griffin's T3 (Total Transformers Toy) checklist/counting method.

[griffin]

I mentioned recently that I had been developing a 'more official' counting method to count my collection, which significantly altered the total figure I used to have, because of how I was counting my *toys* as a fan.
After a few months of working the bugs out of my original idea, I think this is finally ready to be put to use, or at least get discussed and picked over by others to work out any flaws I have missed.

When people (well, me) started having problems with the cluttered, clumsy, fan-voted counting method, and all its various 'Articles', a simpler counting method was needed. One that gave a simple 'yes' or 'no' to an item, based on a small, set criteria. That way, you didn't need several 'Articles' that essentially confirm what one or two criteria could specify. As such, I was able to generate a counting method that only required 4 simple assessment criteria.

But before we get into that, let's just look at what it is we are wanting here. We want to count our Transformers collections, and come up with a 'mutually comparible figure'. But what are we counting? Transformers - yes, that's obvious. Transformers toys - well, if we are going to call it a toy collection, the checklist and count needs to reflect that it is indeed counting *toys*. We don't count anything that isn't a toy, and we count everything that is a toy.
We just need to draw the line at a point where there is the least amount of conjecture or confusion.

So who decides what is a 'Transformers(tm) toy'? Fans? Collectors? Kids? Strangers off the street? Well, the key here is identifying and acknowledging that the Transformers(tm) brand is the property of Hasbro and TakaraTomy. They own it, so they determine what is released, and therefore determine what is considered a 'Transformers(tm) toy'. Many long-time fans consider 'convertability' as being a required element to a Transformers(tm) toy, but a 'toy' is anything primarily intended to be played with. That eliminates statues, busts, Unleashed, and mere merchandise, but look at everything else in your collection or someone else's collection - what are 'toys' and what isn't? To make this perspective easier to understand, show a 'non-fan' a Transformers collection and they will see anything that is a toy product, reguardless of if it converts, as a Transformers toy. So it's simple... Is it a toy, and is it an official Transformers(tm) product? If you can answer yes to both of those, it counts as part of your 'Transformers' 'toy' collection. Sure, it means that a collection count can potentially be a lot larger than you previously thought, but we are looking at 25 YEARS of Transformers toys here. The Total number of Transformers Toys so far released IS going to be big. Hence the need for a Total Transformers Toy checklist, which I'd like to spend a few days working on, eventually.

As mentioned above, since it is a 'Transformers(tm)' toy collection, not a 'convertable Transformers(tm)' toy collection, the counting method also has to reflect that. Admittedly, this was never a significant issue before 2007 - the last few years have seen Hasbro and Takara pumping out a heap of non-transformable *toys*, which are beyond question, 'official Transformers(tm) toy products'. If they are 'playable toys' but don't count as 'Transformers(tm) toys', then what are they? The long-time purists like myself who grew up on Transformers(tm) toys as being convertable or having a convertable accessory, need to get beyond that as being a required element for a *toy product* to be allowed to be branded as Transformers(tm).
Like I said, before 2007, this wasn't a big deal because most non-convertable toys could have been brushed aside as mere merchandise by people like me, but when my count of non-convertable Transformers(tm) toy products passed 300 in late 2008, something needed to change with the counting method.

That's the two easy criteria items, and already covers the way some people probably already count their Transformers toy collections.

Now, as much as we'd love to get the people at Hasbro to go through every item they have released over the last 25 years, as a 'Total Transformers Toy checklist', it's just not going to ever happen. The last time they tried, it only covered US Hasbro toys, and wasn't completely accurate. The best way to therefore work out a checklist, is go through existing fan-lists and release data of every officially released Transformers toy, and colate a complete checklist for collectors to refer to. Unfortunately, that is such a huge task, I am yet to complete it (and as mentioned above, would need a good few days to make it a 'complete' list), so I am just going to instead continue outlining the testing criteria I formulated to generate the checklist, for others to use on their own.

Basically, this counting method ignores what fans *want* to have counted, based on their own personal prejudices and ideas, and looks at what the 'owners of the Transformers(tm) brand' would determine as being a 'toy product', to be counted. The 2 remaining criteria assess items that in are multi-packs (to see if they are required to complete another figure), and how playable the item is as a toy (looks at it's condition).

So each item is processed/tested on a case by case basis, and the collector asks the following questions:
1 - Is it an official Transformers(tm) product (produced by Hasbro, TakaraTomy, Kenner, Tonka, GiGi, etc)?
2 - Is it a toy product (it's intended purpose is for it to be played with)?
3 - If it is part of a mult-pack, is it intended to be a stand alone toy, or is required to complete another figure in the pack?
4 - Is it in a playable condition (must be the primary 'named' figure)?

Item Number 1 is one that could blow out a lot of counts by collectors who don't just collect the mainline convertable toys. If a *toy product* is produced by an official source (Hasbro/TakaraTomy/etc), and released through a 3rd party (like BotCon, McDonalds, Boss Coffee, etc) it counts. After all, if you have a 'playable item' (toy) officially branded as 'Transformers(tm)', that you couldn't buy at your nearest retail store, that would mean most exclusives wouldn't count. Remember, this is a Transformers(tm) *toy* collection count. And if you don't specify the 'toy' bit in your counting method (it is a toy collection after all), you would have a much bigger count, because you'd be counting merchandise (non-toy) items as well. That's why item number 2 is there.

Item number 2 may narrow down the count to just toys, but it also opens up the count to multiples, be they intentional varients by the producer, or the exact same item. The point though, is if you do have 'X amount' of toys in your possession, no matter what they are, it is part of your collection and is part of your 'collection count'.
If you wanted to instead count and compare 'different' Transformers toy counts, you would have to go to the trouble of debating and agreeing with each person, how different each toy needs to be, to count as 'different'. This 'Total Transformers Toy' counting method is as simple as the name suggests - your 'Total' count.

Number 3 is the tricky one, because multi-pack toys have always been messy. Now, you could take the opinion that it is easier to just count everything in a multi-pack is just one item, or every individual thing in the pack as separate items. But that creates more problems, with some items over the years released in both multi-packs and individually.
So we need to see if the toy products that are in a multi-pack, are intended to be 'stand-alone toys' or are 'required to complete any other toy in the pack'. If like Gen1 Rumble and Ravage, the two toys are *mutually exclusive* to each other, but are just packaged together by Hasbro due to price point restrictions, they would count as 2 toys. To prove it, Takara released the cassettes separately, because they aren't required to complete the other.
Basically, take a multi-pack and keep separating the individual items in it to a point in which every separate item is *still a complete toy*, and *could* be sold by H/T/e as a separate toy.
This is where we need some examples to illustrate Number 3...
Gen1 Reflector - 3 robots that would only ever be intended to be sold together by H/T/e, so only count as 1. They just wouldn't make sense retailing separately.
Gen1 Soundwave/Buzzsaw - each toy is not required to complete the other, so count as 2.
Cybertron Soundwave/Buzzsaw - Soundwave requires Buzzsaw as a weapon, so can't be separated, and only count as 1.
Titanium Soundwave/Buzzsaw - same as the Gen1 pair, so count as 2.
Micromaster Patrols - 4 toys that could be sold separately at retail, so count as 4.
2-1 Combiner Micromasters - 2 toys that require each other to fulfil their alt-mode purpose, and wouldn't make sense retailing them separately as half a vehicle, so count as 1.
6-1 Combiner Micromasters - 6 toys that did end up being sold separately, because they only interact with each other, not require each other to complete each, so count as 6.
Star Convoy and Hot Rodimus - neither requires the other, as an accessory or even combine, so count as 2.
Decoys - were packed in with year-3 toys and Takara multi-packs, but are mutually exclusive to each other so could (and some redecos were) retail separately, so each counts.
Animorphs Tri-Rex or Magmatron - 3 toys that would make no sense being retailed on their own, like Reflector, so count as 1.
Music Label Rumble & Frenzy - a working set of headphones, but still can be considered a toy, so counts, but the pair are required to stay joined to fulfil their alt-mode purpose, and only count as 1.
"Standard" combiner teams - several toys (usually 5 or 6) that more often get sold on their own, so each figure counts.
Minicon 3-packs - 3 toys that do not require all three to be retailed together, so each counts.
Minicon partners - 2 toys (usually) that must stay paired or else the larger figure is incomplete, so count as 1.
Robot Heroes - same as Minicon 3-packs and Decoys, so each counts.
Minicon partners redecoed and released on their own - when cataloguing a redeco that was released with a different purpose, you can't apply the purpose of the pre-existing version onto it. Just because Armada Unicron needs Dead End to complete it, it doesn't mean that the individually released Bug General is not an individual figure without a Unicron. And vice versa.

I lost a fair bit in my count because of the 2-1 combiner Micromasters and the Minicon partners, but when you are counting a loose collection, the counting needs to be *consistent*. And that is done by its purpose, rather than the personal preference of what mode each toy is displayed in. Things like, Full-Barrel and Overflow - in their alt mode, they are a single truck, not two trucks. Displaying the toy in its intended 'gimmick' form, makes it obvious it is one toy. Just because a collector like me has them displayed in robot mode, doesn't mean it is two toys - because each robot does not fulfil its purpose as a Transformers(tm) toy without the other. Sure, you can play with it, but it doesn't turn into anything that H/T/e would try to sell separately, because it wouldn't make sense on its own. Same with displaying Minicon Partners with their larger figures - even if most prefer to have them displayed separately, it doesn't mean they are 2 toys, because Hasbro intended for them to complete a larger figure. That logic also applies to people who display something like the Combaticons as Bruticus - you don't eliminate 4 toys from your count just because you have 5 toys displayed in a combined form.
If at the time you count your collection, you display each figure in the way the producer/owner (H/T/e) intended for them, the count would be easier to do, as all figures would be paired up ready to be counted or catalogued.
This was something that took me a while to accept as an objective consistent counting method, because all my toys are displayed in robot mode. But, that's not how the H/T/e sell 90-95% of them. I just prefer everything in the same mode - robot mode...

So as you can (hopefully) see, each item is looked at from a H/T/e perspective, to determine if it could sell at retail as an individual toy, without making another figure incomplete in the process. Even if it would seem unlikely (like WST Ravage or Titanium Buzzsaw), it is still possible because they could sell as complete toy products mutually exclusive to their larger multi-pack partners. It also takes into account toys like Aramada Demolishor, which was released in Cybertron with a Cyber-Key in place of the Minicon. Just like Armada Demolishor would be 'incomplete' without its Minicon, the Cybertron Demolishor would be incomplete without its Cyber-Key, but doesn't need a Minicon with that 'version' of the toy to be considered complete.
This is why having a 'roster' listing your collection is important. If you keep track of your collection by each individual name, and are able to distinguish between each individual toy in your collection, it makes it easier to count them up. At least, according to the above 4-item testing criteria.

Finally, item number 4 - 'Playable toy' doesn't require a toy to be 'unbroken' to count in your collection, it just shouldn't be missing anything significant that prevents it from being playable/convertable/etc. It could be missing some kibble, or accessories, but shouldn't be missing body parts like head or limbs, otherwise it is a 'junker'.
And while on the topic of accessories, you must at least have the primary figure, or else your collection roster isn't accurately counting the toys, it is counting accessories. In otherwords, if you say you have Pretender Skullgrin, you must have the inner robot. Everything else is an accessory to the 'named' figure. Even if it is a small figure with heaps of accessories, like Micromaster Countdown or Euro Pyro or RiD Optimus, you just have spare accessories if you don't have that figure tabulated on your roster/checklist.

Since the issue of custom and modified Transformers toys has come up recently, it should be noted that each customised figure, no matter how customised it is, goes back to the original premise - ignore what the fan thinks, and just test it based on the criteria. Reguardless of what the fan currently calls the toy, or if they have put a single extra sticker on it, or a whole coat of paint over it, if the foundation toy is an *official Transformers(tm) toy that is still playable*, it would count. In other words, if you have a Starscream toy painted up as Sunstorm and is still playable, it is still officially a Starscream Transformers Toy, and counts as one. Despite what the fan currently calls it, the Transformers Toy product needs to be refered to by its official designation to count.
If the person who owns it can't easily recognise or refer to it as its original official form (as per Item 1), because of major modifications, then it shouldn't count. Each Transformers(tm) toy needs to at least be referred to by its official (original) designation on the checklist/count roster. And since the T3 checklist only uses official H/T/e names, a custom figure could only count if you can check it off as the official figure it started out as.That makes it easy if it is just some repro-stickers, or custom painting, but a figure that has been heavily modified from what was originally released by H/T/e shouldn't really count - especially if a non-fan looks over a Transformers(tm) collection and assumes that everything in it are official Transformers(tm) toys/products. If you have heavily customised toys, it would be best to have them in a separate count and roster, in addition to the official Transformers brand toy count and roster.

(this bit editted later) Counting of sealed toys would also be the same as loose toys. This is a counting method based on if all the toy products are out-of-packaging toys, to give a more comparable figure between collectors. After all, it doesn't matter how your toys are displayed or kept (sealed or loose), the number of actual toys in your possession remains the same.

Discuss, or criticise any flaws I missed...

(BTW, this is not a topic to criticise any other existing counting methods, it is only to discuss the merits or flaws of this counting method)