The Energon Pub

[Overcracker]

Beta 1 Website is up.
New Update Feb 2, 2024
800 Figures!.

TFSearch Collection Manager Website

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I' currently working on basically a TF collection management app because my collection is getting out ion hand now and an excel sheet is not cutting it.

Phase 1:

Backend:

This is what I'm currently working on. The DB design and the management interface of all the data. Eventually I want it to be a sort of repository of Tf data that can be searched directly for information on the figures. I'm not going to be adding images, there's already a ton of sites that do that including Seibertron.com so there's no point in that. I'll likely just have links to galleries in those websites so you can navigate there and view them.

At the end of the day this DB will likely be available via web service for anyone who wants to access for figure details.

The Database design is still in flux, but taking shape, as is the Control Panel for it. (I apologize for the blurriness of the screenshots, Windows Snip tool seems to have issues)

Catalog_toyline.JPG

add_figure.JPG

Figure_1.jpg

figure_2.JPG

figure specific data will include MSRP at the moment of release for each figure. I though about adding it for the size classes, but since prices have changed for the same size class, its easier to do it by figure rather than size class.


Phase 2 which is being developed along side Phase 1 is the web service.

This is just to power the App.

Phase 3:

Website and App.

Main plans for this are:

Filter collection by character, toy line, sub-line, class size even.
Create named shelves to add figures to for organization.
Add statuses to figures such as pre-ordered, owned, posted on eBay, sold etc... so you can hen get a good idea of what you have owned and sold. Maybe even a calculator for how much money you've made off of sales based off of MSRP and the price you sold it for.

So any feedback and features you would like to see are welcome but note not everything is likely to make it into version 1 on release. But I hope I can add useful features as time goes by,. The DB is meant allow for quick and easy search of figures.

[Overcracker]

I know it's taken a long time. but the database is almost complete in terms of structure and function.

Adding new figures and testing the web service now.

Webservice returns data in json or XML format.

tfcol_db_list.jpg

[Overcracker]

It's coming along, the front end is now working. Search and figure pages.

front_page.jpg

figure_page.jpg

The major point here, is everything gets linked. So it will in the future be easy to find say all figures from a specific starting mold / figure, as well as all releases it has seen.

[Overcracker]

Interesintg tid bit I encountered while adding items to the Database. Buzzsaw has seen a release on average every 3.6 years since 1984, all so far in boxsets it would seem with other figures, Mostly Soundwave.
Type Manner Retailer Country Description Date ToyLine
Boxset General Release General Retail All Packaged with the Hasbro release of Soundwave. 1984 Generation 1
Boxset General Release General Retail All No changes 1985 Generation 1
Boxset General Release General Retail Japan VSZ Set with Sunstreaker and Skids. Features a clear cassette case to store Buzzsaw. 1985 Generation 1
Boxset General Release General Retail All No changes 1986 Generation 1
Boxset General Release General Retail Japan Included a clear plastic case 1987 The Headmasters
Boxset General Release General Retail Australia Orignal Hasbro packaging. 1990 Generation 1
Boxset General Release General Retail Japan Book style re-release. 2005 Transformers Collection
Boxset Exclusive Hasbro Toy Shop United States Released exclusively by Hasbro Toy Shop and offered at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. Included his weapons and cassette case of the later Japanese releases. 2009 Universe
Boxset General Release General Retail Japan No significant changes from previous releases. 2009 Encore
Boxset Exclusive Walmart All No rub sign. 2019 Vintage
Boxset Exclusive NTWRK All Released in Collaboration with J Balvin, a Colombian Rap artist. Features a white and yellow paint scheme and is named Energía (Energy in Spanish) Buzzsaw. 2021 Collaborative

11 releases in almost 40 years.

[Overcracker]

Website is up: TFSearch Website

You may get a certificate or "Connection not secure" error, you can safely ignore it, and access the website anyway.
https now working so no more Connection not secure errors.

This is only a temporary location, for now (its my personal server), for testing. Eventually the plan is to migrate to an AWS server for best performance.

You can test out the search now. It's at a very basic state right now, and there may be errors and other issues.

You can look at things like Cliff Jumper's page, Dirge's page or Abominus' page

There's 100 figures to search for, from G1 only at this point. figure's who's names starts with the letters A (Abominus) through D (Divebomb)

If you have any comments or suggestions , please post them here for now.

Features available currently:
Figure Search by Name
Release Year filter
Figure View
Basic Giftset View
Basic Toy Line View
Basic Retailer View
3 Randomized Featured ToyLines (refreshing will change the toy lines shown)
3 Randomized Featured Retailers (refreshing will change the toy retailers shown)

[Overcracker]

New update:
100 more figures for a total of 200 figures now, with multiple releases each.
Added a dedicated search page with a towline filter. It's definitely getting modified in the future to something more convenient to use, as a dropdown menu is clearly not a good solution when we have hundreds of toy lines to deal with.
A few cosmetic changes here and there.
Added a contact email.

V 0.1.1 Alpha

[Overcracker]

Just a quick update.
Sorry it's been so long. I've been working on it consistently, just added G1 Optimus Prime and 28 releases for it. I'm fairly sure, there's some missing, even on TFWiki, but for now I've added all the ones I can find.

These not include G2 Prime, or G1 Ultra Magnus yet. Those should fall under re-uses of the mold.

I've added 50 more figures to the database, and have made some modifications to the website. I'll probably be uploading all this to the public website on Monday though.

In general it's coming along fairly nicely.


252
Figures
29
Toylines
87
Boxsets
520
Accessories
626
Releases

[Overcracker]

Update has been uploaded. It includes 70 figures.

Second Update to Proof of Concept

Version: 0.1.2 Alpha

Added 70 new figures including G1 Optimus Prime and his 28 releases, not counting G2, or the cab use for Ultra Magnus. If you know of any not incluced please contact us with the information

Added a toyline lisitng page for all the currently added toylines.

Added a new Top 10 banner for figures with most releases

Added a background banner for the toyline view

Added a release counter stat in the main page

Modified figure data to include changes from an originla figure, if its a repaint or retool. Check Pipes for an example.

[Overcracker]

New Update.

Db now has 302 figures with their releases.

Third Update to proof of concept.

Version: 0.2 Alpha

Added 50 figures to db

Added Toyline page listed by year.

Added alphabetical retailer page

Added test images for some boxsets. See Predaking for an example.

Added main menu bar and modified top bar a bit

[Overcracker]

Version 0.2.1 Alpha
Figure update only. At 403 figures and 1036 releases.

Top 3 figures with most releases so far:
G1 Optimus Prime 28
G1 Soundwave 13
G1 Buzzsaw 13

[Overcracker]

Small update, Website now has certificate so https is now functional, and no more security warnings should appear.
Please let me know if this is not the case.

TFSearch

[Overcracker]

Testing iframe render.
Card:


Banner

[Overcracker]

No new features, but added 100- more figures. total 501. and 1300 releases.

Will be working on the collection manager side for the foreseeable future, so figure additions to the DB may slow down further.

Also added some more boxsets and images for them.

[Overcracker]

Sorry it's been so long between updates it's taken me a while to get this done as it's only me right now. The Collection manager side, is coming along nicely however.

I will update the website soon with the new options and will be asking for testing volunteers here and other forums. You can volunteer in this very thread. I'll setup some testing accounts and you can go in and add toys to your collection. The Shelves section is probably not going to be available for testing yet.

Here are some screen shots:

add_to_collection.jpg

add_collection_confirm.jpg

added_to_collection.jpg

my_collection.jpg

remove_figure.jpg

Any comments, suggestions or features you would like to see are welcome.

[Overcracker]

Major Update

Beta 1 Website is up. (November 28 2023)

TFSearch Collection Manager Website

Example Shared Collection

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Moved onto the first Beta version. Beta available by invite only at this time.

Restructure of website

Added Release view for figures

Added ability to add figures to collection

Added account creation process, though email verification is still not working, so all accounts must be verified by me after being created.

Added specific searches for Toylines and Retailers

Added API page. For now just offers the basic JSON for figure data. Will add configuration and token information in the future

Collection Manager: Basic Features Added.

Add release to collection
Remove release from collection
Search Collection with results count modifier option
Added Sorting Columns, Name, ToyLine and Release Year, ascending and descending.
Added account section

[Overcracker]

Video detailing some features of the website.

[Overcracker]

New update: Up to Generation 2 and 700 figures.

New Sub Group Listing page.
Sub Group Alphabetical List

[ScottyP]

Got curious how you're handling package variants/G1 stuff with minor variations since that's my biggest gripe with Shmax (adds so, so much clutter to their listings) so I clicked on your G1 OP page. While I like how you're handling variants, seeing recolors in the same place was quite unexpected.

If you're looking for constructive criticism, and you may not be which is fine, I would suggest that recolors and reissues should be their own toy listings and not grouped in with the package variants.

Also, while the Amazon ads are expected and I get the necessity of it, their placement on mobile is very intrusive. That's a lot to scroll for every page load.

[Overcracker]

Hi, sorry it took me so long to answer.

I’ll always open to constructive criticism.

The main objective here is to be able to see a list of releases of the toy and any other uses of the mold at a quick glance. The re-uses tab shows other versions of the m9,d 8 feel warrant their own full entry.

I add specific entries for for re-uses when they are other characters or have some more relevant changes beyond color tweaks or alternate colors.

As an example, G2 Prime get’s its own entry as a figure, because it gets enough differences to require more than a simple blurb. but 25th anniversary G1 prime does not. Because he’s still G1 with a couple add-ones.

Also, this is the first iteration of this. It may in the future change. If I think it’s required.

I am planning on adding specific items for recolors and re-issues like new accessories or other add-ones they may have. And I am planning on adding color changes for releases to make searching easier. So if you search for a yellow truck you can find shining Magnus which currently is just added as a release of G1 Magnus.

But trying to separate re-issues from package variants gets very difficult. It gets very very subjective, when the difference is slightly brighter colors or a different sticker sheet etc… That’s when I have to make executive decisions.

In the case of Prime, he’s the same guy with minor tweaks, which would just end up bloating the DB with 100 of copies of the same accessory just because prime is now a slightly different shade of red.

As such simple package variants that change little else end up under releases.

As to the Amazon ads, yeah, I need to. Change the css for mobile devices so they are horizontal rather than vertical to cut down on scrolling.