Hello guys and gals. I'm pretty new to collecting and am, honestly, a bit overwhelmed by all the information scattered on all the message boards. I've looked around this site and just haven't been able to find the best solutions for a couple of the collection hang-ups I've been having. Most of my questions (seemingly) focus on how to get/find/buy hard to find items.

So, I was hoping some of my fellow TF fans could point me in the right direction. And my apologies if there are formatting issues, this should go somewhere else, etc. -- this is my first post. And a big thanks for anyone who can help me out!

Toys

I have ordered from BBTS, TFS, & HTS but try and get most stuff from release at 'big box'.

1. How do you decide what new items to preorder versus waiting for them to pop up in stores? Other than waiting on anything OP, BB, or Megs related, that is.
2. A related question... how do you know when a new item will be in high demand / super scarce? For instance, I have all the movie line related items I want... except for PCC Heavytread. So is there a way I should have known to preorder that?
3. In yet another related question... how do you decide when to preorder a wave versus hoping to find the rarer item(s) eventually? For instance, I ordered the TFP deluxe wave 1.5 from BBTS. I found myself in TRU yesterday and could have picked up BB, SS, & Arcee... but decided against it so I won't have to scramble for Cliffjumper (which had a quick sellout for the solo). But I have second-guessed myself a bit wondering how long I'll have to wait for BBTS to fill the order. Right call?
4. And is there a best practice for knowing when new items will be released? For instance, how should I know when to look for the upcoming DOTM Soundwave? I check in on TFW2005 for the "sightings", but they don't always match up my area (Chicago). So what's the best way to plan for upcoming releases?

Videos/Cartoons

• Ideally, I'd like to have a copy of all the TF series. I've had trouble getting my hands on several older items (Masterforce, Victory, Zone, G2, BW Neo, BW II, RID, Unicron trilogy: Armada, Energon, Cybertron). Are all of these even available (I know some are)? If so, what's the best way/place to get them? I've seen a couple of websites... but at least one looked a little shady and/or may have been illegal dubs (to each their own, but I think I'd prefer to get legit copies).

Comics

• I've got almost all the comics I wanted to have. But I've had a bunch of trouble finding G1 V3 #5, 9, & 10 and G2 #0 (Ghost/Halloween). Any ideas?

I know that's a lot of stuff. So, first... thanks if you read that far. And thanks for any suggestions you might have. And apologies if any of these are stupid / no duh questions. Thanks fellow TF fans!

 

For the preordering, and heavytread stuff, if it's the last wave of a line, then it may be really hard to find in stores. In those cases, I'll pre-order fairly often just to play it safe.

 

on the videos all of the US series that have been broadcast on TV have been released on DVD save for RID, and thats due to Disney owning the dubs for so long, and they still may no one is 100% certain if Saban got those back as well when they bought back the power rangers from Disney.

as for Japanese series the only one to get an official US release is head masters and thats with subtitles only.


as for preorders, if its the last wave of the line or a very popular character that hasn't had a new figure in a long time ( IE: Wheeljack or Warpath) a Preorder is well advised.

 

The only thing I ever preordered was the Generations Warpath wave, and that turned out to be unnecessary. I'd say 95% of stuff can ultimately be found at the retail level, even if it takes a while and shows up in unusual places (all the RTS figures at TJ Maxx and the like, for example). Even Junkheap and Sky Shadow, minor tail-end releases in a minor line, are all over the place right now.

That said, I haven't been able to find Heavytread either. But that doesn't mean he won't turn up eventually. Like Valkysas said, if it's something you really don't want to miss, preordering is a better-safe-than-sorry option for those end-of-line releases.

Sites like these will have news threads whenever DOTM Soundwave gets found. In a major city like Chicago, you shouldn't have a problem getting one.

As for videos: Shout! Factory will be releasing Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory in a boxset in January. Is Zone the one that's just one episode? I don't think it's out on DVD. G2 didn't have a cartoon of its own. BW Neo and BW II aren't available on DVD but I think there's a rumor that Shout! Factory is working on getting them. RID was never sold in the States but you can import a Region 2 version from the UK. Armada, Energon and Cybertron all got mass retail releases a few years ago. There are probably units on Amazon or eBay right now.

Comics: What is G1 V3? The Dreamwave series? Check comic book stores, I guess. Or wait for a convention. You've got a nice big one there in Chicago.

EDIT: I just looked at Unicron Trilogy boxsets on eBay. Wow. Those prices are... kinda high for such... sub-par series...  

 

Good advice

Thanks for the tips... preordering the last wave of a line definitely sounds like a good idea.

Yeah... definitely surprised at how many I've seen. I was a bit worried about not perordering those but was glad I didn't.

Good notes on the videos. I was definitely thinking about the Shout preorder (though I have Headmasters already). Zone was just one episode. And I see now on tfwiki that the G2 cartoon was just redub of G1 cartoons. And I have been surprised at the prices on Armada, Energon, and Cybertron.

Yeah... I meant the Dreamwave series. I picked up a couple at comic book stores, but have been stumped on those three.

 

I just order everything on line. My time and patience is worth way more than theextra $10 I'll save by waiting around and taking my chances