I grew up with the original cartoon but not the comics or other versions. The (1985?) toy insert catalogue with the space background was my reference for the toyline, but I didn't want everything. I wanted all the Autobot cars, the Dinobots, Optimus Prime and Jetfire. For the other side of the catalogue, I wanted Megatron and the Decepticon planes. The Autobot mini vehicles struck me as cheap. I also wanted Bruticus, my favourite combiner.

After the Transformers Movie, and the way they killed off all my favourite characters (and brutally too) to sell more toys (even I could see the [ongoing Hasbro - damn you Buzzworthy Dying Prowl] cynicism back then), I was turned off the toys. Also, I didn't like the direction of the cartoon moving away from Earth and into space environments. Plus the Pretender toys that were coming out were stupid to me.

I was also careful with money as a kid and Transformers was an expensive toyline back then in Australia, which is why going to Singapore was great - the dollar was about 2:1. Even there, though, I couldn't buy everything I saw (they had a bigger range too). I seem to remember choosing against a Sunstreaker. I wish I could have bought it.

So, my list of desired toys as a kid had about 35 figures (this is the frist time I've ever actually counted what I wanted). Of that list, I got 5 as a child - Sideswipe, Prowl (my favourite - damn you Buzzworthy Dying Prowl), Mirage, Swoop and Thundercracker. Of that list, I have collected nearly everything in either G1 reissue, Masterpiece, Studio Series 86, War For Cybertron or Legacy forms. I don't have Bruticus at all and didn't like the Combiner Wars one, so I'm hoping they re-make him in the current aesthetic and engineering style. The last few years and now have been a boon for original cartoon figures - animation-accuracy, good proportions, articulation. This got me back into collecting, as the toys nowadays are actually the versions I really wanted as a kid.