15 Years of OzFormers

[GoktimusPrime]

This thread is about reminiscing the old days of OzFormers, maybe comparing with how things have changed with Transformers and the fandom etc.

"OzFormers and Transfandom: Then (1996) and Now (2011)."

Then: OzFormers was called AusTrans
Now: It's called OzFormers Transformers Collectors Alliance!

Then: There was no forum for AusTrans. Most of us communicated via ATT and/or email. We received information and shared works (e.g. toy reviews, fan art etc.) via a printed newsletter which griffin posted to us.
Now: We have the forum where we communicate with posts and threads, as well as private messaging. Fan works are now posted on the board or linked externally from sites like YouTube.

Then: The number of people who attended meets were quite small. I was living in Japan when I joined AusTrans so I didn't attend my first meet until I returned to Australia in 1998 -- total number of attendees: 3.
Now: We have dozens of people attending a lot of meets!

Then: I had 100-something Transformers and Ben Yee's estimated his collection at 200-something. I think those of us with 3-digit collection counts were considered "heavy hitters."
Now: It's not uncommon for people to have collections numbering in the thousands.

Then: Because I was living in Japan at the time, a lot of people were asking me to run around and buy toys for them -- and not necessarily hard to find stuff -- all regular retail figures (although Convobat Vs Megalligator and Shadow Panther were hard to find). And I didn't have a car, so often I'd be carefully riding my bicycle with its front basket overflowing with Transformers that I'd bought for other collectors. After returning to Australia I continued to interact with the Japanese fandom and often elicited their help to acquire Japanese toys.
Now: We have online Japanese stores like HLJ and amiami.

Then: "TRUK NOT MUNKY!"
Now: "Michael Bay killed my childhood!"

Then: We continued to collect Transformers episodes on VHS
Now: DVD and Blu Ray baby.

Then: Transformer comics no longer existed and were sorely missed.
Now: We have Transformers comics being produced by IDW (though we miss the quality of Marvel G1 - remember the days when you'd purchase a single issue and lots of stuff happened?! :p)

Then: Hasbro gave us really weird names like Cheetor, Tarantulas and Insecticon? Gimme a break...
Now: Hasbro is giving us illiterate names like Brakedown and Grappel. Grappel?!? (O_o)

...that'll do for now. What are your earliest memories of OzFormers (and Transfandom at that time) compared to now? :)

[Hursticon]

Some very interesting little tidbits there Goki and a great idea for a Thread! ;):cool:
(Wish I could contribute, I've not even been a member for a year yet! :p)

[1AZRAEL1]

Earliest memory I have was attending the convention in 2006 after finding the website for the forum, and joined. Though I did not contribute much, I still lurked around. Didn't really meet anyone that I can remember, though I remember some faces that I saw. I bought some Transformers from one of the sellers, AM Thundercracker and a few other tid bits. Nearly bought Anime Galvatron, but couldn't afford it. Got the sellers details and was going to get him to send it to me when I had the money. Unfortunately I still could not afford it, so he put all his stuff on ebay. Not sure if we was/is a member on here. This was also when we saw early pictures of M Bay's movie, which was all exciting. I was there with a couple of my Heavy Metal friends who also liked TF's. She even brought her kids who wanted to touch all the toys :p

Sometime after that the forum closed/had problems and I forgot all about it and replaced it with my own problems.

August 2008, I find the new forum again and decide to join. Again I was still a lurker and barely contributed.

No idea when I actually started to contribute more frequently. Started attending meets after meeting some of you fellas at the Parra Fair when I helped out Jamie.

The rest is pretty much history.

[Sky Shadow]

Earliest memory I have was attending the convention in 2006 after finding the website for the forum, and joined. Though I did not contribute much, I still lurked around. Didn't really meet anyone that I can remember, though I remember some faces that I saw. I bought some Transformers from one of the sellers, AM Thundercracker and a few other tid bits. Nearly bought Anime Galvatron, but couldn't afford it. Got the sellers details and was going to get him to send it to me when I had the money. Unfortunately I still could not afford it, so he put all his stuff on ebay. Not sure if we was/is a member on here.

That was me, dude. :p

Yeah, you bought one of my AM Thundercrackers (and were interested in Bruticus and Galvatron, so I held them for a few months, but sadly you said you were broke and had to spend your money on other things.) With hindsight, it's pretty funny, because I know I bought some AM Thundercracker weapons from you four years later. They weren't the same ones were they?

[1AZRAEL1]

That was me, dude. :p

Yeah, you bought one of my AM Thundercrackers (and were interested in Bruticus and Galvatron, so I held them for a few months, but sadly you said you were broke and had to spend your money on other things.) With hindsight, it's pretty funny, because I know I bought some AM Thundercracker weapons from you four years later. They weren't the same ones were they?

Heh small world.

I remembered some people's faces (Dirge coz he was reading out the trivia with his hat on :p) but that was the only one I can remember. Pity I couldn't buy the figures off ya, you had so many I wanted but lacking the funds to do it.

To answer your question though, it wasn't the same weapons. I picked up a bunch of weapons from a Parra Fair off Jamie a while before the convention and just held onto them. Among them were a whole bunch of Euro AM parts, some of which have come in quite handy in completing figures I picked up years later :) those became spare when I bought TC off you.

Also on the trivia note, I remember hearing some of the questions and saying, who the hell knows the answer to that question, then someone screamed it out. I remember thinking, "wow, nerdy" (please don't hit me :p) but now I am one so :D

[Sky Shadow]

Also on the trivia note, I remember hearing some of the questions and saying, who the hell knows the answer to that question, then someone screamed it out. I remember thinking, "wow, nerdy" (please don't hit me :p) but now I am one so :D

Um... yeah, the nerd was probably me too - I won that trivia contest. :o

I still remember some of the questions - "Which Transformer's function is 'Rebel Warrior'?" and "In what year was Gears first released in Japan?"

[1AZRAEL1]

Um... yeah, the nerd was probably me too - I won that trivia contest. :o

I still remember some of the questions - "Which Transformer's function is 'Rebel Warrior'?"

Lol, no offence was intended. I had a different mindset then :o


"In what year was Gears first released in Japan?"

That's the exact question I remember :D

It's funny though, with all the drinking I did back in those days, I still remember that. And I remember I drank quite a bit the night before as well :o

[Sam]

I remember seeing a flyer somewhere (Comic Kingdom in Sydney CBD perhaps?) about a Transformers Fan convention of some kind in Ashfield (was this back in 2006?).

I remember being excited that there were other Transformers fans, and so turned up to the gathering.

I recall watching fan-subbed episodes of Japanese transformers cartoon. Specifically, there was a scene when Galvatron got bashed by Optimus and Rodimus, and Galvatron said "This is bullsh__!". Then the fan in the seat in front of me turns around with a smile and says "I don't remember hearing that line before!".

[liegeprime]

aaaah somehow I view this as a nostalgia thread - NICE!!!

Hehehe, I joined the forum after I learned about it from dirge. He told me about it when I attended that 2006 Toycon at Wharf 8 (first nerd at the door baby!!!:D:D:D) Had to wait til they were able to set up the 12 tables so I decided to eat at a nearby donut shop first ( as I was apparently too early - a habit I still carry on to Parramatta fairs:D:D. I learned about that toycon only by chance - griffin was selling a booktype Astrotrain and there was details about the Toycon in the toy literature - good thing I saw it too coz it was after payday. Printed it out and asked my cousin where is it, since I was new in Australia then, just newly migrated a few months back and havent been to the Sydney city proper except on 1 occasion - with my cousin (who was born here) guiding me.... so getting up so early , catching the train all alone for the first time out to the city proper what an exciting and nervous feeling:o:o:o

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/otc2006_04-1.jpg -that's me on the side and dirge there far behind sitting on the chair doing the trivia game. That shirt doesnt fit me well anymore (gotten fatter:p) and that bag is all broken now;) Dunno if the other guy next to me became a member here or not.....

Spent $600 on toys both from Skyshadow's and Rokdog's table (they were the only ones there anyhow heheheh)
- Got - Blackarachnia, Perceptor, Hauler, Sunstorm, Powermaster Optimus for a frien, Computron(? not so sure on this one)d and a couple more newer series TFs cant recall all of em now. I got a few comics from Rokdog and TF parts...love parts heheheh

Dirge was the first person who talked to me about OTCA forum - I remember the blue hat:D he was also manning the door :p Gok was busy waving a Starsaber around the hall and playing with then the newest toy- a yellow Scrapmetal:p. Ididnt join any of the games as I was immersed so much in ogling the 12 tables of TF goodness - was more interested in the G1s than all the rest though. I think I left around 1pm then as I was shopped out and needed to get away otherwise Im gonna be more poor and the next payday was still far away ( another trait I carried on to Parra fair heheheh- poor after the fair)

After joining the forum I just posted and posted and posted and bought from a lot of people in the trade section - mostly Skyshadow hehehe. I didnt get to make an introductory thread so I couldve been formally welcomed :(:( ah well.... everybody replied faster back then as there were but a handful of active forumers,
Now there's a whole gamut of people weeeeeeeeee!!!!:D:D:D the more the merrier and livelier! Most of the Westie crowd was kinda non-existent so mini meets wasn't even possible. NOw we have more meets out west (picnics, Monopoly day, fairwell/bday meet-up) and off course Parramatta Fair became quite a good way to set-up a meetup especially for other members on holidays interstate (e.g. Paulbot and loophole) and the closeknit Melbourne crowd have emerged - they even do midnight raids - toyshop raids not the kind police do hehehe.

Then we just text each other ( the ones you know) for sightings. Now the sightings thread is per state and is a very good resource that it has convince a couple of lurkers to become full members :D

And who could forget the time we transferred service providers - the LIMBO OTCA chatroom was kinda creepy hehehe - we lost member blackarachnia then - dunno if she ever re-applied membership to the new forum...
aaahh weve come a looong way people!!

[GoktimusPrime]

I remember seeing a flyer somewhere (Comic Kingdom in Sydney CBD perhaps?) about a Transformers Fan convention of some kind in Ashfield (was this back in 2006?).
2004. :) The 2006 convention was held at King Street Wharf. :)


I recall watching fan-subbed episodes of Japanese transformers cartoon. Specifically, there was a scene when Galvatron got bashed by Optimus and Rodimus, and Galvatron said "This is bullsh__!". Then the fan in the seat in front of me turns around with a smile and says "I don't remember hearing that line before!".

Yeah, that fan-subbed screening was done by Madman Entertainment, who were - at the time - thinking about whether or not they should release the Japanese G1 episodes on DVD. What better place to do a test screening than at a Transformers convention? ;) So we've moved from a test screening of fan-subbed Japanese G1 episodes, to having the entire Japanese G1 series on licensed DVD today. :D


aaaah somehow I view this as a nostalgia thread - NICE!!!
Pretty much; just think back to your earliest memories of OzFormers with the Wonder Years theme playing in the background. (^0^)


Gok was busy waving a Starsaber around the hall
Actually that was griffin's Cybertron Galvatron role play sword. :)


and playing with then the newest toy- a yellow Scrapmetal:p.
Yellow Galaxy Force Ramble actually. :p ;)


Now there's a whole gamut of people weeeeeeeeee!!!!:D:D:D the more the merrier and livelier! Most of the Westie crowd was kinda non-existent so mini meets wasn't even possible. NOw we have more meets out west (picnics, Monopoly day, fairwell/bday meet-up) and off course Parramatta Fair became quite a good way to set-up a meetup
Ya know, that's a good point I hadn't really thought about. Until only a few years ago, virtually every fan meet was conducted in the CBD - being the most central and convenient location. The Parramatta Fair's been around for ages and ages, but now with more members living in the Western Suburbs, we are indeed having more Westie meets! Although there was one time when the Collectables Fair was held near Sydney uni... personally glad it's stayed in Parramatta though. :)


And who could forget the time we transferred service providers - the LIMBO OTCA chatroom was kinda creepy hehehe
omg, speaking of chatrooms -- about a decade ago a few of us were actively using the #transformers IRC chat channel on austnet! We'd occasionally have international fans like Ben Yee, Rob Jung, Axaday Zero etc. occasionally pop in for live chats. And springah was ALWAYS logged onto #transformers... almost always afk, but he'd never put himself on afk or away mode of course :rolleyes: :p

But I remember there was one regular user on #transformers who really didn't like how Madman's US G1 DVDs didn't have English subtitle options, so I guided her to #madman to chat with one of the head honchos there about it, and the conversation went something like this:
>Why doesn't your Transformers G1 DVDs have English subtitles?
>English is the original language for those Transformers series. You don't need subtitles.
>I'm deaf.

PWN'd!! :D

[griffin]

For those who were around before this fourth version of the Ozformers forum (before December 2007), the third version (http://otca.invisionzone.com/index.php?) is finally shutting down. Yes, it's been sitting there for over 3 years now, chewing up hosting fees... as I very slowly downloaded and archived as much content from there as possible (some of which I will be posting here in the next few months). All content is now gone, and at the end of this month, it should cease to exist, as it shouldn't re-charge my credit card (at my request).

For those interested, a timeline of (known) AUS Transfan administrated messageboards:

Planet Sabertron - Jul-99
TAAU - Feb-02
Ozformers - Apr-02
Autobase - Feb-09

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Of the four versions/homes for Ozformers (each move being required due to hosting or forum software issues), each was created:
1st board (xsorbit) - April 13th, 2002
2nd board (ezboard) - Jan 17th 2003
3rd board (invisionzone) - Jun 10th 2005
4th board (vbulletin on my OTCA server) - May 24th 2007 (opened Dec 27th 2007)

At least this 4th version has outlasted the previous three attempts.

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The 16 Founding members in Oct 1996 (4 didn't even have internet/email at that time)
(3 are still current, active members)

-griffin Qld (still a member)
-Samuel Chen Qld (No email address)
-Jimmy Gaillard Qld (No email Address)
-Gary Kay Qld
-Belinda Kelly Qld
-Leroy Smith Nth-Qld
-Devon Jones/JaZz Vic
-David Kok Vic
-Daniel Chlebowczyk/Fusion Vic
-Darren/dirge NSW (still a member)
-Titania/Seawave NSW (No email address) (active in the last 6 months)
-Marcus Good/Finback WA (No email address) (might still be a fan)
-Nicolas Koopman WA
-Urac Sigma/Ratbat ACT
-Euan/Dread Pirate Bowen ACT
-Leigh/damnyouhussies SA (still a member)