The Energon Pub

Decided to post this topic after I posted in the "does collecting make you feel wasted" thread. I enjoy discussions of that nature so here is another.

What is it that makes a transformer collector? The more time I spent this year dealing transformers at the cons, the more I wondered.

Not looking for a simple answer like "transformers are cool" though.
Certainly, transformers ARE cool, but I am talking about the conversion of a seemingly normal person into a hardcore, con attending, forum posting, repaint hungry, lurking around toy sections everytime they step into a walmart kind of person.

I myself went through this transformation(pun intended.) I loved them as a kid, but didnt get back into them until I was in my 20's and saw MP01. Now I have a fully insured 1000+ piece collection with custom showcases to display them. I collect the comics, I read the news on the forums, I have over 1000 posts on this site alone. I check the TF news as part of my daily routine. I even sell bots at the cons now as a hobby.

I understand that not all collector's are into the sub culture as much as myself but I am speaking to fellow hardcore collector's here.

What is inside all of us that makes us comb ebay for that one part, or bot?
What makes us feverishly await exclusives, or repaints of any kind?
What makes grown men and women actually argue over little plastic toys?
What makes us pay admission to a room full of toys?

nostalgia?
OCD?
social rejection?
community spirit?
ritualistic behaviour?
insanity?

all of the above?

thoughts please

The simple answer to that question is passion.

I loved them when I was six and I still love them today, although I'm almost thirty two. Not very many things in my life have had that kind of longevity, with the exception of my family of course. I've lost count of the number of girlfriends, cars, pets, possessions, jobs, etc that have all been and gone in that period, yet my passion for Transformers (especially G1) has never abated.

Longevity is an interesting idea. I would submit that longevity is linked to a security blanket kind of appeal. Consistency combined with childhood nostalgia, that is a powerful combo.

I know for a lot of collectors, Transformers imprinted on them when they were children, when our emotional and creative palettes were still in development making experiences at that age extremely potent. By the time adulthood is reached, no entertainment really punches like those first experiences when our minds were virgin.

I've tried twice to put together a good solid post explaining this hobby.

What it all boils down to, is that it makes me happy and it is fun to do.

I have met great people along the way including some of my best friends to date. The toys and stories inspire me to explore my creative side and expiriment with various means of communication (written and other). I don't have one reason for the hobby, I don't want a reason for the hobby.

Sometimes, the simple joy of fun stuff is enough.

I'm kind of sorry to say, but kind of smug in saying, that "It's what I like to do." is a good enough reason. Any other reason for a hobby can be taken away from you, but simple enjoyment doesn't need validation.

I stopped collecting when I turned 18 and stared again when beastwars came out in the UK.

For me its a element of nostalgia and a connection to a time in my life when I could say I was genuinely happy and things were simple.

It generally doesnt go down well with women and finding one that can put up with th obsession with the plasctic crack is hard, but when its part of you its part of you.

Counterpunch wrote:What it all boils down to, is that it makes me happy and it is fun to do.
Sometimes, the simple joy of fun stuff is enough.

Of course, but anything could have taken that role in your life. I am not looking to cheapen people's connection, only deconstruct it.

Something about bots spoke to you in a powerful way, more powerful than other franchises, other interests etc etc

I like your response about it firing your imagination, that was and is a big one for me.

Neurie wrote:For me its a element of nostalgia and a connection to a time in my life when I could say I was genuinely happy and things were simple

Another big one, this probably is actually the #1 reason that keeps people involved in the subculture. As I mentioned, childhood impressions are SO powerful, sating those childhood wants feels great.

I am always saddened when I meet a person who has detached from his inner child. They are missing out on so much, same goes for couples where one partner craps on the others hobbies because they are 'childish.' Why is that even a bad thing?

what makes a TF collector is the ability to post on a forum detailing ways in which they're better than other consumers of the same products, using things like the time or money you've invested as ways to somehow make yourself feel better. apparently.
or is that what a "true fan" is?

To me, having 50+ toys does not necessarily make a "collector".
I define a collector as a person who is constantly interested in Transformers and enjoys the figures, but does not mean they have to buy them in mass amounts.

OptiMagnus10 wrote:To me, having 50+ toys does not necessarily make a "collector".
I define a collector as a person who is constantly interested in Transformers and enjoys the figures, but does not mean they have to buy them in mass amounts.

Ahh the consciencious collector rather than the horder.

We never had much money so I had maybe 2 or 3 transformers a year each growing up.

Its only since Ive had a good job I became more a horder. Its a habit Ill have to kick at some point for space and because its ciost me relathionships.

craggy wrote:what makes a TF collector is the ability to post on a forum detailing ways in which they're better than other consumers of the same products, using things like the time or money you've invested as ways to somehow make yourself feel better. apparently.
or is that what a "true fan" is?

wow, that didnt take long. If you think any hardcore collector's are into transformers because of some arbitrary contest with other consumers, I think you will be disappointed.
If there are collector's only collecting for that reason, I haven't met them.

I would love to hear you justify your above argument as I never once said that a collector with +1000 bots is better than one with 10. I only cited my large collection to illustrate the difference between someone with some nostalgia for transformers, and that same person a few years later attending botcon just for some exclusive repaints etc etc

craggy wrote:"true fan"

BTW, who are you quoting here? I never said, this, neither did any of the other posters.

It took some time for me to figure out why I chose Transformers over other lines, such as GI Joes or superheroes and it finally boiled down to this:
They're all different.

I don't mean that they're all different in terms of personality or colourscheme, because that can be said about GI Joes or superheroes too. They're all different in that they all have a different shillouette (repaints aside of course), unlike GI Joe and Superheroes where when you get to the bare bones of the figure, they're more or less the same. I admire the engineering and the fun I have in transforming them and exploring all their differences.

In general I think that to be a collector, you must have an appreciation of the hobby and the figures. This is vs a hoarder, who buys just because they're new, or a scalper who buys just to flip a figure (be it 2 days or 2 years down the road).

Sid Burn wrote:

craggy wrote:what makes a TF collector is the ability to post on a forum detailing ways in which they're better than other consumers of the same products, using things like the time or money you've invested as ways to somehow make yourself feel better. apparently.
or is that what a "true fan" is?

wow, that didnt take long, let the flaming begin. I wanted an open discussion about what makes us enjoy and collect bots, if you think any hardcore collector's are into transformers because of some arbitrary contest with other consumers, I think you will be disappointed.

I would love to hear you justify your above argument as I never once said that a collector with +1000 bots is better than one with 10.

so you're wondering what makes someone like TFs over, say Pokemon or superheroes? That's an interesting discussion.

I thought you were

talking about the conversion of a seemingly normal person into a hardcore, con attending, forum posting, repaint hungry, lurking around toy sections everytime they step into a walmart kind of person

though. I'm not sure why I got that impression. Of that list, I post on these forums (would do more if it actually remembered me and logged me in automatically as I request it to EVERY TIME I want to post something) and tend to check out the toys section in supermarkets every now and then. I don't know if that's hardcore enough for me to be allowed to continue posting here, but on the off chance that it is...

I think part of why Transformers drew me into it was the value for money. I mean, as a kid, it was 2 toys in one. You got a robot action figure and a car or plane or whatever. The early ones were also of much higher quality than a great many other toys of the time. (I loved me some MOTU as well, but I could tell they were mostly made of one of a half a dozen at best different bodies)

There was also, of course, the media support. The cartoons were good. A little goofy in places now, but there was a lot to keep us 80s kids entertained, with each robot having his own powers and attitude. The comics (especially here in the UK) helped a lot as well. I actually don't remember the cartoon being on TV much (I usually rented tapes) but the comics were there every week and there were annuals and specials every now and then. Don't know how popular annuals are outside the UK, but particularly when I was young, you'd always get a few at Christmas time.

The animated movie was probably what did it for me though. There were other comics, other toys and other cartoons I liked, but none of them had a feature length adventure quite as good as TF:TM. I must have rented that tape so many times, I still don't understand why my parents didn't buy it. (I've now got more copies of the film than I really need or want, but I digress) There's obviously a cheapness to the way it's all the old toys that die, and the new guys pop up out of nowhere To Sell Toys, but the animation was probably the best I was exposed to at that age and the soundtrack was prefect.

I don't know that I'd say I like TF more than some other geeky hobbies of mine, I buy more comics (and even video games) than TFs these days, but there'll always be a soft spot in my heart for them and I don't think I'll ever forget getting Ultra Magnus for my birthday one year and thinking how great he was.

edit: also, while I might not choose to buy as many TFs as I could or would like to, I certainly appreciate the art of them. As mentioned in the preceding post, each one is different and taking a handful of random TFs out of someone's collection is going to challenge a child's mind far more than any selection of most other lines, as GI Joe (brilliant as they are), superheroes, wrestlers, etc, all share very similar designs as far as their toys go. There are almost certainly thousands of different types of construction of Transformer toy. There's generally one basic body style for most lines.

craggy wrote: I tend to check out the toys section in supermarkets every now and then. I don't know if that's hardcore enough for me to be allowed to continue posting here, but on the off chance that it is...

am I a mod? I dont have any control over you posting or not, I want everyone interested to post ideally.

I was not mentioning the high levels of TF nerdiness I exhibit to somehow exclude others, that would be a small and pathetic thing to do. I was setting up the discussion with an example.

the topic isnt why tf is better than other franchises specifically, it is why tf captures us in particular as collectors. I could have collected stamps, or cars, or nothing at all, but I collect transformers just like the majority of posters here. I was looking to deconstruct that.

you are projecting some kind of inferiority complex, I was only inviting discussion.

Sometimes, I open toys up in the car.

Other times, I try to undo twisty ties while I'm driving.

Counterpunch wrote:Sometimes, I open toys up in the car.

Other times, I try to undo twisty ties while I'm driving.

glad you are still among us then, that seems pretty dangerous.

the section of the original post I quoted gave me the impression that someone who just has some Transformers wasn't quite devoted enough. maybe I misinterpreted. I find Transfandom tend to be divisive and elitist at the best of times and dislike the thought of someone new to the hobby feeling put off by us old timers harping on about how we've been "here since the start" or any crap like that (not that it's necessarily something I've seen in this particular thread).

I suppose, at it's most basic level, a TF collector, is someone who has a few TFs...or related media. Not that someone couldn't be a fan, very much invested in the product without owning any toys or DVDs or games or whatever. One need not spend money on something to love it.

Sid Burn wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Sometimes, I open toys up in the car.

Other times, I try to undo twisty ties while I'm driving.

glad you are still among us then, that seems pretty dangerous.

oh wow. in 100% agreement with you there. I hope that everyone think more before trying this particular aspect of one fan's collectors' mentality. open it in the car before you start driving home if you must, but don't risk injury or death for it.


of course, maybe your car is a Transformer...in which case...can I get one?

craggy wrote:the section of the original post I quoted gave me the impression that someone who just has some Transformers wasn't quite devoted enough. maybe I misinterpreted.

guess so, if there is some kind of elitist based discrimination to this thread, I dont know who the judge is, certainly is not me.

I do think that bot collectors can be somewhat elitist for the following reasons.

-Transformers is the most successful brand of the big 80s franchises
-The crowds at gijoe conventions are always littered with people who look like they own a gun rack
-transformers have a clearly defined double market, the North American market and the Asian market, making for an abundance of collector niches. I have met people at the cons who only collect Japanese G1, or only Diaclone. There are so many facets of the tf universe to take an interest in.

not that any of those reasons is an excuse for snobbery at a convention or on a forum, but they are the reasons I could see people using.

I thought about collecting MOTU as well as bots, but the magic just wasnt there for me.
In my opinion, MOTU, Thundercats and Gijoe all have ceilings to their fiction, where TF is without limits creatively. Almost nothing is off limits in terms of the fiction and by extension, the toy lines.

Sid Burn wrote:

craggy wrote:the section of the original post I quoted gave me the impression that someone who just has some Transformers wasn't quite devoted enough. maybe I misinterpreted.

guess so, if there is some kind of elitist based discrimination to this thread, I dont know who the judge is, certainly is not me.

I do think that bot collectors can be somewhat elitist for the following reasons.

-Transformers is the most successful brand of the big 80s franchises
-The crowds at gijoe conventions are always littered with people who look like they own a gun rack
-transformers have a clearly defined double market, the North American market and the Asian market, making for an abundance of collector niches. I have met people at the cons who only collect Japanese G1, or only Diaclone. There are so many facets of the tf universe to take an interest in.

-TF is definitely the most successful, as it's never really stopped since the 80s.
-haha, I've not been to any GI Joe cons (or TF ones for that matter) but somehow I'm not surprised, what with it being based in a somewhat more realistic universe than TF, and being primarily a military themed franchise. there's the pre-80s Joes as well.
-there's also the UK/European market that kept the franchise going in the English-speaking world when it died in the early 90s in the US, although I doubt as many folks collect only European exclusives as do only collect Japanese or what have you. There are definitely a lot of different facets to the TF universe. I think that might be helped by the multiple continuities and various forms the franchise has taken. Rather than find it confusing as a kid that the stories in the comics were different from the cartoons which were different from the little Ladybird story-books and tapes I had I was intrigued. Even now, as a primarily G1-oriented fan, I find it wondrous that there's the original G1 stuff, the DW G1, the IDW G1, the Classics universe and so on, and there's so much more to explore.

Something I didn't mention before, the timescale of TFs. Even ignoring Unicron and Primus being around since before the birth of "our" universe, there's the idea that these guys lay asleep for 4 million years and the rest of their race carried on and are still about when they wake up. That's pretty darn epic, in ways that I don't think even Star Wars has done.


edit: reading the last part of your post there, it kind of expands on what I mean by the timescale, there really isn't a limit to TFs the way there is to GI Joe or Thundercats or even TMNT. MOTU maybe has about as much scale in it maybe, potentially, but never seemed to go that far. Horde Prime was about the closest we got to them really expanding the idea of the franchise beyond the initial standard Saturday morning cartoon good vs evil setup.

I think the diversity of the franchise actual helps to make the Transformers brand stronger. Constant re-invention helps Transformers remain current, relevant and popular, which in turn, helps to broaden the fan base. This, of course, then opens the door for new collectors, despite the original concept being over a quarter of a century old.

agreed, the total removal of human limits is fascinating. I love how the human cast constantly changes while the main cast of bots remain.

didnt forget the European exclusive releases, that is actually what I am collecting now to fill out my G2 display. They are very difficult to track down, but the hunt is fun. The trakkons, turbomasters, stormtroopers, laser rods and predator jets are awesome, even the ones afflicted with gold fleck. Inspired transformations and ultra colourful, in a way only the early 90s could achieve.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:I think the diversity of the franchise actual helps to make the Transformers brand stronger. Constant re-invention helps Transformers remain current

Too true, it speaks to the strength of the original fiction that even when it is reinvented, many of the same traditions are always present (Prime's compassion, Starscream's betrayal, Soundwave's loyalty, BB's innocence, Jazz' fascination with human culture etc etc)

What is it that makes a transformer collector?

nostalgia?
OCD?
social rejection?
community spirit?
ritualistic behaviour?
insanity?

all of the above?

thoughts please[/quote]

This is a really interesting topic. I've been turning this one around in my mind all evening (that probably says something about my life right there!).

I think, for me, transformers is certainly about nostalgia. But that could have included GI Joe and Thundercats but I don't collect those toys (altho I do have some comics...). Something about giant transforming robots that could be lurking in your life as everyday objects piqued my imagination more than series like GI Joe.

I also think the science fiction attracts me. Add to that toys that are fascinating to play with and you have something that is different from other toys or collectibles. You can have an action figure but it's a fairly static toy, it doesn't move all that much and can't do anything but a transformer can do all kinds of things.

For me at least, that's a big part of what makes me a collector. That and the fact that it brings me enjoyment and is a break from everyday life and reality.

Glad to see this is calming down.

One thing Craggy mentioned I do really feel passionate about is the level of elitism that has crept in to the transformers collecting community.

Its not soo bad on this site, but on others I could mention the mear mention of certain parts of the fandom and youll be called every other name under sun and belittled. Some people do take it as a matter of pride that they have a factory sealed Grandius and Star Convoy. Bully for them, but looking down on others because they collect only say legends or Animorphs is part of their collection(cough cough) is just plain sad. Would I like a Grandius and Star Convoy, yes, cant afford them so Im happy with what I have(of which alot was purchased second hand)

The only other fan community that has nearly the same level of derition between its collectors is perhaps Star Wars.

Personally, I buy the main lines and takara releases that take my fancy and can afford. If you have 10 transformers and have a passion or intrest or have over 3,000 and are still going your still a collector as you have a passion. For some its fiction, some art, some toys or models, some mythos or cartoons, as longas you appreciate it then it doesnt matter how much you have.

My now ex-girlfriend used to tell me it matters not what you like just as long as there is passion weither you have 1 thing or everything, its the passion and intrest thats important.

It just saddens me that people feel the need to have to justify themselves especially on a fairly friendly message board.

I think nostalgia plays a huge role in my collecting. Whenever I got into my man-cave and am surrounded by little plastic robots, I'm instantly transported to my childhood. Today, I have a job, tons of responsibilities, a wife, etc. However, having all those figures around me, even for a little while, relieves me of all that pressure that we're all burdened with as we grow older. I can stare at my G1 Starscream and remember when I was 6 and the only worry I had was whether or not I'd be getting Grimlock for Christmas. Having a collection provides me with familiarity, comfort, and something that defines me. I'm the guy that collects transformers. I embrace that.

It's also a pretty good outlet for my OCD. I constantly have an urge to redecorate the entire apartment (much to my wife's dismay). However, I've learned to curb that constant need for redecoration into just reorganizing my entire collection. I've sometimes spent hours just reorganizing my collection and it provides me with an immense amount of relaxation and tranquility. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment when I finally finish, step back, crack open a beer, and stare at my wonderful collection.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:I think the diversity of the franchise actual helps to make the Transformers brand stronger. Constant re-invention helps Transformers remain current, relevant and popular, which in turn, helps to broaden the fan base. This, of course, then opens the door for new collectors, despite the original concept being over a quarter of a century old.

Hallelujah! It has finally been said by someone besides me! This is exactly how I view the franchise. I believe that consistent change and evolution makes the brand more interesting and more welcoming to new fans both young and old year after year. The new additions to the franchise make it so broad and diverse so everyone can have their own favorite.
I do believe there should always be a hint of nostalgia along the way, and we should always continue to recognize all (not just one or a few) of the many components of the past of the brand, but at the same time the brand cannot move forward if the fans do not.