The Energon Pub

Why would you want to pay $500, $600, $1,000.00 dollars for a toy that barely has any articulation? Is it nostalgia? I was looking for a G1 Shockwave and the cheapest I ever found one was for was $60, before he went up in bidding.

Now why would I pay that much for something that doesn't look that great or move hardly at all when I can buy a $20 DOTM Shockwave from Walmart that looks infinitely better.

Now I know they were made out of die cast metal for the most part and had some good quality but half of them don't even look like their cartoon counterparts.

Transformers are built more cheaply now but they are SO much more articulated than ever before and for the most part look screen-accurate.

So what drives some of you to collect G1 toys? Is nostalgia, is it the packaging (admittedly cool), or is the simple fact that you have to have THE original, THE toy the cartoon was based on? Let me know!

Lunacy?

Same reason some people would rather pay $500 for an antique vase than buy a $10 vase at Ikea. If you have to ask "Why?", then you just don't get it, and nothing anyone says will make you understand. Things that are older and rarer are more interesting to some people, so they're willing to pay more.

As for the "cartoon accuracy" of the G1 figures: you've got it backwards. The toys came first; the cartoons were only made as advertisements for the toys. So it's incorrect to say that some G1 toys are not cartoon-accurate. The truth is that it was the cartoon characters that were not toy-accurate.

For me, it's the nostalgia, the toy I wanted but never had as a kid. I grew up with the cartoon, and I loved the toys to death (to the point where many are in poor shape, so I'm also interested in replacing them for display).

Now that said, some people prefer originals, whereas I'm okay with reissues. But I can't get reissued Dinobots or Wheeljack or anything like that. So if I had enough money, and I had the inclination to pick up one of the non-reissued figures, then yes, I'd spend that much.

Is this a case of frustrated bidder? For one, buying vintage, you risk Even misb, having an already degraded figure.

GuyIncognito wrote:If you have to ask "Why?", then you just don't get it, and nothing anyone says will make you understand.

Blunt, cold, but exceedingly true.

There's no justifying it. Toys today are better...well, most of them.

G1 still has figures and aspects that have never and will probably never be re-created.

You simply can not buy a figure like G1 Metroplex any more. You can't have Autobot cars with the accessory assortments like they used to have. There's an intangible aspect to G1 that needs to be held and explored rather than articulated with words.

Counterpunch wrote:

GuyIncognito wrote:If you have to ask "Why?", then you just don't get it, and nothing anyone says will make you understand.

Blunt, cold, but exceedingly true.

There's no justifying it. Toys today are better...well, most of them.

G1 still has figures and aspects that have never and will probably never be re-created.

You simply can not buy a figure like G1 Metroplex any more. You can't have Autobot cars with the accessory assortments like they used to have. There's an intangible aspect to G1 that needs to be held and explored rather than articulated with words.

ALL Of that, plus some of those figures are literally un-remakable. Look up the story behind G1 Blurr....

Because I can and I don't care what you think about that.

dinojack86 wrote:Now why would I pay that much for something that doesn't look that great or move hardly at all when I can buy a $20 DOTM Shockwave from Walmart that looks infinitely better.

I guess you didn't hold a G1 Shockwave in your hands before... Todays toys are made from cheaper plastic than they were 30 years before. And you can't beat die-cast.

Counterpunch wrote:

GuyIncognito wrote:If you have to ask "Why?", then you just don't get it, and nothing anyone says will make you understand.

Blunt, cold, but exceedingly true.

Agreed 100%..

I think everyone pretty much summed it up nicely.

GuyIncognito has stated the case for this subject the best.

I would only add that for me personally G1 Transformer toys were a huge fascination when I was an 10 year old kid. Nothing out there in toy land could compare at the time.Then they went and made a cartoon about them, which gave us a story to follow with our toys.
So as some of us like myself are now almost 40, we are willing to pay whatever each of us determines that tangible memory is worth.

TF3 DOTM Movie reminded me so much about why I loved these toys, and the characters, that I have just recently started collecting them again. ( 1st movie loved, ROTF Liked, but TF3 hit it)

I actually never let go of any of my original G1 figures. I have many that are actual Takara toys, before, the cartoon or Hasbro came into the picture. I personally wouldn't sell any of my childhood Transformersd at any price.

It's mostly nostalgia. It was the toys I loved as a kid. the ones I owned or the ones I could only see in the JC Pennys Christmas catalog and dream of owning. Now we're older and have the financial means to aquire those toys we dreamed about and many people are fighting for what little is left and one guy will offer more then the next guy and so on, then the prices go up.

For me personally, now that we have classics I have no desire to go after the vast majority of G1 vintage anymore. Now i can have most of those I loved with the articulation and great looks that we kind of had to use our imagination for back then. But you can't beat the construction of those vintage toys with today's toys. That better plastic and die cast was much more durable then what we have today. I feel fortunate that I'm happy with classics and don't feel the need to pay out all the dough to acquire my childhood dream toys but it is easy to understand why so many people do go after them.

P.S. Comparing G1 Shockwave with DOTM Shockwave? Seriously? DOTM Shockwave doesn't hold G1 Shockwave's jockstrap.

Chaoslock wrote:And you can't beat die-cast.

Fool around a bit with the Titanium series, and then say that again.

They're beautifully constructed "bricks"!

I'm with Cyberseven. It's the memories attached to the figures that makes me pay what I'll pay for the ones I want.

i may not be an old timer like some of the other guys on here but my dad gave me some of his G1 toys he still had when i was little. i got megatron, jazz(in bad shape), mirage, and primes trailer, i have prime now but no hands, guns ect. but i can see the nostalgia. i love these things to death. if i could i would collect em but they are waaaaaaaaaay too expensive for me so i have the next best thing classics generations ect. megatron i have to say is my favorite G1 i have. if i had all the parts to my G1 i would love em a lot more. but i will hunt down the parts another day. ya know its the thing that started it all, no matter what you like you HAVE to respect G1

Optimus Eeyore wrote:I'm with Cyberseven. It's the memories attached to the figures that makes me pay what I'll pay for the ones I want.

i guess this can be said about what ever line you grew up with.

Skywarp64 wrote:

Chaoslock wrote:And you can't beat die-cast.

Fool around a bit with the Titanium series, and then say that again.

I've always felt "Titaniums" was Hasbro saying "You want your ******* die-cast back? HAVE IT!" and then proceeded to screw them up by having TOO MUCH die-cast.

Burn wrote:

Skywarp64 wrote:

Chaoslock wrote:And you can't beat die-cast.

Fool around a bit with the Titanium series, and then say that again.

I've always felt "Titaniums" was Hasbro saying "You want your ******* die-cast back? HAVE IT!" and then proceeded to screw them up by having TOO MUCH die-cast.

The Fallen and Prowl are really nice. I like Prowl way more than I thought I would.
I did sell off my jets and Soundwave. I like Wave, and bought him on 2 different occasions, but sold him off for the same reasons both times, he just couldn't stand under his own weight.

dinojack86 wrote:

Now why would I pay that much for something that doesn't look that great or move hardly at all when I can buy a $20 DOTM Shockwave from Walmart that looks infinitely better.

Actually... he doesn't look better, nor is he a better toy.

And before I start I will say for the most part I love the movie lines. So no, can't call me a 'hater'.

But... G1 Shockwave is sleek, deadly. His alternate mode is a fully-functional toy with lights and sounds. Seal up the transformation cracks and you could never tell he was a Transformer. Weight, heft and cool factor right there.

Transformation is simple, but immensely satisfying. With the exception of the gun barrel, everything transforms and has its place in robot mode. And what you're left with is this sinister, large hulking behemoth that screams 'death'. Articulation, aside from the shoulder joint, is done well and even surpasses some later toys.

DOTM Shockwave... transforms into a barely-recognizable tank, has a flippin' rib cage and monkey hands. And I hate monkey hands. They are completely avoidable in this day and age. oh and the hose, unlike G1 Shocker's, limits the arm movement no matter which plug you use for it.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:

dinojack86 wrote:

Now why would I pay that much for something that doesn't look that great or move hardly at all when I can buy a $20 DOTM Shockwave from Walmart that looks infinitely better.

Actually... he doesn't look better, nor is he a better toy.

And before I start I will say for the most part I love the movie lines. So no, can't call me a 'hater'.

But... G1 Shockwave is sleek, deadly. His alternate mode is a fully-functional toy with lights and sounds. Seal up the transformation cracks and you could never tell he was a Transformer. Weight, heft and cool factor right there.

Transformation is simple, but immensely satisfying. With the exception of the gun barrel, everything transforms and has its place in robot mode. And what you're left with is this sinister, large hulking behemoth that screams 'death'. Articulation, aside from the shoulder joint, is done well and even surpasses some later toys.

DOTM Shockwave... transforms into a barely-recognizable tank, has a flippin' rib cage and monkey hands. And I hate monkey hands. They are completely avoidable in this day and age. oh and the hose, unlike G1 Shocker's, limits the arm movement no matter which plug you use for it.

i agree about the monkey arms. i just found out that i need something.......a G1 shockwave....

BeastProwl wrote:plus some of those figures are literally un-remakable. Look up the story behind G1 Blurr....

I'm out of the loop on that one, and I couldn't find any info. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Love!

I love G1 toys, but they have their place. The modern engineering is superior while the newer plastics used are inferior (though the softer plastics used now do seem to help prevent breaking/cracking more than G1).

For me, I buy some of the G1 toys because I either want a toy I grew up with, or I want a toy I always wanted but never got as a kid. If a reissue is available and identical to, or even better than the original, I go for the reissue. I don't collect vintage for the sake of vintage (though they are worth more, but for my collection it isn't about monetary value).

I love the Classics/Generations type lines because they give me a lot of what G1 offered, but with generally superior engineering and better articulation.

All that being said, sometimes vintage is the only way to go because there is no reissue or modern update so I just find the cheapest one on ebay that meets my personal standard of quality/condition (I don't keep any toys MIB, I pull them all out for display and play) so I usually don't have to bay too much unless it's something really rare (thank God I have no desire for ForMax ).

I love the new stuff, but I gotta admit that when I'm holding a G1 toy, feeling the weight and actual METAL and seeing those vibrant colored paints, it really does have a certain vibe to it that's unbeatable, be it an actual vintage toy or a reissue .