Discussion of Collection counting methods

[liegeprime]

hehehehe Still he has to eat , motor oil and energon chips is just not satisfying the caloric requirements for his organic parts ... or ....as my theory holds hi-Q is dead and has rotted or petrified inside prime - making him smell like a skunk, but his troops are too courteous to shove him in a shower or something This also kinda explains why Action master prime is rather small... after all his main frame core is that of a small semi organic creature...

er.. I thought Sparkplug just got old and died from exhaustion from taking care of his brat of a grandson Daniel... fixing broken autobots is more easier than taking care of this kid... you just wanna get a 2x4 and... WHACK him at times

[GoktimusPrime]

Daniel was what - 10 years old when Transformers the Movie happened? We never saw Sparkplug after G1 Season 2 - so some time after Daniel was born Sparkplug went missing... hrmm... couldn't bare the thought of having such a lame grandson?

[Soundwarp]

Wow this has turned into a great topic......

I am taking in all of the opinions and supposed "laws" and it is helping me, but at the end of the day we all will decide for ourselves what we choose to count.

I myself have but after threads like this i have altered my thinking in some ways.

Keep it coming.

[GoktimusPrime]

The universal counting method is useful for direct comparisons so that when you say you have X Transformers and I say I have Y Transformers, we will know that X and Y were calculated using the same standards (i.e.: we're speaking the same language ). And it's only required if you're participating in the annual collection count survey. Other than that, everyone is free to count their Transformers however they see fit.

[kup]

When I count, I follow the following personal method:

- Only count Transforming toys however Action Master are included in the count due to the transforming accessories but mainly fo being part of the main line at the time.

- Do not count doubles unless there is a significant change between the releases of the same mold representing the same character. For example I would count White Astrotrain and Purple/gray Astrotrain as two separate figures but will count two identical Cosmos as only 1 count not 2 separate counts.

- I only normally count figures that are 100% complete with all accessories. I dont like counting figures with missing stuff, particularly when the missing accessory impacts one of the modes (robot,vehicle or base) such as G1 Blurr's shield or Octane's tanker shield or tail fin weapon.

Aside from the above, I generally follow Gok's counting method.
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[Paulbot]

I know you're not alone in counting this way, but I just don't see how can you not count doubles? If you have two identical Cosmos toys, one in each hand, how can you say "I only have one Transformer"?

[kup]

I collect characters or different incarnations of the same character. I am a character driven collector more than a toy line collector. Since Cosmos never had an identical twin brother, he only counts as one for example.

Astrotrain however has been represented in both his white and purple incarnations so he counts as two. Kind of like buying a Masters of the Universe He-Man figure, one with regular armor and the other with Snow armor. They are both He-man but each toy is differently equiped so I would count them as two.

Galvatron is another example of the above. I only own the Takara reissue (purple) but if I buy the original 'gray' G1 Galvatron I would count him as separate since he is another interpretation of the same character as seen in the G1 UK Marvel comics. Same character, same mold but different interpretations of him. If I buy another Purple Galvatron which is identical to the one I already have, I would only count him as one.

All the above is mainly motivated by me being more of a character driven collector rather than a straight toy line collector. This also influences what I collect as I dont normally care about collecting figures that have no fiction attached to them. I would also put forth the money to buy a crap toy if I like how the character was portrayed in the comics and cartoon, that is why I collect the '88 Pretenders even if most of the Autobot Pretenders were crap toys.
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[jaydisc]

Well, paulbot and Kup, I think we all agree that doubles packaged or branded differently definitely count... e.g. Takara vs. Hasbro Galvatron, or Kup vs. Targetmaster Kup. However, should someone with only 2000 Seaspray's have a bigger "collection" than Griffin?

[kup]

I agree with Jaydisc. Although I don't care to go and find a Target Master Kup if I already own the original 86 one, however if I ever did get my hands on it, I would defenetly count it separately. Again, different interpretation of the same character but not a straight double.
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WEED VAPORIZERS

[kup]

Well, paulbot and Kup, I think we all agree that doubles packaged or branded differently definitely count... e.g. Takara vs. Hasbro Galvatron, or Kup vs. Targetmaster Kup. However, should someone with only 2000 Seaspray's have a bigger "collection" than Griffin?

Or someone with 3000 Wheelies! OH NO!
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