The Energon Pub

Ok, so I have decided that with what seems like Series, After Series, after Series of Transformers, there has to be a stopping point. A place where you have to just draw the line. The Space issue and storage issues will eventually overwhelm the most Powerful collector.

So, with hasbro continually making new transformers series and new and more exciting exclusives, and hunts for the older releases...the question comes up.. what series do you stop at? What Figures are your absolute must haves? What Genre do you own, that you now have to give up to accomodate your newfound or ever expanding Transformers collection?

This is not for those of you who have a handful of figures from each series...those guys/girls are able to continue forward as new series are released with much better ease then those of us who have become completists and or just want a large number of characters from each series.

The "Botcon-ers" and such who have very sizeable collections may very well sell their stock off someday, but as for me, I prefer to keep them till the family has to pry them from my dead lifeless fingers...

Still I have to have, and Must Have, a stopping point. There has to be a place where I just say, you know what, I'm only concentrating my time and money on finding these particular figures from this particular series, and that is it..


so for me, I may have to stop purely at the future animated series, and the current and future movie lines.

Hrere is my list of what I'm collecting so far:

1. Masterpieces, US/Takara (All of them) up to 15 figures
2. G-1 Reissues (I pretty much have what I want from that line...Though I may have to buy one here and there over time to complete my collection) up to 15 figures
3. Beast wars Reissues 10th Anniversary up to 15 figures, and a couple of cool Japanese releases not found in the US

4. RID (mainly a few Predacons and a few autobots up to 15 figures
5. Unicron trilogy (which is taking up most of my time)up to 15 figures from each series, Armada, Energon, Cybertron
6. Movie line up, with a few non movie bots, thats all for that..up to 15 figures, including repaints..
7. Animated, when released..

So all in all, I would have to say that since I'm a G-1 enthusist, and such the Movie and the Unicron trilogy, reissues and Masterpiece pretty much shores up my love of that essence of type of characters.. there is already plenty there to enjoy....Beast Wars has become a New love for me, and though the older figures are probably worth more to those who grew up with it back in the day, I still prefer the paint application accurate reissues..

So will you stop at a particular series, or will you venture to go onward ever collecting and runing the gambit of loosing ground and eventually sleeping in a room swimming with Robots?

I know what you mean man.

Right now, I've set my eyes on Armada. Nothing else. Heh.... . Unfortunately for me, sometimes the availability of Armada isn't exactly the greatest(OMFG. I WILL KILL FOR ARMADA. Click the link in my sig. HELP ME OUT!!!!!!!!) So i have to fill my Transformers craving and buy the Movie figures.. and it really doesn't stop there. Heck, Titanium, Robot Heroes, whatever I can get my hands on.

Now back to Armada. I have the true goal to complete the entire Armada line... to every single figure. I know I can do it because the line was only released 4 years ago and Ebay is selling them as if they're still coming off the assembly line. I'm trying my best with Mini-cons, but y'know with so many repaints, I can't keep track of what I have, and what I don't. Deluxes are fine. I know what I need to get to complete it. Voyagers are being a big B, simply because there is one figure no one has(called Skywarp w/ Thunderclash). Supers and Ultras have been near complete. I'm really glad I got Unicron way back when, but there's also one big bugger called Tidal Wave. I don't know what's with him, but I've seen him go for a $100 on Ebay MISB, while i've seen an Optimus Prime w/ Sparkplug MISB only go for $20.

Now there's Takara. That also hurts because I can never pick up Japan toys. X-Dimension Mini-cons are the worst thing to try to complete. And then there's the Linkage Mini-cons from the Japanese DVDs. I've realized that i'm just going to buy doubles and repaint them myself, because if I try to get those mini-cons, I most likely need to buy the DVDs which don't even work in Region I DVD's(a.k.a. North America)

Magma Convoy and Lucky Draw Prime? Yah. A Big WTF on how I am going to find them.. let alone buy them.

So completing a line isn't as easy as it seems. You gotta be willing to dish out atleast a $1000, and gotta have the patience to dish the money out too.

I have just over 500 figures. I have accumulated all of those figures since 2001 due to being a completist. I got just about every reissue that was released since it was the only affordable way for me to recollect my beloved G1 figures. I was acompletist for RID & Armamda. I was a almost completist for Energon & Cybertron. I drew that line at Universe and chose to be very selective there.

I've been very lucky because my wife encouraged me to take over the computer room for my Transformer room. Out of the 4 walls in my TF room one has the sliding glass door to the back porch, another has two 6 36" x 10" shelf wall systems with our computer, another has a third 6 36" x 10" wall shelf system and a 7' tall 4' wide double bookcase. I even have room for another 6 24" x 10" wall shelf system if I need it.

Bottom line is that I have alot of display space. I love displaying my collection and I don't want to have to choose between any particular figures or TF line. I made a point of being very selective with the Universe line and ignoring the Titanium line completely so i could have the space I need for displaying my collection.

I guess after 6 years of collecting I am drawing the line selectively. Even with the movie line I am only getting actual TF figures and have been somewhat selective with those figures (Ewww on Swindle, Bonecrusher, Dreadwing and Arcee). Thankfully there are only about less than a dozen figures that I want from the movie line then I can relax until Fall of 08 to enjoy more Classics!

I fully understand. Once I was collecting EVERYTHING I could, then I decided to focus on Armada, bot hUSA and Japanese. Once I will have everything I want, I will make a big picture and sell everything. TFs are not my life, and I won't have my own house for several years to come, so... I guess the ideal is: no children, big house, no children, kind wife, lots of money and no children.

I find that trying to restrict myself to a single version of each mold is the best way to save myself space, but even then it is hard. (especially when they release images of upcoming repaints weeks after the original have been on the shelves.)

I dont think I could limit myself to only purchasing a certain number of figures from each line. I just dont have that kind of willpower.

One Day I'll have to stop collecting, and I hope that when that day comes it is because I have chosen to do so, and not because the brand is discontinued.

Well I can understand definately.

I came back into TF collecting really in two waves. First was in Armada, hadn't seen RiD so I was happy to see Transformers as vehicles again and not animals. I never really cared for Beast Wars though as I'm older I'm starting to appreciate the designs a bit more.

Once Armada turned into repaint hell I quit buying them and sat dormant though Energon and Cybertron. I regret this now as there were some nice figures I missed out in Energon, Cybertron was recent so I've been able to get some. At some point I'd like to go back and fill up the trilogy but I figure I'm going to stay away from repaints unless they are new characters.

Classics brought be back into TF collecting hardcore. I so far haven't missed anything from the line aside from the minicons. They really seem tagged on. Eventually I'll get them since I do like minicons.

Movie line I at first wasn't going to buy but but the galleries of the figures on this site and actually seeing the movie changed my mind. I'm not going to get the tons of repaints we are going to see but I would like one of each mold since some of the new ones coming out are really nice looking.

My son is getting me interested in Animated, he likes the look of the figures so they will likely be gotten for him, but again the same no repaint rule applies. Only time I bend it is if the repaint is for a new character.

As for space...well that's another problem I have to figure out I'm running out of it not only for TFs but for books as well.

Blurrz wrote:I know what you mean man.

Right now, I've set my eyes on Armada. Nothing else. Heh.... . Unfortunately for me, sometimes the availability of Armada isn't exactly the greatest(OMFG. I WILL KILL FOR ARMADA. Click the link in my sig. HELP ME OUT!!!!!!!!) So i have to fill my Transformers craving and buy the Movie figures.. and it really doesn't stop there. Heck, Titanium, Robot Heroes, whatever I can get my hands on.

Now back to Armada. I have the true goal to complete the entire Armada line... to every single figure. I know I can do it because the line was only released 4 years ago and Ebay is selling them as if they're still coming off the assembly line. I'm trying my best with Mini-cons, but y'know with so many repaints, I can't keep track of what I have, and what I don't. Deluxes are fine. I know what I need to get to complete it. Voyagers are being a big B, simply because there is one figure no one has(called Skywarp w/ Thunderclash). Supers and Ultras have been near complete. I'm really glad I got Unicron way back when, but there's also one big bugger called Tidal Wave. I don't know what's with him, but I've seen him go for a $100 on Ebay MISB, while i've seen an Optimus Prime w/ Sparkplug MISB only go for $20.

Now there's Takara. That also hurts because I can never pick up Japan toys. X-Dimension Mini-cons are the worst thing to try to complete. And then there's the Linkage Mini-cons from the Japanese DVDs. I've realized that i'm just going to buy doubles and repaint them myself, because if I try to get those mini-cons, I most likely need to buy the DVDs which don't even work in Region I DVD's(a.k.a. North America)

Magma Convoy and Lucky Draw Prime? Yah. A Big WTF on how I am going to find them.. let alone buy them.

So completing a line isn't as easy as it seems. You gotta be willing to dish out atleast a $1000, and gotta have the patience to dish the money out too.

I too am trying to collect Armada, but the one thing that is hampering me is money and time, you see as time goes by those figures become more expensive and elusive, then there are the releases coming out now which in those lines there are "Must Haves" as well, so what do you do??

My problem with collecting Armada is that I'm more inclined to purchase the Japanese releases versus the US ones, which makes for a very hard and slow acquistion time.. with the exception of Optimus Prime MISB, there are just some figures that Hasbro has released that look better, so I'm not a Completist when it comes to Import figures, just picky on what I want out of a partiucular color scheme and mold..

Still as much as it pains me, I have steered away from Robot Heroes, Titaniums, Beast Wars Neo (for the most Part), Beast Wars 2 (again for the most part), Robot heroes (with the exception of Optimus Prime and Lio Convoy, "Must Haves"), Screw the THS versions!! I have had no desire to get classics (even though Jetfire, Hot Rodimus, and Voyager Prime rocks!!), I'm not getting Botcon stuff, nor am I getting Lucky Draws, no Sports Label, No Music Label, and No needless figures..

This will ensure that I get the core figures I want and helps me keep on track. I even created a Transformers inventory/want list in word so that I can keep track of who I want to buy.... I suggest you do that as well Blurr, that way your mission will be that much more successful.. but some where some time, I have to stop collecting and just sit back and bask in my collection.. There are some here who will never give up, and to those of you I say, Happy Hunting!!! The Live Action movie, for me, should be the last big Shabang for my collection.. I'm kinda out to lunch on the Animated series, so for now I will hold back maybe get a few as they become available, but again I must be cautious, otherwise I run the risk of being poor and without space..

As far as Classics go, well maybe one day Takara will do a Jetfire Masterpiece which will dwarf that of the classics version, till then I must live with my decision, the Botcon exclusives of the seekers makes it easy, seeing as how that should have been a wide release..so what ever keeps you going to not buy from that series.. what ever works.. But I can tell you, it's not easy to ignore a particular line..

I deal strictly in excess.

A large collection doesn't take up as much room as you might think.

It takes room to display, sure, but storage? not too bad.

I see no reason to stop. I have a good job. I am only one year into my profession. I can earn 2-3 times my current salary in the near future just by sticking around. My fiance is supportive and will have a flat out superior profession in the next 5 years with her PhD work done.

I mean to say all that without ego, that's just the way it is. If I get bored with something (like Marvel Legends) I'll trim it down.

But I don't bind myself to rules that I have no intention of following, like setting limits on what I buy. I'm free to buy what I want and the completionist thing? I try not to worry about it and just have fun.

Stay in school kids, or sell drugs, really I mean, whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.

Counterpunch wrote:
Stay in school kids, or sell drugs, really I mean, whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.

OH..........MY.............GOD.........

That is just an awful thing to say.....I can't believe you went there...

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:
Stay in school kids, or sell drugs, really I mean, whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.

OH..........MY.............GOD.........

That is just an awful thing to say.....I can't believe you went there...

OT/it's not his fault. Drugs get money because corrupted politicians get monet from it, so the problem starts above, from nations that give you both university and drugs. and one gives more money than the other.

rikkomba wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:
Stay in school kids, or sell drugs, really I mean, whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.

OH..........MY.............GOD.........

That is just an awful thing to say.....I can't believe you went there...

OT/it's not his fault. Drugs get money because corrupted politicians get monet from it, so the problem starts above, from nations that give you both university and drugs. and one gives more money than the other.

Hmmmmmmmmm

I have to remember to tell my son's mother to keep him away from this site's forums...that would be the craziest thing to ever happen, someone gets arrested for selling drugs to get transformers...Still I don't care how much money you can get selling drugs, it's not worth doing the time and being seperated from your loved ones or your collection..

Back on topic, I would have to say that some of you may be able to continue with a sizable collection, and that is just great, and yeah, will power is in short supply.... but I'm only after core figures from each line up that I really admire, short of any repaints...

But then in the repaint arena, it's sometimes a better choice, like for example, I would much rather own a Powerlinx Armada jetfire as apposed to a regular version...

skywarp-2 wrote:

rikkomba wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:
Stay in school kids, or sell drugs, really I mean, whatever gets you paid at the end of the day.

OH..........MY.............GOD.........

That is just an awful thing to say.....I can't believe you went there...

OT/it's not his fault. Drugs get money because corrupted politicians get monet from it, so the problem starts above, from nations that give you both university and drugs. and one gives more money than the other.

Hmmmmmmmmm

I have to remember to tell my son's mother to keep him away from this site's forums...

Honestly skywarp-2, if any woman who didn't collect Transformers came to these forums, she'd be so flabbergasted, heck I have no idea nor can I comprehend what the heck she would do with herself. Maybe her brain would explode?

It sounds like you are at the "into it" stage (which comes after "aware of it" and "getting into it") and not the "obsessive" stage. After the "obsessive stage", one usually enteres "boredom". I am between obseesive and boredom. I'm started buying everything that had a TF name on it (though for some reason, G2 and Beastwars never took priority), and now I guess I had too much and am starting to scale back out of boredom. Though certain figures still peek my interest, especially anything that is new that is related to G1.

GetterDragun wrote:It sounds like you are at the "into it" stage (which comes after "aware of it" and "getting into it") and not the "obsessive" stage. After the "obsessive stage", one usually enteres "boredom". I am between obseesive and boredom. I'm started buying everything that had a TF name on it (though for some reason, G2 and Beastwars never took priority), and now I guess I had too much and am starting to scale back out of boredom. Though certain figures still peek my interest, especially anything that is new that is related to G1.

The Obsessive stage can be tempered by lack of disposable income....Don't you feel that since G-1 there have been many series released that are complete and utter homages to it, so much so, that with what has already come out, and what is to come from the Animated series, your G-01 fix may just be fulfilled??

I feel like the RID is a great segway from Beast Wars and incorporates G-1 and Beast Wars together... the Unicron Trilogy is an amalgam of both RID, Beast Wars, and the core values of eveything G-1, from Star Saber to Unicron and Masterforce, with some newness rolled in..... The Movie line up is an updated G-1, and the classics line up has G-1 written all over it, not to mention the \Binaltechs and Alternaters reimaginings of G-1 Bots, and the Masterpieces which fulfill the G-1 extremists in us old and new fans alike.. to me... I'm kinda getting full of G-1...

I may just have to quit on the new and concentrate on the old, cause getting New and tracking old, is kinda hard to do..1 to 3 bots per paycheck from the new Movie line, and 1 bot from the older lines I need is about to break the bank so to speak.. the older toys are expensive on ebay.. and the newer toys have a 20.00 price tag for the most part..

I guess I may have to stop on the newer lines after Animated, but I will still keep on truckin with the Masterpiece line up, they come slowly so it's all good..

But I hope we eventually get a Transformers series that is completely unique and non g-1 esque..like say Victory was a good example, it was in the G-1 era, but it could have lasted on its own without being in that universe.. Star Saber was a cool character and the villains were nice as well...But I think what has already been released thus far has me wanting to slow down and keep a level head..because as i delve deeper into the check list, i have to eventually wing myself free of the "out Nows" and "In Stores" to accomplish my goals..

I mainly limit myself to characters. Optimus, Megatron and Starscream and to a lesser extent Grimlock and Soundwave. The problem comes from tributarias. Magnus, Rodimus and Nemesis fall under the Optimus banner as well as Beast Wars and Beast Machines incarnations. Galvatron. Thundercracker & Skywarp are musts (though I mainly stick to the three original seekers, the others get sucked in from time to time as well!) I'm not so much a "line collector" anymore but when I was show characters where it. I have the cast of Beast Wars/Machines, and near complete collections of Classics, 6" Titaniums, Movie & MP/Alt/BTs. Rarely do I get a random toy that isn't G1 insired anymore. Oh, and I had a buttload of WST that went with my Fort Max that were lost in the last move. Even had the 6" Devastator KO.

Oh, and I used to rob banks to get Transformers. Much safer than selling drugs!

I'm sorry....

I had to stick a random image in this thread, otherwise I would have a cerebral Hemerage and just Die!!



It's what I do!!

I have to admit that drawing the line for me is coming naturally at this point. Like I said in my earlier post there are only about a dozen or so figures in the movie line I want between now and the end of the line. I'm not interested in TF Animated, except to watch the show. I'm looking forward to what the Encore line will bring in the future. And I'm excited about the Classics 2.0 in Fall 08'. That's enough TF's that I want spaced out over time. Slow growth is better than no growth at all when it come to enjoying a TF collection.

As a completist, I think the one thing that really is low on my desires is...the shoe Starscream. I have next to no interest in that what-so-ever. So I think I drew the line there.

Sunstar wrote:As a completist, I think the one thing that really is low on my desires is...the shoe Starscream. I have next to no interest in that what-so-ever. So I think I drew the line there.

yeah the shoes bite... but where will you eventually stop? Collecting by series is a hard thing to do, and collecting by just figures you like is even harder, because you have to hold back the interest in others that look cool...or you become interested in ..

I stopped going after movie figures right after getting Concept BB. And I am done with Classics, as figures like Mirage and Grimlock don't appeal to me. So...it looks like I am done going after the previous and current releases. I'll definitely look into Classics 2.0 though.

To me when there's not enough space. Even by having a few of them they take up space quite quick. Depending on how big is the home.

Judging by that avatar I think Skywarp is saying that he thinks Laserbeak is chicken to Megatron.

KFC to be exact......



Seriously, when it comes down to it, for me, there can be only so much of a good thing.. Now, I didn't say I was giving up the entire collecting thing..if you thought that then you misunderstand.... what I'm saying is, there has to be a line drawn for those who have a sizeable collection, or aspirations of a sizeable collection.. at some point you just have to stop the presses, and concentrate on the ones from previous series that you want.. then after that is complete....reassess your collection to figure out.... is it worth buying more? Do I have the space? And why buy them just to keep half in Storage?

I'll not give up on the Masterpiece line up, but I have to set limits for now, like 15 for each series that I want to collect.. once that goal is reached, I can then reassess whether I want to add one here or there and not feel pressured to scramble to get those numbers up..

See I have way too Much of other figures stored away that really need to be sold before I venture into collecting more transformers.. but there are still figures that i adore form other genres which makes me cringe at the thought of letting them go, just so I can fit a New collecting line up into my current storage...

So for some of us, that line may be the end of collecting, or the beginning of retrospective enjoyment, and possibly letting a newer series fly by us..like "Animated" or anything after that..

Hasbro has said that the TFA line will continue on for possibly the next 3 years, I assume until the Movie sequel is ready to be released.. so..

I can wait....and build up my back stock and check more off that list..I don't regret not picking up Classics, for me that line was doomed because of the lack of some main characters that ended up exclusives, but my reprieve and solace is that in the Masterpiece line up that someday Skyfire/Jetfire will make an appearance.. Skywarp and US Starscream are just perfect...again this also illustrates why i think that flipping from one type of line (Japanese) to the other (USA) is a good way to not overdue your collection..

I really love the character and it is facinating as to how the character has evolved. I also have 62 soon to be 63 examples of Starscream in various forms, figures etc.

What truly holds me back is funds. I have to make a prioraty list of what I want and hunt those down. Should I run into money, I can get the other weird things. Ie, the shoe. That is really not a prioraty, but if I can get it, I might as a curiosity.

Also, I look for items of a reasonable price. Much of my collection is collected at a good price and not entirely off the wall. Only a select few are really expensive.

Sunstar wrote:I really love the character and it is facinating as to how the character has evolved. I also have 62 soon to be 63 examples of Starscream in various forms, figures etc.

What truly holds me back is funds. I have to make a prioraty list of what I want and hunt those down. Should I run into money, I can get the other weird things. Ie, the shoe. That is really not a prioraty, but if I can get it, I might as a curiosity.

Also, I look for items of a reasonable price. Much of my collection is collected at a good price and not entirely off the wall. Only a select few are really expensive.

That is exactly another reason why it's slow going for me, i spend alot of time finding the best price for that figure, I think it's because I want to stretch my dollar value to include more figures, instead of blowing it on just one...