as a “fair share” in this instance. It’s pay to play. 

[CobaltMoon98]

27 minutes ago, SirBlake said:

I think it is equally tone deaf and disrespectful to define army building by describing it as “greed”. The market is what the market is, and if you have a problem with it, that problem is rooted in the basics of commerce. There’s no such thing as a “fair share” in this instance. It’s pay to play. 

True, we are unfortunately stuck in a capitalist system that rewards those who accumulate wealth, but that doesn't mean it isn't valid to critique those who buy so much that it directly impacts the availability and prices of the product for the rest.

You have to admit that the returns on every new minifig added to an army is diminishing and therefore 1 minifig has much more value to someone who has none than someone who has 99 already. Just because you CAN buy that 100th minifig doesn't mean that there aren't negative impacts on others because of that decision.

Simply put, it IS greedy to actively hoard that much of the supply for yourself when others don't have any or if that means the price gets inflated by 500%. If every army builder put just 10% of their armies back up for sale at retail price, it would barely make a difference to them but would allow hundreds of other people to get the minfigs that are being hoarded. Just seems selfish and antithetical to the ideals of Lego in general, but you're free to play the market how you see fit. 

Anyways, I realize this little rant on the ethical qualms of Lego hoarding is pretty off topic so I'll leave it at that.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

1 hour ago, CobaltMoon98 said:

No pretending here. I simply don't like the majority of army posts because they're typically unimaginative but also because they signify a Smaug level of hoarding that directly impacts those with less resources. The "jealousy" as you put it (I'd personally say it's more spite and disdain) is well deserved because army builders not only take more than their fair share of stock but also inflate after market prices for everyone else. I recently had to pay $20 per tournament knight, yet there are hundreds sitting on some grey baseplate out there doing nothing but satisfying an army builder's greed. People are welcome to populate their builds as they see fit, but I feel like saying "oh you're just jealous" is super tone deaf and disrespectful to the many people who can't afford to throw hundreds or thousands of dollars at their plastic toy hobby.

Sir, I had to read your message at least three times befor replying, and believe me, the first answer I would have given you... you don't really want to read that.

Then, since I'm here since ages, and you're pretty new around, I think I must be less cocky and arrogant, and more welcoming.

I don't know you, don't know who you are, why you're so angry and negative, but I can guess the reason: money.

Well, first of all I would like you to understand that there is no such thing as a fair share of stock . I mean, who would set this share? You? Based on what? 
I repeat, I don't know who you are, but your exaggerate selfconfidence/conceit (because it's both) it's super fascinating to me.
I would never in my life feel so full of myself to believe and confirm that army builders are merely greedy people, that they should not buy minifigures because YOU should.

Now I will give you some hints, and use real numbers, to let you understand how strongly wrong you are.

I will be very factual. 

Point A: There is not only money. 

There is a triangle and its vertices are : TIME - MONEY - KNOWLEDGE
1 - If you are plenty of time, even with few money and scarce knowledge, browsing eBay you can stumble upon a large lot for a low price in which you will find what you need.
2 - If you are plenty of money, even if you have no time and scarce knowledge, you go straight on bricklink and buy whatever you want.
This, in fact, is what you think army builders do. This is what I am calling you shortsighted. But, no problem, I'm here to help.

Point B: I'm poor but I am an army builder

To disprove the fact that you think that army builders are just rich people with money to spend on bricklink I will show you briefly that's totally wrong.
My job earnings have never surpassed $1500 per month. Do you know how many minifigures I own?
Over 15k. Corrrect. In my home, I have more than 15.000 minifigures.
But that's not the minifigures there are in my home. That's the minifigure I have. Plus there are my girlfriend's. Who earns less than me and together we easily surpass the 25k minifigures.

So, you will think, how the heck did I do that? You'll firstly think that I'm lieing or that I steal money. But that's not it. (if you want me to produce evidence, I'll serve)

The triangle has THREE vertices.
KNOWLEDGE

3 - If you know where to buy minifigures, even with scarce time and few money, you can get very good resuts!

I have 800 Black Falcon. The new ones. The ones you find in the 3in1 castle, the blacksmith and the new castle. Oh, I have two 10305 also. And I paid the sum of them as much as a normal people pays one. How did I? Well, I'm here since 14 years. Perhaps after 14 years you will get to have your hooks. I have mine. And, no, I don't share them. 

Point C: Passion isn't equal in everybody

Believe me, I'm here in LEGO since 14 years. I have bought several things, then they got out of stock and I decided to exchange for other stuff. This way, I was able to get a lot of stuff. I exchanged or sold minifigures that reached 50€ for 10x minifigures that costed 5€. 
I have all the collectible minifigures out there BUT Mr. Gold. 
I have all the Pirates sets that were ever produced.
I have all the Castle sets produced until Fright Knights, BUT 6079, I don't have that one.
I have all the LOTR sets. Many in multiple copies.
Do you like, for example fantasy era minifigures? Me too. I have over 1k of them.

How did I do that? Spending money of course. Through the years. Through 14 years. 
If you spend time and money after a passion, you reach my position.
If you don't that's fine either, but you cannot complain if other people do.
Passion isn't equal in everybody. Some have more, some have less. This is a fact, the sooner you accept this, the better you will live.
Oh and I am not bragging. There are many people I know that have also the same sets I have, BUT TWO COPIES ONE OF WHICH SEALED.
My collection is very poor compared to theirs, in fact.

You don't like to spend as much money as I do (or they do) on LEGO? Fine. 
Because, and that's the entire point you missed nobody should tell other people how to spend their money (while they use it legally of course).
This includes you. 

So you called that super tone or disrespectful because you assumed that I was super rich. Actually, if you read again your words, you may find that you were disrespectful imposing your view and letting us know that you strongly enforce the concept that people should spend the money they earned with their sweat according to your criteria.

So, if at the end of the day I decide to have an old car, I don't have a 4k TV in my living room, I write you from a broken computer, my smartphone is not the last one and I don't change it until it doesn't work anymore, BUT I like to have $150 of my monthly earnings in minifigures, you should find it fine as much fine I find you not spending that sums in LEGO and spending for whatever you want to.

That's respecting each other. Accepting that we are different and not spending our life feeling envy because people spend their money in a different way than ours.

I hope you unerstand now.

Ps: No, I don't usually just put my minifigures on gray baseplates, I do at least 5 exhibitions per year. It's a lot of sweat and work to move them, but I do it for entertaining the children. Still, even if someone just wants to burn them and dance around the fire, that's their stuff and when it's their stuff, they do whatever they want with that.