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Working on the Year in Review piece for the site, with a ...little help, I guess, from my friends.

Here's a thing I noticed, as I was working on the 2017 longpiece: Transformers sort of stopped for me, this year.

Let me explain: I am still getting the trades for all the comics, bar some crossovers. I am still invested in the site, and TFNation, and any other nerdy activity connected to Transformers. I still take robot pics when I travel, or just for the sake of it. But.

I haven't bought a single* Transformer in the entirety of 2017.



*this is not entirely true, but the one I did buy I resold just a couple of months later:



What have I got, robot-wise, this past year?

Back in January, my partner got me these two cuties:


In February, my brother gave me this tiny terror:


Megatronus sent me this in October, from NYCC and Dan Khanna:


I made myself some new business cards:


And I received this commission from Jack Lawrence in December:


So by the end of the year, I got pretty art, a small group of decorations, and some leftover nerd cred, effectively:

(The Optimus craft and tiny Jazz are also from my partner, and Arcee is currently on my dashboard. Alpha Bravo tree decoration is from Bronzewolf, as I said in a post above.)


What does this say about the collection, the hobby, the interest? I have no idea. But I'm also not unhappy with the result or the outcome! I'll definitely be thinking more about this as I keep collating opinions on the main YIR piece, but I was talking to Burn, and we both sort of went '..huh' at what happened in my TF 2017. So there you go. Some musings.

I don't think it's just you. You might be a little more extreme though. I've noticed a lot of board members seem to be rethinking things, clearing out bots either via sale or just storage. I've even found a new direction and I'm on the verge of moving some bots out the door.

Maybe it's over-saturation/exposure fatigue (certainly is for me). Well that's my half-baked 2 cents


In response to your other post above. Sometimes we all need to get by...

carytheone wrote:I don't think it's just you. You might be a little more extreme though. I've noticed a lot of board members seem to be rethinking things, clearing out bots either via sale or just storage. I've even found a new direction and I'm on the verge of moving some bots out the door.

Maybe it's over-saturation/exposure fatigue (certainly is for me). Well that's my half-baked 2 cents

I mean, I've always been open about not being that interested in the whole physical aspect of the enjoyment of the fandom, and had some seriously interesting discussions with Counterpunch, Ironhidensh, and others in other parts of the boards (may go poke those actually..). I also noticed something interesting in the TTTMU first episode, about the 'the human need to touch or hold something physical that represents something intangible' (that Cobotron also picked up while watching), which I still don't entirely agree with, but I can see it working in some ways, as I did after all pick up that anniversary Digimon figure in November.

But yes, I'm not sure if it's: saturation, as I never had that much to begin with; exposure, as I enjoy just looking at images of how people play, much like I enjoy visual media without needing to own it myself. It may be something to do with financial matters, and not being able to justify expenses that are not necessary, but again, not to the point of not even realising that I hadn't bought anything.

gonna keep chewin'.. (*wookie noises*)

Va'al wrote:I mean, I've always been open about not being that interested in the whole physical aspect of the enjoyment of the fandom, and had some seriously interesting discussions with Counterpunch, Ironhidensh, and others in other parts of the boards (may go poke those actually..). I also noticed something interesting in the TTTMU first episode, about the 'the human need to touch or hold something physical that represents something intangible' (that Cobotron also picked up while watching), which I still don't entirely agree with, but I can see it working in some ways, as I did after all pick up that anniversary Digimon figure in November.

I noticed that (from the show) and it reminded me of something I read somewhere on the boards. May have been between you and the podcast guys or on one of the episodes.

Just like kids playing with toys from the cartoon they're watching. There is a need to touch and view these things. Kinda brings them to life in a way. I even paused the show to talk to my wife about that aspect. She lives with a collector, so it's nice to stop sometimes and get an outside impartial view. There's more too it, but I'm having a hard time forming the words. I'll keep chewing. Link me if there is an active discussion somewhere. Ideas of this nature form much faster when bouncing it off peers with different view points.

carytheone wrote:

Va'al wrote:I mean, I've always been open about not being that interested in the whole physical aspect of the enjoyment of the fandom, and had some seriously interesting discussions with Counterpunch, Ironhidensh, and others in other parts of the boards (may go poke those actually..). I also noticed something interesting in the TTTMU first episode, about the 'the human need to touch or hold something physical that represents something intangible' (that Cobotron also picked up while watching), which I still don't entirely agree with, but I can see it working in some ways, as I did after all pick up that anniversary Digimon figure in November.

I noticed that (from the show) and it reminded me of something I read somewhere on the boards. May have been between you and the podcast guys or on one of the episodes.

Just like kids playing with toys from the cartoon they're watching. There is a need to touch and view these things. Kinda brings them to life in a way. I even paused the show to talk to my wife about that aspect. She lives with a collector, so it's nice to stop sometimes and get an outside impartial view. There's more too it, but I'm having a hard time forming the words. I'll keep chewing. Link me if there is an active discussion somewhere. Ideas of this nature form much faster when bouncing it off peers with different view points.

I poked the wookie.

collecting-transformers-why-wherefore-and-wtf-p1929713.php#p1929713

Va'al wrote:I poked the wookie.

You know that's where Porgs come from



Thanks for the link. Going sub for sure and try and do a little back reading.

Va'al wrote:Working on the Year in Review piece for the site, with a ...little help, I guess, from my friends.

Did you ever try to get a Titans Return Windblade? She was so good looking, and I thought she might be up your alley

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Va'al wrote:Working on the Year in Review piece for the site, with a ...little help, I guess, from my friends.

Did you ever try to get a Titans Return Windblade? She was so good looking, and I thought she might be up your alley

Waiting on Takara's release, and then will decide!
I should be in Japan for the one week in February/March, so can always get one then.

Va'al wrote:Waiting on Takara's release, and then will decide!
I should be in Japan for the one week in February/March, so can always get one then.

Ah, cool cool! I was surprised when I saw your post about not getting a single figure and keeping it. Though that says something about Battletrap

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Va'al wrote:Waiting on Takara's release, and then will decide!
I should be in Japan for the one week in February/March, so can always get one then.

Ah, cool cool! I was surprised when I saw your post about not getting a single figure and keeping it. Though that says something about Battletrap

Oh, Battletrap may very well be my one of two 2018 purchases. Depending on my sources.

It'll join Legends Hardhead and MP G2 Lambor as the childhood trinity revival. Overseen by a jealous AB, of course.

Finally found time to sit down and do some nothing for a bit, so I took out this tiny set I got from my partner as a gift. It's a Kabaya Honehonegelion Project 01!



All filed and clear, ready to go a-head.



Look upon my body of work.





Dun!




Now you too can recreate existential dread and horrifying trauma in an adorable yet more terrifying plastic form.










Bonus round: Find someone who looks at you the way undead Shinji looks at his horrifying skeleton robot mom.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem bones



Dat bone





Just saying

carytheone wrote:Dat bone





Just saying

We're boned.

What is that from? I am completely unfamiliar with what I'm looking at

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:What is that from? I am completely unfamiliar with what I'm looking at

carytheone wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:What is that from? I am completely unfamiliar with what I'm looking at

Yes yes, peenus jokes aside: this is a tiny Evangelion figure from a Kabaya gum kit, and it's made out of bones because it's a crossover with Honehone Zaurus - buildable dinosaur line - for their 15th anniversary. It's a trinket from a supermarket, but it's so very cute. Especially that image.

Va'al wrote:

carytheone wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:What is that from? I am completely unfamiliar with what I'm looking at

Yes yes, peenus jokes aside: this is a tiny Evangelion figure from a Kabaya gum kit, and it's made out of bones because it's a crossover with Honehone Zaurus - buildable dinosaur line - for their 15th anniversary. It's a trinket from a supermarket, but it's so very cute. Especially that image.

Wow those look pretty cool and cute!

Agreed! Love Eva...

My beats are sick
and they go down smooth
I'm barrels of fun when I'm
in the mood, I got food for thought
in my sweet rhymes
and I lay it down thick
that's the game of mine.
Remember my name
next time you flow
I'm Decepticon 'slick - Oil Slick, yo.

Oil Slick Rick!

That first image was just a prelude to me making some cacık (Turkish tzaziki, nonna's recipe) which basically involves frying forever, then adding garlic and yogurt.

Yum! It has eggplant in it? Interesting. I always thought it was just cucumber. Sounds delicious!
Do you have some Turkish in your fam? I do. Married in. I luv dem Turks and their country too!

So does it have a smoky baba ganoush type flavor? Does Oil Slick add the smoke? He's obviously pretty slick with the olive oil!

Come si dice eggplant, in Italiano?

Damn, that looks good.

Cobotron wrote:Come si dice eggplant, in Italiano?

If you mean AUBERGINE ( ), it's called melanzana. Which is totally confusing to anyone with a little Spanish. But no, no relation to manzana or mela.

Yum! It has eggplant in it? Interesting. I always thought it was just cucumber. Sounds delicious!
Do you have some Turkish in your fam? I do. Married in. I luv dem Turks and their country too!

Eggplant/aubergine is the Turkish version, cucumber is the greek one. The latter is more of a sauce or condiment, whereas this one is almost a dish in itself. It's mostly garlic. Great cold remedy. Excellent antiseptic.

Nonna, my paternal grandmother. She's Italian, but was born in Turkey (Izmir) and lived there a good part of her life, as did two generations before her - so we have both Armenian and Turkish blood on that side of the family.

(When I say I'm a mongrel, I mean it.)

Ironhidensh wrote:Damn, that looks good.

It was my first time trying it out, nonna usually makes it twice a year. But she's pushing 90 now, and I want to learn them all before it's too late.

Not as good as hers of course, but it was a decent result!