The Energon Pub

Hi all,

I have always been a fan of Transformers, and lately I've been searching ebay for Tf figures, and I couldn't help but notice the high prices of everything. New figures like Masterpiece ones cost a fortune, and especially older G1 figures. I personally never kept anything in the box, I always open them to play with them, pose them, etc. My collection now all I have is Generations Bee, Revoltech Hot rod, and generations Cyclonus w/ Nightstick.
I'm wondering if it is worth it to collect these figures? From an investment point of view, is it like buying land? Does it appreciate considerably if it's the correct figure etc?
Where does it end, there is always a new series, more repaints, figures, how many do you buy? Do you buy two each time, one to pose and one to collect? Won't that burn a deep plasma hole in my cybertronian pockets?
The mission is done, if I can't get one figure in a certain collection, which happens to be a Botcon figure for example, or some Japanese cereal box prize.

Don't you guys feel that it's serving Hasbro ultimately? Whatever they spew out, you are bound to it?

I don't mean it in a bad way, but say you collect your toe nail clippings or something, How do you compare that with TF? The amount of figures out there is MASSIVE?
Where does one start?
Is it worth it to start money wise?

How do you justify to people that you collect "toys"?
My experience with "toys" and transformers in general, has always been negative, people never respected what I do or like,and this is on an 80% reproducible reactions. Maybe at first initial interest, as in, " oh yes I've seen this movie" but the conversation never goes beyond that. To them it's toys for a cartoon for kids, they're ignorant like that. But I cannot help if the world we live in is judgmental and success is based on conforming to those things. How will one meet a girl if he says "oh I collect these transformers", you know 40 year old virgin style. It's once in a blue moon , that a girl will be accepting, that's from my experience. And frankly there are girls interested in this, and I know that, but where are they? I haven't seen them, and even when I see them, they tend to be a little too out there. Maybe I don't want a geek girl, maybe I want a high school crush, should I be limited to a handful of girls, just because I like a to collect figures?

It's no secret that people that collect and go to comicon, are looked down upon from a media standpoint. They are made fun of constantly for the masses entertainment. For example , Big Bang Theory is all about making fun of geeks, and it doesn't help our case
(or maybe it does? Is there even a case?).

So how do we solve this dilemma?

You guys/gals, must have experience to share, am I making sense, or am I just delusional?

Did collecting work out for you? Did it not? Do you feel it's just plastic sitting on your shelf and had you invested this amount in something else you would have gotten a higher return.

Finally, for example I want to be able to go a club in New York, full of freaking Gotti's and Douchebags, go up to a gorgeous girl, and be able to say when asked "so what do you like to do?" ..and my response would be " I collect transformer toys and I play videogames" and I say toys, because I know how sensitive we all are for calling it toys, and instead we call it "figures" to make us more justifiable. And be able to say this to any girl, anywhere, without feeling a kind "I'm a loser" feel, which is what I've been feeling always in these situations. And plz guys don't tell me that it's a confidence issue, if you say it's a confidence issue, then you are not understanding what i'm after. I'm talking about a general response to these sort of things. Maybe in US it's a bit more open. But this response is usually met with your buddy saying "dude, don't say that to a girl, they don't like that, or that won't get you a date, they will laugh at you" and ends up being, your buddy encourages you to say something like "I am a skydiver and a jerk to women, I treat them like crap, and just want one night stands with them so I get what I want and toss her"<== that was sarcastic for all you thick armored people.
Why is the degree of success suddenly reduced. Why can't I go to a job interview and say in my hobbies, collecting toys. Why is it a negative connotation attached to that? If there is, shouldn't that change? Isn't this the free world? I've met many collectors and geeks alike, and there is this aura of keeping things a secret from the outside. And they're great people. Why is it that games/toys/imagination/escaping in fantasy (the PG kind ) is looked down upon. We are in the 21st century, aren't we passed these things?

I hope you guys get the idea of what I'm trying to explain.

Thank you for reading

Collecting is.... collecting. There is no wrong or right way to do it. While hype and other's views may alter your opinion and the method in which you collect, the ideal reason why we're all here on Seibertron.com is to share the love of our hobby. Just get what pleases your eyes, because it'll all be downhill from there

There's 6+ billion people in this world, and so what if a handful of them can't tolerate what you enjoy? What matters is that one special partner, and a bunch of other friends who appreciate you for who you are. If you start conforming to other's ideals and demands, then you are simply changing yourself. Just be who you are, if you've been collecting for awhile then you know it's ridiculed upon by some, and that's never, ever, ever, ever going to change. F-them. Move along with your life, and find the people who enjoy you for you, and find the friends who understand you for who you are. If you're going around, trying to make friends with everyone, you're going to be disappointed. It's cliche, but going from worrying about what other people think about you, to thinking that stuff is peanuts, is a huge monkey off anyone's back. Keep your head up high, don't let stuff like this bring you down.

We're about the same age, and to be honest, just be patient with life. It isn't a race to the grave - things like getting married, having kids, growing old... that **** is far off the radar. You have a ton of time on your hands right now, and the last thing that should be going on is you moping around about how your hobby is detrimental to your livelihood. Because deep down, deep deep deep down, if it truly is detrimental to your life. Then just quit. it's easy as that. Or perhaps even take some time off from collecting and being immersed in the hobby. There's no rubric to life.

I can only speak for myself, but if I can afford a figure (i.e. without breaking my wallet) AND I think I'll be able to look at it on my shelf in a month's time and still be happy that I bought it, then to me it's a worthwhile purchase. Your milage may vary of course. Don't get stressed out about it, you're young, good looking (most likely, I've never seen you), and enthusiastic about life and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Bottom line is, if the price is something YOU feel is worth it, go for it. If not, then wait a while and you'll find a better price. Check out our Buy, Sell, Trade forum and I'm sure you'll find something that beats eBay.

If someone doesn't respect your hobboes, then they're obviously not the type of person you want to hang out with. Start being yourself and anyone who is too closed-minded to accept you is not worth your time. I met a wonderful girl a few weeks back; she was cute, charming and funny. Then I brought her back to my place and she broke out laughing at my shelves of figures, so I showed her the door without a second's more hesitation or regret. I tell people about my hobbies early on in order to filter people before getting too attached, there will always be more out there, and plenty of geeky ones too.

Here's the best piece of advise I've ever been given: you can't change what others think of you. Yes it isn't true 100% of the time, but it is for almost all casual conversations you'll have. Now you say you want to go to a club and pick up a girl with the "I collect Transformers line"? That's never going to happen. Girls don't go to clubs to hear about that stuff, they go to drink, dance and go home with some guy with more muscles than IQ point. You're playing the wrong game in the wrong arena. Find a sci-fi group on the other hand, and they'd love to hear about your hobby, and you can learn about there's. Contrary to popular belief there are cute sci-fi girls out there, but you just have to play in the right arena to find them.

Don't beat yourself up. It does get better.

Exactly what Blurr says.

But I'll add a bit of my own experience.

I see a couple of problems with your lines of thinking.
First: price of the hobby. Yeah, TF's can be expensive. Yeah, there are thousands of different TF's out there. Yeah, there are hypes that make you think you need something. But no, there are no rules to collecting that say that once you start, you have to "catch them all" (that's just a clever marketing concept).
Figure this: often it's not the having that's the most fun; it's the getting; which means that the fun and excitement of a hobby is usually more in researching an object you REALLY want, saving up for it, hunting it down, and finding it for a reasonable price (even if this takes a couple of weeks, months or even years). That's where the real personal reward in a hobby often is; not in clicking on a couple of links on the 'Net and paying too much for a figure you won't even appreciate once it's in hand.

Secondly, I think that if you have an apologetic approach to your own hobby from the start, people are going to hone in on that real quick. Don't be so self-aware about it. I'm 35 years old, and... I collect kids toys. Specifically Transformers, Lego and MASK. However, I have never let just those toy collections define who I am. Because I also have a wife, work, friends, colleagues, a cat, I like going out, I hate running, I like driving, I like seeing different places, I hate getting out of bed early, I like playing computer games etc. etc. etc. There's so much more stuff that defines me than just my toy collection.

To lots of people, even talking to a guy with skydiving as a hobby isn't that interesting if all he can talk about are his gear, the amount of drops he's made, the altitudes he did them at, and other technical skydiving stuff. Same goes for TF's. Be aware that most people don't know their Bumblebee from their Megatron. So there's no need to go into too much detail IF you tell someone about your hobby. And lastly, if someone really doesn't accept you just because of your hobby, screw them.

Some TFs cost more because they're an exclusive. Often these toys exist in a different colour scheme at a more reasonable price. Botcon exclusives are always repaints of existing figures that were available in regular shops. There are some good bargains on ebay, you just have to be patient and take your time - avoiding impulse purchases! The cheapest way to get current toys is from local toy shops but if you don't have those then there are plenty of online stores with reasonable pricing.

Buying TFs for financial investment is not the most lucrative activity. I buy TFs purely because I like to transform, pose and look at them. If you enjoy these things then it most certainly IS worth it for you to collect them.

Where does it end? Hopefully never cos I love these things. I buy one of everything that I REALLY REALLY WANT. Eventually space becomes an issue so make sure you buy figures you really desire - don't just buy them because you can. Buying an extra in the hopes that it will grow in value as a MISB toy is mostly a waste of time. The reason G1 toys are high in price is because they're rare as people didn't suspect that 20 years later people would spend their whole life on a computer hunting them down! These days thousands of people buy two of everything to keep one MISB for later resale.

When it comes to 'justifying TF collecting' maybe you don't need to. Mention it in passing or not at all, unless it comes up naturally. Is there anything you like doing apart from collecting and playing games? If that's all you have to pass the time with then you may find it difficult connecting with chicks that aren't gaming geeks. Relationships are built on common ground. If you like TFs and games and she likes riding horses and going to the ballet a relationship might not work. I love TFs and could talk about them all day but I also enjoy reading all sorts of books, watching all sorts of films, dancing salsa, bachata and tango and dressing up for fancy dress parties. Often, by the time a new acquaintance finds out about my TF love they already know that I'm a fun person.

And finally...
A club full of gotti's and douchebags is probably going to be populated with women that like gotti's and douchebags. Don't bother with them unless you too are a gotti or a douchebag.

Transformers is an expensive hobby to get into. But, you can make it as expensive or inexpensive as you want. If you are looking into buying all lines, exclusives, vintage figures, and MP's, you are going to have to spend a lot of money. If you stick to current figures and lines it is much more affordable. Figure out what you want your collection to look like, make some collecting rules for yourself and stick to them. I only collect figures that are direct G1 references (bot mode must resemble the g1 character and alt mode must be close). That saves you money, effort, and agonizing decisions over whether to get a figure or not.

Collect because you enjoy it. I love finding a figure that represents a great childhood memory. I love taking them down off my display shelf and playing with them. To me, the hobby is worth my investment. I have no problem telling anyone that I collect toys. Many people have a collection of something.

Nerdyness has gotten more PC over the past few years. The tv network G4 is all about nerdy stuff. They have whole shows dedicated to gadgets, comics, games, and movies. When a big convention comes around, they block out hours of programming just to cover it.

On a related note, if you are in a club trying to find women using your collection as a pickup line, you are fishing in a shark tank. You probably want to have some other conversation starters. You have other, more women-attracting, qualities about you. Discuss those.

In a job interview, employers ask about hobbies because they want to know how they can positively affect the workplace. I am a teacher. I use Transformers in my science class. I use the toys to demonstrate mass and energy. I use clips from the movie to show shots of the Hoover Dam. The kids love it. If you can tell the interviewer things like that, they will love it. If not, they don't care. Talk about a different hobby.

Bottom line- collect for you, not for others.

Transformers are fun, but there are lines for social norms. Work is work. Peripheral sharing of personal life is fine, but otherwise I'm there to get my stuff done.

As for the opposite sex, my wife and I found commonality in personal values, beliefs and interests in things other than my toy hobby. Would it have been "cool" to share in this as well? Maybe, but maybe not.

For what it's worth, I got into collecting because Mrs O bought me a TransFormer.

And Blurrz was right with this,

"If you start conforming to other's ideals and demands, then you are simply changing yourself."

I won't say much for toy price. They are the way they are. There are many ways to find cheap (craiglist, garage sale, used kids stuff store, Goodwill, flee market, etc), you just need to be lucky and patient and create some strategies. Even with current line in retail shops, you can still find good deals. How you collect them is in you, I won't say much but for me, I only buy one and may buy another if I know who to repaint to. And when I looked at my shelf, if there are figures that don't mean anything to me then, I will sale them so I have more space to put new.

Now to life. As many people said above, you buy toys for yourself if this is your hobby. You don't need to broadcast it if not necessary like when introducing yourself "Hi! My name is xxxx and I collect Transformers toys".

I am a Christian. 7 days in a week I've spent certain amount of time in church life and I have a family with two kids and a job. I cook dinner and wash dishes almost everyday and I also need to take care of the house and the damn big yard. There are really not much time for Transformers but I find my time for myself and when I have, I enjoy them.

My study room door used to be open for everybody to visit but now it is shut (besides family). I only show them to other people if I know them well enough. Many of my church friends and other friends don't understand my hobby but since they don't, I won't show them and even talk about it. I make this more privacy now and I am actually happier this way. Even my wife couldn't understand in the beginning but now she does as long as I keep the spending in control.

On the plus side. Many friends' kids love me because when I go to their house, I help them to put their Transformers back and even fix the toys for them (yeah, super glue), which their parents are unable to. They just buy toys for them and don't care. Believe it or not, there is a single mom bought ROTF leader class Prime for his 4 year old son and that Prime is never himself since out of the box, pieces everywhere. When we went to their house, I helped the son to gather all the missing pieces around and put Prime back to truck as it is the most he cares, you can't imagine seeing how happy they are including the mom.

There are ups and downs in this hobby but just don't let the downs affect you. If they keep affecting you, then why don't you quit to make your life happier and easier. If you really love this hobby, then don't mind how other people think.

believe it or not there are toy lines way more expensive than tf's (old sw and soul of chogokin to name a few.)
for me i tell people i had these as a kid but because i moved so much i always ended up losing them.if they dont accept that oh well no sleep lost. as far as what to collect get what appeals to you personally.
too often we get caught up in getting something because others think it will be worth more in the future.other times we think "its an exclusive i have to have it" i dont subscribe to either of those mantras and it has saved me more than a bundle of cash.
in the end you have to get what you like. as far as where to start look for something on shelves right now that appeals to you and when you find a theme you can build on it.whether it be the movieverse,classics,animated or even older lines like g1 or a/e/c add to it piece by piece.
good luck none the less.

Wow dude!!!!

Got to take it down a couple notches and play it cool.

You can't let transforming chunks of die cast and plastic define you(no matter how cool they are)

Like everything in life its temperance. Always let your best qualities shine thru, when the situation warrants and is more comfortable with another person, is when u start sliding in the stuff like: "I sleep with both legs thru one hole in my drawers", "I collect Transformers", "How big is your X-Box(pun intended)."

You sell yourself based on yourself, not your posession's.

Every situation is different. Collecting Transformers is different than going around thinking you are a Transformer. Just like playing D&D is okay even, but u need to leave the pointy ears and boots at home when u go out in the real world lol.

Like anything in life, job interview, new girl, meeting parents(ughh), etc you have to pick and choose what to show to get what you need/want, then introduce the other elements of yourself.

If you actually like transformers then get into it and, as Blurzz said, just buy what looks good to you because there is a s**t ton of transformers out there, as long as you live you will NEVER have them all, there are too many lines, sub-lines, exclusives, error versions, limited editions, and so forth.

BUT

This may be a good thing becuase not only will you regret spending too much money if you tried to get em all you wouldn't have any space left to live in in your house! I have been collecting since the age of five and currently own 1195 TFS. That is a big number but it is a very very small fraction of what there is to get and my walls in my one room are full! But my rule is only buy what looks cool and therefore i have extra money to save, buy a truck (with a tf logo on the back of course), take my girlfriend out and so forth.

THE MORAL: you can eventually have a collection that is the envy of any transfan and that you enjoy by simply buying what you like and not falling for marketing schemes AND have a normal life as well!

You'll see, once you come across something ugly like, let's say, most of the energon line, you'll realize that it is very easy to pass up a lot of what hasbro and takara churn out!

p.s. try third party, all the cool kids are doing it!

People who buy Transformers today as an investment should look to the comic industry of the 90's. All of these speculators and business people who saw old issues of Superman selling for hundreds of thousand of dollars in the 90's thought that comics were a good investment.

The result being all these people who had no interest in comics were suddenly buying them in multiples. Comic companies realized this and increased the number of comics they were printing to accomodate demand and take advantage of the situation.

There usually isn't a week that goes by that I am in a comic store and somebody is trying to sell their 90's comics that they think are worth a lot of money. They get mad when they are offered very little for them, if the comic shop will buy it at all. The comic shop I go to wont even look at a comic from the 90's if you are trying to sell any.

The only winners of this situation were the comic companies. There were some who even went out of business when the balloon burst because there was no room for them in the current comics world.

Collect for your own enjoyment. There is no other reason.

well, this is a lot of reading and right now i dont really have time to be reading all the posts
but anyway, every collector has their standards as i told my friends. no two collectors are the same, you have completionists, people who only collect mini cons, deluxe classes, certain characters. and if people dont like what you do then tell them to deal with it. if you like collecting dont let anyone tell you any different. its your life not theirs.
im not going to boss around Blurrz to collect the transformers i collect. and my god there are so many toys, you have to choose which ones you would like to collect. like for me, i like G1 and all but too expensive so i collect neo G1/classics or what ever you wanna call them. and i dont collect masterpiece or alternators because of price. and i was lucky to get fans project munitioner and explorer kits. its all up to you, if you want to collect nothing but classics no one here will tell you any different.

also i dont think my TFs are just hunks of plastic. each one has a story to tell. and they are so damn fun to play with! :3 i know how hard it is for people to tolerate my hobby and my collector life style, my girl friend tolerates it (barley, i tell her to get over it), and if someone says they are for babies then they are in a small small world, and their loss. if you want to be a collector let me tell you, have a deep wallet. i keep having to sell my stuff for more plastic crack money cus i gots no job

but yeah, do what YOU want. if you want to know about a figure look up a video review, look on seibertrons galleries (the galleries helped me make some tough choices), and ask on the boards here.

Never under any circumstance allow someone else's opinion define what makes you happy, or who you are.
I feel by your words alone in this post that you know you are not defined by your enjoyment of Transformers, and that they are just a small part of who you are.
I myself am going on 39, and have never had any issues with others alienating me, or pre-judging me because of my enjoyment of toys, or any other interests I may have. I look and act a bit hard core and have a very direct, yet respectful manner of interacting with other people. I am myself at all times, and never deviate from that. I have been around and have friends from all facets of humanity. From the stereotypical "Nerd" to the hard core shall we say " G", to the formal tight edged "Exec Yuppy". I enjoy all facets of humanity, and have never let my interests define my circle of friends or define who I am, or how I act towards others. That is why no matter who they are they respect me as well, and my interests, no matter what they are, and I never have to hide parts of myself to fit in. Now as far as women go, I approach them the same way, and have never had a woman turned off by an interest or hobby of mine that they didn't understand. They knew it came with the territory. Hell my current girlfriend helps me hunt for stuff I am looking for, and before she met me she didn't even know what a Transformer was...
As it concerns which toys you should buy, I think most can agree that it should be determined by what attracts you, and not what is most popular or valuable. Of course most of the time, but not always, the most popular or valuable Transformers are usually so, because they are the most attractive.
At the end of the day it comes down to being happy with yourself. It's not an easy thing to do in this **** up world of Clicks, Gangs, Suits, Ties, and preconceived ideas of what is normal.
If you enjoy something, and it's not destructive to yourself or others, let yourself enjoy it and " **** the World if they can't adjust"

Wow, aren't we just a bunch of swell guys! If only everyone was as nice as us!

Mykltron wrote:Wow, aren't we just a bunch of swell guys! If only everyone was as nice as us!

Isn't that the reason we are all here? Friends we never hesitate about talking about this hobby?

paul053 wrote:

Mykltron wrote:Wow, aren't we just a bunch of swell guys! If only everyone was as nice as us!

Isn't that the reason we are all here? Friends we never hesitate about talking about this hobby?

yeah thats why i am here, to talk about my favorite hobby and not get made fun of or be looked at as a freak. and to be around people with a common interest.

LOST Cybertronian wrote:The only winners of this situation were the comic companies. There were some who even went out of business when the balloon burst because there was no room for them in the current comics world.

I think there are a lot of people in the industry that would disagree with you on THAT one, LC.

Mkall wrote:If someone doesn't respect your hobboes, then they're obviously not the type of person you want to hang out with. Start being yourself and anyone who is too closed-minded to accept you is not worth your time. I met a wonderful girl a few weeks back; she was cute, charming and funny. Then I brought her back to my place and she broke out laughing at my shelves of figures, so I showed her the door without a second's more hesitation or regret. I tell people about my hobbies early on in order to filter people before getting too attached, there will always be more out there, and plenty of geeky ones too.

Ouch. What a b****... that's pretty rude of her, and good for you in dealing with it the way you did. I would've felt a lot more humiliated unfortunately, because I do often let what people think get to me. I know I shouldn't, but I'm a sensitive guy. Years of bullying and such...

Anyway, that said, yeah, if someone can't appreciate you for who you are, they're not worth your time. That's not to say you shouldn't listen to those who care when they're trying to help or give you advice. Just that if someone thinks you're a loser because you like to collect toys or thinks they're above you, then eff 'em. People who are shallow and closed-minded like that are not good people, and you don't need bad people in your life.

There are tons of ladies out there who will be cool with your hobbies, believe me. But it's 95% likely that you will NOT meet them in a nightclub. Go do some volunteer stuff or join some groups for other interests you have, maybe get in touch with your local geeky community or something. You're bound to meet some nerd-friendly girls somehow.

If you're worried about picking up chicks for one night stands at clubs or whatever, don't mention it and keep your toys in a closed room. If you're interested in seriously dating, don't make a big deal about collecting, but do mention it casually fairly early on, because it is a deal-breaker for some, unfortunately. Better to get that out of the way before you get too attached and get your heart broken.

As for the expensiveness, just buy what you want and leave the rest. No point in trying to get them all, unless that's your goal, but that's a difficult and expensive goal to attain that will consume far too much of your money and time. Better to set a smaller goal. I started out pretty aimless, but now I stick to mainly G1 characters and their homages. Works for me. So pick a goal, set up some rules for yourself, and stick to them.

Try to find good deals whenever you can. Wait for sales. Preorder if you know it's something you really want, some shops offer discounts if you order far ahead of time. If you're not sure, wait and see, maybe someone will sell it for less, sometimes years down the line. Loose Transformers(not in package) usually cost less. Buying in lots (groups of figures) is more economical if you're looking for most of the TFs in the lot. Local collectors are often more willing to sell to another collector for less because they know it will be going to a good home, and there's no shipping cost involved for either person. There are tons of ways to save money, which in the end helps you get more Transformers. Or not, it could just help you pay the bills, or get other things you need/want.

Lastly, if it stops being fun, stop. Or take a break. I find having a couple other hobbies helps me focus on something else for awhile so I don't get burned out on TFs. Of course, only if my budget allows.

Oh, and one more thing: Don't bother buying them for the investment. It's not worth it. The profits aren't enough to bother with. Just do it for enjoyment. Same reason I don't really see the point in buying multiples of figures to keep in the package. I take them all out and enjoy them. With very few exceptions, a figure that costs $20 today is not going to be worth $100 in 20 years. It just doesn't work that way. So just enjoy them and save yourself some money and stress.

Edit: One more thing I forgot to touch on. you mentioned justifying your interests to people. There's nothing you can say or do to change society and how people see these things. Slowly but surely, things are changing, geeky pastimes are becoming more mainstream and acceptable. But the only justification you need is this: You enjoy it and it makes you happy. Like any interest should. And that should be reason enough. If people can't understand that, they just don't get it, and if they won't accept it, it's their loss, because they could have a great friend/boyfriend/whatever if only they could get past their closed-minded opinions about geeky pastimes.

Dear All,

I've been sitting here on this computer, everyday, opening Seibertron.com, logging in,opening this thread and wanting to reply, and can't seem to come up with the words to say. I've been doing this the past week or so. I wonder if I should reply to each of your comments individually or if a mass reply is necessary.

You've left me at a loss for words.

1st and foremost, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your sincere and inspiring comments. I admire all your convictions and your love for this truly amazing and unique hobby. Your threads responses were so dead on and wise, that they've enlightened me and given me the strength and resolve in my personal battles that I am facing. It might not seem to you that way, but it is for me, and I truly appreciate this.
You've shown me that a person can stand and be authentic to what he/she likes, and the confidence combined with passion is 100 times worth what some girl or any one for that matter thinks. Haters gonna hate

I've been a fan of TF ever since I can remember, I was just amazed at dynamics of such a franchise. It was ahead of its time, and still remains on top of its game. Never mind my propaganda campaigns on other forum categories, I still think Bay's movies pushed the envelope and raised the bar.
I've always seen nothing wrong with collecting it, and I prided myself on doing so and being vocal about it. It's as of late that some people have expressed their discontent with the idea of collecting. And I had doubted my feelings, and it made me feel uneasy, to be away from something I love. But when you consider what your experiences have shown, really it doesn't matter what they say/think, and you're right, it's not about them. IT WAS NEVER about them ("them" substituting for general group of doubters, haters, and individuals). It's about you, about me and enjoying it. Omg, I see it clearly now , how could I have been so shallow. But it doesn't matter now, I've elevated my response to this, thanks to your comments. You guys inspired me to pursue what I like, weather it's in collecting form or just a simple like on a Facebook page. It becomes a secondary decision that aligns with what I (now the driver in this scenario) decides. If a girl or a friend is not accepting me for who I am, then maybe they're not worth my time.


Boy, what a heavy lesson I've learned, but I couldn't be more happier, to think without the shackles and clearly unrealistic constraints I've placed.

I will quote the famous Decepticon leader, may he rest in peace.
"You have earned Galvatron's respect"

to quote

Mykltron wrote:Wow, aren't we just a bunch of swell guys! If only everyone was as nice as us!

I'm lucky to have had this opportunity to converse with you guys ^_^

I will end my reflections here to not waste more of your time.

Now onto discussing Transformers collecting
I have one question, since I'm resolved on the WFC series, and it's a manageable starting collection. I already have Generations Bumblebee, and looking to acquire, Soundwave, Prime and Megs generations. But I'm curious about Cliffjumper, I had him before then I sold them (long story), but I noticed that the Cliffjumper I had, the joints , wore out very fast, I had barely done 2 transformations, is this common for red plastic tfs? they have a little powdery residue on the ball socket joint. Will Prime have the same characteristics? Isn't red plastic more brittle? like the golden plastic syndrome?
I once had a G2 Electro, and it was chaos, in the end he became a quadriplegic toy, with the silver bits and gold, all failing. granted I was a child then, and I played a lot with the toy, but it was obvious gold color isn't good plastic material.

I'm glad this thread has helped you feel better about collecting.

As for your questions, I haven't heard about too many problems with red plastic like GPS, but sometimes toys just have fairly loose joints out of the package. This often happens with repaints because they are reusing the mold again when it has already sort of worn out from making the first batch of toys. The tolerances of the parts are less exact, so they don't fit together quite as well and usualy end up looser.

So that could be the reason why your Cliffjumper is suffering from loose joints so soon. There is a fix though, if you have access to some superglue or clear nail polish, you can carefully pop out the ball joint and apply a thin layer of glue/polish to the ball. Let it thoroughly dry (several hours is best), then pop the joint back together and it should be tighter. If it's still loose, pop it out and add another coat. Keep repeating until you get the results you want.

thnx for the advice, I'll give it a try, I have tons of different glues for my Warhammer 40 k stuff

I personally always had a small or selective collection, mainly deluxe/scouts or few voyagers. I don’t really have any older TFs from G1, few hand me downs. That don’t bother me as I work with a smaller budget, but I still enjoy my collection as much someone who has 100s of transformers.

I have some Beast Wars/Armada/Energon/Rid Transformers collected over the years growing up and now currently aiming at finishing my modest movie collection. A lot of people here seem to have many different versions of some TFs (Prime / Bumblebee / Iron Hide ect) yet I’m completely happy with just my BB bumblebee and BB Prime from ROTF. Heck I’ve only just got a movie Starscream last night (deluxe) and my only other DOTM TF at the moment is shockwave.

Unless you aim to get them all and have the funds, there’s no point trying to ‘’catch em all‘’. Maybe watch a few Transformer shows again (maybe movie too if you like them) to help decide whom you like and want to buy.