The Energon Pub

I think my strange love of transformers is brought on by the happy memories as a child like many others. Just wondering some peoples favorite memories attached to there transformer toys. Mine is easy there was birthdays and gifts from realitives no longer with me but this one always stands out and even though me and my dad didnt get along for awhile this makes me know he really did love me. It was Christmas morning I dunno 85 86 and I went down with my brother and what was on the tree my dad opened up all the constructicons and placed them all on the tree man to me that was the coolest damn thing ever god they looked beautiful with all the chrome and metal ornaments reflecting twinkling lights onto them oh look theres a ramble

So many memories to choose from!

Eh- I got a Nosecone from my aunt when I was staying over. Went down to the toystore and I was drooling over a Cutthroat, for some reason she didn't think it was suited for me. So instead I got Nosecone, which was okay... I still don't get that. It was a great weekend, good memory as a whole.

When I got in to collecting I got a MISB reissue Godginrai. I never knew I could love an inanimated object so much. So many modes, so awesome.

lol, soooo many. i would probably sound like kup telling all the stories XD but when i was little my mom bought me some and i still have them. tons of them were given to me for many reasons, not wanted anymore, gifts, and i still have them. girl friend has given me some.

I no longer have them, but finding the Protectobots giftset that my mother hid when I was a kid that was a Christmas gift.

when i got back into collecting my nephew got me a legends bb. that added a figure to my collection and spawned a new passion for legends lol!

Favorite moment? Me and my best friend during lunch at school reenacting the scene from the Marvel comic where Jetfire throws Optimus's head to his body. My G1 Prime had something happen to it and as a result it became very easy to take off and put back his head, so it made doing this very easy.

I'd just had an operation when I was 6 and when I got out my mum had bought me G1 Vortex as something to cheer me up.

I still love that figure to death.

As a kid, maybe 13 or 14, playing with G1 Optimus Prime's cab section in my father's auto body shop. The cars were often covered in dust from body filler sanding, or other sources, and I loved the way Prime's tires would leave real tire tracks.

I still have that Optimus, but the body shop and my dad are gone. If I had to pick one TF to keep, and lose all my others, it would be this one.

I love these discussions, it's great to hear about why TF means so much to other fans that have a passion for the line.

I have a lot of memories I can bring up. One is the beginning, when I got a TF toy from a relative, Ratchet from an Aunt, didn't realize what it was and then just put it away because I wasn't interested in ambulances. Then one day i found it again, saw that it looked pretty cool and opened it up. It was awesome, and took me into a new world. From then on, I would brag to my friends about the cool things Ratchet did in the cartoons, etc.

I then asked my parents to get me some TF toys. We lived overseas, so it was harder, but my dad went on a business trip to the states and did some looking. Of course, being ambitious, I asked him to get me Optimus Prime, which he said he couldn't find. Instead he got me Mirage and a few others. Disappointed, I gave Mirage to a friend for his birthday, only to be completely wowed when he opened him up. After that I got myself a Mirage and loved him.

I've given this whole topic a lot of thought over the years, and did a long writeup once, I can post it here if folks want to see it, but it's a little long.

go ahead post it

Opening 2007 leader Optimus Prime,so cool,so fun!

This is a topic that I have given a lot of thought to over the years, I’m a new poster here and am not entirely familiar with the rules, so please forgive any mis-steps. Doing the topic justice requires a full answer and a longer post. My apologies in advance for the length of this post.

The 1980’s

I am one of those TF fans that grew up with the toys in the 1980’s, and I consider myself to be a Gen 1 purist. I got into Transformers back in about 1984. For Christmas that year, an aunt gave me Ratchet from series 1. At the time I unwrapped the gift, I saw that it was an ambulance and simply set it aside. Back then I was more interested in toys that could fight battles, like Star Wars. It was only about a month or so later that I found the Ratchet toy again sitting around in our house, and for the first time I picked it up to read it and saw that it said “trans . . tranzfo . . . transformers?” Realizing that there was more to this toy than I had first realized (I’m resisting the “MTMTE” pun here), I read the back of the box, saw the tech specs and the great battle artwork, and opened the toy. The toy itself was a little disappointing to me, as it wasn’t much of a robot, but I eagerly looked through the toy catalog that had been included in the box. I would read that catalog very carefully each day at lunch and after school.

My family lived overseas at the time, so it was very hard to find a lot of the toys that my sibs and I wanted. We would only travel to the US once every other year or so, and in the meantime we would have to ask relatives to help us purchase toys and send them to us. Shortly after discovering Ratchet, my father was scheduled to head out on a business trip to the US, so I eagerly asked him to buy me a few toys. Brimming with ambition, I specifically asked him to buy me Optimus Prime and Soundwave. To my disappointment, my father wasn’t able to find Prime, but he did bring me back Mirage the race car, Ramjet, and Soundwave. I was allowed to open one of the three toys, with the rest to be earned through grades or good behavior, so I chose Soundwave, and he remains to this day one of my favorite toys. I put every piece of the toy to good use, even using the styrofoam insert as a “base” for Soundwave and Buzzsaw. From then on I was completely hooked. I would pore through the TF toy catalogs at all hours of the day, I would watch whatever TF cartoons I could find, and even though TF cartoons weren’t available where I lived, we would purchase the cartoons on VHS so that I could watch them.

My mother was terrific about getting us toys. Little did I realize it then but she would often sit down with me and look at the TF catalogs and ask which ones I liked. Unaware, I would point to the ones that I had been staring at and using in my imaginary battles for months. Then magically, the next Christmas, I received Optimus Prime, Shockwave and Blitzwing. To date, that remains the fondest Christmas I have ever had.

I was one of those children who loved not only to play with the toys and wage many battles, but I also loved to set up and pose the toys as collectible pieces for others to see, and then when I was finished playing, I would put the toys back in the styrofoam they came in and carefully insert them back into the boxes that they had come in to place on my shelf so that it looked as if the toys were still brand new in the packaging. For me, it was not only the toys that were neat, it was also the packaging, the artwork, the tech specs, the whole deal. Many times I had looked at a catalogue and thought that a certain character’s toy did not look very appealing, only to see the toy on a store shelf in its full artwork-packaged-glory and then suddenly change my mind and ask my parents to please buy me this toy that I had wanted for so very long . . . My parents were very supportive and got me many of the toys. My mother also patiently sent away for many of the mail order toys such as Powerdasher, the Omnibots and Reflector. I even got the S.T.A.R.S. cardboard computer-base, and I used the rising door compartment as a space bridge. Heck, I also had the autobot emblem watch, transformers bed sheets, playing cards, posters, comics, choose your own adventure books, and about everything else that I could imagine.

Looking back, I can see that my siblings and I were very fortunate as children. I can see that even more now that I am an adult with my own family. I recall being told that I was very lucky, that transformers were very expensive, and how other children could not afford the toys and could only go into the stores to touch the toys. Perhaps it was that sentiment that led to my taking the Mirage toy my dad had brought back for me and giving it as a birthday present to a friend. Now that I am grown, I try to buy some TF toys and put them in the toy bins during holiday drives in the hopes that perhaps a child will discover the toy in much the same way that I did many years ago.

1990’s

I continued collecting for several years, but as with many kids my age, I began to drift away once I hit junior high and high school, when to my surprise toys suddenly became very “uncool.” I never lost my love for the toys, but it was not until college that I shook off the peer-pressure and re-embraced my love for certain toy brands and collectibles. During much of the 1990’s I did not follow Transformers, as I was busy with High School, college, “growing up,” etc. I missed out on Beast Wars, Beast Machines, etc, even though I had moved back stateside.

2000’s

Then in 2001 I heard rumblings that some of my favorite characters would be released again in the RID line. Eagerly I ran to a TRU to see the new toys. The toys were not to my liking, but the excitement I felt at the possibility of my favorite childhood toys returning sparked me to continue following TF news. Shortly afterwards, Hasbro reissued Hot Rod in G1 packaging. My brother, sister and I ran to TRU one day and found two Hot Rods on the shelves. Eagerly we snapped them up and cheered. We had never had Hot Rod growing up and my brother, especially, had always wanted one. About that same time I saw that the Combaticons had been reissued in a different color and I purchased Onslaught. I then began seeing that some transformers were being reissued in Japan, so slowly I began to get pulled back in. This was my chance to buy transformers toys that I had wanted as a child but had never had.

That takes me to some point in 2003, I was at a TRU one day to buy a gift for a friend when I looked on the shelves and much to my surprise I found a reissue G1 Starscream staring back at me. I picked it up and examined it, and then pondered it for a few minutes. I had never had Starscream growing up, though a friend had owned him. Back then if one of us had a particular TF toy, we had a “code” whereby when the rest of us had a chance to get a new TF toy, we would avoid the ones that were already owned by our friends and purchase a new toy that no one had. This way we would “pool” our resources so that we all had different TF toys and then we would be able to play with as many different TF characters as possible. It was sort of like having a “community TF collection.” As a result, I had never had Starscream, though I had held him in my hands at one time before seeing him on the TRU shelf that day.

After a moment’s hesitation, I thought what the heck, and purchased the Starscream. I then took it home that night, curious to see if TF toys would still be fun now that I was in my late 20’s instead of in my middle school years. Much to my surprise, I opened the toy and had a lot of fun posing the toy, transforming it, and then reimagining some battles and storylines in my head. It wasn’t the same as when I was younger of course, but it was still a lot of fun, and reminded me fondly of that time in my life when I was younger and all I had to worry about was schoolwork and play. To me this was a bookend and a reminder of that time when I had first received the Ratchet toy from my aunt. That aunt has since sadly passed away, but I am forever grateful that she introduced me to this toyline. When I attended her funeral I remembered that day fondly and gave thanks to her for providing me with a cherished childhood memory.

Today

Like many G1 fans, I am now in my 30’s, I am married and have my own family. I have my own little guy who is now playing with his own toys. I’ve tried hard not to push him in any direction, but he has already noticed my TF toys displayed on the shelves, and has been asking to play with them. I’ve also shown him a few select scenes from cartoon episodes and the 86 movie, which has now resulted in him yelling out “you got TOUCH! You got POW-WAH!!!” My wife just smiles and shakes her head.

I’ve told my wife that I will probably pass my collection on to my son if he ends up liking TF long term. When I look back now at Transformers and my life, I can see how it bridged two generations, and now possibly a third. I look back at the countless hours of fun, both as a child eagerly at play, then later as a teenager struggling with growing up, and now as an adult raising his own family. Transformers have always been there in some shape or form, and have provided a subtext to my life. I will always love the toyline, even as it changes over time to appeal to new fans. For me I will always love Generation 1, the originals.

I still collect Transformers today. When I wonder why, the answer is always simple – because I love transformers. I love posing the toys, I love the imagination and possibilities that the toys evoke, and I love the nostalgia factor. Collecting these toys reminds me that while I may grow up, a part of me can continue to retain that childhood wonderment that I felt many years ago and that I feel anew today. It has been a lot of fun collecting reissues and modern updates of classic characters.

One final anecdote, when I was married several years back, my wife and I created our own wedding programs and we added quotations that were meaningful to each of us. My wife inserted quotes from her favorite author, Jane Austen. Meanwhile I included a quote from one of my favorite philosophers; yes you guessed it, a Transformers quote. I quoted Optimus Prime with “Until the day til all are one.” When people asked me about that quote later, I responded that to me the quote talked about the goal of people unifying as a race, but that until that day, may we all find comfort in each other, our friends, loved ones and fellow people. Wise words perhaps, but in reality I was simply happy to reference my favorite toy line during an important life moment.

So that’s my (lengthy) story, I would certainly love to hear/read about the experiences that others have had.

That was beautiful man

Well I read that really long last sentance, not even a sentance, and here's what I produced of memories:
When I was 9, my brother gave me some of his G1 TFs (Slag, Ultra Magnus - Incomplete, Chase, and Searchlight)
When I was 14, my mom bought me 25th Anniversary Optimus.
On my 5th grade graduation, I was starting out my Transformers Collection, and my grandmother bought me the Recon Mini-Con Team, which I longed for.
On my 8th grade graduation, and my Aunt bought me Animated Blitzwing
The folks buy me transformers here and there now adays, since I'm on a budget, but I'll never forget the time my dad bought me Cybertron. Wait, no, that came out wrong. Bought me Primus. Cybertron Primus. One of the many transformers in my collection I will never outgrow

My wall of text is complete

Dear god, I forgot to put in my introduction to TFs and what I like about them, my favorite moment attached to Collecting.
I'd like to put this in the format of EightiesKid, hope thats OK.

1999-2001
The Beast Machines era. I watched the show as a little toddler. Knowing that Beast Wars was not the start of Transformers, I did not buy that series. For some odd reason, I just hated beasts. No offense, Grimlock. I did get my hands on Waspinator, but the wings broke. No, literally broke, as in the plastic cracked and snapped. Good thing it didn't pop. Waspinator dawned my liking for Trasnformers. That slowly faded away during 2002, but I just loved the fact that robots could turn into beasts/vehicles, and I loved to make small battles of what I had of my collection.

2004-2006
My real dawn of Transformers Collecting. I started out easy in Armada, only gaining The Street Action Mini-Con Team, and Hot Shot, but Energon really started it. I got my first actual Decepticon. Not Predacon like Waspie, Decepticon: Insecticon. I would make Insecticon fight Hot Shot and the Mini-Cons. Not knowing that the Decepticons were evil, I'd always make Insecticon, and sometimes Waspinator, win. I also gained Optimus Prime (which I later sold, I forget why), Ironhide, and of course, my G1 collection dawned with my brother. I was 9 around 2004. My mother and I would always go to TRU or Target, searching for the right figures for me. Then Cybertron came. I picked up Brushguard, then my very first Optimus Prime, then Downshift, then Override. This dawned my Cybertron collection. I remember taking Brushguard's claws off. Luckily I still have Overhaul's. I remember always making Brushguard and Override or Optimus Prime and Override fall in love, each boy-bot asking the fembot to "marry him." I collected almost every Cybertron figure I could find. Being 11 at this time, I started earning money for chores. I would watch the Cybertron show, amazed by Cyber Key Power. My favorite episode was when Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattershot died, but was reborn. I'll never forget that era. It seemed that series was the "bomb." I caught my eye to the '86 movie (the first time I heard of "G1") and began collecting the Classics line. Great articulation, and I was able to make more powerful battles with these guys

2007-2009
Then came Bayverse. I had already watched most of G1, and seen the '86 movie, I had an understanding of the entire line. My first Bayverse figures were Jazz and Scorponok. These figures were much more articulated, IMO, I couldn't believe it. I was able to create better battles. I started out collecting every and that was in the movie, then moving on to game figures, and additionals. Animated was where I noticed lots of G1 Homages. Hated the show, but the figures were OK. In 2009, I was 14, starting to drift away from the Transformers. I had joined Seibertron the year prior, and I was determined that I wouldn't give up Transformers. I went ahead and collected Universe and ROTF.

The Drift to Today
In 2010, a really dead year for me, I didn't collect TFs at all that year. I have given it up. Just recently in February di I return. To this day I still take my DOTM, Cybertron, and Classics figures off the shelf and bring them into the dining room table for an epic battle. What was my base around Transformers? I always loved battle genres, such as Power Rangers. My friend, Charles, and I, were obsessive with these guys. We still talk to this day.

After seeing what I've been missing on since I left, I don't think I'll be leaving the brand again. But the point of this wall of text wasn't to say that "OMG I cant believe I left this", It is about the progress of my TF collecting, and I even typing this, some many memories evoke. What is my favorite moment attached to collecting? In every buy, being able to open that big cardboard box and be able to explore a new figure in different ways. In the past, I'd have to say when I got my first Cybertron Primus. Seen my post above.


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Well im going to go eat a burrito now.

Me getting my first ever tf toy which was G1 jetfire. It was a hand me down from my dad. He loved the fig very much he leaves it in a glass case. Finally he just gave to me for my fifth b day

Back in the 80's (yes, I'm old) when I was like 6 I think, maybe 7 at best I was shopping with my grandmother and saw G-1 Ravage in cassette mode on a shelf. No packaging or anything. The store wasn't even a toy store or had much for toys that I can remember. But she had me show the manager and he looked it over and said I could keep it. (awesome for a 6-7 yr old). He didn't have any of his accessories (if it came with any).

Him and Starscream made a raid against Optimus and bumblebee later that afternoon.