The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[UltraMarginal]

I certainly don't buy toys with the expectation that at some point I will be selling it. I do understand there are some people who will buy a toy, experience it and then sell it once they are happy they got to have that experience.

What I don't get is the 'hey guys please buy all this stuff I don't want to sell because I have a Dentist bill I need to pay for' mentality. I get that it's hard to pass up on stuff you'd like to buy but if you're living that close to the line perhaps you should reconsider. (I saw this in the last week)

I get that sometimes unexpected expenses come up but a single even if big bill shouldn't be putting you in the red.

I've always tried to be selective with what I purchase, knowing that more and more stuff is always going to keep coming out and if I don't like 'this' version of a toy/character just wait a while and there will be another version that I might prefer.
@Seraphim Prime, I know exactly what you mean. I wasn't going to buy into animated, then I went to the 2011 Botcon, now I have pretty much the entire animated toy line. I was also only going to dabble in the latest RID but here I am and I have pretty much every warrior class toy that's been released and the platinum grimlock & Bumblebee set. I do enjoy them though, so I guess it's money well spent, to a point.

I also buy a lot of CD's and Trade paperbacks and other books. I listen to music all the time and probably could stream a lot but there is something special about having your copy of something that you like. My Phantom comic collection is pretty much up to date but I'm nearly 3 years behind reading them simply because of the lack of time lately.

Both of my parents have been collectors of sorts over the years, neither throwing stuff out in case they needed it. so I have a horrible pedigree when it comes to keeping things I might not need. I'm very soon going to have to do a serious box cull. The problem I have, especially with Masterpiece, platinum, Hasbro/Takara special releases and 3rd party is so much of this stuff comes in stunning boxes and it feels like a real crime to throw away the pretty artwork. But at the same time, I'm never going to have enough space to display all that stuff so why keep boxes that are by far the biggest volume sink of a transformers collection.

back to the topic at hand, I buy a lot of transformers and related products and try to avoid buying stuff that i'll not want to keep later. I do find I will buy toys in a line with the expectation that they aren't great, just to see how they work. Crash combiners are a perfect example. They are a bit rubbish but the engineering is interesting. I bought one pair. Lets just say if the kids break this one in a couple years when they're big enough to play with it, I won't be devastated.

[FatalityPitt]

The extreme reverse of this will happen if you ever get married.
Almost all of your pay will go to your spouse for necessities and you get to keep the scraps. But I keep saving those scraps and after some time it becomes a sizable pile of scraps that I can use to spend on toys without affecting the family budget. Kinda like being a monetary Womble.

Yeah, which is why I told myself I'll only marry after I retire from my action figure/transformer collecting; or at least when I'm able to restrict my purchases down to a Voyager class figure (or equivalent in cost) once per month. This is easier said than done of course

I actually used to be pretty conservative. Before Titans Return came out, I used to only buy my favourite characters in each line (or at least the most interesting). I'm proud to say that the only Combiner Wars Combiner I have is Victorion. Didn't buy a single deluxe or voyager from CW.. Although I did get the Ultra Magnus Leader class figure, but it was for a pretty good deal ($66).

I allowed myself to buy more Titans Return than most other lines in the past, mainly because the 1987 G1 characters hold a special place in my heart. I was only planning to get the original 7 Headmasters, then call it quits. But after I got them (except Brainstorm - he was later), I saw/heard about how good Hot Rod, Topspin and Triggerhappy were, and so I hunted them down. Along the way I developed an obsession with Getaway (Breakaway), so I got him. I would get bored on weekends and holidays and go to KMart to kill time and I'd see characters like Krok, Perceptor, Misfire, etc; and I'd think to myself "I had Krok as a kid, it'd be weird if I didn't get him" or "I never had a G1 Perceptor" or "I have $25 in my pocket, I hear Misfire is good so I might as well get him". Before I realised it, I had everyone!

I'm happy to have gotten these figures since they're of characters I either had or wanted as a kid. The wonderful thing about Titans Return for me was that it helped me relive some of my childhood and gave me better versions of characters I wanted but couldn't obtain as a child. But I don't think I'll be going this mad over future lines.. Or at least I hope I don't.. I like to think of TR as a special case.

[GoktimusPrime]

What I don't get is the 'hey guys please buy all this stuff I don't want to sell because I have a Dentist bill I need to pay for' mentality. I get that it's hard to pass up on stuff you'd like to buy but if you're living that close to the line perhaps you should reconsider. (I saw this in the last week)

I get that sometimes unexpected expenses come up but a single even if big bill shouldn't be putting you in the red.

100%. On top of paying for all the stuff you need to pay for, it also makes sense to have money saved aside for surprise expenses.
e.g. 10 weeks ago I damaged my own car when I overturned while exiting my garage. Obviously panel beaters aren't cheap, but I got it done.

after I retire from my action figure/transformer collecting;

I don't understand these words

[UltraMarginal]

But I don't think I'll be going this mad over future lines.. Or at least I hope I don't.. I like to think of TR as a special case.

I wish you luck, let us know how that goes

[FatalityPitt]

I wish you luck, let us know how that goes

I don't understand these words

Haha. Well maybe not to that extreme, but hopefully achieve a state where I can exercise more moderation. I'll definitely need luck for that!

I have an addictive personality, and when I get addicted to something, it can practically take over my life. At the moment, action figure collecting and Transformers is like my religion. When I'm not at work or studying for my CFA exam, I'm on forums like this or at the shops hunting for figures.

I'd also rather spend $25 on a deluxe figure than on a lobster dinner, and I can barely afford to go on dates after splurging on comics and figures.

I admire how people like you can run a family household and still have enough time/money for hobbies, but sadly for me, I don't have that type of discipline or astuteness. For people like me, the only way to cure an addiction is to replace it with a stronger addiction that trumps the previous... Or if the thing I'm addicted to becomes so mediocre that I quit out of boredom and annoyance.

Also, to top things of, I have a type of OCD which also affects my spending. An example (an extreme albeit simple one) - Sometimes if I buy an Optimus Prime figure, I feel compelled to buy a Megatron figure of the same line and scale, even if that Megatron is overpriced garbage. To me, any Optimus Prime is incomplete without a Megatron. And vice versa - If I get Megatron, I must also have Optimus. Even if I don't like a figure, I feel compelled to buy it because things feel...*ahem*.. wrong without it.

You can imagine it'd be challenging for someone in my current state to maintain a relationship, let alone a marriage

[Paulbot]

This picture was posted by Maz on his twitter
https://twitter.com/TFSquareOne/stat...55430418931713

What a glorious-looking toyline Titans Return is when viewed at once.

[UltraMarginal]

To me, any Optimus Prime is incomplete without a Megatron. And vice versa - If I get Megatron, I must also have Optimus. Even if I don't like a figure, I feel compelled to buy it because things feel...*ahem*.. wrong without it.

You can imagine it'd be challenging for someone in my current state to maintain a relationship, let alone a marriage

That's not necessarily a problem. I just did the same thing pre-ordering the MAS-01 and MAS-02, couldn't really have one without the other. I have no idea where I'm going to put them??

I'm not sure how old you are, but also keep in mind that Gok and I and many others on here are in our late 30's, we've had time to do the mindless splurging thing, and also realise that we want a bit more out of life than just a toy collection. It's also harder these days to collect a little of a toy line I feel. there are less uninteresting re-paints and many more interesting mould updates/repurposing than ever before, and lots more product being released as evidenced by the picture Paulbot just posted.
Decide on a spending budget, put it in a separate account. Looking at that smaller amount will help you to prioritise the things you really want over the things you might otherwise buy on a whim. it also helps to wait for a sale, if you're sure you want an entire wave of deluxes, waiting for a sale can allow you to spend 3ish deluxes worth and get 4 if you're patient.
just some food for thought.

The relationship thing is more complex, there is a relationships thread on here somewhere, not a bad place to go for confusing advice. but there are other nerds/geeks/collectors out there who will understand your interests and be a part of your interests rather than stifling your interests in preference to theirs.

Also, if I actually bought everything I liked the look of, it would use up most of my income I imagine, and my wife would either stage an intervention or take the kids and leave. And I wouldn't be able to open the door to the apartment.

This picture was posted by Maz on his twitter

What a glorious-looking toyline Titans Return is when viewed at once.

it is very impressive looking, not to mention a massive amount of product for such a short timeframe.

[GoktimusPrime]

Also, to top things of, I have a type of OCD which also affects my spending. An example (an extreme albeit simple one) - Sometimes if I buy an Optimus Prime figure, I feel compelled to buy a Megatron figure of the same line and scale, even if that Megatron is overpriced garbage. To me, any Optimus Prime is incomplete without a Megatron. And vice versa - If I get Megatron, I must also have Optimus. Even if I don't like a figure, I feel compelled to buy it because things feel...*ahem*.. wrong without it.

I can understand that. What is a hero without his villain and vice versa?
I occasionally come across people who choose※ to collect only Autobots or only Decepticons and I just think... how the hell do you play with your toys? The typical response is that they just have continual civil wars.

---------------------------------
※I say choose because when I was younger I also knew people whose parents wouldn't allow them to collect "evil" toys for religious reasons. They constantly had Autobot/Maximal civil wars too, but it wasn't a choice for them. I knew a guy who came from this kind of family who had something very norti stashed under his bad... Harry Potter books and DVDs! (because magic = work of the devil). I even knew a guy who wasn't allowed to watch the Smurfs.

[FatalityPitt]

It's also harder these days to collect a little of a toy line I feel. there are less uninteresting re-paints and many more interesting mould updates/repurposing than ever before, and lots more product being released as evidenced by the picture Paulbot just posted.

Yeah, they're getting clever with they're retools. It's amazing to think that the Twintwist and Misfire moulds are derived from Trigerhappy in some way or another.

Decide on a spending budget, put it in a separate account. Looking at that smaller amount will help you to prioritise the things you really want over the things you might otherwise buy on a whim. it also helps to wait for a sale, if you're sure you want an entire wave of deluxes, waiting for a sale can allow you to spend 3ish deluxes worth and get 4 if you're patient.
just some food for thought.

Some really good ideas, especially waiting for sales. I always set aside 70% of my income for living expenses - food/rent/etc, 10% for a rainy day, and the rest (usually about 20%) goes to hobbies and entertainment. Sometimes I look at the 20% and think to myself "If I had let it all add up for a few months, I could have gone on a trip to South America, or bought a new car" Lol

Btw, I'm 31. So I'm not a fossil (yet!), but I'm not young enough to get away with certain things anymore

The relationship thing is more complex, there is a relationships thread on here somewhere, not a bad place to go for confusing advice.

There's a relationship thread? This sites got everything!

I can understand that. What is a hero without his villain and vice versa?
I occasionally come across people who choose※ to collect only Autobots or only Decepticons and I just think... how the hell do you play with your toys? The typical response is that they just have continual civil wars.

(EDIT:Autobots and Decepticons are like yin and yang. It'd be weird to have a Transformers collection with one without the other.)

The most recent Megatron I got was the TLK Voyager, and after a few days of owning it; I went scouting for the Optimus Prime from the previous wave. All I found were Hound, Grimlocks and Megatrons. I think I'll see how long I last before I cave in and order it from eBay.

Sometimes, if two or more characters are related to each other from a story perspective, I feel compelled to get them all. Example; I wasn't going to get TR Brawn at first, but since I got the Perceptor and Bumblebee, and they were the main heroes in the G1 episode 'Microbots', I had to get Brawn. Then there's Brainstorm; I got LG-39 Brainstorm because I couldn't stand seeing TR Chromedome, Hardhead and Highbrow without a Brainstorm.. Funny how the cartoons still sway my collecting preferences..

[GoktimusPrime]

One thing that really excited me with Beast Wars was how, for probably the first time, there was a nearly even number of goodies to baddies. And in Japan (whereas I was living at the time) all BW toys were also available in VERSUS SETS! So yeah, almost every early BW TF that I bought was in a versus set. Even after moving back to Oz, I still imported a lot of my BWII and BW Neo figures in versus sets. Heheheheh.

Machine Wars was the first vehicular Transformers line to have even sided factions, and indeed in Australia we had Machine Wars versus sets. Although unlike Takara's versus sets they didn't come in specialised boxes or with any bonus content like a CD ROM or play set. They were just two toys stuck together with shrink wrap. 'Straya mate!