The Energon Pub

News Credits: 273 · by **Delicon** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:52 pm

I have noticed I collect a lot differently than I used to. There are 2 major changes.

1) I'm much more interested in scale then I used to be. I will or won't buy a figure bvased on how it will display with my existing ones. Even as recently as a few years ago I really didn't care that Rodimus Prime was half the size of Galvatron or that Shockwave towered over Megatron, I simply wanted all those figures.

2) I'm fussy over how some of the original G1 stuff looks plus I'm always worried about busting it so I find myself buying a lot of things like Titanium, Classics and Botcon exclusives with G1 themes instead.

How about everyone else?

News Credits: 1 · by **Agent 007** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:00 pm

Same here. I hate the way hasbro ruins scale.

News Credits: 8 · by **Liege Evilmus** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:09 pm

This is just for me, but when I got back into collecting, it was a "on a whim" thing. It was during Beast Wars, and although I liked alot of the figures some just did nothing for me. Those particular figures I want now cause just by chance I happen to be about 15 molds away from having all the BW molds. That said though, I'm not going after all the repaints though. Just the figure molds intrest me.

As I got deeper into collecting though, the completionist deal took over and for a while, anything and everything that said TRANSFORMERS had to be mine!

The movie though just offered to much though. Kiddie computers, fast action battlers, those pop up guys, magnets, Cyber Stompers, beamers, and the list goes on as I knew it would....

Well that overload brought me back down to earth. Now I find myself going back to buying what I want, as apose to whatever they make available.

I'm in no way giving up on collecting, just the "well it's Transformers, so I should get it" attitude.

by **Sylus** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:23 pm

I can't stand out of scale characters, I want to have BW chars with my others but they'd be considered out of scale since Maximals and Predacons were human sized pretty much. I'm just gonna say Armada Cheetor was upgraded to an Autobot or something and I want them to make titanium Primal Prime so I can have him to normal scale and they dont make him titanium they could at least make him plastic in the Universe line.

by **Jazzz** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:44 pm

I hate scale too.
But usually, all I want is one figure who is in scale with another.
Jazz is not terribly but is out of scale with everyone in the movie line.
But Bonecrusher and Wreckage are in the same scale despite being out of scale with pretty much everyone else.
Actually Boncrusher blends in well with Screamer and Blackout.
But not with Leader Brawl and the autobots.

News Credits: 10 · by **Lapse Of Reason** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:01 pm

I started collecting as an adult with one figure (Alt. Sideswipe). It was all downhill from there.

First it was Alternators + Masterpiece Prime.

Then I figured I'd get some of the main players from the G1 series: Optimus, Megatron, Soundwave. As the reissues kept coming out, however, I kept buying. Suddenly I had figures like Hoist and Grapple and Inferno. Then Armada Unicron.

Energon came out with some nice G1 homages. Added Galvatron, Shockblast, and quite a few others. All the time my G1 collection kept growing. Got all the Botcon sets from 2005 onward and all the Masterpiece too.

I started watching Beast Wars. Now I have all the figures represented in the show.

Bought a few Cybertron, all the classics, and more and more G1s. Movie figs too, but limited to only movie characters.

Eventually I sold off some of the Alts I did not care for (even Swerve). I gave up the completist attitude long ago. I either did not buy or trimmed down my collection to only a few figures from each line with only two exceptions - classics and G1. I will buy every Classic. I am 66 figures away from having all of G1, with most of the remaining needed figures being little crapy ones like Flamefeather or Cindersaur. It will be nice to complete something, though, so G1 it is.

Now Animated is on the horizon and I'll go the Beast Wars way with those - just figures that are in the show.

I have decided that I do not have unlimited funds and space to buy everything Transformers. Scale is important, but having the character is important too - even if that means buying out of scale. I buy what I like, even though I cannot display everything I have without my office looking like a cluttered mess.

News Credits: 1 · by **Cascadia** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:15 pm

I just started collecting again last year thanks to my Alt. Silverstreak, which is slightly modified by me. I can post images of it if anyone is curious, just ask. I started with the Alt/BT then went back to my G1 homage and started finishing collecting the ones to complement the ones I had as a kid.

as for the scale issue...it does bother me too.

News Credits: 5749 · by **El Duque** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:56 pm

Scale is something I was always aware off even when I was a kid, but it never has bothered me. I can remember thinking the Constructicons are way to small, I mean they are contruction vehicles they should be huge and they were only slightly bigger than the minibots. Can't say it ever really bothered me thought, nor does it now.

by **Foallen** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:39 pm

The scope of my collecting has increased a lot.

When I got seriously back into collecting at the end of Armada, I was very picky with what I was picking up. I limited myself to a certain $ amount per week and made sure I didn't go overboard. I also just wanted to get one of a mold, I didn't need every repaint.

That was then, this is now. I have tons of repaints, and I don't mind it, I like most of them. I spend way more money on this hobby than I ever imagined at start. When I bought Armada Unicron, I thought it would be the most expensive figure I'd ever pick up. I was wrong by a lot. I used to think about finishing some gesalts I had since I was a kid, now I'm not too far from finishing all of 84-87 of G1. I always thought to pass on the Botcon figures because they're so much more than what the mold is worth, but now I have a ton of exclusive figures like that.

At the end of the day, though, it's been a fun hobby so I can't complain too much. I do want to try and cut back to just the figures I really want again, though. My shelves are far too overflowing with Transformers and some of them I didn't really need and don't overly like that much.

I'm at over 700 Transformers today (including about 70 minicons). Truly mind blowing since I remember hitting 200 not too long ago.

by **Megatron-Ron** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:09 pm

I collect what i collect. I buy what i want to add to my collection. If i dont like the look of it i dont buy it. I will not buy a figure just so that i have a new one to add to my collection. I have every single thundercracker except for the G1 figure, Because i dont want it and i think it looks like crap anyway. I can care less if it is athentic G1 figure. To me, G1 was over rated any way. It was good for its time but now that the years go on i stray away from the notion of having to buy a G1 figure because its from the G1 days. I only own about 5-6 G1 figures in good condition. I never go into collectible stores looking for G1 figures. Its just my opinion but thats what i think. Dont get me wrong, I love the G1 days but its long gone and some people cant let go of that. thats why so many people complained about michael bays movie, Because it changed there look. Well guess what, It changed there look for the better. So while people where complaining about there looks changing, I was enjoying a kick ass movie. I love the G1 characters but the G1 figures from the 80's are old school. Time for some people to step into this day and age.

News Credits: 273 · by **Delicon** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:17 pm

Megatron-Ron wrote:I have every single thundercracker except for the G1 figure,

Does that include foreign releases? I have an RM-25 set for sale/trade if you are interested.

As for what you said, yeah, I totally agree, that everyone should collect their own way and not be trapped into any one line or lines just because that's what other people think is better.

by **Outrider2000** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:19 pm

back during Armada and Energon i was consumed with the whole completest thing, now i just buy what interests me, Im not as concerned with how many TFS I have anymore, but WHICH TFs I have.

by **Megatron-Ron** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:12 am

Delicon wrote:
Megatron-Ron wrote:I have every single thundercracker except for the G1 figure,

Does that include foreign releases? I have an RM-25 set for sale/trade if you are interested.

As for what you said, yeah, I totally agree, that everyone should collect their own way and not be trapped into any one line or lines just because that's what other people think is better.

No it does not include foreign releases. I only have every single U.S. thundercracker except for G1. How much do you want for it? Depending on the price, MAYBE i would consider buying it. Keep in mind, I like thundercracker but MEGATRON is my favorite Transformers character and i have all his figures including foreign releases.

News Credits: 5 · by **--B--** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:42 am

Like it's been said before, I just buy what I want. I don't really care about scale, or if it is or isn't in some show, I buy what I like. It takes a lot for me to decide to buy any figure, it's never just "because it's a transformer".

It's cool if you do that, it's just not my thing!

News Credits: 127 · by **Counterpunch** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:13 am

Animated will be my change in habit.

I'm not doing it this time. I've said it before, but this time, I have reason to quit a line. Animated is too different from what I have now. It's going to be a welcome break in my binge buying.

Recently I cut out Beast Wars and Beast Machines. I am almost done selling off all of that stuff.

The collection is now focused: AEC & Classics as well as G1.

Space is a real issue. I can not keep buying like I have and continue to enjoy the things I own.

News Credits: 3 · by **Canned Pasta** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:26 am

I have recently sold off 90% of my collection, but I did it for a few reasons. The first being that I wanted to narrow my collection down to a few specific characters. That's easier to do if I don't have a bunch of other figs sitting on my already limited shelf space. That's one of the other reasons. Space. I just don't have enough. To make things worse, I have other figures besides TFs on display. And of course, the final reason is $$$. There just isn't enough of it to buy all of the figures I would like to.

News Credits: 1 · by **rpetras** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:35 pm

Canned Pasta wrote:I have recently sold off 90% of my collection, but I did it for a few reasons. The first being that I wanted to narrow my collection down to a few specific characters. That's easier to do if I don't have a bunch of other figs sitting on my already limited shelf space. That's one of the other reasons. Space. I just don't have enough. To make things worse, I have other figures besides TFs on display. And of course, the final reason is $$$. There just isn't enough of it to buy all of the figures I would like to.

Preach on brother!!!

I'm in the same boat. I collect TFs, but they are not my "main" collection, that would be Superhero figs, typically Marvel with some Batman thrown in. I used to have a ton of Star Wars stuff, but that died down when the movies, you know ... sucked.

Alts brought me back into TFs.

Like a crack addict it started with "just the alts". Then, "Oooooo look at hose MPs". Then, "hey that guy from A/E/C is pretty cool and he's on sale for like $5" (which many were at he end of the respective lines). Then it became "Hey I missed THAT one! I need to get him." And the movie line was the nail in the coffin. I bought most of those in the regular releases (not a lot of the FABs, Real Gear or that type of thing)

I spend more effort and $$ on TFs at his point than my other collection.

Space is at a premium, so something will have to give. I'm gonna have to start thinning the herd soon too.

News Credits: 17 · by **Starscream** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:54 pm

I still have all my toys from my childhood, but a lot of them are a complete mess. I should really consider selling them. I bought 2 figures from Armada, Thundercracker and bendy prime. but then Unicron came and it started! I got the characters I thought looked cool. The toys that would be posable and neat.

I have since figured out that I am happier getting just a character themes collection so I instead try to get every new character from a group. I may trim this down at some point to collect ONLY starscream, but we'll see. I have everything from the movie MISB but that is mostly as an investment. God knows if that was a good idea or not.

Website · by **STngAR** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:58 pm

When I got back into collecting I was buying 2 of each (one to open and one to keep MISB). After this trend had gone on for awhile I was looking at my collection thinking "where the @#$% am I going to put all this stuff". I now buy what I like, open it up, play with it, put on my desk or on a shelf in my collection room.

It was starting to get expensive buying two of everything only to really enjoy one and for some reason thinking that MISB one would fetch thousands of dollars 20 years down the road.

News Credits: 7 · by **shortround** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:41 pm

I have stopped collecting transformers for the moment since I have never really liked the movie toys. I moved over to 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe for the moment I have to say that they have better perks like the upcoming 5 piece battle packs including a dvd of the min-series each of them is based off plus a piece of scale model mass device. Transformers have never offered any thing that good in all the time I have collected them.

News Credits: 6 · by **City Commander** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:05 pm

SCALE YOU BITCH!

It wasn't too much of a problem before, but Lugnutz and Bulkhead are driving me crazy. They should be bigger! (thank god for leader class BH).

I used to be completest. Now, I'll buy most things I see, hunt online for ones I particularly want, and buy any and all Alts, tits and G1s I happen across.

I am still a strict bot-only buyer. (apart from reissue SS and Unicron).

I have to say the only thing to change in my collecting habits is that I'm buying more. I spend most of my money on these great lil things. ^_^

News Credits: 273 · by **Delicon** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:06 pm

shortround wrote:I have stopped collecting transformers for the moment since I have never really liked the movie toys. I moved over to 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe for the moment

Although I have some of the movie toys I am not a huge fan of some of the molds and trasnformations, so I am looking forward to more Classics.

I totally agree with you on the Gi Joe, to the point I am trying to downscale my 80's Joe and just start fresh for $6 a pop and not worry about if something is "C-9" and shelling out $20 a pop.

News Credits: 273 · by **Delicon** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:10 pm

Megatron-Ron wrote:No it does not include foreign releases. I only have every single U.S. thundercracker except for G1. How much do you want for it? Depending on the price, MAYBE i would consider buying it. Keep in mind, I like thundercracker but MEGATRON is my favorite Transformers character and i have all his figures including foreign releases.

I'd have to see what they're going for these days, but I'd also be open to trading as I snagged several in an ebay auction back when they started getting scarce. PM me if you want, if not no biggie.

by **Defcon!** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:11 pm

I mostly buy only G1 figures. I'm trying to complete the line and money definately becomes an issue. I started from the first series and worked my way up. Those were the figures i had as a kid and still have some from my original collection. I still buy from other lines but it just depends on the figures. Although i became hellbent on getting the whole cybertron line which i managed. For me sometimes too it's the thrill of the hunt. I guess if i want it i buy it pretty simple. Everything else that requires money though comes first and foremost family, bills etc. Collecting TFs is my hobby and passion.

by **Mach Wind** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:21 pm

Well, scale never mattered to me, if I dig the toy or like the character I buy it, from Beast Wars and on; I skipped the majority of Beast Machines and The TF Movie, both felt alienate to me.

I bought only Autobots for the Alt line, the Decepticons never looked right with the vehicles chosen for them (Ravage, Swindle, and Dead End shouldn't be in there :-x

)

And the worst thing is that I am a mech junkie, building Gundams and Zoids. I am slowing down, but damn it! I kept the boxes of the things that I owned. I already toss out most the of the Armada and Energon boxes/cards since there's no bios.

And I am thinking of selling the TF's that I don't really like that much, but that's not happening now, its more wait and see.