Xizor?s View 63 @ TF.n

Well I never understood that title either but it makes as much sense as all the rumors that float around the web everyday regarding the Star Wars toy line. Since day one of Xizor?s View I have preached knowledge. To know about your hobby, whether it be toys, stamps, beanies, or what have you, is to make informed comments. Too many times, people -- some web people are notorious for this -- make snap or rash comments without fully knowing what is going on. Take the recent Target fiasco; there were many differing pieces of information floating about from many different sources. My sources came from inside a Target and from Target Guest Relations (though I consider the latter an oxymoron). Everyone else had comments from Target toy dept. employees, and managers, to someone who asked a ?flunky? employee about the situation. Bottom line is until some big cheese from Target steps up with truthful information, it can all be taken with a grain of salt.(** A note on this subject: If you missed the news item of May 12th over at Rebelscum it indicated that Hasbro is looking into different avenues to get these in the hands of collectors. Check out the news article for the full report.**) These same people also would make you believe that they have exclusive information about things. Well the truth be told, most of us get our information from the same places. It just depends on whether or not you are sitting online the moment it comes across. Though there are times when you pick up a piece of ?hot information?, that is when I say Share The Knowledge.

What is ?Share the Knowledge? Well it is what it says. You should not go around with information that only you have. What good does that do for anyone else? There are too many times when webmasters and reporters from sites around the web feel it is their right to withhold information and not share it with anyone else. Well you know what, that doesn?t do the collectors any good. Not everyone visits every site every day of the week. You can?t. But by Sharing the Knowledge webmasters and collectors alike can help people to make informed decisions and to know what is going on in our hobby.

So why the fuss over knowledge? To put it simply, the more you know, the smarter you are. Star Wars toys are not rocket science (unless you count a missile firing Boba Fett), they are a fun hobby. But as with any hobby, you must know the basics. Going in blind will leave you lost and wandering through the murk of figures resting on store shelves. I will at this point say that we are not helped as much as we once were by Hasbro. When the POTF2 line was in its infancy, Hasbro made an effort to keep their web site updated with what was new and what was coming. They listed figures in ?waves? which for what it?s worth was a good idea. It let you know which figures to look for at what times. You could get excited about what was coming up in the next month or the next quarter. Now the site has become too cumbersome and not really an integral part of our knowledge process. Bottom line, I just don?t think they care about it.

Since you have the basics you need to further your knowledge about collecting. You should know which pieces are ?rare? or ?harder to find?, and while you know I hate using those words, there are figures that fall into those categories. You also need to know the terms used in the collecting world. What is MOC, or MOMC? What is C-9 or C-3PO? You can make a huge mistake in your collection by not knowing what you are looking at. What about storage of you collection? Do you know how to do it properly? Are you hurting you collection as we speak? And what about showing it off? How do you display your collection? Are there special products out there to help you display? What elements can damage my collection? Sun? Humidity? Cold? The question are mounting, do you know the answers?

In the next few Views I will take a look at some of these questions for you. I don?t proclaim to have gospel answers, but over a 23 year collecting career I have amassed a bit of knowledge that I can pass along to you. You may find that you have a different way of doing something. Perhaps a certain product has worked well for you. Maybe you have learned a trick in your collecting time. To be involved in a hobby is to have fun and learn some new things. There is no right way to do things. Everybody brings a different set of ?Views? to the table. Some preach only their way, but it is better to be open to new thoughts and ideas, rather than let your collection sit and collect dust. Expanding your universe to include as many figures stored and displayed in the best way for you, is the only way to have a good time with the ?Hobby?. By the way, if you have a collecting group in your area, send me the information HERE.

When all is said and done, mind what you have learned and pass it along. For one day gone will I be and the last of the Collectors you will be. Sorry couldn?t resist that. I leave you with this, this week, if you take nothing away from today other than the knowledge of today, you still have learned something.

Share the Knowledge and Collect to Collect!

Peace!

Xizor