Post by shaxper on Nov 1, 2023 20:06:49 GMT -5
I kind of can't believe we don't have this already.
I actually wanted to start a discussion about favorite Transformers toylines, but I figured this could also work as a "catch all" general Transformers toy discussion as well.
Anyway, collecting Transformers seems to come with a different set of challenges than collecting most other toy lines for at least a few reasons:
1. Every year's release is fundamentally different than the previous year's. You can buy a Star Wars figures from 2023 and put it on the shelf next to a Star Wars figures from 2003 without there being much fundamental difference between them, but the Transformers on shelves in 2023 are very different toys than the ones on shelves in 2003.
2. They take up a lot more space than action figures.
3. They're pricier too.
For all these reasons, anyone collecting TFs for more than a few years has had to make the choice of which lines to collect and which lines to pass on because you just can't have them all (and maybe you don't want them all). Thus I'm genuinely curious which lines the TF collectors here embrace. I'm wondering if we share similar interests, or if maybe there's a line or three that I have underestimated and need to give a second chance to.
So here are my favorite Transformers toylines that I actively collect. I'm curious how your lists compare!
1. Titans Return (2016-2018)
I positively cannot get enough of this one. In addition to the massive Titan Transformers released for this line (Metroplex, Fortress Maximus, Trypticon, Scorpanok, Omega Supreme), and in addition to the renewed emphasis on the the 1986 and later Transformers characters who'd been out of the spotlight for a long while, I am an absolute sucker for playsets and for figures small enough to interact with them. Allowing each Transformer to become a vehicle or playset for its own head was amazing. I always loved the concept of the original Headmasters, but Takara never got a chance to take the line far enough. Meanwhile. there were sooo many toys in this line. I should know. I own almost all of them!
2. 1984 Generation One
While G1 refers to a long stretch in Transformers history, each year has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the original 1984 line was the best of these. Heavy diecast, satisfying transformations, Hasbro threw most of the best pre-existing Japanese designs into the first year, not knowing the series would go th distance. Sure I was there and have high nostalgia for this series, but I also find the figures themselves immensely satisfying in appearance, transformation, and heft.
3. early Diaclone (Japan 1980-1981)
No, I'm not talking about the original Japanese versions of the Transformers (most of which are almost exactly the same). It's the toys from this series that didn't make it into the Transformers series that I love so much. They were a bit clumsier and more awkward than the later designs that went on to become Transformers, but they were big on imagination and (again) I'm a sucker for playsets and figures small enough to interact with them, and Diaclone did this in spades.
4. Brave / Yusha (Japan 1990-1999)
Technically not a Transformers series, but this was the next evolutionary step in Transformers toys that had to appear under a different name once the original Japanese Transformers series began heading in a different direction. For example, you can clearly see that Exkaiser was supposed to be Hot Rod, that Super Guardian strongly resembles Optimus Prime, and that J-Decker has serious Ultra Magnus vibes. It's your favorite characters still with that delightful G1 clunkiness, only a little more elegent/sophisticated. I can't get enough of these.
5. Zone (Japan 1990)
Total emphasis on playsets and smaller figures/vehicles that interact with them. It's everything I could ever want from Post-diecast G1 Transformers. Metrotitan (who has ALWAYS looked cooler than Metroplex), Dai Atlas, and the Micromasters and bases to name a few!
6. Headmasters/Super-God Masterforce (1987 / Japan 1988)
Smaller robots that interact with bigger playsets! Fortress Maximus, Scorpanok, God Ginrai, Headmasters, Powermasters, so much fun!
7. Victory (Japan 1989)
I really just love Victory Saber. One of my favorite TFs ever.
8. Beast Wars II (Japan 1998)
While I generally prefer the Truck to the Monkey, Beast Wars II seemed to feature the best of the Beast Wars designs (Lio Convoy, Galvatron, Magnaboss)alongside some really solid traditional Transformers (like Starscream & BB and Megastorm). It was the best of both worlds.
9. Armada (2002-2003)
The only series I've totally purged from my collection and missed. It was an awkward in-between era for TF that was a little more sophisticated than G1 and yet awkward by the standards of every series that came after. Still, it was little robots intersecting with bigger ones that kind of sort of became playsets for them, and a few of those designs were really fun.
10. 1985 Generation One
We got a few more of the original diecast classics, got Jetfire thrown in for good measure, saw our first (and arguably best) combiner in Devastator, and we also got the Dinobots.
I actually wanted to start a discussion about favorite Transformers toylines, but I figured this could also work as a "catch all" general Transformers toy discussion as well.
Anyway, collecting Transformers seems to come with a different set of challenges than collecting most other toy lines for at least a few reasons:
1. Every year's release is fundamentally different than the previous year's. You can buy a Star Wars figures from 2023 and put it on the shelf next to a Star Wars figures from 2003 without there being much fundamental difference between them, but the Transformers on shelves in 2023 are very different toys than the ones on shelves in 2003.
2. They take up a lot more space than action figures.
3. They're pricier too.
For all these reasons, anyone collecting TFs for more than a few years has had to make the choice of which lines to collect and which lines to pass on because you just can't have them all (and maybe you don't want them all). Thus I'm genuinely curious which lines the TF collectors here embrace. I'm wondering if we share similar interests, or if maybe there's a line or three that I have underestimated and need to give a second chance to.
So here are my favorite Transformers toylines that I actively collect. I'm curious how your lists compare!
1. Titans Return (2016-2018)
I positively cannot get enough of this one. In addition to the massive Titan Transformers released for this line (Metroplex, Fortress Maximus, Trypticon, Scorpanok, Omega Supreme), and in addition to the renewed emphasis on the the 1986 and later Transformers characters who'd been out of the spotlight for a long while, I am an absolute sucker for playsets and for figures small enough to interact with them. Allowing each Transformer to become a vehicle or playset for its own head was amazing. I always loved the concept of the original Headmasters, but Takara never got a chance to take the line far enough. Meanwhile. there were sooo many toys in this line. I should know. I own almost all of them!
2. 1984 Generation One
While G1 refers to a long stretch in Transformers history, each year has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the original 1984 line was the best of these. Heavy diecast, satisfying transformations, Hasbro threw most of the best pre-existing Japanese designs into the first year, not knowing the series would go th distance. Sure I was there and have high nostalgia for this series, but I also find the figures themselves immensely satisfying in appearance, transformation, and heft.
3. early Diaclone (Japan 1980-1981)
No, I'm not talking about the original Japanese versions of the Transformers (most of which are almost exactly the same). It's the toys from this series that didn't make it into the Transformers series that I love so much. They were a bit clumsier and more awkward than the later designs that went on to become Transformers, but they were big on imagination and (again) I'm a sucker for playsets and figures small enough to interact with them, and Diaclone did this in spades.
4. Brave / Yusha (Japan 1990-1999)
Technically not a Transformers series, but this was the next evolutionary step in Transformers toys that had to appear under a different name once the original Japanese Transformers series began heading in a different direction. For example, you can clearly see that Exkaiser was supposed to be Hot Rod, that Super Guardian strongly resembles Optimus Prime, and that J-Decker has serious Ultra Magnus vibes. It's your favorite characters still with that delightful G1 clunkiness, only a little more elegent/sophisticated. I can't get enough of these.
5. Zone (Japan 1990)
Total emphasis on playsets and smaller figures/vehicles that interact with them. It's everything I could ever want from Post-diecast G1 Transformers. Metrotitan (who has ALWAYS looked cooler than Metroplex), Dai Atlas, and the Micromasters and bases to name a few!
6. Headmasters/Super-God Masterforce (1987 / Japan 1988)
Smaller robots that interact with bigger playsets! Fortress Maximus, Scorpanok, God Ginrai, Headmasters, Powermasters, so much fun!
7. Victory (Japan 1989)
I really just love Victory Saber. One of my favorite TFs ever.
8. Beast Wars II (Japan 1998)
While I generally prefer the Truck to the Monkey, Beast Wars II seemed to feature the best of the Beast Wars designs (Lio Convoy, Galvatron, Magnaboss)alongside some really solid traditional Transformers (like Starscream & BB and Megastorm). It was the best of both worlds.
9. Armada (2002-2003)
The only series I've totally purged from my collection and missed. It was an awkward in-between era for TF that was a little more sophisticated than G1 and yet awkward by the standards of every series that came after. Still, it was little robots intersecting with bigger ones that kind of sort of became playsets for them, and a few of those designs were really fun.
10. 1985 Generation One
We got a few more of the original diecast classics, got Jetfire thrown in for good measure, saw our first (and arguably best) combiner in Devastator, and we also got the Dinobots.
