The Energon Pub

I collect almost if not all the series of transformers have been for more years than some of the people on the forums have been alive. I mainly focus on G1, Classics, Cybertron, and the movie lines at the moment, and considering i've just completed my classics collection not long ago, i'm doing pretty good. I've currently got over 1,500 figures, and have no plans on stopping i've got two rooms dedicated to the toys (one of which is totally full) & plan on making more room at some point. As for a point of stopping i'm sure the space issue will come into play at some point, but i'm not going to worry about it to much till that day comes.

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

Actually mine's a bitch to store. But then again, I've got easily a dozen boxes filled with just TFs, not to mention my other figure collections. I'm runnin outta room in my shed .

I've actually started to limit myself to characters that appear in their respective media. Take the movie, I just have the ones that appeared in the movie in their regular and FAB versions. The only non movie character I have is Wreckage, which I bought on impulse but wasn't disappointed. That's what I do now.

I had started collecting in 1992 with G2, and kept the figures in the best condition I could. (I was 12, with no sense of value....) Then came along Batman: TAS. My interest dropped nearly to zero, so the figures got no action. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for about thirty figures at the time. Since I was a huge fan growing up (1984+) I never got rid of them and always kept them nearby. Worked out to be good for me in the long run, because when I finally got the internet in 1996...I found Men In Black Collectibles (...thank your lucky stars those S.O.B.s are out of business....) and got G1 Megatron for the first time ever. I coveted him like we breathe air. Then the ball got rolling and it was one or two at a time, etc, etc.

....then before I knew it, I was collecting Beast Wars (which I was late to the party, didn't start collecting until 1998...had a lot of catching up to do...) along with G1 and G2 and I had well over 150 figures and my room was clogged to Hell and back. Shelves couldn't even help the matter either. (I had a really, really small room...)

Then my tastes changed, got into Car Robots, got rid of G1/G2/BW, etc....

Then my tastes changed yet again, and I went for Armada. Once I saw Optimus Prime's trailer auto-transform, I was hooked. (Granted I thought they looked really stupid before they hit shelves...)

I just couldn't stop, couldn't. I collected everything in sight, moved onto Energon, then onto Cybertron. I started going into repaints, remolds, etc. I was a total completest. The only thing I wouldn't get into was foreign repaints/remolds, etc.

Now, with Classics and the Movie line...I've got a little over 220 odd figures. (I count each Mini-Con as a separate figure, not just the team) But this time, I got smart. I stopped collecting repaints and remolds (unless they were drastic enough to be a totally different character.) I started selling and trading the pieces I didn't want, for ones I did.

Even with them overflowing my shelves...I'm not stopping. Animated about stopped me in my tracks...but then I found out about Classics/Universe 2.0 and the movie line continuing...I'm not stopping. Oh no, I'm building and going to continue to build.

I've always been a fan (other than my preteen years) and I will damn sure continue to be one for a long damned time. Hell, in fact I just added to my collection tonight...Leader Class Brawl. (Highly recommended, review to come tonight.)

It's a daunting task sometimes, but the rewards far outweigh the pains.

Wow, sounds like some of you guys will just keep on collecting until you will either have to give up a series to make way for the new series coming out in the future, or Until your covered by transformers boxes and can't move...

Seriously, though, I'm really into just getting as many as 15 representatives from each series that I want, that way I'm not too overloaded and at the same time I've gotten the ones I really wanted.. going back to find the little side characters that interest me and so on and so forth will come later..

As for now, I think I'm still getting Movie figures, as they become available, if they ever become available.. Do you know that we still have not had a restock here in Virginia!!! It's impossible to find anything, let alone Brawl leaderclass, and deluxes and voyagers,or an 08 Bumblebee, they are all out of stock around here.....

I can't justify paying a 15% mark up online just because our stupid local stores didn't order the stock in enough time!! Or initially didn't order alot of stock due to the horrid sales of Spiderman and Pirates toys...I can wait, I can have patience, it's hard to do, but it also saves me money...


Still, this does give me a chance to concentrate on getting some back stock from the other lines that I wanted, and like it has always been here in VA, the Leader class Brawl and Voyagers will eventually be in abundance here from November through Feb of next year.. we are always slow and atleast 5 months behind everyone else's restock and acquisitions..

The way i see it is that ill collect the best representation of the G1 cartoon i can find. right now that seems to be classics. id say masterpiece hands down, but seriously, we're all going to be 80 before an entire ark crew is created and sold. so, i skipped these, but theyre nice to look at in pictures. if they ever make a better representation than classics, id liquidate and start over. the only thing that would get me into starting collecting other figures would be if i could somehow get wrapped up into a good storyline, which in my opinion, havent been able to do. hopefully classics runs strong and long.

bionic_radical wrote:The way i see it is that ill collect the best representation of the G1 cartoon i can find. right now that seems to be classics. id say masterpiece hands down, but seriously, we're all going to be 80 before an entire ark crew is created and sold. so, i skipped these, but theyre nice to look at in pictures. if they ever make a better representation than classics, id liquidate and start over. the only thing that would get me into starting collecting other figures would be if i could somehow get wrapped up into a good storyline, which in my opinion, havent been able to do. hopefully classics runs strong and long.

I like G-1 representations as much as the next guy, but the last 3 series have focused much on the past G-1, RID, Beast Wars, BW2, BW Neo and so on and so on. So for me, it seems kind of monotonous, When will I have my fill of G-1 inspired toys..?? I don't know, but drawing a line in the sand to stop myself from trying to always keep up with every new series, especially when stock seems to be an issue these days is something that I feel has to happen. I couldn't liquidate any of the ones I own, so far.. but I might just sell off some of my collection, like the 2 Alternators i own, because, I really don't want them, they don't have a cartoon series, and really look good with My Masterpieces, but sadly, they are very, very pricey..

Space is an issue, storage is an issue, degrading is an issue, potential elemental disasters are threats.. you name it..a small collection, to me, is more manageable, and easily protected from either moving houses, spills or any other types of mishaps.. besides, I want to own just a few properties other then Transformers, like 80s Properties, super heroes, and maybe a few Movie Products, like Star Wars, Aliens, or Predator..stuff like that..

Too much of a good thing can be bad, and too much of anything is definitely bad...

I'm a collector who just wants a few good series to concentrate on, with some Boxed DVD sets for added watching and admiring..it just seems like the toy franchise could keep going on, and on, and on, and on.. so to help quell the rising collections and potential massive amounts of funds I'd be devoting to that prospect, I think you just have to say, enough is enough...

Had 300+ figures at some point, now I'm down to about 180 (including several non-TF robots) and it's much better that way.

megatroptimus wrote:Had 300+ figures at some point, now I'm down to about 180 (including several non-TF robots) and it's much better that way.

yep sometimes you just have to sit back and bask in the Glory of it all..

One day I'll turn my hard earned cash to more expensive and lucrative items like plasma TVs and HD DVDs and such.. but for now, it's find that back stock for me!!

Great question. I am not a diehard collector and cannot imagine owning more than 50 figures total. So for me, I'll be sticking to the Masterpiece and Encore lines. I have a passing interest in the Animated toys coming out as well but need a better look at them before I decide to buy them. I've also gotten rid of all my Classics and most of my Alternators. For the two remaining lines that I do collect, here is what I will be focusing on

Masterpiece: Only the iconic characters and because of the price point, I'll be passing on any duplicate molds(No Ultra Magnus and no Skywarp for me!)

Encore: Pretty much any release from the 84, 85, 86 lines barring a few exceptions.

At some point you just have to focus on collecting the figures you really want. I don't have the money or the space to complete every line these days. So I look at what is out there, find the figures that appeal to me the most and seek them out. Over time even the figures you just had to have will have less appeal and may become eBay fodder.

PrimeFan wrote:Great question. I am not a diehard collector and cannot imagine owning more than 50 figures total. So for me, I'll be sticking to the Masterpiece and Encore lines. I have a passing interest in the Animated toys coming out as well but need a better look at them before I decide to buy them. I've also gotten rid of all my Classics and most of my Alternators. For the two remaining lines that I do collect, here is what I will be focusing on

Masterpiece: Only the iconic characters and because of the price point, I'll be passing on any duplicate molds(No Ultra Magnus and no Skywarp for me!)

Encore: Pretty much any release from the 84, 85, 86 lines barring a few exceptions.

So if your Limit is 50, your prety much not even there just yet, with only the Masterpiece lines and reissues. Still what about the movie toys? I'm sorry you won't be getting Skywarp, to me, he and Thundercracker are seperate toys, even though they are repaints of one particular figure..

So why give up classics?? I know why I didn't even bother, that was because half of the line up ended in the Botcon status and not Mass retail, which made me say, why bother getting the regular released stuff, and then have to pay huge somes of money for the Botcon stuff just to have a complete collection??? I haven't that kind of money!! Not trying to start a flame war again, just saying that was my reasoning for not getting into Classics..besides I have the reissues and the Movie line up..

Alternators are nice, I just feel like it's too much, with the reissues and other lines like Beast wars, I kind of feel a bit overwhelemed already.. so I too am selling the alternators I own so far..

lanzajr26 wrote:At some point you just have to focus on collecting the figures you really want. I don't have the money or the space to complete every line these days. So I look at what is out there, find the figures that appeal to me the most and seek them out. Over time even the figures you just had to have will have less appeal and may become eBay fodder.

I agree, that was why I made a Compromise with myself, I would get 15 Figures from each of the lines I wanted to collect, then I felt satisfied that I've gotten the one's that appeal to me the most, with also side characters that would and started to draw me into their coolness and design..in theory that is..I can bend the 15 limit as long as it's only for a few lines.. and for good reason..

i'll definitely stop once i got a robo-viison prime and the limited edition voyager megs!

softimus_prime wrote:i'll definitely stop once i got a robo-viison prime and the limited edition voyager megs!

Yes!!! I own Robovision and he is excellent!! I love that super metal finish!! and as soon as Voyager hits Best buy, I'm on it, like white on Rice!!! OH yeah!! Plus I have to get Ratchet, I didn't buy the original release, but now that I see that he's gonna be metallic as well, I will pick him up, plus both of them, including Robovision are packaged in Bot form..

I'm kind of with Getter on this.

It does feel like there are stages of the madness, and eventually it becomes a bit easier to monitor mainly because you are getting bored because things are not fresh, they have not re-invented your favorite characters in their best form yet, you have the ones that you really wanted, and have started moving on to others you like, but were not in the previous category.

At this point, the movie line is boring to me. I like Transformers a lot (obviously), but the movie line is into repaints, and such now, it no longer is new, and the toys were never quite as 'fresh' of a design. automorph is interesting, but like any gimmick, it gets in the way, and can turn folks off.

I have started picking and choosing. New cool representations of my favorite characters (either by name or design) are always welcome. I also collect helicopter TFs, and the oddities like vac metalized, transparent, or black versions.

I truly think that the Animated Transformers that are to come out next year will be quite interesting and different enough from anything on my shelf that I will complete the set with no qualms.

When the space issue rears its ugly head, well, I tend to rotate out my least favorites, in the newer series. Pretty much all of my Armada and Energon collections have been stored away, and eventually the same will be done with the Movie toys I bought to make way for the Animated toys.

It's a bit cyclical, but I always have this nagging in the back of my head...

"If you don't buy it now, it is quite possible, it will be a desired piece in the near future, and you will feel badly because A) you have to pay a marked up price for it, or B) you feel you were dumb and missed out on said toy when it was at retail."

I hate it when my head does that to me... Why didn't you buy 2 or 3 at retail, you could be making a mint now? Stuff like that.

Completist is no longer a choice it is a compulsion, feel guilty now spending a little extra money, feel very guilty later for spending even more money for a figure you skipped at retail and now desire for whatever stupid reason.

Sometimes I hate being a collector. If I could just collect TFs like I do Macross, or Star Wars...(pick and choose, no guilt)...

Sorry if that made no sense whatsoever.

tigertracks 24 wrote:I'm kind of with Getter on this.

It does feel like there are stages of the madness, and eventually it becomes a bit easier to monitor mainly because you are getting bored because things are not fresh, they have not re-invented your favorite characters in their best form yet, you have the ones that you really wanted, and have started moving on to others you like, but were not in the previous category.

At this point, the movie line is boring to me. I like Transformers a lot (obviously), but the movie line is into repaints, and such now, it no longer is new, and the toys were never quite as 'fresh' of a design. automorph is interesting, but like any gimmick, it gets in the way, and can turn folks off.

I have started picking and choosing. New cool representations of my favorite characters (either by name or design) are always welcome. I also collect helicopter TFs, and the oddities like vac metalized, transparent, or black versions.

yeah that I would say is because you pretty much have what you really want, and now you are in the boredom stage, going for something that is odd or different because of lack of interest..I haven't made it there yet.. i'm in Hyper acquisition mode..which is slow going at this point..

tigertracks 24 wrote:I truly think that the Animated Transformers that are to come out next year will be quite interesting and different enough from anything on my shelf that I will complete the set with no qualms.

I am totally with you there buddy!!

tigertracks 24 wrote:When the space issue rears its ugly head, well, I tend to rotate out my least favorites, in the newer series. Pretty much all of my Armada and Energon collections have been stored away, and eventually the same will be done with the Movie toys I bought to make way for the Animated toys.

My space issues are mainly duue to the fact that I have other inerests, Marvel Legends just to name a few, that I have been collecting over time..I am in the process of liquidating those items through ebay soon...

tigertracks 24 wrote:It's a bit cyclical, but I always have this nagging in the back of my head...

"If you don't buy it now, it is quite possible, it will be a desired piece in the near future, and you will feel badly because A) you have to pay a marked up price for it, or B) you feel you were dumb and missed out on said toy when it was at retail."

I hate it when my head does that to me... Why didn't you buy 2 or 3 at retail, you could be making a mint now? Stuff like that.

Completist is no longer a choice it is a compulsion, feel guilty now spending a little extra money, feel very guilty later for spending even more money for a figure you skipped at retail and now desire for whatever stupid reason.

You just put into words the one phrase all of us have probably felt on anything we chose to collect!! Wow!! Nicely put!!

tigertracks 24 wrote:Sometimes I hate being a collector. If I could just collect TFs like I do Macross, or Star Wars...(pick and choose, no guilt)...

Sorry if that made no sense whatsoever.

No it made perfect sense, and yeah picking and choosing would be nice, i'm not at your stage yet, but I think my stage, the get a certain amount of core characters, and move on, kinda sets up the completeist to go back and want to fill that void up..which is what i may do someday, but for now..it has to be find the cores and the 15 to 20 that I want...

Listen to me.... 15 to 20???? Already i'm bending my own rules!!

tigertracks 24 wrote:Completist is no longer a choice it is a compulsion, feel guilty now spending a little extra money, feel very guilty later for spending even more money for a figure you skipped at retail and now desire for whatever stupid reason.

Sometimes I hate being a collector. If I could just collect TFs like I do Macross, or Star Wars...(pick and choose, no guilt)...

Sorry if that made no sense whatsoever.

I understand completely. (heh)

The compulsion is real.

Counterpunch wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:Completist is no longer a choice it is a compulsion, feel guilty now spending a little extra money, feel very guilty later for spending even more money for a figure you skipped at retail and now desire for whatever stupid reason.

Sometimes I hate being a collector. If I could just collect TFs like I do Macross, or Star Wars...(pick and choose, no guilt)...

Sorry if that made no sense whatsoever.

I understand completely. (heh)

The compulsion is real.

Dude, I understand the collecting Compulsion.... but it's the "Impulse" buys that when you get down the road, your like WTF did I just do??? that is something I just don't undserstand...

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:Completist is no longer a choice it is a compulsion, feel guilty now spending a little extra money, feel very guilty later for spending even more money for a figure you skipped at retail and now desire for whatever stupid reason.

Sometimes I hate being a collector. If I could just collect TFs like I do Macross, or Star Wars...(pick and choose, no guilt)...

Sorry if that made no sense whatsoever.

I understand completely. (heh)

The compulsion is real.

Dude, I understand the collecting Compulsion.... but it's the "Impulse" buys that when you get down the road, your like WTF did I just do??? that is something I just don't undserstand...

I already impuse bought everything. I'm good on that.

So lets say you reached your limit, and no matter what you have to get rid of some of your collection..... God forbid.. but would you decide to get rid of a whole series, or would you just liquidate those particular figures you don't need or want??

I just collect what I like I cannot stand even attempting to be a completionist. By most standards I am not a serious collecter due to the size of my collection but that is the furtherest thing from the truth.

Besides it isn't the size it is the quality and how much enjoyment you get out it.

Some of us also collect other items like Japanese toys some of which are MUCH more expensive than TFs. I happen to collect cels and original comic art which tends to get quite expensive too.

Lastly, if collecting anything hurts the wallet or begins to take up more of your time than not, odds are (and we've all been there) we are getting too extreme and not spending time on the things and people that really matter.

skywarp-2 wrote:So lets say you reached your limit, and no matter what you have to get rid of some of your collection..... God forbid.. but would you decide to get rid of a whole series, or would you just liquidate those particular figures you don't need or want??

Just sell them or trade them IF you can. I personally recommend investing some of the toy money but that's just moi. And as for impulse buying just keep it in check, it just takes DISCIPLINE and self control. Good luck.

I'd certainly only sell off or store those that I don't care for from each line. No way would I liquidate a whole like unless it was life or death for myself, or a family member, and we R-E-A-L-L-Y needed to generate some money quickly...

tigertracks 24 wrote:and we R-E-A-L-L-Y needed to generate some money quickly...

I like the hesitation...



seriously.

I'm an obsessive compulsive person by nature, so collecting is a very dangerous thing for me. Here's how I keep myself from getting into debt or in deep crap with the wife (not sure which is worse :wink:

1. Alternators - Autobots only unless I'm kitbashing a 'bot and need a 'con as a starting point (i.e. Nemmy Prime --> Trailbreaker).

2. Masterpieces - must be G1 anime accurate. That rules out MP3 'Screamer and MP4 Magnus, unless they release a transformable trailer that becomes his armor. I will definitely be getting the US Starscream.

3. Classics - any and all non-legends or mini figs.

4. "Classics-verse" figures - any and all figures that are G1 accurate or homages close enough to blend in with the Classics line. This includes Titaniums (i.e. G1 Magnus, Roddy Prime, Scourge, WWI Sunstorm) and figures from other "modern" lines (Energon Checkpoint = Prowl, Target Movie Strongarm = Hound).

So, that leaves me a lot of room to manuever, but also makes it hard to draw the line. Oh well...it's called collecting for a reason, right?

wildscorpio67 wrote: Target Movie Strongarm = Hound).

No way, he totally equals Brawn! Needs to be taller and less compacted to be Hound.