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Va'al wrote:I find myself aligning characters more to their current IDW personalities or groupings, rather than others.
Sounds very similar to my childhood. There were many times where transformers were the only happy part of my childhood. I kinda grew out of them for a few years as I became a teenager, then Beast Wars showed up on my tv and I was hooked! Bought a number of the toys (13 of each faction), then as season 1 finished and I missed season 2, I moved away from tf to collecting movies.shajaki wrote: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)
I always viewed them as having the same interests (sci-fi, fantasy etc.) with nerds also having book smarts. Revenge of the Nerds was probably where that view developedVa'al wrote:There is a correlation between some aspects of geek/nerd (I regard them as interchangeable)
william-james88 wrote:So that would also be the case for Predaking, who is also six members.
We're members of a forum dedicated to transformers for crying out loud, I think niche and nerdy are pretty appropriate alreadyVa'al wrote:(Yes, niche nerdy joke.)
Va'al wrote: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.
Yes! Poses are a great incentive to pick up a figure from the shelf, be it your own or a shop's (online or in person). But wouldn't you say that this applies to all action figures?
Why is it Transformers specifically, what is it in the aesthetic gain - not the cognitive one we experience in the puzzle-transformation - but the tactile, visual pleasure of shape-shifting robots over, say, a car by its own or a humanoid figure by itself?
Va'al wrote:fenrir72 wrote:They made a strong imprint on me waaaaaaaaaay bck during the G1 days. Never looked back since.
So is it the G1 fiction that spurs you on? Or your memory of the period?
Is it a type of nostalgia, a way of keeping alive the memory of what you enjoyed then, or something else?
ArmadaPrime wrote:..poses are far from limited to "looking frustrated whilst holding a gun" as is the case with some transformers..
Syn_13 wrote:Va'al wrote:I find myself aligning characters more to their current IDW personalities or groupings, rather than others.
Yes, I've begun doing this, as well. Before I started reading the comics I had a little Galvatron, Cyclonus and the Sweeps gang going on. Since then I've removed Cyclonus and shoved him on my Lost Light shelves, where he's currently sharing a few bevvies with Tailgate and Swerve (courtesy of the Maketoys 3P Swerve's drinks tray).
Arctorro wrote:A gift voucher convinced me to buy R.I.D. Optimus and from that point on I was addicted to collecting transformers. That is also when I first see myself as a collector and not just a fan. I wasn't buying everything that came along, but if it appeared in a cartoon I had to have it.
I can definitely see people being fans and not collectors. Someone who collects but isn't a fan would be an investor wouldn't they? As for the difference, there is clearly a grey area.Va'al wrote:Arctorro wrote:A gift voucher convinced me to buy R.I.D. Optimus and from that point on I was addicted to collecting transformers. That is also when I first see myself as a collector and not just a fan. I wasn't buying everything that came along, but if it appeared in a cartoon I had to have it.
Oh, that is a very intriguing point, right there: fan and collector. How do you see the two as being different, what separates one from the other, and what are the contact points?
Because, personally, I can see being a fan without the collecting, but not the other way round, yes?
william-james88 wrote:So that would also be the case for Predaking, who is also six members.
Arctorro wrote:As for what defines and collector... If a definition is possible, I see at least 3 different types; 1) Planning a specific collection with set boundaries, 2) Set boundaries with a few impulse buys in between (where I'm at these days), and 3) Buying everything you like the look of.
Though, in the end, a 'collector' is probably someone who sees it as more than just a passing fad.
Va'al wrote:
Would you, or anyone else, argue that the collection aspect is definitely part of the appreciation of the characters/fiction (i.e. the fan part, even if it's a collection of two figures) - or do you think that it can overshadow the actual enjoyment of the franchise, or whatever aspect of it you are into?
When does pop culture ever get anything rightVa'al wrote:And of course, the sinister connotations that the term has in some parts of 'popular' culture, from the stereotypical mis-representation of the Comic Book Guy to these two:
The collection aspect is most definitely part of the appreciation for me, can't speak to anyone else. I'm a big fan of robots and cartoons, so transformers (and Zoids) are perfect for someone like me. I also have a lot of fan fiction bouncing around in my head and new toys I like the look of, that previously had no spot in that fiction, help to expand it. So the fiction increases my appreciation of the toys and the toys increases my appreciation of the fiction.Va'al wrote:Would you, or anyone else, argue that the collection aspect is definitely part of the appreciation of the characters/fiction (i.e. the fan part, even if it's a collection of two figures) - or do you think that it can overshadow the actual enjoyment of the franchise, or whatever aspect of it you are into?
william-james88 wrote:So that would also be the case for Predaking, who is also six members.
william-james88 wrote:Va'al wrote:
Would you, or anyone else, argue that the collection aspect is definitely part of the appreciation of the characters/fiction (i.e. the fan part, even if it's a collection of two figures) - or do you think that it can overshadow the actual enjoyment of the franchise, or whatever aspect of it you are into?
You can argue for everything.
[...]
And then there is everything in between.
Arctorro wrote:When does pop culture ever get anything rightVa'al wrote:And of course, the sinister connotations that the term has in some parts of 'popular' culture, from the stereotypical mis-representation of the Comic Book Guy to these two:![]()
Va'al wrote:But here's another prompt - most of the responses so far have been about collectors/fans who enjoy the figures for their playability (read as posing, fiddling, transforming, shelf position, etc).
What about collectors, who are still fans, therefore not 'investors' - to use a term that has shown itself in here - who like their robots in boxes? The variations of MISB, MIB, MOC, MOSC - do any of you find yourselves in there?
Va'al wrote:And yet there are a lot of people who do like the boxes, either to keep separately or to form part of the collection itself. There are some very good examples in the Share Your Collection threads.
Can anyone give us some insight on the type of enjoyment gained from that? (I'm not judging, actually curious!)
Lovebug wrote:Can anyone give us some insight on the type of enjoyment gained from that? (I'm not judging, actually curious!)
Burn wrote:Lovebug wrote:Can anyone give us some insight on the type of enjoyment gained from that? (I'm not judging, actually curious!)
I have one figure only in his box. A 100% complete original G1 Optimus Prime.
For me, it's prestige, to be able to say, "there's my Optimus Prime/Convoy collection, and see there at the back? Original Optimus Prime MIB"
Va'al wrote:But it's not an entire collection of boxes. That's what tends to confuse me - even recent releases, just in boxes.
Jeep! wrote:Why do I imagine Dead Metal sounding exactly like Arnie?
Intah-wib-buls?
Blurrz wrote:10/10
Leave it to Dead Metal to have the word 'Pronz' in his signature.
leakin' lubricant wrote:Va'al wrote:But here's another prompt - most of the responses so far have been about collectors/fans who enjoy the figures for their playability (read as posing, fiddling, transforming, shelf position, etc).
What about collectors, who are still fans, therefore not 'investors' - to use a term that has shown itself in here - who like their robots in boxes? The variations of MISB, MIB, MOC, MOSC - do any of you find yourselves in there?
I personally dont keep my stuff in boxes, I open them as soon as I get them, also never keep boxes, throw them away every time. as far as I'm concerned Transformers are designed to be transformed and keeping them in there boxes just defeats the object buying them IMO.
Dead Metal wrote:No useless repaints like "Night-shift nurse Optimus Prime" or non-characters like Sunstorm.
Va'al wrote:Dead Metal wrote:No useless repaints like "Night-shift nurse Optimus Prime" or non-characters like Sunstorm.
Noideaforaname wrote:A bright green seeker and a bright yellow seeker who appear for all of a second. But the bright yellow seeker who appeared for all of a second should not be confused with another bright yellow seeker who appeared for all of a second.
*is having a bit of fun before Sabrblade or someone else explains it in full detail*
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