The Energon Pub

How do you define connection, Bonger? I'd say I have a certain connection towards the Pretender Octopunch but that's largely because I like his bio and can imagine him goofing off his duties and instead spending his time plundering long-lost shipwrecks, pilfering ancient artefacts that humankind has forgotten about over time. I could have a lot of fun with him as a child.

I also like Submarauder, partly because of his colours, but also because I picture him as a terror of the deep, the horrific explanation of inexplicable disappearances of human seacraft.

And Finback, with his reinforced armour made up of living "mecha-organisms". That idea alone allowed me, as a child, to delve into all sorts of games involving Finback's collection of Earth marine life and its subsequent conversion into mecha-organisms for his protection. He was my somewhat-macabre marine biologist.

I liked the Pretenders as a child. I think they add variety and intrigue to my display now.

Ah, see this is what I am struggling with.

When I was a kid, I barely had any Transformers from the TV series. Most of mine were micromasters and powermasters as that was all that was avaialble at the time where I lived.

So, a big part of how I got into collecting is just buying toys I always wanted.

And that leads us to the question here. I will soon have all of G1 completed until 1988.

Micromasters - I had them as a kid and loved them, but they were always just a pale sustitute for the TFs I realy wanted. Yet I did have them and did play with them. On one hand I feel I owe them a duty to represent them now. Also, from a G1 completion standpoint, these are in. Yet, they were always TFs bastard cousins to me.

Pretenders - My only link to these is through the couple featured in IDW comics and the fact that they are part of the picture from a completion standpoint. Hmm.

Actionmasters - I find these intriguing enough to buy a Megs and prime. However, if I buy the above two lines, I might as well buy these and have all of G1.

Then again, I could skip all of the above and keep my collection more concentrated on the 'toon characters that I know and love.

I have struggled with this issue for a long time now and I seem to be running out of time. I am going to need to make a final decision on this within the next few months. The last thing I want to do is start buying these up just to later figure out that I do not want them.

Pretty much that is where my thread originates from.

To give you a better of idea of me and my collection.

I ofourse have a ton of G1. I also have all the Classics, save Devastator, and picked up some homages that would fit in with that line like Energon Downshift. Ofcourse, I have a mess of MPs, BTs and Alts. I also nabbed some other figures that fit in with G1 in some way. These include figs like Primus, Unicron, The Fallen, Vector Prime, etc. Additionally, I collect the wonderfully well made G1 statues and busts and have a collection of Prime and Megs. This is to add some history. I grab a prime and Megs, or their equivalent, from each line to show the progression through the years.

Oh, I also have thing for G1 redecos, ala Ehobby, and custom scratch built G1 items.

Bonger wrote:Then again, I could skip all of the above and keep my collection more concentrated on the 'toon characters that I know and love.

This is the best idea in my opinion, if you dont have any affinity for a mold, why own it?

Again the collection is for YOU to enjoy. If you think pretenders suck and shouldnt be in your display, who could argue? It is your opinion after all.

You will save A LOT of money this way, and you will be happier with the final product.

Quality over Quantity.

Sid Burn wrote:

Bonger wrote:Then again, I could skip all of the above and keep my collection more concentrated on the 'toon characters that I know and love.

This is the best idea in my opinion, if you dont have any affinity for a mold, why own it?

Again the collection is for YOU to enjoy. If you think pretenders suck and shouldnt be in your display, who could argue? It is your opinion after all.

You will save A LOT of money this way, and you will be happier with the final product.

Quality over Quantity.

Agreed! Quality over quantity is something I believe in. However, I struggle with the coolness on the idea of completion of such a large line, if you know what I mean. We might need some of those completionists to chime in here.

zemper wrote:

ConDrewfus wrote::DEVIL:

heck yeah! i had one of that yellow base when i was younger, that one had the windmill and came with a Micromaster truck, right? i forgot the name of the robot, but the base was called Ironworks or something, correct?

Yes, the Base on the left is Ironworks, a mild-mannered construction site during the day, but a formidable Radar with surface to air missiles during the nite.

Linky, link http://www.tfu.info/1989/Autobot/Ironworks/ironworks.htm

Well, I'm a completionist right now in two lines only: Alternators and Classics. I must say, it is a rewarding (and somewhat depressing?) feeling to have a line completely done....but I also should say that I can't really look at the lines I've completed and say that I dislike any of the figures in them. Now, this may be because I've only completed relatively small lines, but I think all of the Alts and Classics (yes, even the Devastator redeco ) have some sort of "coolness" factor for me. I simply liked all the figures.

I, too, debated with this problem about G1. I am by no means close (I still need to hunt some big game, namely Metroplex, Omega Supreme, Trypticon....), but I considered going G1 completionist for a while....

...and then I did some research and found out about all the other parts of G1 I never knew about--the parts you're debating here: Micromasters, Actionmasters, Pretenders. My knowledge stopped at Head- and Targetmasters, so that's where my collection stopped. I own a few Pretenders and I enjoy the Micromasters, but I really have no interest in those toys simply because they weren't part of my knowledge base OR my childhood. And then, some are just plain weird.

To the point: you seem like one of the most self-aware collectors on here. I also don't know if I could have made the decision you made (to sell all and stick to G1 only). But I don't think that going completionist for the sake of going completionist will make you happy. You seem too rooted in nostalgia and history to be that guy who must own everything in a line just because it's in a line, G1 or not.

If I were you? I would figure out what's most important to me. As a (fellow?) completionist, I would say that completionism can be compromised for more important things...

Pretenders::

I hated them as a kid, and I had Starscream and Grimlock in their Pretender versions. I think I hated them becuase I never had a real Starscream or Grimlock. The Pretenders who were formerly actual TFs are crummy, and the Autobot Pretenders are just not my thing......never liked the cheap poseless He-Man style. The Cons though, with the monster shells, they were always cool IMO. The inner bots all basically had the same alt mode of a robot who was bent over, but for me at least the Con Pretenders were always ok becuase of their shells.