The Energon Pub

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 12:26 pm

I pose the question: What TF toys did you grow up with?

Actually, my earliest memory was of my first TF. It was the Constructicon Long Haul at my older sister's wedding. I musta been 2 or 3? After that my next two were the Mailaway Reflector and the king himself, Optimus Prime. I carried him around like a teddy bear :lol:

Then after that my toys were actually kinda sporadic. Even though I never saw Season's 2 or 3, that's where the rest of my toys came from. I had: Ultra Magnus, Thrust, Dirge, Hoist, Grapple, Pipes, Springer, and enough Scramble City guys to make two Combiners. There were others I'm sure, but that's all I can remember.

And I totally used those figures as different characters. Thrust and Dirge were my Starscream and Thundercracker, Hoist was my Trailbreaker, Pipes was my Huffer, and so on :lol:

Later on I finally got some Dinobots when G2 rolled around (the silver ones even), and many others I'm sure. And you know what? I still have all my original TF's to this day, and I don't think I'll ever part with them

How about you guys?

News Credits: 33 · by **Amelie** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:43 pm

I was given G1 Prowl when I was about 2 in 1986 from my brother's friend. He also gave me Jetfire when I was about 4, which is when my absent father also got me Powermaster Optimus Prime.

So whilst being as old as G1, I was also playing with them whilst they were originally out.

I seriously cannot remember a time when Transformers were not a part of my life.

News Credits: 22 · by **Rodimus Prime** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:33 pm

My 1st 2 figures were also G1 Prowl and Powermaster Prime. I can't remember which one I got 1st, even though Prowl came out before PM Prime. It was around 1988, so my guess would be Prime. I was more attached to PM Prime, because the G1 Marvel comics are my favorite continuity, it's what I grew up with, and he was a big part of that story. Ironically, I never liked Prowl as a character from that series, but I still liked the toy very much. Sadly, I no longer have it.

by **Optimum Supreme** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:57 pm

Megatron (G1) was my first official TF, but I had a Diakron blue "trailbreaker" before that (after returning a red "sunstreaker" that wouldn't close up right in car mode, though neither did either of the two actual Sunstreakers I later had, so design problem, not defective, I later found out.)

Next I got Thundercracker, then Brawn was my first Autobot.

For my birthday 84 I got Hound, then at Christmas I think I got a few, but only Optimus stands out in my memory. I also got some non-transformer stuff that year, since TF's were in high demand and hard to come by like Cabbage Patch a few years before.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:59 pm

A K.O/Taiwan Micros aka black Rumble/Frenzy and a Macross transforming Valkyrie sharpener which I imagined as Skyfire ( I was dirt poor back then)

by **StarfireDelta** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:12 am

I was born too late to get many G1 Transformers brand new, but my earliest acquisition was Trailbreaker, which the girl down the road gave me in what must have been the late 1980's. He came very loose and with no weapons, but I still have him. He has tremendous sentimental value to me, if nothing else.

The first brand new Transformer I got was Air Raid from the 1991 reissues, and I later got Silverbolt and Motormaster from the same line. They were the only G1 Transformers I ever got in G1's original run. I got a handful of G2 Transformers and made a few second hand acquisitions (including Galvatron with no accessories for £0.60), but I never had many before Beast Wars, that's when everything changed.

The good thing about Beast Wars was that I watched the cartoon religiously every bank holiday and autumn half term (which were the only times it was shown on terrestrial TV in the UK) and it had a very small cast. So I was only really interested in acquiring a relatively small number of toys from the line. I wanted the characters who were in the show and if I had some money saved up, I might go for a non-show character that I thought was cool.

So, yeah, it was mainly Beast Wars that I grew up with, since I saw that whole series basically from the beginning to the end (sans the episodes GMTV missed out of season 1 and all of season 3, all of which I later got on VHS). G1 had always been there, but it was something I experienced in very limited doses as a child. A handful of episodes on VHS (most of them rented from Blockbuster), the movie, a couple of comics (two issues in the Space Pirates arc, though, so that's something), and three of the annuals (1986, 1987, and 1988). Enough to know a bit of the lore, but not in great detail -- I mean, I didn't even understand that the comics and the cartoon were separate continuities (although I recognised that the comics had a more mature tone). That would not change until I was practically a grown woman and read all of the comics online and got the three seasons of the cartoon on DVD.

So for me, it was really Beast Wars that I grew up with.

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:12 am

The very first one I remember having is a G2 Sideswipe (which was called Freccia here in Italy), that my dad brought back for me from a business trip.

And I have this annoying memory of owning Megalligator and Battimus Prime, from the early BW, but leaving them/losing them in a hotel room during a winter holiday once. I used to make them fight under the bed, and I'm pretty sure that's where they last were when I left the place.

The other big memory is my mother deciding to buy me a birthday gift, a GameBoy cassette, but me changing my mind as I spotted BW Optimus Primal. I was a very happy kid, and she spent a lot less than she had planned to - that toy is still the last one I have left from childhood (proof below), all the rest are acquired as an adult collector!

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:52 am

StarfireDelta wrote:So for me, it was really Beast Wars that I grew up with.

Not a bad way to grow up

My first Beast Wars figure was that basic beetle Insecticon. It was the first quick change TF I had ever handled, that coupled with his ball joints giving him posability I'd never seen in a TF had me absolutely floored. My next two were Rattrap and Terrorsaur I think :-?

While I religiously hunted down Dinobot. I never had an Primal or Megs until the TM's, and Transmetal Megatron was the first actual Megatron I ever owned!

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:58 am

Dr Va'al wrote:And I have this annoying memory of owning Megalligator and Battimus Prime, from the early BW, but leaving them/losing them in a hotel room during a winter holiday once. I used to make them fight under the bed, and I'm pretty sure that's where they last were when I left the place.

I think I did the same with G1 Dreadwind. I remember playing with him in a hotel room on a family visit (I think my aunt got him for me) and I still have his Powermaster.

Similarly, I had a Sixshot. Very shortly after I got him though, I was playing with some kid and his arm broke off. For whatever reason my parents threw him away, but I still have the arm. :lol:

by **Glarryg** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:17 pm

A couple of the big ones I grew up with were G1 Trailbreaker and Sideswipe, although we had a pretty good Minibot collection, too (Powerglide and Huffer being two of my favorites). We had Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, but they were the red and yellow variants, respectively, which ticked me off to no end. Other kids would try to tell me that yellow Cliff was Bumblebee, because Bumblebee is the yellow one. I'd try to explain that, no, Bumblebee is the VW Beetle, which is this red one, and the toy people got the colors wrong on these two. Nobody listened, which was maybe even more frustrating than having a red Bumblebee. My anger was alleviated a little when G2 'Bee came around, and I could bask in his glorious vacuum-metalized gold. It wouldn't be for another decade or two that I'd finally get my yellow G1 Bumblebee, though.

Another thing I remember was really liking the door-winged Autobot cars, like Skids and Prowl (possibly because robot wings always remind me of Voltron, and making them out of the car doors was genius to grade school-aged Glarryg), but I never had one. We had a decent collection of Go-Bots, though, and a healthy amount of off-brand transforming robots. My older brother had Devastator, which was a big deal, but he never let me play with it.

Glarryg

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:06 pm

Glarryg wrote:Other kids would try to tell me that yellow Cliff was Bumblebee, because Bumblebee is the yellow one. I'd try to explain that, no, Bumblebee is the VW Beetle, which is this red one, and the toy people got the colors wrong on these two. Nobody listened....

That made me chuckle :lol:

I would have been the exact same way :lol:

Glarryg wrote:My older brother had Devastator, which was a big deal, but he never let me play with it.

He was a big deal. I never had him as a kid, but handling him as an adult made me wonder.... I'm not comparing him to todays standards, but he is really not that impressive. He's tiny and fragile. Did kids actually have fun with that toy? :-?

News Credits: 22 · by **Rodimus Prime** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:55 pm

shajaki wrote:
Glarryg wrote:My older brother had Devastator, which was a big deal, but he never let me play with it.
He was a big deal. I never had him as a kid, but handling him as an adult made me wonder.... I'm not comparing him to todays standards, but he is really not that impressive. He's tiny and fragile. Did kids actually have fun with that toy?

I did. And I wasn't even really a kid. I think I was 18 when I got G1 Devastator, so technically I was an adult. But I never had any of the gestalts when I was young, and when I got back into collecting in 2000, I wanted to go in chronological order according to the G1 comics, so Devastator was the 1st gestalt I bought. And yes, back then I played with him as if it was 1985. He wasn't mint by any means, he wasn't even complete. It was just the 6 Constructicons and the accessories to make Devy, no small weapons or anything. But it sure made me feel like I was 8, not 18. But yeah, compared to now, and especially his CW version, G1 Devy seems so simple yet fragile.

by **Glarryg** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:29 am

shajaki wrote:
Glarryg wrote:My older brother had Devastator, which was a big deal, but he never let me play with it.
He was a big deal. I never had him as a kid, but handling him as an adult made me wonder.... I'm not comparing him to todays standards, but he is really not that impressive. He's tiny and fragile. Did kids actually have fun with that toy?

I honestly don't remember my brother playing with it all that much, either. If memory serves, he collected the Constructicons over time, because I do remember playing with individual figures, but I think that by the time he had the whole team he realized the importance of keeping them all in good shape and preserving the set (which may have very likely been influenced by Dad, who's always been frugal like that). I remember Devastator being on display, and me gazing longingly at it and wishing to bring it down from the shelf, but it may never have joined in any epic TF battles. Plus, it was the only complete combiner team any of us had, so it would've been kind of unfair in a fight.

Glarryg

News Credits: 33 · by **Amelie** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:44 pm

Glarryg wrote:Plus, it was the only complete combiner team any of us had, so it would've been kind of unfair in a fight.

Glarryg

I never got Devastator as a kid. I always wanted him, but he evaded me. I bought 3 of the UK "yellow" editions from the early 90s, not knowing they lacked the combiner parts and having realized they were lacking - didn't get the other 3. Devastator became a bit of a "grail" for me, so I had the chance to "make do" with the Encore 20A (Anime) Devastator a couple years ago for my birthday (£35 inc shipping, MISB - ;)^

). I think hes an awesome figure and he's in a kinda tussle for my fave combiner with Menasor now.

I had Defensor, Menasor, Superion and Bruticus as a child, though - took YEARS to get all the bits as I only got figures on Birthdays, Christmas and rare times I had saved money. Part of buying G1 toys in the way I do is to relive the special moments - because I don't binge on figures, each one is generally significant

News Credits: 12 · by **Evil Eye** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 8:05 am

My first ever Transformer was RID Side Burn. I absolutely adored that toy and I still do, worn chrome and all. Most of my earliest (and thus most worn out) Transformers were from RID- I had Side Burn, Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Megatron. Most of the toys I bought growing up were from the Unicron Trilogy, mainly Energon actually. I guess that helped influence my collecting taste somewhat.

News Credits: 22 · by **Rodimus Prime** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:49 am

I have an idea/question. Instead of making an all-new thread, I just thought I might expand this one. Amelie, I hope you don't mind. But if you prefer I make an all-new thread, I will, no worries.

This is kinda hijacking your thread. :-P

Anyway, my question to all of you is, do you remember the 1st toy you got in each line that you collected? Or are there too many lines to count? For example, mine:

G1: Powermaster Prime
G2: Tank Megatron
Beast Wars: 10th anniversary Primal and Megatron 2-pack
RiD: Scourge
Armada: Starscream
Energon: Tidal Wave
Cybertron: Leader Class Optimus Prime
Titanium: Target exclusive Optimus Prime
Animated: Voyager Megatron
2007 movie: Leader Class Nightwatch Optimus Prime
Generations: Cybertronian Bumblebee (WFC)
RoTF: Leader Class Optimus Prime
Prime: deluxe Ratchet
DoTM: Ultimate Optimus Prime
AoE: Leader Class Optimus Prime
Combiner Wars (if we separate it from Generations): Air Raid

Obviously, these are not all the lines there are, just the lines I collected.

by **StarfireDelta** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:57 am

G1 - Trailbreaker
G2 - Jazz
BW - Optimus Primal vs Megatron twinpack
BM - Tankor
RiD - Sideburn, X-Brawn, & Prowl
Armada - Megatron
Energon - Scorponok
Cybertron/Galaxy - Starscream
Classics - Optimus Prime, Hot Rod, & Starscream
Universe 2.0 - Cyclonus
Bayformers 1 - Bumblebee
Animated - Starscream
WfC - Megatron
Prime - Arcee
FoC - Shockwave
Generations - Thunderwing
Combiner Wars - Silverbolt, Firefly, Skydive, Alpha Bravo, & Dragstrip

At least, I think those were my firsts.

News Credits: 33 · by **Amelie** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 3:30 pm

Rodimus Prime wrote:Amelie, I hope you don't mind. But if you prefer I make an all-new thread, I will, no worries. This is kinda hijacking your thread.

This is a great idea, but its actually shajaki's thread.

G1 - Prowl (2nd hand) Powermaster Optimus Prime (brand new)
G2 - Stalker
Beast Wars - God Neptune
RID - Prowl
Armada\Energon\Cybertron - Demolisher
Alternators - Bluestreak (the only one I ended up owning)
Classics - Bumblebee

1st ever reissue - Commemorative Series Hotrod
1st ever Takara - TFC06 G1 Megatron reissue
1st ever non-UK release - Gold Box "Classics" G1 Sideswipe

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 4:52 pm

Y'all have my blessing :lol:

G1- Long Haul
G2- Prime
BW- Insecticon
BM- Deluxe Primal
RID- Prime
AEC- Armada Hotshot I think?
Alt/BT- BT Smokescreen
Classics- Rodimus

1st ever reissue- CE Prime
1st ever Takara- BW Tigatron

News Credits: 22 · by **Rodimus Prime** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:11 am

Oh...yeah...sh*t. Sorry shajaki. :oops:

Amelie's posts always stand out and I was tired...

And I forgot my 1st Alternator, Smokescreen. He was a Christmas present from my best friend.

News Credits: 12 · by **Evil Eye** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:19 am

Rodimus Prime wrote:Oh...yeah...sh*t. Sorry shajaki. Amelie's posts always stand out and I was tired...

And I forgot my 1st Alternator, Smokescreen. He was a Christmas present from my best friend.

Aww man, Alternators Smokescreen! I had the Silverstreak redeco and he rocked. A shame he's so beat-up now, I loved that guy. The transformation was fiddly but awesome, the robot mode was great and the vehicle mode was incredible. I really wish Alternators were in scale with the MP line- there were some real gems in that series. Either that, or that they were 1/12 so that 6" figures (like Figmas, Figuarts or even Deluxe Transformers) could drive them.

News Credits: 25 · by **Ironhidensh** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:54 pm

I'll answer both.

Sideswipe and Bumblebee were my first transformers. I got them both for my 4th* birthday in '84. I never liked the mini bots much. When it came to little transformers, at that time, I preferred Gobots.

Sideswipe on the other hand, was amazing. What little boy in the early eighties didn't love a Lamborghini Countach? It was a dream car for all of us at that time. Plus, he turned into a frickin' robot? Yeah, it was love with the franchise at first bite. So obviously, I grew up with G1.

First toys for series as follows:

G1: Sideswipe/Bumblebee

G2: Blue? Grimlock

Beast Wars: Transmetal Rhinox

Beast Machines: Thrust

RiD: Optimus Prime

Armada: Hotshot

Energon: a little stupid Jeep dude

Cybertron: Optimus Prime

Binaltech: Smokescreen

Alternators: Sideswipe

Masterpiece: Optimus Prime MP-01

Animated: Starscream

1st movie: Bumblebee

2nd movie: Sideswipe

Prime: Cliffjumper

RiD 2015: Strongarm

3rd party: Maketoys Devestator

For chug stuff, I'll try to break it up as best as I remember.

Classics: Starscream

Universe: Prowl

Reveal the Shield: Jazz

Generations: Thrust/Ramjet bought them at the same time

Combiner Wars: Powerglide

*it may have been my 5th in '85, but I'm pretty sure it was when Transformers first came out. 30 years was a long **** time ago.

News Credits: 7 · by **Noideaforaname** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:54 pm

My childhood obsession was dinosaurs, so the handful of Transformers I got were dinosaur/animal-related. I'm not sure I even knew Transformers was a proper brand, with a unified lore and everything, just a type of toy. (I think Beast Wars was just "that cool 3D show that's sometimes on" for me)

The first ones I remember were the G2 Dinobots -- Blue Grimlock, Green Slag, Red Snarl. Grimlock was my favorite of the bunch, even if his dino head kept falling off... Took me so long to identify them because all the Transformer dinosaurs were grey, and I couldn't 100% know for certain I had Transformers and not, like, Power Rangers or something.

The next ones (that I remember at least) were the Predacon Fuzors Terrorgator, Buzzclaw, and Sky Shadow. These guys, along with their Jurassic Park Chaos Effect cousins, were my favorite toys at the time, and led me to being completely enthralled with hybrid monsters of all sorts. Managed to hold onto the JP toys (and the dozens and dozens of pages chock-full of my own doodled chimeras), but I had to re-buy the Fuzors. Naturally, I went and bought the long-coveted Injector and Quickstrike while I was at it.

There were others here and there, the Happy Meals manta ray and BM Thrust, and that green Pachycephalosaurus Dinobot, but I wasn't so interested in robots or vehicles, so naturally once Beast Machines rolled around what little interest I had vanished.

News Credits: 191 · by **Kurona** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:23 pm

I'm really gonna show how young I am here compared to almost everyone else, but I grew up with the Unicron Trilogy. I can't remember exactly what my first toy was, but I do remember loving mini-cons - and I do remember I had exactly four armada toys that weren't mini-cons. Super Base Optimus Prime, Sideways, Blurr and... Powerlinx Super Base Optimus Prime. I don't even know if I can rationalize the last one - there's no mold differences aside from Sparkplug looking a little badass, I had the exact same toy with nothing lost, and I didn't even like Optimus that much because even back then the Super Mode's brickiness disappointed me! It's the exact reason I wanted Jetfire, but hey - go young me, you have two of the exact same £50 toy.

... that said, then Energon rolled around and I got this big badass to completely remedy my distaste for Optimus.
http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/thu ... Magnus.jpg
It's a little difficult to dislike a brick when it now has two massive ridiculous-tier cannons slung over it's shoulders. Loved it so much.

I had a few other toys in Energon; Prowl which I still have, Treadbolt the third Armada Autobot brick of mine - and the only one I still own - and the brown Cruellock which I still have... the sword of. I'm glad for that at least, it's a cool sword; especially for Combiner Wars. I never got a second combining autobot unfortunately, but hey, whatcha gonna do.

Cybertron was where I really got into things but I don't have many of the toys still unfortunately. The only one I still have is Sideways (I guess I was really into the "is an autobot but ALSO a decepticon!" gimmick. I would've loved Punch.), albeit without his swords. Other than that I remember having Ransack and Landmine who I both enjoyed, and off the top of my head the only other one I can remember is Wing Saber who I was always sad I never got Optimus for. I did later get the chance to enjoy Sonic Wing Mode though - I bought a loose Cybertron Optimus off of ebay to give to my nephew along with Wing Saber. Hey, if I couldn't enjoy it as a kid he sure as heck will.

I also visited car boot sales a lot so I did get some other transforming robots that were quite a bit older than me. Mostly stuff that are either knockoffs or things I really can't identify, but I did get and still have a Rubsign Beachcomber - he's a fun little dude and I'm glad I got him as a kid.

After that transformers just kinda... fizzled out of my childhood, I guess. I got Recon Barricade for my birthday in 2008 but that's it, after that I didn't get a single transformer until Blast Off just last December gone.

News Credits: 11 · by **Overcracker** » Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:28 pm

I had exactly 5 transformers growing up.

Thundercracker was my very first transformer for whom I still own his diecast torso and only his diecast torso and nothing else. Although I did eventually get the Hasbro Commemorative Series III Thundercracker.

Next came Blitzwing and Astrotrain. Loved those 2. And still looking to get those 2 in correct G1 colors again. Sadly they did not survive my childhood.

Then came my one and only seacon: Nautilator. Have no idea where I got him from as I never had all the parts. Just his gray claws. Also loved him to bits. He's still in a functional shape. He stands alongside the BBTS "Exclusive" Seacons now. So I actually have 2 Nautilators.

And finally Hot Rod. Given to me by my cousin. It was the last G1 transformer I got.
He's also still around, though he's missing his Hood / Head piece.