Collection milestone

As a kid, I of course wanted all the (Transformers) toys. We all did :) Never knew anyone who could have come close (although I did know a couple of people who had more than most), though. As an adult, it turns out that I can afford them all, right in the middle of a sort of golden age for someone with my tastes; and so when I started collecting modern HasTak toys that's what my aim was - modern versions of all the toys I wanted as a kid. Really all. For me, that means all the Transformers from 1984 to 1988, excluding the Pretenders and Micromasters. A little over 200 in all. I'll also be grabbing other toys as they crop up, should they appeal to me (because there are plenty of interesting toys outside that original range). Things like Unicron, or Star Saber, or Ricochet, or Deadlock, or Windblade, or Overlord or Bulkhead or... You get the idea :)

My collection is deluxe and up; no legends/legions/battlemasters/core. As a kid, as much as I loved my Transformers, I always wanted them to be better. Now they are, but the low-end things are, to me, as bad as back then. Do not want. Also, the modern practice of keeping things roughly in scale with each other is just soooooo appealing, and the low-end toys just don't work that way either. So that's my line in the sand, and my list of items.

Anyway, today I took possession of the last of the existing toys that I want (Unite Warriors Aerialbots and Technobots), just edging over 70% of my list. Of the remainder, a lot have not had a re-make of any sort (such as Crankcase, Landfill, and Ransack), and most haven't had a re-make in the modern scale or style (Horribull, Squeezeplay). Some have had recent toys, but they don't appeal to me (or don't fit my rules) and are about to get new, much more appealing toys (such as the Dinobots, the Insecticons, and the Stunticons).

And things are looking promising. From next year's leaked and announced listings, more than a third of the remainder of my list will be filled out (along with a few other rather interesting items), and what is coming (due to Hasbro's stated commitment to finishing groups) gives good reason to think that a further third will be along presently. So while it has been reasonably clear for a while now that actually finishing this collection is a real possibility, it seems quite realistic at this point to think that I might do so within the next two or three years at most. This wasn't at all what I expected when I started buying modern HasTak toys two and a half-years ago; I got into this fully expecting a very lengthy duration, possibly with no actual end point, because while it was clear that the 84 and 85 toys were definitely being re-done, bar a couple of oddities like the Deluxe Insecticons, the same could not be said of later toys. Not going to complain, though :)

So, yay! And also thanks very much to the Ozformers members who have helped me in my efforts to obtain the toys that came before Siege. I can't recall you all (and because of the space requirements here, I can't look up the messages for the sales because I've deleted them), but you're all very much appreciated (especially the jovial madman who practically gave away Fort Max) - really could not have done it without you. This is an awesome community, especially given how unpleasant many fandoms (or even some parts of this particular fandom) can be. Thanks one and all, and I'll be sure to let you know when it is complete - and if I remember, I'll do it without a single Furmanism :P

Congratulations. You got into the game at the right time, the speed of which so many G1 toys have been redone over the past two toy trilogies has been remarkable. Although the exclusive nature of some of them has been a bit of an issue in the last few years too.

It's good to have a goal and be able to achieve it! I'm coming around to thinking my goal is something similar - but I think I'd be satisfied with new versions of everyone in the 1985 catalogue and the movie cast (and new versions of the toys from 86-95 that I had).

Thanks.

Yes, exclusives have been a right pain in the arse, and I can easily see why most normal collectors would give up on them. I have been able to get hold of all of them, but only because of two factors - I do have the money to spend (and I know how fortunate I am in that - not that I particularly enjoy some of the prices I've paid), and I'm taking the long view here - my collection that I'm building now is something I'm going to have for decades to enjoy, so I take the approach that sure, a couple of hundred dollars for a mainline HasTak lump of plastic is absurd, but given the enjoyment I will eventually derive, I can justify it. Kinda like going to the cinema for $30+ is a bit steep, but buying a DVD for $30 is a lot easier to accept, because I get to watch it so many more times. Not the best analogy, but close enough :)

But if not for those two things, if I had to pick and choose which of this year's toys I could buy and which I couldn't, never mind catch up on all the stuff from the last 10 or so years, or if I could not buy from overseas (which so many of us take for granted, and forget is not universal), then exclusives would really spoil the whole thing. They already leave a bad taste in my mouth as it is, and at no point have I ever enjoyed the struggle to get around the exclusivity (nor will I - I spit on the modern business models that lead to it).

Actually, there's been a third factor that I think is very important too - luck. While not an exclusive (but rather an end-of-line screw-up), Misfire is very hard to get hold of, and even harder to get hold of for a reasonable price. I got mine on e-bay from someone in Queensland who wasn't asking much for it (well, not nearly as much as other people ask, anyway). I've had similar lucky strikes quite a few times, and they sure as hell have made things easier.

And yep, a defined goal is good. Gives you focus, and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Otherwise, this hobby could easily turn into just another grind, with no end in sight, and nothing to measure your activity against except an ever-draining bank account. That would really get you down when combined with "oh yeah, Coneheads, cool - ah shit, I can't ever get them..." Why bother carrying on aimlessly buying Transformers if you don't know what you're going for in the end, and can't get the things you want anyway? Not cool, and I think I've seen the end result elsewhere with people who keep on buying stuff but clearly are not enjoying their hobby any more. So I had my goal right from the start; the key is working out exactly what you want and can have (I'd be in trouble had I turned out to like the new Beast Wars stuff... The money's not endless, after all). And of course sticking with it :)