Well..., yes and no. I'm more of a MIB collector, so hunting down parts isn't as easy as hunting down good boxed items. Though, there are times when I have/want to track down better parts..., a new weapons sprue, a new sticker sheet, or even a cleaner/better box.

Best version of this idea came with my Diaclone Powered Convoy aka Ultra Magnus.

 

I spent years tracking down all the G1's and such, through all sorts of sources and PC was one of the hardest.

 

First off, I found my first incomplete set from a huge TraSformer lot in Italy. Paid a pretty penny for a ton of kick arse items, for what would be an absolute steal now, however the trailer was broken and it came with the red (prime) truck.

 

Years later a friend of mine in Hawaii of all places sent me a box of junk, and inside was a blue Optimus Prime - the cab for PC. Which totally rocked!

 

Later, I found another PC trailer, weapons, including the buggy bot.

 

And finally, I bought the orig Diaclone box with insert and put it all together.

 

Only thing I think it did not have in the end was the black gun, which I simply painted a white one.

 

Piecing things together can be costly, however it did 3 things for me

1. It let me swap out lesser items for the better

2. selling off the extras helped me out with $ and others out with finding some cool stuff.

3. Junkers led to more customs and or parts to rebuild busted bots later. Or trades to get parts.

 

I remember selling my extra PC at Botcon, told the guy it was my first one and how I used that as a stepping stone to the one I have now. Mind you, even if he left it alone with the red cab, it was still the red one that came with the trailer, even had a magnus sticker on the arms, so it's not exactly Diaclone, but TraSformer...still rare and very cool.

This seems like a nice idea, but I worry about eventually spending more than a complete toy would have cost.

 

And alot of times your right. however if you have a couple parts and some patience, it's a fun collector pass time.

 

If it's something I want, yeah, I'm getting it!

 

But like I mentioned befor, I didn't even realize I had half of Abominus. I'm in no rush, so why not pick up the rest of the parts for a couple bucks in time. The thing is, don't rush if your not in a hurry.

This seems like a nice idea, but I worry about eventually spending more than a complete toy would have cost.

 

And alot of times your right. however if you have a couple parts and some patience, it's a fun collector pass time.

 

If it's something I want, yeah, I'm getting it!

 

But like I mentioned befor, I didn't even realize I had half of Abominus. I'm in no rush, so why not pick up the rest of the parts for a couple bucks in time. The thing is, don't rush if your not in a hurry.

 

The closest thing I've done was complete some of the combiners I've had since I was a kid. I had two Aerialbots and three Technobots and I completed each set from late 2007 and into 2008.

 

I got Bruticus one Combaticon at a time, starting with Blades. I also had to get a right side cannon for Blades because the one I got came with two left cannons.

 

I may eventually complete Abominus too, since Blot I already have a complete Blot from childhood. I have G2 Aerialbots and that may be another project down the line, but I'm no hurry with that one.

Gonna start toying with the Micromaster bases again, cause well, why not?

Gonna start toying with the Micromaster bases again, cause well, why not?

 

I'll help you get a start on that :P

 

I'm in the process of piecing together a Pretender Vroom. It looks like the whole things will have come to about $80. It may seem high, but the last few times I've seen this guy on eBay he went between $120 - $160 so I'm happy. I grabbed up one cheap accessory at a time that I could, and found many of the parts on foreign sites so this guy will be the most internationally meshed toy I own :D

Gee, I wonder who's got me back on the Micromaster kick :tflaugh

 

Congrats on being so close to completing the Pretenders. I had a couple back in the day. Now all I have is a boxed Dowlos. Box is alittle aged, but the figure is minty.

 

 

 

After I'm done with the Leaders and Bases, I'm not sure if I'm gonna start on the Head/Power/Target Masters, Pretenders, or the Combiners. I do pick up figures at whim or if it's a great deal, but I try to plan out what I get.

The combiners are always a cool group to get into.

 

Pretenders have been the hardest for me to complete, but I'm down to just needing Finback and Thunderwing... anyone? :D

I've seen Thunderwing once!

I would agree that combiners are a nice place to start. They are relatively easy to get. Between the Japanese and US releases there should be plenty out there. Pretenders oy they are hard. Seriously what is up with the shoulderpads. Just looking at ebay a lot of them are missing the shoulder pads, but they have the other accessories. Picked up Carnivac because of that. Sure it has a broken peg on the shell doesn't bother me too much anyways. I figure I can always just hunt down another shell at a later point.

 

Abominus I'm pretty much almost done bot wise. Just need to wait and find a good price for sinnertwin, then I can start on finding individual accessories. Not really in a rush for those though.