Does anyone else sometimes buy a certain Transformer based on how it will affect their number in their collection or some other numerical relation?

For example, when my collection was approaching 666 I intentionally wanted to get an evil Transformer leader to commemorate my 666th Transformer. I really wanted Energon Megatron, but the toy wasn't out - so I got Energon Scorponok instead. On June 6, 2006 I went out to find any evil Transformer to buy - but the only one I could find that I didn't have was Cybertron Sky Shadow... who of course, turned out to be a freakin' Autobot according to his tech specs, which I didn't read until after I bought the toy (not that I had much choice - that was literally the ONLY Decepticon I found that I didn't have). Gah.

Funnily enough I never keep track of stuff like who was my 100th, 200th, 500th or even 1000th Transformer. Weird.

Anyway, as my collection was nearing 1138, I was thinking about getting Darth Vader Death Star as my 1138th Transformer. All you George Lucas/Star Wars fans should know why! (if not, I'll explain later)

But last weekend there was a collector's fair and Transfan swap meet and I had a box of Transformers from Japan come in the same day... so my collection shot past that 1138 mark in a day. Gah! I'm not that eager to get Darth Vader/Death Star - might get one if I see it on sale... but I was gonna buy one full price if it meant having it as my 1138th Transformer! But alas, it was not to pass. (-_-)

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Story time for those who don't know the significance of 1138

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+ THX-1138 is the name of earlier films made by George Lucas (a short film later made into a feature film).


+ There is a Stormtrooper on the Death Star called THX-1138. It was also the original name for the Stormtrooper whose name was changed to TK-421. There's another Stormtrooper on Corulag called 1138.

+ When Luke and Han were impersonating Stormtroopers, they claimed to be transferring Chewbacca to cell block 1138.

+ 1-138 was the designation for a hauler once piloted by Kyle Katarn.


+ There's a battle droid called 3B3-1138 (you can see "1138" on his back)


+ There's a Trade Federation prison called Spacestation 1138


+ Delta Squad Clone Commando leader "Boss" or "Delta-38"'s official designation is RC-1138.


+ There was a CR90 Corellian Corvette in the Imperial Navy called 1138.

+ This Vulture droid is called DFS-1138


+ In the Jedi Temple there's a lightsabre training droid called 1138.

+ The Separatists once had a biological weapon called Trihexalophine1138.

+ Clone Commander "Bacara"'s official designation is CC-1138. He was the one who killed Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi under Order 66 on Mygeeto.

no... i haven't even counted them since i passed 200...

makes me wonder if you need something more serious to worry about..

But to address the question, i lost count of how many figures I have years ago (I'm *guessing* it's somewhere in the 600 range-ish).. and have yet to muster up the willpower to dedicate a day to actually counting and re-cataloguing everything, so no.. though I do collect Primes and i've got about 85 of them, i was thinking of trying to hunt down something more unique/rare/expensive for the 100th one. Aside from that though, i dont like keeping count because then i start thinking about how much money I've spent on plastic children's toys and want to cry.

I'm not sure about significant numbers, but then again, i have nowhere near as large a collection as alot of the people here (yet). the thing that most bemuses me abot this is how do i count transformers. do i only include scout class and above, or do minicons/WST/legends class figures? do combiners count as one or 5/6? do i include my KO WST combiners and fort max?

Howver, i think that I when i start getting to nice significant numbers, i will make special occaisions for them.

My constant buying of Insecticons made my collection go nowhere in total numbers based on your counting scheme. Does that count?

I think I may have 300 by now.

Don't really care enough to count them though I do keep my TF list up to date consistently.

Only bought three this year to date so it's been pretty easy keeping up.

I tend not to keep count of how many TFs I have total, unless I get bored enough to count them (I don't have enough to make that a big chore though; only 20 or so)

However, in terms of numerical idiosyncracies, I do try to plan my purchases so I have roughly equal numbers of Autobots and Decepticons, although my recent forays into customizing might start messing up my count

I keep count of my collection but I never buy anything in celebration of any given or specific number. I just buy what I want.

sum = no

KOs as unlicensed and often counterfeit products are not Transformers. This is a legal fact. Otherwise counting and classifying Transformers is highly subjective and everyone has different views on how they should be counted.

Basically there is no right or wrong way to count Transformers, but as you can imagine, with no common method of counting it makes comparing collection sizes essentially impossible. As a result, a few years ago I ran an extensive series of polls across several boards involving collectors from around the world in democratically determining which was the most popular way of counting Transformers - and this was used in an international survey that I conducted last year.

This method is called the "Universal Counting Method" (UCM). Article 01 is the only article that wasn't created via opinion poll because it is the only article that is based on a legal fact. All other articles are results of opinion polls.

* ARTICLE 1: What Is A Transformer?
A Transformer is legally defined as any product created under licence from Hasbro Inc. and/or Takara(Tomy) Co., Ltd under the "Transformers?" logo. As a result:
1/ Pre-Transformers do not count as Transformers. Although they may have been manufactured by Takara, they were NOT done so under the Transformers? logo.
2/ Knock-Offs/Bootlegs do not count as Transformers. They are not manufactured by Hasbro or Takara(Tomy) and they are certainly not released under licence from HasTak.
3/ Any other kind of non-Transformer transforming robot toy that's not really a Transformer does not count as a Transformer. This includes your Macross, Gobots (Machine Men), Machine Robo etc. - again, if the toy is not manufactured under HasTak licence under the "Transformers?" logo then it doesn't count. It's as easy as that.

* ARTICLE 02: Nebulans, Master Robots, Motorvator partners, Pretender/Crossformer/Dinoforce shells and Action Master partners and vehicles do not count separately. e.g.:
- Triggerhappy & Blowpipe = 1 Transformer
- Landmine & his Pretender shell = 1 Transformer
- Action Master Sideswipe and Vanguard = 1 Transformer -- in total these all count as 3 Transformers.
- For the purposes of this poll, Barricade's Frenzy will also not count as separate Transformers under this article's definition.

* ARTICLE 03: Micromasters and Mini-Cons count individually. e.g.:
- A complete Air Strike Patrol = 4 Transformers (Whisper, Tailwind, Stormcloud & Nightflight)
- A complete Mini-Con Air Defence Team = 3 Transformers (Sonar, Jetstorm & Runway)
- Hot Shot & Jolt = 2 Transformers
- Overload & Rollout = 2 Transformers -- in total these all count as 11 Transformers.

* ARTICLE 04: Only the component members of a Gestalt team count. e.g.:
- Devastator = 6 Transformers (6 Constructicons)
- Superion = 5 Transformers (5 Aerialbots) -- in total these all count as 11 Transformers.

* ARTICLE 05: Individual combiner robots count individually but multi-in-1 components do not. e.g.:
- A complete Constructor Squad = 6 Transformers
- Battletrap = 1 Transformer (not 2)
- Magmatron = 1 Transformer (not 3) -- in total these all count as 8 Transformers.

* ARTICLE 06: Bases do not count. e.g.:
- 1984 Optimus Prime = 1 Transformer (combat deck doesn't count separately)
- Airwave = 1 Transformer (his Micromaster Station doesn't count separately)
- BW Diver = 1 Transformer (Niagara Base doesn't count separately) -- in total these 3 Transformers are belong to us.

* ARTICLE 07: "Peripheral" Transformers, drones and pilots/drivers do not count. e.g.:
- Metroplex = 1 Transformer (Scamper, Six Gun and Slammer don't count)
- 1984 Optimus Prime = 1 Transformer (Roller doesn't count separately)
- Luke Skywalker/X-Wing Fighter = 1 Transformer (Luke Skywalker pilot doesn't count separately)
- BTA alert = 1 Transformer (Kuruma Ai doesn't count separately) -- in total these are 4 Transformers.
- Blackout's Scorponok figurine will also not count as separate Transformers under this article's definition.

* ARTICLE 08: Decoys, Statues, busts, PVCs, meal/candy toys, kits etc. do not count. e.g.:
- Super Collection Figures don't count
- Mega Collection Figures don't count

* ARTICLE 09: Variants count. e.g.:
- Red and yellow Cliffjumper = 2 Transformers.
- Original 1984, Classic reissue, Takara reissue, Ghost Starscream and TFC reissue Starscream = 5 Transformers -- in total 7 Transformers

* ARTICLE 10: Multiples count. e.g.:
- 2 Seasprays = 2 Transformers.

* ARTICLE 11: Only the transformable 15cm Titanium Series Transformers count.

* ARTICLE 12: Transformer Juniors and "non-mainline" Transformers count.
e.g. Choro-Q Transformers Revoltech Transformers, Transformers Be@rbricks etc. count.

* ARTICLE 13: Microman Transformer humans count. e.g.: Kicker, Ga'Mede.

* ARTICLE 14: PlaySkool Transformers count.

* ARTICLE 15: Quintessons, Beastformers and Build-figures count. e.g.:
- Alpha Quintesson = 1 Transformer
- White Leo = 1 Transformer (NOTE: Battle Beasts do not count as Beastformers and thus do not count as Transformers)
- Transmutate = 1 Transformer -- in total 3 Transformers

* ARTICLE 16: Transformers Plushies count.

* ARTICLE 17: All transforming movie Transformers count (e.g.: Cyber Slammers, Fast Action Battlers) but non-transforming movie Transformers do not (e.g.: Robot Replicas, Beatmix Bumblebee).

* ARTICLE 18: Loose and sealed Transformers are counted in the same way.
e.g.: A Micromaster Combiner Squad counts as 6 Transformers regardless of being sealed or loose

* ARTICLE 19: Only Transformers in C-6 condition or above count
i.e.: junkers don't count but anything that's not a junker counts.
Most toys that you find on eBay etc are C-6. They are in reasonably fine to good condition and are mostly in tact. They are not missing any major parts and are not too heavily worn with no significant damage. Gimmicks are still operational. They may or may not come with accessories, depending on the nature of the toy. They should come with any major accessories - so a Headmaster or Targetmaster would only be considered C-6 if it has its Nebulan partner. In the case of a Maximus, it needs to have at least the "Cerebros" component, because it can still form the basic robot mode w/o "Spike."





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2007 Survey Results:

while i would likely fall into the less than 100 list - I do play on spending $10,000 on my 10,000th transformer.

Does this count?


I do know upon my death, my wife plans to sell them all and use the money to go on a vacation.. once she's done grieving of course. I can't help but think each one I purchase, brings me closer to the grave.

This hasn't been something that I've been planning at all, but after getting Animated Bumblebee and Lockdown, I noticed that my collection count was on 1143 - so I decided to get a Legends Megatron for my 1144th Transformer.

Super obscurity here - in some Asian cultures (I'll use Japanese as an example) the number four (pronounced as "shi") can also mean death (also pronounced as "shi" - yes, all you Shi readers would already know this) - but written in a different kanji.

四 = shi (four)
死 = shi (death)



This is why the Japanese often use the alternate (kunyomi) pronounciation for four ("yon"/"yotsu") because it sounds less creepy.
e.g.:
fourteen years old = "Juu-yon-sai"
14th (day of the month) = "Juu yok-ka"
etc.

So I decided that my 1144th Transformer would have to be some "harbinger of death," and who better to fit this role than Megatron?

Now being such an incredibly obscure reference that I honestly didn't even care about myself until ... well.. today - I didn't want to buy anything expensive, so I grabbed something cheap, and I saw the AllSpark Battles Battle Jazz Vs Ice Megatron Legends pack, so I got that.

TF#1144 = Megatron, Harbinger of death
TF#1145 = Jazz, pwned by said Harbinger

It's very difficult for me to keep track of an exact number for my collection, mainly because much of it is in temporary storage in bins in my closet. However, I know that I am nearing my 1000th transformer and am planning on finally grabbing a G1 Fortress Maximus to celebrate.

Does that mean your Brave Maximus is going into storage with the rest of your CR/RiD toys?

I haven't fully decided that yet... hmmm

Maybe he'll go in city mode on one of my end tables and I can put all the Robot Heroes on him