The Energon Pub

I remember that. I wasn't too heavily into collecting TFs back then, but I picked up 3 (Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Rodimus Prime.) Still have em nice and neat, tucked away in my closet. Will post pic in a bit.


I was on the look out for the Optimus reissue, but it never turned up. Same with Starscream, Magnus, and Hotrod. :?

Luckily, I now have Encore Prime and original Takara reissue Starscream.

Prime, Magnus and Starscream were released in earlier waves than the others you mentioned, so they were all gone by the time you bought yours. Not sure about Hot Rod... Same thing happened to me, I got back into the hobby halfway through, but I did end up getting Hot Rod.

Luckily I also picked up a 20th Prime just in time!

Ah, the good old days.

Sadly, I didn't have the money to get or any way to get to my TRU..ANd now I got a decent paying job..It's a few years too late. Wish they'd be re-re-released =\

*sigh* this pic makes me remember the 80's, when TFs were boxed like the reissues posted here, prices were cheap compared to what they cost now here in our country and our local malls were relatively filled with all the G1 goodness you can find... a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

Sorry guys, it sounds like collectively most of you have been saddened by me posting these pics?

Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone sad.

Regret and hindsight can be tough sometimes huh?

Personally, I treat these pics as one big lesson...in stores, get what you can, while you can get it. If it's financially viable don't hesitate. Problem now is that for the most part shelves are empty. Can't wait for the good times to roll around again. My worry is that due to the movie it may be a long, long time before we see full store shelves for more than just a few days at a time. Why? Because this darn movie has really dug into the main stream. TF Collecting has to be at an all time high right now, kids, collectors, and unfortunatley scalpers all wanting a piece of the action. People say BB09 deluxe will be everywhere soon..yeah but I'm afraid in every form it comes (2-pack whatever) will get snatched up quick just like the ones do today. Is there an end in sight? We all know how things go these days with movies. By 2012 we'll probably be at 4th Transformer flick. Transformer toys will be loved/collected by many for years to come.

it's hard to look at those pics. i feel a great sense of regret looking at what i could've had. granted i did get some of them but i committed the cardinal sin of thinking to myself, "don't worry they'll be here next time i come" and of course they were gone forever. from now on if i see a fig in stores that i've been wanting i just buy it without even hesitating.

i wish i was into this 4 years ago.

skyblast wrote:Sorry guys, it sounds like collectively most of you have been saddened by me posting these pics?

Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone sad.

Regret and hindsight can be tough sometimes huh?

Personally, I treat these pics as one big lesson...in stores, get what you can, while you can get it. If it's financially viable don't hesitate. Problem now is that for the most part shelves are empty. Can't wait for the good times to roll around again. My worry is that due to the movie it may be a long, long time before we see full store shelves for more than just a few days at a time. Why? Because this darn movie has really dug into the main stream. TF Collecting has to be at an all time high right now, kids, collectors, and unfortunatley scalpers all wanting a piece of the action. People say BB09 deluxe will be everywhere soon..yeah but I'm afraid in every form it comes (2-pack whatever) will get snatched up quick just like the ones do today. Is there an end in sight? We all know how things go these days with movies. By 2012 we'll probably be at 4th Transformer flick. Transformer toys will be loved/collected by many for years to come.

QFT. that's the negative side of having the movie.

though it might have brought in a few more fans into the world of TF collecting (positive), along with it came the kids who don't give a rat's arse about collecting & taking care of these toys and the hoarders and scalpers who sought to benefit from the demand stemming in from the movie's success.

personally, it makes me sad that for each wave of toys coming in our stores this year alone, the shelves that we have seen in your pics doesn't even last days - demand is so great (even in our country!) that collectors and hoarders alike even camp out of stores whenever there's word of a restock coming (though not for days at a time, mind you - more like hours before opening time to beat other buyers).

this is even made worse by the fact that being a 3rd-world asian country, shipment is very limited.

i hate the fact that because of these surge in the status quo, whenever i want a good movie figure i have to really prepare for it months in advance, exhaustively check every forum and site for word on restocks, call every darn toystore representative and manager, and waste precious time camping out of toystores before opening time just to get what i want.

whatever happened to the old days when buying and collecting TFs was a relatively stress-free hobby? when you could just walk into your local store, take your time browsing all the good TF selections, and come back in the days ahead with the money you saved, confident that although there are others who are interested in the particular toy you want, there is still a copy or two hanging around?

Why can't TRU be like that all the time?

Shockwave06 wrote:Why can't TRU be like that all the time?

If the movie had never come out it might be??? Glad it did though...

i cant belive it! what a beautiful sight! i cant believe i missed out on that... i just got back into collecting tf's with the release of classics starscream

Kanyon wrote:Sadly, I didn't have the money to get or any way to get to my TRU..ANd now I got a decent paying job..It's a few years too late. Wish they'd be re-re-released =\

I'm right there with you.

skyblast wrote:Sorry guys, it sounds like collectively most of you have been saddened by me posting these pics?

Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone sad.

No worries, it's not too bad. Nostalgia in general tends to give people that wistful sort of sad feeling. It's the good kind of sad! It just makes people wish the stores were always like this. For a short time, they were, with the movie, except the toys weren't the same. But it's all good. With each new incarnation of Transformers comes a new heydey. Maybe we'll see days like this again in the near future.