Well, ever since I got my first TF (Windcharger) back in '84, i've never stopped collecting. In the short lull between G1 & G2, I was going to yardsales with my grandma picking up Tf's secondhand, and continued to do so through G2 & Beast Wars when I got the internet and started looking online too. There hasn't been a year gone by since '84 that I haven't gotten any TF's. They were my best friends growing up and have been one of the biggest parts of my life next to Star Wars and Corvettes, and now my wife is included in that mix. She shares my SW interest but not the TF interest, but supports me in it.

As a child of the 80's, I will always be a Star Wars, Robotech, and Voltron fan. But I do not collect those now like I do with Transformers.

 

Watching the cartoon and transforming TFs as a kid was the only thing I remember that was truly mine. Everything else I did was in a group or team becasue of soccer, baseball, football, cub scouts, etc. The product line was so big that instead of trying to get every toy, you got the ones that you liked the most. Even as a kid, I remember noticing that just because that robot modes were not show accurate, it was done so that the alt modes would look even better. They were just so freakin' cool, instead of playing with them I always displayed them.

 

I am now almost 30. I am also a graduate student wth plans of getting engaged this year. Having moved away from a cush job at a ski resort, I no longer have the personal enjoyment of snowboarding. Plus being back in school limits me from going to shows and music festivals with friends. So looking for a hobby, I was glad to stumble upon the G1 re-issues. I do not collect for money, but rather for personal enjoyment. I look forward to opening them with my kids down the road. Who knows what TF's will look like then?

i like cars i like robots its the best of both plus they are remarkable when you think of how much effert goes into thier design

 

and do you think BT's/Alts are aimed just at kids there like die cast cars but with legs and guns

i may only be 18, but I grew up in a school with virtually zero TF fans(Im sure its the same for the rest of you) but I did grow up when the classic cartoons practically died, like TMNT or Gi joe

Transformers just do that "thing" for me. It's almost just like it was when I was a kid, but it has evolved more. There was a time, around 8th grade or so when Transformers became "uncool" so to speak. Meaning, I boxed all of mine up and tried to get into baseball cards which were what everyone else was getting into at the time. Baseball cards never really did it for me. I have a few Rickey Henderson rookie cards. But I don't have any real interest in them.

 

I think it was 2nd to third grade when I was introduced to Transformers. For some reason, the epic struggle of these good and evil robots captivated me. I just loved them. I played with the toys constantly. I bought the comic books, watched the show, and everything else surrounding Transformers, I did. The best times were the battles I had with my Transformers where I would imagine certain situations or dangers that were far more detailed and in depth than anything the shows or comicbooks produced. They were my obsession as a child.

 

As I became older,college age, I got back into cartoons with a friend of mine. We used to sit around his apartment in college and drink and samoke and watch Dragonball Z. I really loved the in depth storyline and the awesome fighting scenes. Getting into that show allowd me to embrace my love of cartoons. Especially, The Transformers. I started downloading old G1 episodes on the internet and watching them. I would watch The Movie and one of my all time favorite episodes, Dark Awakening. I really loved the stuff.

 

Later, I remember watching Toonami and I saw a commercial for the upcoming Transformers Armada. The commercial was voiced by none other than Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen. He was speaking in his Prime voice and he said, "The epic battle between Autobots and Decepticons has begun on Earth. He who controls the Minicons, will control their great power." Then he said "Transformers Armada." after that the word "Transformers" on the TV transformed into the word "Armada" with that classic G1 transformation sound. Man that commercial gave me chill bumps. I recorded the second episode of Armada and several subsequent episodes. Thus began the ressumption of my Transformers obsession. I went to Wal-Mart and bought Armada Optimus Prime. I remember thinking how the basic robot mode, not the super mode, resembled the G1 Optimus Prime a lot. And dig this, the legs bend at the knees and he is posable! He can walk! Holy crap! I also loved the part where you can push down on the button on the head and make the face plate "talk"! Unbelieveable! People hate Armada Prime, but I don't care. I think it's great! And compared to G1, it is articulated as hell.

 

Thus I began to get more and more into it as the re-issues came out, and the new lines continued to flourish. It's kind of like I've found that part of me that I was as a kid. That innocent joy that comes from imagining the epic battles between the forces of good and evil. I believe I have found many people here who share a common bond through our love of Transformers. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Like many others, I grew up with Transformers, GI Joe, Robotech and Voltron. When I was young, these were my very best friends, as the majority of the kids who lived around me (and the ones I went to school with) were all hypocritical two faced Afterburners. I was also an only child with no brothers or sisters around (I have a sister now, but I was well into my teens by the time she was born), so my imagination was sparked by these shows and toys. Out of all of them, Transformers was the best. Then I had to "grow up".

 

I started collecting again when I was 25. Partly out of nostalgia, but mainly because I think these guys are cool. The level of design, engineering and imagination that had to be put into each one is just absolutely amazing to me.

 

Also I like the fact that I now have something to help me take my mind off of work and the chaos that goes on in this world every once in a while.

 

As far as what other people think, I could really care less about their "opinions" on the subject. My girlfriend enjoys the hobby with me, and seeing as how my extra money could be spent on worse things, I don't really concern myself with that aspect.

 

This is a good thread. Thanks OPP!

This is a very good thread indeed, OPP. :thumb

You can ask my dad why he got me my 1st transformer when I was like... 8 or smthing (it was that mini car that looks like a brick red Dodge broncoII, what's his name again?) anyways, I was too young when G1 came out, so I never acutally watched G1, but I remember watching the headmasters, TF Victory, and Beastwars in Chinese back when I was still in HongKong.

 

Then my family moved here to the US and I left all my TF's and other robot stuff to my cousins... (I had a G2 OP, Cromdome (that car lead from headmasters), 2 or 3 of the Superion planes, that plane from computron, all pieces of the orinigal Landcross... ) I had to let them go... but now that I have a job and have to money I'm able to continue this hobby (if not obession), why? I guess to keep part of my childhood alive. I mean what's not to love about Transformers?

I'm going with Deathmarch on this one. He even nailed all my favorite shows as a kid! After G1 I fell in love with giant robots, especially ones that transformed or combined. I collected beast wars and Power Ranges (I know dumb! But, zords only) and later Gundam; those were the days that I added toy engineering to the artist list, and it was only recently that I started writing. I almost always took my toys apart and rebuilt them to see how they work, and then come up with different designs.

 

Any way, when RID came out I got really excited about the TF toy line, a little less excited about Armada (though Energon is OK) now I’m stoked about Cybertron and my fave of coerce is BT/ Alternators!

 

 

PS. DM I about my post on the “cancel Alts? page� that was my-bad, I didn’t read ahead before I posted :redface Idon't think you're dumb! :thumb

When I brought my G2 Megatron repaint to work yesterday, one of the guys here just stared for a second and said "You're obsessed with these things, aren't you?"

 

Uh, I wouldn't put it that way, but sure, it fits. :thumb

 

To me, they're like functional art. You can appreciate them on a technical level for their transformations, a sculpture level for their character, and for me looking at them gets my imagination going with stories about the characters.

 

But beyond that, I can't really explain except that I think they're cool, and I don't spend more than people do on Hummel figures or something. :)