The Energon Pub

In 2006 we were first treated to Hasbro's Classics line of Transformers. Every year since then they have released new figures with the same basic theme, which is updated versions of old school characters and toys. There have been different names for some of the lines (Generations, Universe, Reveal the Shield, etc) but the concept has remained. My question is this - is RIGHT NOW the best period we have ever had for such toys? I think it actually is.

Let's take a look back. As I said, Classics arrived in late 2006. It was originally intended only as a filler line until the first movie toys came out but proved very popular.

We really didn't get much new stuff again until 2008, this time under the Universe label. Over a period spanning just over a year we got all sorts of wonderful characters, including most of the rest of the 1984 Autobots (Hound, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe), some cool voyagers like Inferno and even some awesome Decepticons such as Cyclonus.

In the summer of 2009 the second movie, Revenge of the Fallen soon dominated the toy shelves and the Classicsverse hit another dry spell for a while. However late 2010 and 2011 brought us another wave of seriously awesome toys such as Perceptor, Wreck Gar and Jazz among many others. Unfortunately, the distribution was a bit poor and some were hard to find.

The third movie, Dark of the Moon hit in 2011 and again clogged the shelves with movie toys. Over the next year or two a few fun things came out but nowhere near like we had seen before. The highlight was probably the toys from the War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron video games but some collectors never fully got into the Cybertronian alt modes. Meanwhile, 3rd party companies had started making figures that Hasbro seemed unwilling or incapable of doing, albeit at some very high prices.

That brings us closer to where we are now. In 2013, Hasbro announced the "Thrilling 30" to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the brand in 2014. Since then, we've gotten figures we have previously only dreamed of - a 2 ft tall Metroplex, triple changers, a proper G1 Arcee and many more. With 2015's Combiner Wars, the bar has again been raised. As G1 fanboys (and girls) are drooling over all this new stuff, especially an 18 inch Devastator it is at least my opinion that RIGHT now may be the best time ever to collect modern figs based on G1 characters.

Thoughts?

Unfortunately, the distribution was a bit poor and some were hard to find.

Unfortunately, that's still the case.

Optimum Supreme wrote:

Unfortunately, the distribution was a bit poor and some were hard to find.

Unfortunately, that's still the case.

Can't disagree especially if you want an Arcee. However, they have been better lately at restocking some waves later on.

I'd have to say that the best time for Classics collectors was the times surrounding Revenge of the Fallen. Universe 2.0 and RTS yielded by far the best Classics style figures, both official and 3rd party, with high points being Sideswipe/Sunstreaker, Jazz, City Commander and Protector for Magnus and Hot Rod, and the FP Combaticons to go with the ROTF Bruticus. Of course, there were some strikes to go with those home runs. Prowl/Bluestreak had massive paint issues and Ironhide/Ratchet were underwhelming at best but at least you could actually find them at retail. The best time to be a Classics collector was U2.0 and RTS.

I'm not the only one, or even the first, to say this about the current and soon to come "Classics" offerings, but right now really and truly is a great time to be a Transformers collector.

zodconvoy wrote:I'd have to say that the best time for Classics collectors was the times surrounding Revenge of the Fallen. Universe 2.0 and RTS yielded by far the best Classics style figures, both official and 3rd party, with high points being Sideswipe/Sunstreaker, Jazz, City Commander and Protector for Magnus and Hot Rod, and the FP Combaticons to go with the ROTF Bruticus. Of course, there were some strikes to go with those home runs. Prowl/Bluestreak had massive paint issues and Ironhide/Ratchet were underwhelming at best but at least you could actually find them at retail. The best time to be a Classics collector was U2.0 and RTS.

To clarify, you mean the two separate periods right before and right after the main wave of ROTF toys. Those were good as I stated. Why I prefer right now is twofold - 1) Those runs lasted a little ,ore than a year each. 2) It is relatively Easy to release a deluxe sized figure. A good leader, triplechanger, combiner or Titan Class is much harder.

Dude, I totally agree! I was thinking the same thing. This is the golden age of Transformers collecting!

I wasn’t expecting others to disagree but I respect their opinion. Buying affordable classics is not easy to do. You really have to go Masterpiece and or 3rd party for that. But if you don’t need 100% classics style then this time is amazing. Hasbro and Takara are in the process of producing every figure with great articulation.

Jetfire, Ultra Magnus, Chromia, Brainstorm, in addition to the ones Delicon mentioned are incredible figures on their own and so cool to see from my childhood. The combiners are awesome. I love the triple changers. Jetfire is leader class size and approaches MP quality (I know he has hollow panels and a MP wouldn’t, but besides that he is excellent)

If one is happy with a mixture of IDW, Cybertronian, Generations, and Classics style then it is all just fun and awesome. I’m not a purist and I like the different choices, options, and styles. It is like a fun re-write or re-play, where one can mix and match and try different styles, and enjoy all of it. Excellent toys, cartoons, movies, games, comics! The abundance and quality and fun of Transformers has never been to this level. I love it. Keep it coming.

It's kinda odd. On one hand, we're getting impressive engineering, insane levels of retooling, and just about character/type of figure we could want.... but on the other hand, there also seems to be annoying budget cuts, quality issues, prices that seem to rise every year, and just plain confusing design choices. It's kinda like they're trying to pass off all the bad with fanwank, but man is it good fanwank.

Honestly that Leader Megatron may be the fig I have looked forward to the most since Classics began. I was so pissed at how crappy the Nerf Megatron was and even the Megs they put out since then have generally been a bit weak.

Noideaforaname wrote:It's kinda odd. On one hand, we're getting impressive engineering, insane levels of retooling, and just about character/type of figure we could want.... but on the other hand, there also seems to be annoying budget cuts, quality issues, prices that seem to rise every year, and just plain confusing design choices. It's kinda like they're trying to pass off all the bad with fanwank, but man is it good fanwank.

Fair points, the quality was better last decade, and at cheaper prices. Recession and oil to blame for that I suppose, companies often want to pinch pennies, but that is what started it I believe.

For me personally, it was during Universe 2.0. By the time the HftD and first "Generations" branded stuff came out, I was still pumped for them, but the general feeling of fun coupled with nostalgia had diminished by then. Plus, that's when we really started getting into the realm of characters being done more than once, whereas earlier on (outside of Megs, Prime, and Springer if you counted the Botcon one), things felt kind of fresh and easy.

Things are great now, but I'm not sure that initial feeling will come back for me.

Wolfman Jake wrote:I'm not the only one, or even the first, to say this about the current and soon to come "Classics" offerings, but right now really and truly is a great time to be a Transformers collector.

Freakin' A man! With what is currently hitting shelves snd with what's on the horizon it's in fact a great time to be a fan to this passion of ours!

ScottyP wrote:For me personally, it was during Universe 2.0. By the time the HftD and first "Generations" branded stuff came out, I was still pumped for them, but the general feeling of fun coupled with nostalgia had diminished by then. Plus, that's when we really started getting into the realm of characters being done more than once, whereas earlier on (outside of Megs, Prime, and Springer if you counted the Botcon one), things felt kind of fresh and easy.

Things are great now, but I'm not sure that initial feeling will come back for me.

I understand that and Universe 2.0 is a close second for me. I remember the reveals at BotCon 08 and the insane reaction in that room.

As for things being done more than once, I understand that, too. Yet if it means a cool big ass Jetfire or Grimlock or Soundwave then I am all for it.