2008 Acquisitions: Your best and worst?

[Golden Phoenix]

1 - What was the total number obtained for the year (roughly, if you don't know)?
Probably about 100. I picked up most of the animated, whole bunch of stuff from the beast wars, plus henkei/universe, and plenty of stuff from the Unicron trilogy.

2 - What was your best acquisition for the year?
$19 Animated Voyager Starscream

3 - What was your worst, or the thing you most regretted buying?
Transformers Crossovers Venom. Horrible looking thing in Robot mode...good vehicle mode, but it doesn't make up for the robot

4 - Most difficult item to find?
The Universe Special Editions. Not hard, just a pain in the backside to get to. None of my local hunting grounds sold them >.<

5 - Item you never found, but still want?
*Points to sig*

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?
Good over all. Got some really good figure out of the line, plus the new style has been an interesting thing. Good to switch it up a bit

7 - Were the Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 toys in general good or bad?
Good as a alternative to Animated. Figures have been good too, cept for the paint applications on some.

8 - Were the rest of the Movie toys in general good or bad?
Bad. Wasn't a fan of the original movie stuff. Only picked up about 6 figures, and 2 are Cybertron repaints. Most of the others just didn't appeal to me.

9 - Did you think the Encores this year were good or bad?
Don't really know. Not really into G1 figures, so I never got any

10 - Did you think the Henkei was good or bad?
Good. Better paint jobs in general, especially on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe

11 - Did you buy any non-transforming toys?
Picked up the 5 Revoltech (is that the right name?) Transformers. Good action figures

12 - Did you buy any officially licensed (non-toy) merchandise?
Comics. Mostly Trades though

13 - Did you buy the Animated DVDs?
Nope

14 - Did you buy any of the Madman DVDs?
Nope

15 - Did you import the Cybertron boxset?
Nope

14 - Are there any trends in your buying that you noticed?
Did my first international online store order, while dollar was good did plenty of that. Also due to the new networking, I started group ordering and Got assistance tracking figures down, or picking up second hand stuff.
I have also started to note down what is where so I could post later

15 - Are there any changes to your buying habits that you're hoping to make?
Maybe start saving, spending more wisely would help this.

16 - What are you looking forward to most in 2009?
The second movie

[fatbot]

1) 150+, i've hammered the actionmaster micromaster and gesalts sub lines from G1 last year
2) a toss up between shattered glass and henkai crystal convoy
3) G1 wheeljack, he's incomplete and he's gonna cost around $100 aud to compelte
4) ani safeguard, no one had him when i was actively looking for him
5) fort max, one day, he will be mine!
6) quite good, with noteable exceptions (lockdown, starscream, i'm looking at you)
7) classics 2.0 was quite good, although the qc could be better
8) crap, most movie toys were utter crap
9) damn straight, now we need the characters that haven't been reissued a hundred times already ( fort max, headmasters, pretwnders etc)
10) sweet sweet chrome, sorry had to wipe my chin, yes henkai was quite good
11) do bedroom toys count?
12) nope, don't have the tshirts in my size
13) yes
14) yes.
15) nope, i'll wait for the oz release
16) it's mainly been G1
17) yeah, stop spending so much bloody money!
18) more G1 goodness, encore, universe and watching the new movie

[JuzMel]

1 - What was the total number obtained for the year (roughly, if you don't know)?
Probably about 100.

2 - What was your best acquisition for the year?
The personally drawn & signed sketch of Animated Bumblebee by Eric Siebenaler. If only a figure counts, then make it Botcon Goldbug which was complimentary from Griffin from the comps.

3 - What was your worst, or the thing you most regretted buying?
The Marvel Transformers Crossovers, but I refunded them anyway.

4 - Most difficult item to find?
Galaxy Force Starscream and Vector Prime. Thank God I got them for a good deal on ebay.

5 - Item you never found, but still want?
Trypticon. Never made much effort this year and when I did, I couldn't find one within my budget.

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?
AWESOME. Love them!

7 - Were the Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 toys in general good or bad?
So-so I guess. Ok Ok good lar, but more on average good, not good good.

8 - Were the rest of the Movie toys in general good or bad?
BAD. Mostly repaints of other series. Bah.

9 - Did you think the Encores this year were good or bad?
GOOD. Cause I love Takaratomy Stuff anyway.

10 - Did you think the Henkei was good or bad?
GOOD. Rather get them any day then classic.

11 - Did you buy any non-transforming toys?
Just the Robot Heroes I suppose.

12 - Did you buy any officially licensed (non-toy) merchandise?
T-SHIRTs and yet more T-SHIRTs!

13 - Did you buy the Animated DVDs?
Yup both Blast from the Past and Transform and Rollout!

14 - Did you buy any of the Madman DVDs?
Yeah have the special selection of G1 cartoon favourites and the 1990s animated cartoon movie.

15 - Did you import the Cybertron boxset?
Nope. Icy already burnt them on DVDs for me. Maybe get it another time?

14 - Are there any trends in your buying that you noticed?
Only buy when there is a sale? No more Legends class for me.

15 - Are there any changes to your buying habits that you're hoping to make?
Nope.

16 - What are you looking forward to most in 2009?[/QUOTE]
MP Grimlock and Sunstorm and the list can go on...

[Robzy]

1 - What was the total number obtained for the year (roughly, if you don't know)?
90-100

2 - What was your best acquisition for the year?
Encore Omega Supreme, City Commander

3 - What was your worst, or the thing you most regretted buying?
Animated Blitzwing (don't regret buying him, but I'm not impressed - even though I only paid $21 for him I still feel ripped off)

4 - Most difficult item to find?
Nothing really

5 - Item you never found, but still want?
Nothing

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?
Brilliant!

7 - Were the Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 toys in general good or bad?
Good - but not as good as Henkei!

8 - Were the rest of the Movie toys in general good or bad?
Didn't buy any (so I guess that means 'bad')

9 - Did you think the Encores this year were good or bad?
Brilliant! Best year ever!!!

10 - Did you think the Henkei was good or bad?
Brilliant!!

11 - Did you buy any non-transforming toys?
What's the point??? J/K - didn't buy any!

12 - Did you buy any officially licensed (non-toy) merchandise?
Yessum!

13 - Did you buy the Animated DVDs?
No - waiting for season boxsets

14 - Did you buy any of the Madman DVDs?
Yessum!

15 - Did you import the Cybertron boxset?
Nope!

14 - Are there any trends in your buying that you noticed?
Not buying as much G1 as I'd like - something I plan to rectify in 2009!

15 - Are there any changes to your buying habits that you're hoping to make?
As above!

16 - What are you looking forward to most in 2009?
G1, the next (sigh) movie, and more Animated goodness!

[STL]

Anybody who used words other than "good" and "bad" gets an Energon cookie! The rest of y'all are just darned unimaginative.

[GoktimusPrime]

Thanks for the cookie! *gobble gobble*

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?
Mediocre.

[SilverDragon]

Anybody who used words other than "good" and "bad" gets an Energon cookie! The rest of y'all are just darned unimaginative.

I used 'meh'.

*eats cookie*

[MV75]

1 - What was the total number obtained for the year (roughly, if you don't know)?

20. I think, dunno, not many.

2 - What was your best acquisition for the year?

The box with most of my original TF toys in it.

5 - Item you never found, but still want?

Lego galaxy commander and a tandy armatron. Err, gah, predaking.

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?

Never bought.

7 - Were the Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 toys in general good or bad?

Generally bad. But that was due to poor craftsmanship putting me off from even trying most of them.

8 - Were the rest of the Movie toys in general good or bad?

Bad, because they were too late in reordering.

9 - Did you think the Encores this year were good or bad?

Freaking awesome.

10 - Did you think the Henkei was good or bad?

Dunno yet, havn't got cyclonus yet.

11 - Did you buy any non-transforming toys?

Lego.

12 - Did you buy any officially licensed (non-toy) merchandise?

Joking right?

13 - Did you buy the Animated DVDs?
14 - Did you buy any of the Madman DVDs?
15 - Did you import the Cybertron boxset?

No.

14 - Are there any trends in your buying that you noticed?

Yep, I'm being very selective in mainstream local releases and buying encore instead as they come.

15 - Are there any changes to your buying habits that you're hoping to make?

Yea, a disposable income, got that one.... ummmm... buy more encores.

16 - What are you looking forward to most in 2009?

More encores. More combiner encores at that.

[STL]

Thanks to my new database, I have very detailed answers on a lot of this which is quite fun but at the same time very very scary.

1 - What was the total number obtained for the year (roughly, if you don't know)?

735 Transformers, 50 non-transforming toys: representing an 86.2% increase in how my collection has grown as of the end of last year.

My total expenditures though only increased by 51.33% so I spent less per figure but I a lot of 2007's costs were because of the Botcon set.

2 - What was your best acquisition for the year?
Has to be Crystal Convoy. Nothing could really top that this, this year but City Commander came very damned close. If that new head that's available in Singapore wast he head used, I'm pretty sure it would've come home first.

3 - What was your worst, or the thing you most regretted buying?
Have to be the recolour Real Gear. Pure impulse buy b/c there was nothing better to buy and tney were darned cheap. My sister plays with them now.

4 - Most difficult item to find?
Nothing at retail really. Online, SD-21 General Galvatron is the one toy I really really want but have failed to get. I missed out twice, the most recent time being last Friday morning when I lost a bid at 5am cos I slept through it after getting home at 4 despite slapping myself several times to stay awake. I woke up at 7 o'clock with my laptop on next to me to curse myself and then doze off back to sleep.

5 - Item you never found, but still want?
Same as above, really.

6 - Were the Animated toys in general good or bad?
I loved how their engineering was something some groundbreaking. It took the toys in an all new direction and opened up a lot of possibilities. The QC did mar the line though I suspect it has to do with the fact taht these are new styles they're trying out and will take them time to master.

The other aspect that I find strong about them is the way the toys resonate character so well. While Hasbro have gotten better at that with Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 as well, it really shines in Animated where each mold is very unique and difficult to repaint without it being so out of place to repaint.

7 - Were the Classics 2.0/Universe 2.0 toys in general good or bad?
Mixed. The QC and paint applications were poor at times. The one good thing it did start was several ideas for QC related Soapboxes. In general though, I'm just happy to have the line back. I love modern toys.

8 - Were the rest of the Movie toys in general good or bad?
The Walmart Exclusives were generally a delight even though they belonged in the Classics line. Its very sad though that hte reason why I liked the rest of the Movie toys was b.c not of the molds but b/c of their adaptability to Classics.

Of the truly Movie toys, Stockade was mediocre at best, Incinerator was above average but hardly excellent.

9 - Did you think the Encores this year were good or bad?
Exceptional. They gave many a collector the opportunity to possess some vintage stuff that would be beyond the grasp of many fans and I hope it continues even though I've had all of the re-issues to date.

10 - Did you think the Henkei was good or bad?
Excellent. Its so still hard to believe it only started out this year in April. But I've loved every moment of it and even though I've stagnated b/c of financial reasons, I will complete Henkei in due course. The one exceptional repaint was definitely Optimus Prime in my mind. I liked the mold a lot before that but the Henkei paint applications took my love for the mold to a far higher level and now the mold is among my top 10 molds ever b/c of it.

That said, QC was an issue that has been quite prevalent and I'm very disappointed in that.

11 - Did you buy any non-transforming toys?
Robot Heroes, Revoltech Hot Rod and Starscream (among two of my favourite acquisitions of the year) and Diamond Select Battle Damaged Prime Bust, Jazz and Reformatted Megatron.

12 - Did you buy any officially licensed (non-toy) merchandise?
Nope

13 - Did you buy the Animated DVDs?
Nope

14 - Did you buy any of the Madman DVDs?
Nope.

15 - Did you import the Cybertron boxset?
Nope. Intend to though.

16 - Are there any trends in your buying that you noticed?

Japanese Flavours
- My spending on Japanese toys this year increased by 157.85% compared to my previous almost 3 years of collecting.
- This has been driven in large part due to the higher quality paint applications on toys that I love. For me, Superlink and Galaxy Force provided far better versions of Cybertron - a toy line I credit with bringing out my love for modern toys which is another trend that's been emerging. I've found I cannot simply pass up on better packaged and coloured toys. Henkei is the ultimate extension of this though I don't think the packaging is necessarily better.

Displayability
- The number of toys in my collection that are bought with displayability (ie. MIB or MISB) in mind has increased by 61.42%. This has comes about b/c of two reasons. The first was Jaydisc and theDamned who have quite iimpressive displays. The second was b/c of Hasbro's change in packaging - ie. Classics 2.0 and Animated. The side on views of boxes has just changed how space can be used for display.

Doubles
- My rate of doubles is only at 9% which was a staggering surprise to me. I had suspected I was armed with way more but I was wrong but I guess that as part of my overall collection, the doubles are veyr miniscule.
- That however is about to dramatically change, however. I'm nearing the end of everything I want to buy in terms of TFs. I'm not a completist by any stretch of the imagination and as such am far more likely to go back into buying doubles of vintage toys I already have or toys I love.

Modernisation
I'm moving away quickly from vintage toys. This is very new to me as when I started, G1 was everything. In about 2 years I amassed close to 80% of G1 and it formed the vast majority of my collection. Now, G1 has dwindled from 33.4% of my collection in 2007 to 23.71%. And its unlikely that I'll ever complete out many of the Japanese lines other than the big ones.

What's happened? I've developed a love for modern sensibiltiies. I love the modern engineering that gives us great poseability and playability. G1 is a fragile and nostalgic throwback, it lacks the play value of modern toys. So for me personally, this transformation has been rather dramatic as I progresed from a once "modern is inferior" to "modern is superior" mindset. And that's just b/c I enjoy everything that modern toys offer us. Better packaging, better toys, better artwork etc, etc.

17 - Are there any changes to your buying habits that you're hoping to make?
I hope to stop buying Legends altogether as well as useless repaints of characters and molds I do not like just b/c they're cheap. I shop frequently b/c its something my better half and I do a lot of and a lot of times i buy stuff b/c its just so cheap. *Looks at TFM Camshaft with a dirty stare*

18 - What are you looking forward to most in 2009?
The rest of Henkei. I'm uncertain of where the movie will take us so the toys are still an uncertainty to me but images of a certain G1 favourite car surfaced today and my hopes are being dashed.

But there's still one thing I'm definitely looking forward to and that is customs. I intend to get more done this year and I have some big ones in store that will be a delight for me personally.

[GoktimusPrime]

So for me personally, this transformation has been rather dramatic as I progresed from a once "modern is inferior" to "modern is superior" mindset.

You actually once thought "modern is inferior"? Wow... on the whole I totally agree that G1 is absolutely a fragile and nostalgic throwback - as much as I love it.

Having said that there are several toys which are poorly made by modern standards - like Animated Grimlock and Blitzwing, by 2008 standards I find them to be rather underwhelming toys whereas G1 Blitzwing and Grimlock are very good toys by 1985 standards.

But so long as a modern toy is made well by modern standards, then I agree that modern is superior. Take Henkei Hound for example... that toy is pure awesomesauce. Or to use examples from Animated, Blackarachnia and Prowl. Very well done figures..