The Energon Pub

hello,

i had these toys back in the 80s. somehow they all get trashed. i know i can get on ebay or here to buy them again.

can someone explain the voyager etc size of the toys or most common size to collect?

is there a series of toys from the 80s that is the most common or economical to collect from ebay or here?

also, which series today (or within the last so many years) is most close to the 80s with availability to collect? i do some toys in stores and i need some guidance here lol!

thanks and i hope to get back into this!

The size classes only apply to modern toys, generally Armada and forward. They are used to determine price. some toys may only be available in one size class or many size classes.

for the current line there is Titan Master, Legends, Deluxe, Voyager, Leader and Titan in order of actual size.

If you are planning on collecting actual toys or re-releases of toys from the 80s then you'll be looking at the current Platinum Edition line, and some of the older re-issue lines which again have no size classes. This re-issue lines take toys from the 80's and re-issue them brand new. some will have similar packaging to the 80's boxes other times they will new packaging in line with the line they are being released in.

80's re-issue lines include:

Hasbro's Commemorative Series


Takara's Transformers Collection a.k.a Book Series


Takara's Encore Series,


and most recently Hasbro's or Hasbro Asia's Platinum Edition series.



Prices will vary depending on the figure you are looking for and the specific release or series it comes from, and some are harder to come by than others.

The current Platinum line has:

Autobot Intel Ops, Blaster and Perceptor

Trypticon

Insecticon 3 pack

Predaking

Triple Changers (Blitzwing and Astrotrain)


There have been other G1 / 80's releases not part of a series but as on offs for specific toys. Optimus Prime has been re-issued several times for different lines.

Depending on which toys you are after and your budget will likely determine the series you'll want choose.

You can look in places like BBTS or Tfsource or things like that for the currently available 80s figures.

If you decide on collecting from the currently available lines (Combiner Wars and Titans Return), I would suggest you check out a well-stocked Toys R Us to get a sense of the different sized figures available.

what size is the most common/easiest to collect?
thanks again

ny2125 wrote:what size is the most common/easiest to collect?
thanks again

The question is difficult to answer because it's a bit odd. It's not like we have 5 different size options for each character. But to answer your question as best as I can, I would say the deluxe size is the most common. I only say that because for Combiner Wars and Titans Return, each wave had I think 2 Legends, 4 deluxes, 2 voyagers, and 1 leader. So by pure quantity the deluxes are most common. For TR, the titan masters are also 4 per wave. However, we're talking about a figure that is about 1" tall.

Not sure what you mean by "easiest" but the deluxe size is a lot of fun. They're a good size for an action figure. The legends are nice too but transformations are usually more limited due to size. And a lot of people complain about the hollowness of the larger sized figures.

ok thanks. i was just trying to see which series had the biggest quantity of a size. i am looking at the old school ones or similar ones. i really like decepticons like starscream and scourge.

Generally speaking people don't collect just a single size class. Certain characters will be in certain size classes, but never show up in others because it makes no sense.

That is to say, size classes are not collection limiters.

If you do choose to collect a single size class you'll find your limited in what characters you can get, and sometimes you'll miss out on special features that one figure may have with another of a different size class.

For a specific example, if you collect only deluxe figures from the Combiner Wars series, then you'll never be able to complete a combiner such as Bruticus, or Superion, as those teams have members that belong to other sizes classes (Voyager to be exact). To complete a combiner you need at least 4 deluxes, one voyager, and maybe a legends class toy. Otherwise you are left with incomplete sets or teams.

For currently running series like Combiner Wars and more currently Titans Return, getting a deluxe is generally no easier or harder than getting a Voyager or a Leader.

As to your question about old school ones as I said, there are series that have actual 1980's toys like Platinum Series and the other series I mentioned above, but those have no size classes.

Or you can try modern representations of characters from the 80s cartoons. Combiner Wars and Titans Return has that. There are many characters from the 80's in toys in those lines.


Generally the Deluxe class size gets the most toys. but that's just because its a more accessible class size pric wise and because most characters fit into that class size. While less characters fit in larger or smaller classes. But you don't get the same character in multiple classes most of the time.

I recently started again and I am only buying G1 reissues and the Masterpiece line. The former because that's the original and most nostalgic for me. I will always love them. Also because my nerd side was non existent in the early-mid 2000s so I have no knowledge of any of the animation/comics/media from that time like Armada(?) RiD(?). I know they have some new stuff with an anime look, which I dislike.

The latter because it is the perfect vision of what Transformers should have been made real with modern manufacturing techniques while paying homage to that G1 look.

I will say that the MP line will not be easy to collect because they are by far more expensive than anything else and are pretty large, so they will take up some space.

I think "size" is difficult to nail down. But I can try and put it into 4 basic groups:

C/G: Many people call this CHUG, which stands for Classics/Henkei/Universe/Generations. The long running and ever name changing line is essentially G1 redone. The best way to view these lines in terms of scale, is to grab a Classics Voyager Optimus Prime and Megatron, and base the size of everyone else on them. It works out pretty decently.

Masterpiece: Still not perfect, but this line probably has the best attention to scale than any other.

Legends: Super fun, but in my opinion super expensive. These minifigures scale extremely well with city bots like Max and Plex, but the majority of you figures will have to be 3rd Party. The official Legends figures are mainly comprised of characters who are supposed to be small (like Bumblebee and Powerglide) and they are made primarily to scale with your C/G collection.

G1: Huh? Scale?

I suppose They need a "Buyer Beware" warning for Masterpiece lines on EBay the "Autobot car" kinds are quite often Knock Offs. Likewise things like Mint in Box Sunstreakers, Wheeljack, & The Dinobots, Devastator, various headmasters & Cassettes could all very easily be Knock offs as well.

If you want Nostalgia there is also the post 2006 Lines like Classics - they are plentiful on ebay often not to expensive or listed in group lots and represent the same characters you'd remember from the 1980's.

But don't discount things like the Takara Legends (not a size in this use) that has a rather nice unique version or Super Ginrai (aka Power Master Optimus Prime) that isn't the same as the Hasbro Titans Returns version.

Also if you want representations of older characters these is the legion class too.

------

lastly the style of the animation is not overly reflected in look of the toys anything made since the 1990's kind goes together fine... the exceptions to that being The 2007 Movie Universe toys, Beast Era toys from 1996-1999 and Transformers Animated from 2008 and some IDW comic based toys or Transformers Prime toys are pushing the look a bit though.

Some of G2, RID(2001), Armada, Cybertron, Energon, Classics, Generations mostly have the "Chunky robot look" down fine.

If you have a particular character or characters you are interested in we could make specific recommendations.

RAR wrote:some IDW comic based toys or Transformers Prime toys are pushing the look a bit though.

I rather find myself disagreeing with that. Figures like Trailcutter, Rewind, the Vehicons, TFP Arcee etc. look fine with most figures. Had my three Vehicons displayed with FoC Soundblaster, FoC Skywarp, Gen. Armadascream, Legends Super Armadascream and CW Blast Off for a while and it was friggin' sick.

I was thinking of Brainstorm for appearance or Rhinox for scale.
or how Chromedome has a mismatched head on him.
I don't have any issue with Trailcutter or Hoist - as they they are kinda IDW looking they are also not a million miles away from the idea of a "Modern upgrade" either... I'm more concerned with the size than the look when it comes to those two.