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If I went full bore into The Transformers I would be totally burnt out in about a year or two. The same with comics, video games, movies, TV shows, anime, pro-wrestling, and ever other hobby I'm into. So yeah I take breaks from them and come back with more energy and passion and if not then it's safe to say that I'm not interested in it (like for example country music I was huge fan now I can't stand any of it and have zero interest in that genre).

My advice: walk away for a year or two. Clear you head, and if after say two years you don't find anything in the franchise to your liking then you've know that you've outgrown it. Then again you might find the Transformers more exciting and it's like being a kid all over again. In 2005 I was forced to do this by events and I feel it was a blessing in disguise for me, it allowed me time away to clear my head and I could finally see if I wanted to be a fan of The Transformers going forward. In 2007 when things settled down and I could re-enter the Transformers and I realized that I was going to continue but it would be on the parts of the franchise that interested me and not everything that Hasbro, Takara, IDW, Paramount, Cartoon Network, The Hub, and other fans.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I guess you can consider this a 6-month update or review of the OP. Since posting my troubles regarding the franchise as a whole, I have made some changes, mostly suggested by you. I cleaned up the cluttered toy collection, and focused not even on certain lines, just on certain characters. Amazing how much neater my collection is, after "jettisoning some dead weight" (to paraphrase Astrotrain) from my collection. Just looking at much more organized shelves is making me feel better. But the process is not complete, I still have more figures that will need new homes.

Also, I have taken a seriously realistic look at the evolution of the franchise, and learned and accepted the fact that, for better or worse, it will never be like it was when I was a kid. Not the toys, the TV series, or most important to me, the comics. Some things are better, somethings are definitely worse. So with that in mind, I have decided to move on and give some of the new things coming out a better, more serious chance, as I don't want to lose my desire to revel in the awesomeness that is Transformers.

The 1st thing I did was give the Combiner Wars line a shot. I picked up all the Aerialbots, except Alpha Bravo. I am in the process of collecting the Stunticons. Once I have all of them, I will open them all at once. Further down the line I might pick up the Combaticons, they look promising. The Protectobots? Not so much. We'll see. The 2nd thing I am preparing to do is give the comic series More Than Meets the Eye a shot, considering it features Rodimus as a main character (correct?) and you can never have enough of that. It's been out for about 3 years now, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Volume 1 will be ordered in a couple of days. And despite all the negatives about the series so far, I'm looking forward to the next film in Bayverse.

So if those things go well, then this little exercise in self-examination as a fan of the franchise will have been productive, and I will feel better for having done it. If not? Then I think it will prove to me that Transformers really isn't what it used to be nor is it what I am looking for to have as a hobby, and that really will be the end of the line.

I like what you are doing. You are doing things to keep the excitement there. If that doesn't work, then you are prepared to focus less on the franchise. It is really all about being honest with yourself and your feelings about how the Transformers universe affects you. At the end of the day, if someone has to put too much effort into liking something, then maybe that person should focus on other interests.

I have really gotten off the horse as far as Transformers are concerned. Every couple months I see something that is fairly interesting, but I just don't have that childlike feeling anymore when I get something awesome. Interests change for people all the time. I don't feel bad about it though. It is what it is.

Prime Riblet wrote:I just don't have that childlike feeling anymore when I get something awesome.

I had to highlight this, because it sums up exactly how I feel. I was thinking about it just today. I have all the CW Aerialbots and the Stunticons, and they're all still in their boxes on the shelf. I thought I'd be ecstatic about opening them and putting the gestalts together, but for some reason I'm not. Maybe it will come to me if and when I actually do it? But for some reason I'm just not as enthusiastic about opening new figures as I used to be.

It's a strange feeling to not feel that way anymore after spending literally 3 decades in love with Transformers. I think that is why I thought more of it a couple years ago when I completely left the hobby. When I came back to it a few months ago, I had that childlike feeling for a very brief period with a couple figures, but it went away and has not returned at all. I think I will still collect certain figures like MPs and such, but I just think I don't have the spark anymore.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Prime Riblet wrote:I just don't have that childlike feeling anymore when I get something awesome.

I had to highlight this, because it sums up exactly how I feel. I was thinking about it just today. I have all the CW Aerialbots and the Stunticons, and they're all still in their boxes on the shelf. I thought I'd be ecstatic about opening them and putting the gestalts together, but for some reason I'm not. Maybe it will come to me if and when I actually do it? But for some reason I'm just not as enthusiastic about opening new figures as I used to be.

But did you get that feeling with Devestator?

Ironhidensh wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Prime Riblet wrote:I just don't have that childlike feeling anymore when I get something awesome.

I had to highlight this, because it sums up exactly how I feel. I was thinking about it just today. I have all the CW Aerialbots and the Stunticons, and they're all still in their boxes on the shelf. I thought I'd be ecstatic about opening them and putting the gestalts together, but for some reason I'm not. Maybe it will come to me if and when I actually do it? But for some reason I'm just not as enthusiastic about opening new figures as I used to be.

But did you get that feeling with Devestator?

Yes, Devastator was a lot of fun to put together. I was very giddy when I was doing it. Even now when I look at him standing in his spot it makes me smile. It's very well-made figure, IMO. So that gives me hope for the other CW figures, which I have yet to open still. I really like what I've seen of Bruticus so far, though Defensor seems like lackluster. but if I get Bruticus, I will get Defensor as well. I'm probably gonna wait to open the Aerialbots and Stunticons until then also.

The CW line is 1 of the better lines to come along in a while, I'm glad I gave it a shot.

At this point I only have Takara's Superion (plus Alpha Strike and Offroad) and I have them all sitting beside my lounge chair and I often find myself grabbing them, combining them, transforming them, just playing with them. They're really good figures and well worth picking up.

Just wanted to toss my two cents in if you'll allow.

After reading through all of the posts, it's great to know that others have felt this way too. You get so in to collecting you kind of get lost in it, and then one day you have all of this "stuff". At least that's how I've felt, and am feeling right now.

At one point I tried focusing on two bots, Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime and Optimus Prime over the years. In between focusing on them, Masterpiece, the G1 re-issues, Alternators, and Classics/Generations came out. I amassed a bunch of figures to compliment my G1 iterations. And then it slowed, and then stopped for the most part. I've always been in to the variations of comics. I've followed IDW from the start, re-bought all of U.S. G1 (digitally), and still have all of the DW stuff (as that really reactivated my spark).

There are definitely figures that I get giddy over, CW Devastator being the most recent, Apollyon before him. But, 9 times out of 10 I'll walk by the Transformers section of a store, glance, and keep moving. This has pretty much been happening since the onset of the Bayverse movies (although, Optimus would still get my attention).

I feel like I'm now at the point where I'd like to focus on a specific style of figure. I've got plenty to chose from, but a bunch deserve new homes instead of plastic bins. I've always said to myself and my wife that G1 Season 1 and TF:TM are the most important to me as far as characters go (grew up in a rural area, VHS of Season 1 and TF:TM seemed to be the easiest to find) so I want the best version of those characters in a relative size to each other that I can find. Maybe the G1 of figures I liked the best (ones I may not already have) and then the best newer version of those characters.

So to sum up, and I'm sorry I was wordy and all over the place, I'm glad you're still around Rodimus Prime.

itscramtastic wrote:I'm sorry I was wordy and all over the place, I'm glad you're still around Rodimus Prime.

Yeah, me too. Transformers has always brought me joy, whether it was the comics, cartoons or toys, even if the newer stuff is kind of lackluster. Like I said, Combiner Wars is definitely a positive for me, and I'm about to start reading MTMTE. Hopefully it's as good as it is being touted. I was disappointed with ReGeneration One a couple of years ago.

As for being too wordy, no such thing. This is a message board and it's what you're supposed to do. Just look at some of the other posts in this thread alone.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Like I said, Combiner Wars is definitely a positive for me, and I'm about to start reading MTMTE. Hopefully it's as good as it is being touted. I was disappointed with ReGeneration One a couple of years ago.

Wait... Roddy.... you never read MTMTE? I'm going to need to have a 'talk' with you

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Like I said, Combiner Wars is definitely a positive for me, and I'm about to start reading MTMTE. Hopefully it's as good as it is being touted. I was disappointed with ReGeneration One a couple of years ago.

Wait... Roddy.... you never read MTMTE? I'm going to need to have a 'talk' with you

No, the art style was too off-putting. I never liked that style, that's why I couldn't read the original Marvel UK comics either. The US version always looked better. But to me the story was always more important, and I've been hearing and reading about how great the MTMTE story is, especially with Rodimus being a main character.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:Wait... Roddy.... you never read MTMTE? I'm going to need to have a 'talk' with you

No, the art style was too off-putting. I never liked that style, that's why I couldn't read the original Marvel UK comics either. The US version always looked better. But to me the story was always more important, and I've been hearing and reading about how great the MTMTE story is, especially with Rodimus being a main character.

Yeah,I kind of figured with Rodimus bei g big in the story and all, you'd be all over that
Lately he's been taking a back seat to other characters, but none the less, The Ego is still there

I know that the thread is about trimming collections, and valuing what you have but I have to say, CW Defensor pretty much rocks

Cross-post!

I've started having even more doubts myself: collecting-transformers-why-wherefore-and-wtf-p1746107.php#p1746107

I've pretty much been out of collecting since botcon 2012. As much as I loved collecting, 25 years had just run its course. The prices were going up , the quality and creativity were going down. I honestly think my collection had hit the point where I felt it was complete, I had molds I loved, finished the beast wars and had the titan figures I wanted.

All in it just ran its course. I still lurk on the forums and enjoy looking at the new stuff but my "gotta catch em all" mentality is all but gone. I do miss the hunt occasionally though lol


edit: I just realized this is my first post in 2 years

Sorry to revive this ancient, necrosis-riddled thread, but I felt the need to chime in.

I feel like I'm about ready to give up on Transformers, or at least official ones. I've been a fan since I was 5 years old- my first Transformer was RID Side Burn, and as time has gone on I've seen the quality of the brand suffer heavily. I've never cared much for anything beyond the toys, and seeing those nosedive in quality whilst the usual suspects cheer on how it's "a great time to be a Transformers fan!" (presumably referring to the Tumblr-bait comics with their pointy noses and sad gay robot yaoi fangirl pandering) has more or less crushed my spirit.

Two things really started to gnaw away at my love for the brand. The first was my discovery of high-end Japanese figures (Figmas, Revoltechs etc). Up until about 2012, I'd always considered Transformers to be high-quality action figures. When I bought my first Figma at an anime convention, I was completely blown away. Torso articulation? Multiple hands and faceplates? Articulated stands? All of a sudden, I came to the realization that Transformers were, in comparison, cheap and pretty mediocre. Had this come around the "golden age" of Transformers (2005-2010) it would have been bad enough, but in 2012, when the quality first started to fall? It really shook my faith in the brand. My discovery of third party Transformers shortly after only helped to confirm my suspicion that I was buying the wrong things.

The second thing, ironically enough, was Combiner Wars.

When I first saw them in the local stores I was ecstatic. Finally! Good Transformers toys again! My last TF purchase had been Beast Hunters Lazerback, who had literally fallen apart because of how bad his plastic was. So I bought the entirety of Wave 1 save for Optimus Prime (who didn't look very good). I was actually quite impressed- they were simple but fun, well poseable and best of all, they were affordable combiners! Soon I had 4/5ths of Superion and Drag Strip, and I was eagerly awaiting wave 2 coming out.

And then it didn't. I was left with a one armed combiner and a very lonely Stunticon. I checked eBay, and the prices for Wave 2 were utterly insane. So I quickly gave up on the idea of completing Superion or getting Menasor at all. I was extremely pissed off- the whole gimmick was completely ruined by Hasbro's unbearably sh*te distribution.

Spurned by Hasbro, I turned to Takara. I picked up Unite Warriors Defensor off TFS Express for £115. I was ecstatic when he arrived- the box was incredible, the paintwork was great, and the exclusive member (Groove) was awesome. So I combined him, and he was glorious. Finally! A complete combiner! So foolishly, I rearranged him so Blades was a leg...

...And the son of a b*tch broke.

His 5mm handfootgun port split apart when I put any weight on him. The plastic was too thin and too crap to support the combiner's weight. An £115 combiner was left without a limb thanks to me doing what you were supposed to do with him- combine him. On top of that, my Alpha Bravo suffered the same fate when I went to recombine him to replace Blades.

I've been burned by HasTak one too many times. Even their "collector's lines" are really just nicely-painted cheap garbage. And they're not even that cheap any more. The prices are ludicrous (£15 for a deluxe at retail!) whilst the quality gets worse and worse. Poor design choices. Crap plastic. Shoddy engineering. Overuse of redecoing. No paint. Hollow parts. I have limited space and I can't justify filling it with cheap crap. From now on I think I'm only going to buy actual collector-oriented figures. Sure I won't be able to buy as many figures, but at least they won't crumble when you try and repose them.

I may still buy older "official" figures, but from now on the only modern "official" figures I'll even consider buying are Masterpieces. It's third party all the way from here on in, at least with classics scale.

I have a minimal interest in what Hasbro does - I find sales help - as over Pricing + poor quality = disappointment - where as with the lower pricing that becomes less of an issue.

It's a bit like buying a middling Videogame for $60.00 is very vexing but buying the same game a year later for $10.00 is a lot more tolerable.

So my solution is 1) Patience when it comes to retail toys - and 2) to address the poor quality issue in more recent times I just buy more 3rd party stuff.

I know this much I certainly am not going to be paying £19.99 for a standard deluxe at normal retail.. I may for a Takara one but certainly not for the more banal releases.

One look at eBay group lots for Transformers Prime will soon show you the folly of paying to much for reasons of the gloss of the new.

But no I don't have any special love for the current media either. The Comics have burned to many bridges for me to take an interest in comics ever again - I'm done with them now for good unless I trip over dirt cheap Trade paperbacks I'm not going to put myself out for comics any more - especially when contemporary comics so often retell old stories from the 80's & 90's over an over.

RID as a cartoon I'm just not connecting with it, Rescue Bots I do like but I've let it lapse a bit - but I will go back to that again.

I just consider 2015/2016 a bit of a lull really - so I've been doing other things instead, catch up on my reading or play some games instead.

I'm sure I'll get bored with that mode of behaviour and take an interest in toy photography again or I may even start making Youtube videos.

I may be to cynical for that though.

Cross-posting this article from Maz, from the boards link, with another thread on here too.
What do people make of it?

I've been finding some of the Cheap RID - I said would increase my interest in the brand now and as I said a few Months ago - the price/Quality calculation was what was knackering my enjoyment

So since I got some cheap Legions and One steps some weeks back and I've now finally started to find the cheap Warriors that is helping a bit renew my interest.

To be honest I've spent more time chasing Star Trek stuff lately than I have Transformers - that seemed a natural place to go with my less that enthused reaction to Star Wars and the death of the Expanded Universe that was leaving me feeling abandoned too.

In the weeks and months to come though I'll likely be throwing my money at chasing up Botcon toys and perhaps the odd K.O. I've also started collecting Marvel 3.75" figures again.

Dr Va'al wrote:Cross-posting this article from Maz, from the boards link, with another thread on here too.
What do people make of it?

I read this just the other day, and was pleasantly surprised to see how I have been feeling summed up in one handy article!

For me, the main hook of TF toys these past few years is the Masterpiece line-and as this article states it's become too much too fast! MP toys were awesome when it was 1 to 2 new molds maximum per year. It felt special everytime you bought one. Nowadays it feels very throw away. I'm still enjoying MP 28 and Ironhide, Ratchet and Shockwave are being thrown at me!! I KNOW I don't have to buy them-but I want to. I wanted to be excited at the reveal of Ironhide. I wanted to be excited at the reveal of Shockwave, but as it is...I'm just, I just want them to stop! I just recently got Ironhide after pondering it for a month or 2-sadly disapointed until I removed the screws on those damn hip flaps. But now I have a parts-forming MP! I can't even go near Shockwave. Too many voices crying for too much toon accuracy means he looks like an oversized Figma! Nothing looks good about him.

To tackle Rodimus' original post-I have found customising has really breathed life back into this for me, as I too feel much the way you did when you started this thread. My current project is adding folding panels to the overly simple MP Magnus, because he is just too...simple!! AS Burn stated very early in this thread, as you grow older your reasons for liking stuff changes. Customising has helped me pick up a real, genuine interest in the engineering of these toys. I was always interested mostly in how these toys Transformed, even when I was just 4 years old, but recently it's become the real hook for me. Customisng and scratch building small add on parts is becoming quite cathartic for many aspects of my life now, so TF is still contributing a 'safe haven' hobby for when all else makes you bang your head against a wall!

I'm also learning to tune out the parts of the franchise I just don't like. RiD is awful. it is. Toys and show. I am now ignoring any and all movie toys, as I feel ROTF leaders Optimus, Starscream and DOTM leader Bee and Ironhide have given anything I will ever need from that corner of the TF world. AoE promised big and blew it. No more movie verse for me!

CW and the upcoming Titan's return have really made me happy though. The MP line is starting to wain in it's soft change of direction since, well Wheeljack. BB is cool for waht they had to do but Magnus disapointed me right out the box-and that's bad considering the price you damn pay for it!

Haven't been disapointed in CW yet (ignoring the bad mold milks, of course ) and Titans looks to be updating many old G1 faves that I really want!

Now all hasbro needs to do is go back to the days of the UT, where NEW characters weren't afraid to be made, and we got some nice solid toys (TF: Cybertron still has a special place for me as far as toys go)
At the end of the day, I'd advocate having a strong sense of what you like, and why. Opinions are everyone's right, but I feel we all get dragged into, and down by, those opinions which don't match our own. As stated- I HATE R.i.D, and that's OK!

Several years ago I stopped collecting. I just didnt feel like it was a responsible way for me to act, so I stopped and honestly I regretted it. I missed out on really a great time for some good stuff. Stuff that I have since bought at much higher prices. I go through these stages of "adultness" when I dont feel justified in collecting and stop for a while. I do feel like there is less Transformers to get now, than there was ten years ago. But I've been playing catch up these last few years and so haven't notice the down turn (because there are still things to buy) Overall I'm not happy that it's harder to get what I'm after but I guess it makes it more rewarding when I do find what I'm looking for. My first convention was a great experience (if a little lonely) that I'm eager to have again. Being around so many like minded fans was invigorating and I cant wait for TFcon Chicago.

I've reached the end of 90% of my journey. I came to the realization that outside of Masterpiece/3rd party, transformers are no longer bringing me any joy or satisfation. So I've begun the process of liqudating my collection.

Ironhidensh wrote:So I've begun the process of liqudating my collection.

But... will it blend?

For serious though:

Dr Va'al wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:So I've begun the process of liqudating my collection.

But... will it blend?

For serious though:

It's a good thing. Bittersweet, but a good thing. My tastes as a collector /fanboy have changed, and it's time my collection changed to reflect that.

Ironhidensh wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:So I've begun the process of liqudating my collection.

But... will it blend?

For serious though:

It's a good thing. Bittersweet, but a good thing. My tastes as a collector /fanboy have changed, and it's time my collection changed to reflect that.

May I ask what the changes are, how you feel about the toys in general, and where you think you might go from here? I just heard your question being answered on the Twincast, and am curious.

You may answer over here, too, if you want.