Repurposing.

[Gouki]

So, who else repurposes figures? Do you do it for fiction reasons? So that you can justify buying each recolour and slight remould? Just 'cause it's fun?

What have you repurposed and why?

Well, for me it's mostly to justify buying more than one of the same figure. A Deluxe sized prime will always be Ginrai. A smaller Megatron will be Bludgeon if it's a tank, and Megaplex if not. And so.

But it also, you know, helps with expanding the ranks, and does always give me a chance to expand things if I were to write fanfiction (pretty big if, haven't written it since I wrote Black Hole High slash years ago). And can generally be an excuse to buy more figures than you need in, often, snazzier colours.

Movie Grindcore and Jolt became Crushbull and Roadhugger for my classics collection. Movie Big Daddy, of course, became Classics Big Daddy. Thinking of making Energon Scorponok into Classics Scorponok (Marvel comics sized, that is). Blazing Lockdown has become Black Zarak, and I don't transform his legs all the way so he is slightly different. Elite Guard Bumbelbee will be Hubcap when I get him, so on. Hvae no idea what I'll repurpose Samurai or regular prowl as though.

Am I crazycrazycrazy or is repurposing just endearingly eccentric to the rest of you?

[Doubledealer]

A) Generally speaking I never buy repaints or more than 1 of the same mold (exceptions include seekers or if the mold contains something the original did not eg. Blazing Lockdown has a chainsaw, Sam Prowl has the cart etc.)
B) If it says 'Movie Optimus Prime' on the tin, then 'Movie Optimus Prime' he is.

[kup]

I only buy repaints within the same line that portray individual stablished characters (like Smokescreen and Bluestreak or seekers). However every now and then I will buy a repaint of a none G1 (and related) line made to represent one (Like Voyager Cybertron Starscream repainted as WW Dirge) but I purchase this only if I see merit in the repaint and since I don't collect none G1 and Beast Wars lines despite those toys being repaints, they are usually first buys of the mold for me.

[Thanatos]

I do, but only the obvious stuff. Like I use Energon Shockblast to represent Classics Shockwave. I use Takaras Music Label Soundwave as Classics Soundwave. I have a custom made Classics Thundercracker and Sunstorm to fill out missing characters. I only have a few Cybertron toys so they fill the Classics ranks with "new recruits".

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Not really, with a few exceptions - i.e. the Energon Omnicon Movie recolors as extra Omnicons, rather than just 'new' peripheral Movie characters - I tweak the fictional portrayal just enough to have all the molds/characters I like in the same collection/force/army (with a few splinter groups).

Seriously though, they're your toys, you can name them all whatever you want.

[Paulbot]

Am I crazycrazycrazy or is repurposing just endearingly eccentric to the rest of you?

You're not crazycrazycrazy. I think of many Cybertron toys (particularly repaints) as new versions of other characters.

[SilverDragon]

So far, I've only done one, for the purpose of Decepticomics (see sig).

Universe Overkill has become a new body for Beast Wars Megatron, since the only toy of the latter is the Robot Hero figurine, which cannot transform or pose well, and is also really small compared to other TFs.

[GoktimusPrime]

I've written fan-profiles for some repaints and also existing toys in general - specifically Star Wars Transformers in an effort to canonically merge Star Wars and Transformers continuities. Haven't done so in years though. The last time I did one was for Movie First Aid

[Bartrim]

I'm one of the super crazy ones Gouki.

I don't collect various lines. I have Autobots and Decepticons. My collection is based around the classics line and everything else fits into my own little universe. I do collect some figures that I don't include in my little universe (eg Movie leader class Prime). I do rename others. An example of this is Movie Ironhide is called Armourhide as I have Universe 2.0 Ironhide. At the moment I need to find appropiate names so I can "re-christen" Animated Prowl, Energon Hot Shot, Animated Jetfire and Movie Ratchet so they can fit into my own little TF universe.

Sounds crazy I know

[GoktimusPrime]

Here's some suggestions:

Animated Prowl --> Stan the Sane
Energon Hot Shot --> Lauretta
Animated Jetfire --> Atomic Zagnut Adams
Movie Ratchet --> Skeletor