New York heavy

Bagging up my collection has caused me to think about the history of my collection. (I'm on to Titans Return now.) To start with I was collecting reissues, keeping all of the boxes and so I left the instructions and spare parts in the boxes. The vintage toys I bought generally didn’t have instructions and most pieces were stored on the figures. Eventually as Classics started I just kept all of the parts loose in a big box. As I started selling things off I realised how difficult it was to find things again and so started sorting things by which ‘faction’ they were in (according to Dreamwave). As new things came out and it got increasingly tedious to even find the right bag for the faction, I realised storing things by toyline made more sense. I’m now storing them with the actual figure, even more straight forward! It would have made life easier to have adopted a system earlier, but when I started I was only going to get a ‘few’.

Bagging up Combiner Wars feels different to most of the older figures, I feel sad. They’re such great figures. I remember my initial reaction as ‘I’m happy with my third party stuff’ which turned into ‘these are great’, and eventually, ‘hope they do Computron and Abominus’. Which they did! I remember getting the Aerialbots in TRU before they were released in the US. I remember the disappointment of Wave 2 not getting an (official) UK release (and the panic of getting the Stunticons online). Then the happiness of finding the Protectobots at Tesco. I didn’t mind the way the 5th members of the team were handled - it was really exciting getting them as exclusives. What a great line. I didn’t get burnt out on the molds until Power of the Primes with Darkwing and Dreadwind - I got the Liokaiser around the same time, and only then felt fed up with the Aerialbot mold(s).

Talking of Abominus, I’ve never actually bothered combining them before, and I've not used the Perfect Effect upgrade set I bought. The bits all turn into separate weapons which is great, but I'd rather just have really good hands and feet. (Purple versions of the Computron parts.) I don't think they're too compromised and the feet are a very similar size. I like the idea of Computron and Abominus being a later generation of combiner, and therefore improved. He looks pretty great on my desk, though I've always wondered whether they would look better with a unified colour scheme - light grey, purple and blue perhaps? It wouldn't actually mean too much change - just make Rippersnapper and Sinnertwin grey rather than beige and yellow respectively, then it's just a matter of making them all the same shade of purple and blue.

I've opened Wheeljack, he's a little bit great. I'm so happy I've decide to upgrade my 84/85 Autobots. He's less of a bright white than Siege Prowl and Ratchet, but he really makes the old Generations mold look a bit chunky in the legs (it was a good figure though). A very pleasing transformation. Bring on the rest of them!

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I went for a walk today and found myself wondering why I was packing up my collection. I realised there are some good reasons. I find my display stressful, there's not enough space to display everything and what's not on display is hard to get to so I never rotate it. What is on display I can't see very well as most of it is up high on shelves. It means I know exactly where the accessories and instructions are for everything, and finally it's a chance to review my collection - do I need everything? Everything should serve a purpose, even if that purpose is recreate a scene from a comic. But to recreate that scene, are multiple versions of characters justified? I do feel sad packing things up, but overall it feels like a positive thing to be doing - to feel like I'm in control of my collection and not the other way round.

If everything should serve a purpose, what should say, Optimus Prime do? What do I want from it? I want him to look like he does in my mind - a sort of toy/cartoon/comic hybrid. I want him to display well with the other '84 Autobots, I want him to display well with Megatron, and I want him to display well with the other Autobot leaders. Earthrise Optimus does all of those things, the G1 and Classics figures do not (given I have WFC versions of the other '84 cast).

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Some interesting Marvel Legends preorders have popped up - tempted by Spider-Man, Green Goblin and War Machine, but have just popped in a preorder for Moonknight for the time being. Initial shots of Green Goblin show him having super crazy eyes, but the more recent images look much more sensible. The Strong Guy BAF wave has also gone up, expensive.

Sky Lynx is on his way! Wasn't expecting him until August. I've pretty much packed away all of my Transformers now, but have left most of Siege plus Abominus and Predaking out (so I can see how they look with Sky Lynx). I felt really sad putting the Dinobots away. So far I think I'm up to about 10 large IKEA boxes of toys (including Marvel but excluding the Titan and Leader Transformers). All that remains now is Lego/mini figures and Thunderbirds. Despite having bagged pretty much everything up it's amazing all of the leftover stuff - stands, parts, booklets. Haven't quite worked out where it will go in this brave new world.

I think I’ve realised the problem with my collection - too many things that look awesome by themselves. I made a bucket list over 10 years ago which included ‘getting my collection organised’, only now do I am doing that.

With my Lego figures I think I might position it to being more of a New York theme. I have the Ghostbusters firehouse, I have the Mega Bloks Turtles hanging out on (and hanging off of) it. The only Marvel Lego figure I really want to keep is Spider-Man, perhaps because he has such an iconic look, but it's starting to feel very New York heavy, which makes sense since so of my favourite cartoons were set there growing up. I might get the Lego Friends set and Statue of Liberty to really finish it. Maybe exceptions for Deadpool and Batman. I like my Lego Star Wars, Thundercats Minimates, Mega Bloks Power Rangers. But otherwise I think I'm going to get rid of everything else (I don't really have much else - Avengers and Justice League figures really). I quite like the idea of a Turtles lair as well, might be a project for some point.

Kingpin!

Kingpin!!! From the 90's cartoon!!! Perfect, preordered straight away.

I looked again at Leader and his colours aren’t as offensive as I first thought, so will pick him up. I had an idea that I’d like to get Wendigo, but I’m not keen on the headsculpt, if he got a single release though then maybe they’d give a classic head. Regardless, he doesn’t really make sense in my Legends collection, unless..... I get Alpha Flight. But I don’t really want them, so probably best leaving it to my 3.75” collection. But I could go for a Sasquatch. Hmmm.

So I’m all in for the WFC trilogy now, suddenly I can’t seem ignore the flaws in my figures. I’m even looking at Siege Mirage and thinking I’m not happy with the feet, or colour, I’d like a slightly more turquoise blue (similarly with Ultra Magnus). I'm looking at Ratchet and thinking he needs some silver on his face (and maybe a red IDW head). Will be interesting to see what happens with the next line - surely they can’t redo the ‘84 cast again?! I think a line which covers a wider range of homages would make sense. Time for some Beast Wars?

I've opened Cliffjumper (did I mentioned I ordered him, Wheeljack and Hoist?). I was a bit unsure about him being a deluxe, but he's great. I really miss the old legends scale figures, so it’s great that they’re back, even at a higher cost. I don’t think the height is much of an issue, it’s more the volume, he’s just more solid compared to previous small figures. Partsformer? I'm not bothered, it's just great for Cliff to have a dedicated mold, and the accessories are very versatile. Though I think if I’m displaying him with the old Gears, (new old) Windcharger and Brawn then you need to remove his backpack and weapons to reduce the look. Looking forward to Hubcap, and if we don't get the Throttlebots it will be criminal!

I feel like I'm making good progress with all of my collections, completion of Thundercats, Turtles and Power Rangers are in all sight. I've managed to convince myself that we are going to get some modern Real Ghostbusters figures based on Transformers. Here goes: Hasbro has shown themselves to be fairly ruthless with the WFC line - putting out earth mode versions of characters that have just had a figure in Siege. They've put out vintage Real Ghostbusters, they've put out modern movie figures. People are crying out for modern Real Ghostbusters, and frankly what else can they do? Of course it's going to be hush hush whilst the vintage figures are out. But I reckon they'll do them, might just have to wait a couple of years. It's a bit like Thundercats, if I want them then the chances are loads of other people do as well, and if loads of people want something then a company somewhere will eventually notice and decide to cash in.

Also, I'd quite like a large Hasbro RGB Stay Puft, preferably smiling. Once I get rid of my NECA Turtles, he'll be my last NECA figure, and I like the idea of all my figures being Hasbro and Mattel/Super 7. SDCC has been cancelled, will be interesting to see how the news comes out.

Yellow Winter

I’ve been thinking about the change from Classics/Universe/Generations to Siege/Earthrise. Classics started off as homages, with some quite chunky designs. It’s now moved to super detailed, super G1 accurate figures with Siege. I liked the reinterpretations, and don’t think I need the super detailing. What I do like though is the new headsculpts, they used to be a bit hit or miss and now they’re amazing, and that’s really what’s prompted me to get on board.

Still bagging up figures, have done the last of my Beast Wars figures and my Grimlocks and Ravages. The leaders are some great figures. I hope they do some updated Beast Wars, but I’ll be really torn to replace Primal and Megatron. Ready to start bagging up my Classics figures, the end is in sight! One group I now think need updating again are some of the movie characters - Hot Rod, Blurr (he has an Animated headsculpt) and Perceptor. Device Label Blaster really doesn’t match. Kup I’m okay with, but he has got very large feet. And as previously discussed, Cyclonus and Scourge need voyager figures, or large deluxe at least for Scourge. It seems to me though that the most likely lineup for part 3 of the WFC trilogy would be movie figures so I think I’ll be covered.

Here also are the 1985 Autobots and Wreckers, maybe need a new Sandstorm as well?

Thinking about the Dinobots and Constructicons, such great figures - they're just the wrong size. I don't think the Dinobots suffer too much for the combining gimmick, apart from Grimlock's dino mode. I will have to consider the size changed KOs.

I received Winter Soldier and..... opened him almost straight away. Not quite sure why, maybe because I just rewatched Civil War. He’s a great looking figure and I like that his star is a Cap style one. Just need a Falcon now, surely with Vulture having been released it’s a done deal.

Have popped in a preorder in for Cheetara, the main Thundercats will be complete, just ghost Jaga and a Snarf for me. Might get mummy Mumm-Ra as well. Looking forward to seeing what these Super 7 figures are like, they cost a pretty penny otherwise could be tempted by the mutants as well.

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Have opened Yellow Ranger, one of the best headsculpts so far - and one that is not grinning so can be used for more action poses.

Have started bagging up my Classics figures, didn’t take long as it’s only Hot Rod and Ramjet left, similarly with Universe just Cyclonus and Countdown. Moved on to Generations, some good figures, but I don’t know when I’m going to open them again - I think a fair few will be to sell them. If you think of everything pre Combiner Wars as one trilogy (CUG), then that was the start. Prime Wars for me destroyed the third party market for Classics by doing figures I never thought possible. The WFC figures are now doing old figures again, in a way which is really making me question the quality of those old figures. Quality isn’t quite the right word - they mostly are of a good quality, perhaps more whether they fit in with what I want, rather than just accepting what I have.

Sort it out

I've made sense of my collecting, here goes: collect all characters such that I can make any team or group from favourite films/cartoons/comics (primarily Classics Transformers and 3.75" Marvel). For my important/favourite characters/teams get them in a larger more detailed scale (Masterpiece Transformers and Marvel Legends). For absolute favourite characters collect all figures (Grimlock, Ravage and Iron Man, plus auxiliary characters - the other Dinobots, cassettes and armour wearing characters). Collect micro sized figures to complete teams not available or too expensive (WST/Lego/Megabloks/Minimates). Here's a bit of Grimlock and Ravage appreciation as I'm just bagging them up.

I've also bagged up my Action Masters, they've really grown on me as characters since reading Lost Light, particularly Mainframe.

I realise what I find more troubling than not having a figure or team, is just having a couple of members. I think what's needed is a few box sets just to tidy things up from the smaller size classes from Prime Wars. So, what I would need is a boxset of the three remaining deluxe Insecticons with (legends) Eject, plus Toraizer and Hosehead Titanmasters, then another boxset of the five remaining Throttlebots with (Primemaster) Waverider and Stranglehold. Only a couple of the Throttlebots and one Insecticon would need new molds, and a bit of remolding for Stranglehold. Sort it out please Hasbro!

I’ve taken a picture of my Ark crew, not an easy picture to take. So I had started to change my mind on Earthrise Wheeljack and Sunstreaker, but now I’m starting to think Jazz and Tracks could also benefit from an update.

I'm working from home now and a new thing I've started doing is Transformer of the day, I pick a random figure to sit on my desk. Jetfire, IDW Fortress Maximus and Alternators Ravage have all had the nod. It's good to do a bit of appreciating. Ravage is a particularly great figure, and because of the size, one of the best headsculpts.

I opened up my final two 3.75" Marvel figures - Ulik and Whirlwind. They're both fairly minor villains, but since they both appeared in A:EMH are needed for my collection.

I've also opened Ptero (headmaster Swoop), would have been cool to get the whole Dinobot team, but he's pretty cool. I must admit I sort of forgot about it.

Earthrise Starscream has arrived. My first Earthrise figure! I’m so glad I made the decision ahead of its reveal that I needed Voyager seekers. It’s like a mini masterpiece. A scaled up version of the deluxe was just what I wanted, the transformation is slightly more complicated - the forearms took me a little while to get right. Looking forward to getting Skywarp and Thundercracker.

I'm thinking about what figures to keep at the moment. It occurs to me that it's no longer about keeping the best figures, I think I need to be more strict than that. I have got rid of great figures in the past though, Jetfire and Omega Supreme stand out from G1. Bumblebee from Classics, Onslaught from Universe. The Combaticons from Energon/Universe. The Cybertron Defence repaints from Cybertron (I still have Scattershot as Countdown). Third party wise I think Mastermind Creations Predacons. I'm about to add a lot more names to that list, but I think I'm more likely to keep a figure if it's an entirely different character.

Okay, I’m sold on a voyager Scourge now after taking these pictures. G1 Scourge needs to hold his own! I sort of like the idea of Scourge being smaller because (in my mind) he/they were created from the Insecticons, but really he should be the same sort of size as Cyclonus. In a few weeks I’ve gone from being entirely happy with my early Generations figures to thinking they pretty much all need replacing!

Deluxe Minibots?

I am trying to take all sentimentality out of the main part of my collection, so the question I am asking myself is if I was starting from scratch, what would I buy? Omega Supreme is a bit of a stumbling block. The Siege figure looks great, but he's almost the same size as Metroplex, I've always though he should be a bit smaller. The YOTS version transforms into a space train, and looks great, perhaps not quite cartoon accurate but recognisable at least. I'm okay with reimaginings. I also like the idea of having the best figures from the Unicron trilogy in my collection.

On a related note, I am determined not to get Earthrise coneheads. Somehow it makes more sense to me for them to be the same size as Scourge and the Decepticon Targetmasters. I kept my WST seekers in order to have a set where they're all the same size. I know the Earthrise figures are going to look amazing though. Skywarp and Thundercracker have been confirmed, they look great, which has resulted in me putting an order in for Starscream. He's on his way!

Thinking about other figures I didn’t upgrade/replace, several of the movie cast had new figures in Titans Return - Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Perceptor and Scourge. I’ve looked at them again and am happy with my decision, but a couple of the old figures could be better. Hot Rod especially. Siege Astrotrain is one I've looked at, l but I like having all three Decepticon triple changers as headmasters at exactly the same size so I’m good. Jetfire, I’ve given him some desk time and I’m okay with the Generations 30th one, he looks great and is the size I want.

I am going to pass on Jetfire and Omega despite their Siege toys being better. It preserves the ‘specialness’ of Metroplex, Trypticon, Fortress and Scorponok (I would make an exception for Black Zarak as the G1 figure is my holy grail, he has an animal altmode, he is the Destron leader from Masterforce once Devil Z inhabits him, and he would compete my set of demon generals from Zone). Their size counts against them and there’s nothing wrong with the versions I already have. No really.....

Dinobots and Constructicons aside, I think Cyclonus is the main figure I want to see in a different size - voyager rather than deluxe, despite it being the best Universe figure.  It would run the risk of an accompanying voyager Scourge which I don't (think I) want. The cassettes are a right old mess, is it too much to ask for a set in the same sort of size and style?! Whatever happened to Legends Eject? And I'm still using KFC versions of Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Ratbat, Overkill and Slugfest.

It looks like the minibots are sliding towards the small deluxe size (I haven't got Earthrise Cliffjumper yet). I think what I’ve got is pretty much there, a new deluxe Huffer would be good so he can pull Prime’s trailer. And Pipes. I’m still using my iGear figures for both of them. Assuming we get a Hubcap from Cliffjumper (I'm using a spare Legends Bumblebee as a stand in) then I'm all good. I have Titans Return Bumblebee on standby. A smaller Warpath might be good though I'd be pretty torn - the deluxe is fantastic.

In terms of future Titans, I think there is a case for redoing Metroplex. Beyond that, an Ark play set perhaps. I think they could do some of the Japanese characters - Galaxy Shuttle, Grandus, etc, but at the Commander price point perhaps?

No screw holes

Still going through boxes and bagging things up, I’ve got some great figures - Dinobots Snarl (repaint of BWM Sabreback), and Sixtrain and Sixliner stand out particularly. It’s good to rediscover them. Snarl is a funny figure in that I only became aware of it (and the others) when I first started collecting, and when I was searching on eBay for a G1 Snarl it came up on a few of the searches. Sixtrain I discovered by chance in a shop selling kitsch Japanese stuff, and I quite like having a pair of them.

I’ve put in an order for a (Mattel) Jurassic World T-Rex, the Hasbro one I had was wobbly and the rubber on the neck had started to disintegrate, however it had (I think) a better sculpt, particularly on the head. The Mattel one is much more stable and has no screw holes. Hope to start customising it!

Going through my boxes, I made a pile of instructions, another of parts, another of the actual figures, and another of figures all nicely bagged up. The nicely bagged figures made me feel much calmer so I think I’m on the right track. I’m almost done with the boxes and will start tackling the figures (sort of on display) on shelves. Still a heck of a lot to do though.

For a long time now I found myself almost fanticising about having one toy per character, whether the G1 figure or not. Once I got over the sentimentality, I think I’m okay with it. If I lost my entire collection, I realise I wouldn’t buy a lot of toys again - it was the memory associated with the toy that I was holding on to, but I realise now that I still can have the memory without owning the toy. More to the point, I have figures which I’ve got rid of with happy memories attached to them. The happy memories are still there, the Classics Dinobot minicons for instance - I replaced them with the DOTM G1 coloured versions, with no loss of memory.

Thinking about it I’ve got rid of lots of great figures over the years, and it’s fine. I think I do want a figure of almost every G1 and Beast Wars character - I like the idea of being able to replicate particular teams, and for certain teams it’s nice if the toys are of a similar style, but beyond that it’s a matter of getting the best version of a character (ignoring Masterpiece and third party for the most part).

Paid for my final two Seacons, think I will have them before the middle two which are supposed to be arriving from China at some point (they haven’t shipped yet). Combiner Wars (and the sequel Power of the Primes) was amazing, I wonder whether we’re done with combiners? Still hopeful for a deluxe based Devastator (maybe I should get the down sized KO), the remaining Lio Kaiser components and Road Caesar. Maybe Landcross and Dinoking/Monstructor? I’d be happy for Landcross to be reissued again.

Opened up Marvel 3.75" Quasar. He survived the cull as I love the (look of the) Annihilators team, it might have inspired me to get on with a Ronan custom, but instead I've found myself thinking about Dracula.......

I also opened Jessica Jones. It took me a few years to get round to watching her Netflix series (I enjoyed the Jewel costume cameo), and so a few years more to actually open her. My Netflix Defenders are complete!

I need to be distracted

I have been thinking further about my collecting 'system'. Figure announced, preordered, paid for, received, opened, photographed and put away. An additional step in the system is to sell an old figure when a new one is released. Intuitively I feel that I get most enjoyment from having figures on a shelf, but when those shelves are inevitably crowded, dusty and too high to be able to see without standing on a chair, perhaps it is not true. I have never been disciplined enough to maintain a rotating display.

What part of the process do I enjoy the most? It’s the anticipation and the appreciation, but the appreciation doesn’t last all that long. If I haven’t looked at something for a little while I can appreciate it all over again though.

I have gone through my Marvel 3.75” collection and identified those which I really don’t care about and popped them in a pile to sell. I’ve been fairly cautious - I kept Black Knight on the basis that he’s in the new Eternals film. I’ve also resolved to open the figures that I want but are still carded. Starting with Korg and Valkyrie. I intend to get the Bossfight studios Pegasus figure to go with Valkyrie so it really should be open. Both appeared in Thor Ragnorok so (now) pass the 'have been in something I’ve seen' test. Both are nice figures, Korg is a remold of Thing which I was quite fond of anyway. Valkyrie looks quite stern I think, through I like the braids. I feel very happy with my 3.75" collection now, having looked at all of the figures has renewed my enthusiasm for it.

Popped in a preorder for Super 7’s TMNT Leonardo, he looks really good! I'm really excited about their Thundercats and Turtles lines, despite the cost. I’ve also put in my preorders for the blue ranger, Scorponok, Sky Lynx and Snapdragon. Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker look great. I’m a bit tempted by Wheeljack as well now, it would be quite nice to have the Ark crew in the WFC line aesthetic, maybe all of the characters that started out as Diaclone toys (I think if they did Ultra Magnus battle damage free, in a lighter blue I'd be tempted).

I have decided to also downsize my Transformers collection. I'm going to get rid of most of G1 figures including my reissues, I'm just going to keep figures where I don't have a Classics version. I've also worked out which Masterpiece figures I will keep - Grimlock, Soundwave, Optimus and Bumblebee. Speaking of which, I really must open Bumblebee.... Then I'll get Megatron and perhaps Starscream if (when) they do a new one - favourite and most important characters only! I'll also get rid of some of my WST figures, though they don't take up much space, it feels like they constitute a lot of figures. I'll keep the leaders as I'm quite proud of my (complete) Autobot leader lineup and the seekers so as to have a matching set (I intend to upgrade Classics Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker to voyager, but not the coneheads).

I've never really decided what I was doing with my G1, WST and MP collections, I've changed course several times, I've bought bits, sold other bits off. This feels a bit more definite. I have one figure of each character that appeared in the cartoon or Lost Light comic. If I get a new one, I sell the old one off. That's the system. I'll keep my Grimlock/Ravage collection as it is - that's where the nostalgia really is. Then a very small number of important characters for Masterpiece, leaders and seekers for WST. I'm not going to be completely strict, there's still some wiggle room, especially for completing subgroups (hello Hubcap). This new way of thinking about how I organise my collection has made me think about Siege/Earthrise, I was starting to think about whether sticking with the Lambo/Datsun molds from Universe was such a good idea, perhaps it is time to upgrade. Maybe Grapple as well while I'm at it.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment, it's times like this I'm glad I collect toys - I need to be distracted!