Who 'plays' with their Transformers?

Interested to see whether I'm the only person on here that doesn't 'play' with their toys.

When I get my Tfs (if they get opened and not left MISB/MOSC), I normally transform them from whatever mode they're packaged in and then back to their original packaged form.

I'd probably transform them a couple of times more and then leave them in their bot mode, put them in an action pose and then leave them in my display.

However I don't 'play' with them in the traditional sense that a child does, like getting Optimus Prime to battle Megatron in the imaginary world that is my living room couch for example, but I do know that there are some of you out there that do play with their figures like this.

I quite frankly find it odd that an adult would have the inclination to want to do this, let alone actually do it - but whatever floats your boat I suppose.

Anyways, who 'plays' with their toys and who doesn't?

C'mon, fess up!

Btw, you can have multiple choices and your votes are hidden, so your little secret is safe... Lol :p

Wheres the poll? :p

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Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1

Wheres the poll? :p

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Added now. :D

Please note, this is only meant for fun - I won't run screaming from you if I see you in the street after hearing you like 'playing' with toys. :p

I've actually been thinking the EXACT same thing VP. I just don't understand the appeal; especially those who take them outside :confused:

I sort of do. I transform them several times and then pose them and take photos in various fight scenes.

The new stuff I open, transform and the placed in the shelf in robot mode on display. With the G1 stuff, I open (if its not sealed) have a look and then place them back in the box then on the shelf.

I do on occasion transform them, but not play with them per se. Not full on battles. Just posing them and put them on the shelf where they belong :p

interesting topic...

i personally never play with my toys...i'm a 33 yr old man and my wife already thinks i'm a big kid! :p haha

but in saying that.... i have no problem with anyone that does.... IMO it kinda shows a creative imagination, which is one of the things i miss about being a kid.

janda :)

Yes, occasionally - Due to...

...the occasional need to pose and photograph bad-Scooby-doo level mysteries starring Lugnut And His Amazing Friends.

Personally, I open the ones I intend to display. I will transform them, but mostly they are placed in bot mode, in poses for display. Sometimes I will shift my display around, or if I feel like it, I will take a fig and transform it to admire, but otherwise, majority of time they are on display. For boxed stuff, they are displayed MISB/MIB or in storage. Displaying/ reorganizing and re-posing is the most fun I have - and other than the hunt/collecting part, gives me the most enjoyment.

The closest I would get to playing would be when I open a new figure sometimes I will play an ep of g1 that the character is involved in- on the background whilst I open/transform/admire the new fig. That also gives me more of an idea of how to pose them based on the character :D

I don't understand the creative play:battle scenes/ explosion play time- I would love to do that again- since I loved to do that as a kid (and have fond memories) but I just don't have any urge to do that now- especially if it would mean any reckless handling of my figures. While I do open my figs up for display, I intend for them to stay mint.

I would say that those who still play, i.e. Gok are cool for not letting the perceptions of age limit their creativity and fun, and it would be immature/uncool to vilify them for that difference.

If I have one near by I will just transform it back and forth. I just have to fiddle with something.
So I guess that counts as playing.

Let me clarify what I mean by 'playing'.

Fiddling with it or transforming it around is not 'playing' - Tfs can be likened to a Rubik's cube and occasionally manipulating them or adjusting them is fairly normal

What I'm referring to is like how kids play with their toys - impromptu battle and fight scenes with your own sound effects, etc.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion. :p

I have amended the original post to highlight it in bold.

I do fire off the occasional missile at another TF figure on display and sometimes make a little sound effect as well, does that count as playing? :p

Other than that, I do put my figures in scenes following something resembling a plot, take photos and then digitally stick speech bubbles for the action pose thread or other artistic creations.

I have to admit though, when I officially became an adult the appeal of 'playing' with toys hadn't completely worn off yet. :o But it's well and truly gone now.

I'm a poser too.:D
I almost feel jealous of Gok for still getting a buzz from playing with them, but for me the reality of plastic just can't match my imagination.

:)I like to open them and display them in Robot mode, Not really a transformer if you don't transform it is it:confused::D

I do often tend to transform a new figure back and forth many times and have the occasional muck around with them, I don't tend to make any audible sound effects but they do occur in my minds eye/ear. :p

It only lasts for a minute or 2 before they're posed and displayed though, which disappoints me in a way because I used to love playing with my figures as a kid. :(
Especially since I didn't start going over to friends houses until around year 5 - I don't know why but I just didn't really feel the urge to see people any more than the obligatory 6 hours a day 5 days a week that occurred. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, my creative imagination has somewhat diminished with time (and foreign substances) added the fact that during my teen years my focus lended itself to a more scientific and factual approach. :o
This is the very reason why I now collect TFs as they are a physical reminder to me of things that once were and a representation of things that intrigue me: Science, History, Life and Robotics. :)

So to those who are still able to enact this creative, imaginative and harmless activity: I envy you, as this area of my brain has gone nigh dormant and only a few synapses ever seem to fire any more - Enjoy it why it lasts guys, my hats off to you. ;):cool:

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

Let me clarify what I mean by 'playing'.

Fiddling with it or transforming it around is not 'playing' - Tfs can be likened to a Rubik's cube and occasionally manipulating them or adjusting them is fairly normal

What I'm referring to is like how kids play with their toys - impromptu battle and fight scenes with your own sound effects, etc.

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I think the problem is in the poll, VP. For example, even if Goktimus is playing with his toys as we speak, if he's doing something with them other than a War For Cybertron, he probably won't pick the first answer.

Also, according to the new definition, I don't play with my toys, but I don't necessarily feel like it means others are weird, and I definitely don't believe Transformers are display pieces or should be kept sealed.

Which leaves me with 'none of the above' as the only option.

A black and white yes/no poll might get a more accurate result.

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Originally Posted by Sky Shadow

I think the problem is in the poll, VP. For example, even if Goktimus is playing with his toys as we speak, if he's doing something with them other than a War For Cybertron, he probably won't pick the first answer.

Also, according to the new definition, I don't play with my toys, but I don't necessarily feel like it means others are weird, and I definitely don't believe Transformers are display pieces or should be kept sealed.

Which leaves me with 'none of the above' as the only option.

A black and white yes/no poll might get a more accurate result.

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WFC was only put as an example, and yes, I considered a simple yes/no poll, but there wouldn't be any fun in that! :p

This is not a thread for scientific research where the results are to be scrutinized - it was purely created for fun, so it doesn't matter whether the results are that accurate.

I also find it interesting that different people have different interpretations of 'play' - kinda like how people have different interpretations of 'normal'. ;)

As for the Gok example you mentioned, I don't think he would even need to vote on this poll and we would already know where his vote would lay. :p

I consider transforming and posing my figures playing with them. It's just a different kind of playing then you did as a kid, but they're still toys and we're still playing with them, IMO.

I can't regress to the stage of 'playing' with toys.

I usually take them out of the pack and transform them a few times. If I like it then it sits on my desk or shelf for a month or two as a display piece. Maybe posed in a fight with another toy.

Music Label Soundwave is often on me tho. I use it to annoy people with iPods/phones. :cool:

I tend to transform them back and forth quite a bit and will occasionally have the impromptu battle. Then my daughter got a big lego Fire Station and some decepticons went on a rampage when it was constructed. All in good fun though; she helped.

I don't really have the imagination to do it anymore. I'm envious of people who can onnect with that part of their childhood though.

Toys are meant to be played with.

I tend to take one out of the display and pose it, around the lounge or study, but as for playing, organized battles, etc, I tend to not really have the time.I certainly have them facing off in the display though.:D

I only open some because I have run out of room to display them (which is why I voted 'No, never - These aren't toys, they're display pieces'), but would generally prefer to keep them all MISB.

Every time I open up a new toy I transform it into robot mode (or if it's packaged in robot mode, I transform it into vehicle and then back), admire the engineering and put it on the shelf. Then whenever I have a couple mins spare I will pick one up and either transform it, or most likely, I imagine some battle or some other thing happening (basically whatever's in my mind at the time, I don't have a continuing 'story'), and wave it around a bit, with the sound effects usually only in my mind, I guess that counts as playing. I don't smash my toys together like I used to as a kid, as I want them to be in the best condition they can be given the situation, so I usually only play with one toy at a time.

I find it great fun to do this, and it passes the time very quickly (usually before I know it, 30 mins to an hour has already passed), but a lot of the time, I just look at the figures and that's it without even touching them.

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Originally Posted by Oilspill

I consider transforming and posing my figures playing with them. It's just a different kind of playing then you did as a kid, but they're still toys and we're still playing with them, IMO.

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I concur with this as well.

A while ago we had a similar topic and I think the majority of us were classed as 'Fiddlers.' IN that we transform them and pose them usually while doing something else as well.

I usually have one around and fiddle without for about a week to get a good feel for the toy. RTS Jazz has been sitting on my foot stool since I had it and I like it more and more.

I have found that procuring a G1 Transformer makes me play with them a bit, the last good go I had was when I recieved my Encore Omega Supreme. I had some new ANimate toys who used as their base of operations. This all occured in the lounge. My wife was shocked :cool:

I just don't get the time for battling much anymore. Plus tiles aren't the best to use when lying on the ground:rolleyes: I was tempted to have my Thunderwing do some bridge busting when I opened him. Complete with sound effects:p

*edit* Bing! Just found the old thread here:
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=5581

Gears got stuck in my girlfriends (of that time) cleavage, I sent warpath in to blast him free. Blammo! Now that's playing!

I voted for "Always" (surprised? :p) -- even though it's not really always but more accurately as often as I can, which sadly isn't nearly as often as I'd like.

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

However I don't 'play' with them in the traditional sense that a child does, like getting Optimus Prime to battle Megatron in the imaginary world that is my living room couch for example, but I do know that there are some of you out there that do play with their figures like this.

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It's more than just "battle". I've never been one to play with toys as just "Enough talk, let's fight!" -- even as a little kid I always wanted some kind of story. Even something as simple as the Decepticons are attacking a source of energy and the Autobots need to stop it, and maybe there are humans (Lego men) caught in the cross fire. Think of Toy Story when Andy's playing with his toys and makes up a story for it - that's what it was like. As I got older the stories became more complex and involved. During my high school days I would run massively long epic story campaigns -- often with days or weeks to "tell" an entire story (often not finished). As an adult I seldomly do crossovers with other toy lines... I do sometimes, but not often. ;)

But yeah, playing with toys is a lot more than just mindless battling -- and I NEVER physically bashed my toys. I saw a lot of other kids doing that as I was growing up and naturally a lot of their Transformers broke. I _never_ understood why kids did that... even as a little kid I would never do that; always tried to take the best of care of my TFs. That's why most of my G1 Transformers are from my childhood -- most of them having survived my childhood. Some of them are broken, but most of those were broken by other kids. Which is why I quickly learnt to HATE sharing my toys as a child... but of course, mum always made me share. Which led to more broken toys. GRARGGH! :mad:

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

I quite frankly find it odd that an adult would have the inclination to want to do this, let alone actually do it - but whatever floats your boat I suppose.

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Why should it be odd? I find it a very fun and creative past time. I find it more fun than say playing a computer game where the story is pretty much pre-programmed so that the story campaign has a limited set path (or paths) to follow. But when I play with my toys, the only limit is my imagination.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
- Albert Einstein

I personally find it odd that anyone would spend money on a toy and NOT play with it. Makes about as much sense to me as say collecting books just to display them on a book shelf but not bothering to read them (having said that, I read somewhere once that there ARE people who do buy books and never read them!). Or buying a car and never driving it -- my father recently bought a car from a guy who owned it for 20 years an practically never drove it.

But hey... people can do whatever they want with their toys - play or not play... but I do find it odd that someone would spend so much money to buy something that they wouldn't use. If I wanted to look at some, I'll just take a picture. :p

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Originally Posted by janda the red

i personally never play with my toys...i'm a 33 yr old man and my wife already thinks i'm a big kid! :p haha

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Don't let that stop you! My wife frequently sees me playing with my TF toys in the TF room. Often she'll come in with a book or DVD while I continue playing on the floor. ;)

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Originally Posted by janda the red

but in saying that.... i have no problem with anyone that does.... IMO it kinda shows a creative imagination, which is one of the things i miss about being a kid.

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I don't see why being an adult necessarily means you have to give up imaginative play.

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Originally Posted by Tober

I can't regress to the stage of 'playing' with toys.

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I don't need to regress, as I never "progressed" from it! :D

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Originally Posted by LordCyrusOmega

Toys are meant to be played with.

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Damn straight! :D

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Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy

Gears got stuck in my girlfriends (of that time) cleavage, I sent warpath in to blast him free. Blammo! Now that's playing!

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Sure beats getting stuck in your man-cleavage! (re: plumber's crack) <shudder> :P

As others have said, there is a previous thread and poll about what kind of player you are, here:
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=5581

According to that poll:
1: Majority of OTCAers engage in fiddle play (74%)
2: 2nd largest section don't play (14%)
3: 8% of us engage in fantasy play
...and 4% of us engage in "other" - such as customising, kitbashing, restoring/reparing toys etc.

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Edit: My 23 month old daughter has picked up some of my play mannerisms - and she's done so for quite some time now. Whenever she sees a Transformer in vehicle mode or even a toy car, she'll start sliding it along the ground and making car noises. Now one could argue that she's merely imitating real life cars that she's seen - however she also picks up a toy light sabre and tries to make light sabre noises (those of you on my Facebook list can check out a video I uploaded where she does this :)). Also when she sees a Transformer in robot mode, she'll now make "battle noises." About 20 minutes ago she was making Lugnut "fly" and making wooshing noises. ;) I quickly snapped a pic...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...ki_lugnut3.jpg
:D

Here she is at approx. 12 months playing with PCC Huffer in vehicle mode making it "drive" around.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22..._pcchuffer.jpg

i don't play with my transformers in the child's sense.
i (too?)transform them a couple of times,photograph them in robot mode & then display them or repackage them to display mib.
so in summary...while i don't run around the lounge room,making whooshing noises with G1 jetfire in jet mode...i don't panic when i take him out of the box/foam to transform him & put his armor on..if that makes sense!?!

There are different things that people like to do with their Transformers - and really, I think almost all of us are a mix of all the different "types" of collectors, but I'd also so that most of us are predominantly a certain kind of collector. For example, I predominantly enjoy engaging in fantasy play with my Transformers, but there are some Transformers that I don't do it with -- e.g. Masterpiece TFs; I find them too fiddly to really play with, but I enjoy fiddling with them. Grimlock's okay as the simplest MP, but he's way too out of scale with any other more "playable" Transformers, so I mostly fiddle with him too. I also have a few (very few) number of Transformers that I keep sealed. They're all doubles or variants. And I'd say that most sealed collectors have a few loose toys in their collection that they'll occasionally pick up and play with (whether it be fiddle play or fantasy play).

But I think most of us can identify ourselves with one "category" of collector... and as Vector Prime said, this is really all just for fun anyway. :) So here's the old visual guide. We have...

The Fiddler
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...pe_fiddler.jpg
Likes to fiddle around with their Transformers. Pose them, transform them - but doesn't actually engage in any actual fantasy play.

The Curator
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...pe_curator.jpg
To them, Transformers aren't toys (even though they are :p) - they're precious artifacts to be preserved for prosperity. My... PRECIOUS!!

The Player
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...ype_player.jpg
Toys are meant to be played with! They love to be played with! To Infinity... and Beyond!

The Artisan
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...pe_artisan.jpg
Customisers, kitbashers, restorationists. We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better... stronger... faster."

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Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy

Gears got stuck in my girlfriends (of that time) cleavage, I sent warpath in to blast him free. Blammo! Now that's playing!

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pics or it didn't happen :p

@Gok - I think this entire thread discussion was directed at everyone except you! We all know where you stand in terms of 'playing' with Tfs. :p

All good mate, whatever floats your boat - I was just curious whether I was alone or whether there were many out there like me (who don't play with their toys).

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

@Gok - I think this entire thread discussion was directed at everyone except you! We all know where you stand in terms of 'playing' with Tfs. :p

All good mate, whatever floats your boat - I was just curious whether I was alone or whether there were many out there like me (who don't play with their toys).

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I'm pretty sure you really didn't need to create this thread to find this out...

But it's been interesting to see the various adventures TFs get up to in real life, such as this one :D

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Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy

Gears got stuck in my girlfriends (of that time) cleavage, I sent warpath in to blast him free. Blammo! Now that's playing!

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Originally Posted by loophole

pics or it didn't happen :p

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Nice try. ;)

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Originally Posted by Vector Prime

@Gok - I think this entire thread discussion was directed at everyone except you! We all know where you stand in terms of 'playing' with Tfs. :p

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But Goki wants to play too! :p

Anyway, I particularly wanted to clarify that "playing" is more than just senseless fighting. Sometimes it is though -- depends on whether or not I have the time to create a story campaign... so time's often dependent on how complex a story can get or not. For instance, due to the constraints of being overseas atm I've been playing this campaign -- it started off as an excuse to play with my Autobots in the absence of any Decepticon toys, now it's an excuse for my one Decepticon to "roam around" fighting a different Autobot each play session. Because my play time is very limited here (i.e. it's only when I'm back in our apartment and the baby's sleeping ;)), there's not much of a story happening and the so-called "story" has become an excuse for Lugnut to fight a different Autobot each play session. :p

So I won't deny that there aren't times when it is pretty much just fighting... heh. But other times, if I have the time, I try to make more of a story. Not to say that my stories are any good... but they're about as good as most fan fics I've read -- they're never intended for an audience - just stuff I make up as I play along. But video gaming can be similar. I don't game much, but when I do - I prefer to play story campaign missions if I have the time, but usually I don't, so I often play "mindless" fight modes. I used to play lots of more drawn out story campaigns with my toys when I was single w/ no kids. ;)

It's interesting how playing a "mindless" fight game like Counterstrike or Street Fighter is seen as being more socially acceptable than playing a fight session with toys. Somehow an adult playing with video games has become more accepted than an adult playing with toys. I prefer toys. :)

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Originally Posted by Lint

I'm pretty sure you really didn't need to create this thread to find this out...

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Yes, why wouldn't I?

Gok is an exception since he makes it blatantly obvious that he 'plays' with his toys, others may not express it as publicly as he does (by posts, photos, etc), so in a way, there may be more people out there that still share the same special bond with their childhood.

This is not intended to be a witch hunt - it's merely a thread created for fun and to find out whether most adult collectors (which we are) 'play' with their toys.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...pe_fiddler.jpg

I think this is proof that playing with your 'toys' will make you go blind :p






jk Goki :D

"My ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling, I want you to play with my ding-a-ling!" - Ralph Wiggum

*ahem*

Anyway, so far 57% of voters have said "Yes" to playing. :D
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...atverynice.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...sohappy3aq.gif

When I'm bored and need to think creatively I whip out a Transformer and start playing with it - really gets the juices flowing...

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Originally Posted by SkyWarp91

When I'm bored and need to think creatively I whip out a Transformer and start playing with it - really gets the juices flowing...

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Haha! Substitute "a Transformer" in the above sentence for pretty much anything you like. Immature hilarity ensues!