Movie Toys: A Question

[Verno]

It's interesting to read peoples justificat... I mean explanations as to why they collect what they do

I'll admit I thought about getting a set of Movie Autobots in the most kick-ass model they came in yet still to a relative scale. Who'd want a BB that was bigger than Prime? (Even if it might be awesome) Be it Prime from the 3rd movie, Ironhide from the 1st, Ratchet from the 2nd etc.

In the end I didn't, because collecting for me is about the association with character. As Sky Shadow pointed out, with BW, if the show character had a not-so-good toy, you were stuck with it becuase of the way the line was structured, but it was still that character none the less. Blackarachnia for example, I couldn't wait to get the Takara 10th Ann version just because it looked much closer to the show, yet I'll still keep the original Hasbro version. Patience is a virtue I guess.

For me and the movie toys, I can only hope one day they put out an 'Ultimate' line. No repaints, just the best version of each Movie character. Likelyhood of Hasbro doing this... Hahahaha, as if.

[jaydisc]

I bought the first movie Leader Prime and was pretty happy with it. Then, Takara released a chromed version, so I upgraded to that (selling my first). Then the ROTF Leader figure came out, which was quite an improvement, so I got that. I didn't sell the former chromed Prime because I still thought it was a nice figure and it's quite rare. But lo and behold, Takara did it again, and released Buster Prime, all chromed and metallic, so I had to upgrade to that (and sold my Hasbro ROTF Prime). Then, TT released the two-pack with an updated Jetfire, so I had to get that one too. I still haven't sold my lone Buster, and I likely won't, so that brings me to 3 Leader Primes:

MA-21 Battle Mode Prime (1st movie)
Buster Prime (2nd movie)
Buster Prime & Jetfire 2-Pack (2nd movie)

With voyagers, the very first Transformer I got since being a child was the original voyager Prime from the first movie. However, after Hasbro Premium'd up the whole line, I again traded that one in for the upgraded Robovision Prime (aka Premium voyager prime). I have not bothered with any of the subsequent voyager Prime releases (there have been many!) as they are all inferior.

My basic philosophy is to have the BEST of any figure/character/class. If the better one comes out after I've already gotten one, then I'll upgrade, and in most cases, try to get rid of its predecessor. If the subsequent ones are not as good (more common than not), I happily pass.

[uteiki]

^^ Agreed! 'cos that is what I do often too!

Sometimes I don't really know what new transformer toys will be repainted or re-released or upgraded... so for me it's buy first talk later... or in this sense sell later.

hey Jay, that is exactly what I did with Leader Prime!!! only I sold off all the 1st movie Primes that i got and am now left with buster prime & the Prime Jetfire 2 pack which i am both happy with... well at the moment haha...

[i_amtrunks]

I was in Big W the other day and they had 3 different RotF deluxe Bumblebee figures, all fairly similar barring the weapon.

The missus had a good laugh at the craptitude of all 3 and asked why?

I couldnt answer her. I personally didnt buy any RotF figures of characters from the first movie, and I got the robo-vision deluxe Prime, and have skipped all leader versions. I cannot see the point in getting similar toys from subsequent movies, but on the flipside I get why Hasbro have released 1672 different movie bumblebees and I can also understand why some collectors hunt every toy down too.

[JuzMel]

Sometimes I don't really know what new transformer toys will be repainted or re-released or upgraded... so for me it's buy first talk later... or in this sense sell later.

Kinda have to agree with uteiki on that, I have passed on quite a few figures and LEGO as well and then regret it later when they ran out of stock in stores and are later being sold at inflated prices online. So now, if I'm not 100% sure I don't like a figure/toy, it's get it first and decide later.

As for the recent movie crappy (KO lookalike) repaints, they are easy to pass. So was deluxe Ironhide and Ratchet. They make no sense to me being that size when their voyager size is more relative to their proportions in the movie. Plus I have kinda had enough of the movie figures releases and am glad they have the Generations line.

I started collecting after the first movie in 2007 and Bumbleebee is my favourite and so I do have multiple figures of him in the different variations. But for Ultimate Bumblebee, I bought it during the first movie and when they came out with the second release with the battle mask, that I couldn't justify paying another $80+ bucks. Battle Ops Bumblebee was different and the Costco one was chrome and good price, so I did get that.

As for toys of famous characters like Optimus Prime in other variations, I get what you mean. I have Movie 1 Leader Prime and Nightwatch Prime as well. I now really don't understand why I got Nightwatch Prime and will probably sell him and Movie 1 leader prime later on in the future. The point is to get the "latest version" of Prime (for me) I guess?

And I've got Hasbro Leader Jetfire and Prime as well as the 2-Pack Jetfire & Buster Prime. I do intend though to keep both as one can be displayed in robot mode and the other vehicle mode. Likewise for MP Prime, I got the Hasbro fluroscent red one first and then I got MP-04, I'm keeping both too.

I guess in the end it all boils down to what you like and wanna buy. There's no real need to justify - just like a woman buying clothes, "I like it, so I'm getting it." (even though her wardrobe is already overflowing!)

[GoktimusPrime]

My basic philosophy is to have the BEST of any figure/character/class. If the better one comes out after I've already gotten one, then I'll upgrade, and in most cases, try to get rid of its predecessor. If the subsequent ones are not as good (more common than not), I happily pass.

^ This. Another thing I enjoy about having different versions of the same character is that I can display one in robot mode and another in alt mode.

[Lord_Zed]

For me it's all about having the best version of a character to display rather than every variant, or collecting them for the sake of completion.

And when I say best I mean the one that suits me best. As such I had Voyager Robovision Prime from the first movie, sold him to get ROTF Prime because he looked better, sold him and got Buster Prime. Pretty happy with him now so dunno If I will sell him based on the images we've seen of the new toys. Mind you I did the same with Classics Megatron and Starscream, upgrading to Henkei versions, for me this is all a standard part of TF collecting, it's less about a large all encompasing collection and more about a small fancy one.

I also downscale too, No doubt I'm in the minority but I sold my voyager movie Ratchet (I never liked the mold) and replaced him with the Deluxe version, becuase to me he evoked the character better and displayed better with my other movie favourites except Buster Prime (also sometimes smaller is better).

ROTF Prime and movie Ironhide remain the only excpetions to the rule, And that was only because I wanted a Prime with hooks to pose with Voyager Megatron and the deluxe crowd.

[5FDP]

I really only bought one of each character and even then it had to be a character that interests me. For instance, I bought the 2007 Ironhide (deluxe) and didn't even look twice at other versions.

The only time that I have been tempted to 'upgrade' was getting rid of my Ultimate Bumblebee for the Battle-Ops Bumblebee. That never happened (mostly due to laziness on my part).

[Magnus]

Generally I prefer to only have one version of a character/mould, but I agree with the idea of having the 'best version' of a character - I was initially reluctant to get RotF Optimus, but that figure was a massive improvement over what was already a good figure, so it warranted a purchase. A different design may also be a factor: even though I already had '07 Megatron, RotF Megatron warranted a purchase because he was so different.

It also depends on whether or not I like the character/design/updates enough to warrant another purchase. I'm quite happy with my '07 Ratchet and Ironhide figures and don't plan to 'upgrade' either one as of now, nor did I want to upgrade/replace my '07 Barricade or Blackout figures with Interrogator Barricade or Grindor. I have yet to get a second deluxe Bumblebee, although I have been tempted by the Battle Blade version, as it's a new mould.

In addition to my Sideswipe and Jazz deluxes, I also have the HA versions, as even though the basic design was the same, the extra complexity and new features warranted purchases - plus, I liked the characters/designs.

[SharkyMcShark]

Thread should aptly be named "Vernos thread where he pretends not to understand other peoples collecting patterns"