Transformers and More @ The Seibertron Store

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Va'al wrote:This is, very probably, a variation on a theme that has come up before both on the boards and during the Twincast Podcast - but I've been thinking about my own collection again,as I sort out what I want to keep and where I want it to go, and it made me wonder how other people see it.Why do you collect Transformers toys?
With things such as impulse purchases, buyer's regret, completionism, stand-ins, debates over accuracy and so on, what is the underlying reason for anyone to be buying plastic action figures of robots that can be vehicles/animals and humanoids?
Do you rely on fiction to determine what you buy, or do you make up your own or even ignore any fiction altogether? Do you have a set goal you want to reach? Do you buy everything you can then skim the collection in time? Do you only go after one or two things because they look cool/fit in with a theme in your display area?
The question, I realise, can apply to any collecting habit, but being a Transformers fan, it made sense to pose it here first - and I'll start replying myself in the next post.
fenrir72 wrote:They made a strong imprint on me waaaaaaaaaay bck during the G1 days. Never looked back since.
ScoutBumblebee wrote:I collect whatever I like. If there's a toy I like, I'll pick it up. I really like a lot of the MP figures, and I'm just starting to get into some third party stuff. In the meantime, I'm happy with my selection of MP, Generations, Prime, Animated, FoC, and other miscellaneous toys.
Correct. I was born in 1982, and watched the original G1 cartoon when I was little, but I was too young to make any emotional investment in the characters so much so that I'd want the toys, and also we weren't "in the money" as the saying goes, so couldn't afford them anyway.Va'al wrote:So a manifestation of the fictional universe portrayed in the comics, correct?
No, it does not. I'm sad to say, I haven't seen a continuity with a good story worth emotionally investing in since Animated. That's the reason I have a lot of the Animated toys as well as the BotCon 2011 set, the only BotCon I've gone to. ReGeneration One got my hopes up, but it was clear about halfway through that Furman has long ago lost his touch and this was just a sad attempt at milking his former glory.And does it still apply to the current lines and/or purchases?
There are 5 characters of whom I have bought the toy from almost every line: Optimus, Rodimus, Megatron, Grimlock, and Shockwave. I have more of these figures than any other figures combined, and it's due to the characters in the fiction, though having a toy looking badass (especially in Grimlock's and Shockwave's case) doesn't hurt.Va'al wrote:I do enjoy how, with this type of franchise, you can get the same character show up in a variety of flavours, with different connotations and characteristics (generally speaking, though TFs tend to fall into patterns more often than not), therefore potentially appealing to different generations of collectors and fans.
For me, it's the exact opposite. I never had any Beast Wars toys, other than the original Primal and Megatron, and I bought both Generations Rhinox and Waspinator due to their characters in the series, especially their scene together where Rhinox blasts Waspinator into pieces with his Gatling guns.Rhinox is a good point - I bought it not as much for the fiction behind the character, even though it was very well developed even in Beast Machines, but because I remember really liking the Beast Wars toy as a kid, and this one just looked better. The fact that it then also appeared in the IDWverse was a bonus, rather than an incentive.
Neither do I, really. Those are just the characters I pay more attention to when the new toy line is revealed. I always think "OK, what will Optimus and Megatron look like? Will we get a Rodimus, Grimlock, and Shockwave?" Not every line has all 5, I don't think.Va'al wrote:See, that's not something that I do intentionally.
I also have this rule. The only one ever to break it was deluxe DoTM Optimus. I have 3 versions of him, one that came with the trailer (thanks -Kanrabat-), the Lunar Fire version, which came with the big red gun which I promptly gave to my leader Class Sentinel Prime, and a Walmart-exclusive version which came with the gun/axe combo.It does give me the rule of not more than one version of the same character per line, though.
Let's face it, you're so 2011.
william-james88 wrote:Although, as I mature, what I like best is the engineering behind these toys. I am so impressed that I can acquire them for the same price people buy star wars action figures. I love seeing the measures taken for a piece to mean something differently on a robot mode than on an alt mode. I love folding panels that help either beefing up something or making it sleeker. I really, really enjoy how simply gorgeous these toys are and fun. I mentioned there were 3 play patterns I saw as a child. Well, now that I am older, I don't feel like enacting battles or making them fight one another, it's something I outgrew. But transforming them is still playing with them and it's something I find is fun for all ages, just like solving a puzzle. I love transforming without instructions. Those First Edition Prime figures were a real treat to discover that way.
Syn_13 wrote:However, I'm now into the IDW comics so, like Va'al, I'm finding myself influenced by that and picking up figures from the comics.
I knew nothing of characters like Jhiaxus and Waspinator previously, and even though they don't feature in the '80s series, I find myself compelled to make them a part of my collection as they appear in the comics. It's a weird amalgamation of 2 continuities, but at least the consistency exists in that IDW is a G1 reboot. It sounds weird, but I'm kind of collecting my own head-canon of characters and it's growing every time I'm introduced to a new one from the comics.
Va'al wrote:It also helps in appreciating things like video and pictorial reviews of figures I will not purchase - being a big fan of visual and animated art, including comics, animation and photography, makes me appreciate the work that the photographer has done with the figures they own without provoking envy.
shajaki wrote:you seem like youre trying to get to the core of us va'al
my really deep answer:
watching the TF show and playing with the toys was a happy time. maybe one of the highlights of my childhood. i didnt have the greatest upbringing and have struggled with depression my whole adult life and i think collecting TF's is a way to "hold on" to those good times. (after a lot of work im quite stable and happy now by the way)![]()
ArmadaPrime wrote:Wow, what a question!
I think for me personally, I largely get figures because I see them as fun toys. If I think I'm going to enjoy transforming and posing a figure, chances are I'll (at least attempt to) pick it up.
Noideaforaname wrote:Because consumeristic society has brainwashed me into hording cheap, useless materialistic hunks of plastic that'll eventually spend millenia in a landfill, never breaking down and returning to mother nature, after a brief tenure crowding my flimsy shelves.
That, and I'm really trying not to buy every little thing that even vaguely catches my interest. I always ask myself "would I still like this if it wasn't for the bio?"
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