I think one of my favorite aspects of Transformers is that there is just so many out there that I feel like I have an infinite amount of old toys to choose from when I get a hankering for something "new". Weather it's a G1 toy that I'm handling for the first time or something from a more recent line that I passed on but am now seeing in a new light, I sometimes like the rediscovery better than the newness of picking something fresh of the shelf.

Today my rediscovery is G1 Cyclonus. I remember handling him very briefly as a kid during one of those many moments when someone in the playground would pull a Transformer out of his bag just long enough for us to pass him around and go "woooow!" I only got to hold him long enough to pass him to the next person, and when someone asked to transform him the kid hastily put Cyclonus back in his bag. And that's all I ever saw of that toy until today. Why I never got around to picking him up until now is something I can't say for sure. Maybe I always felt the price was a little too high, maybe I was waiting for a reissue, maybe I just simply never got around to it due to all the new stuff. In any case, since I'm not riding the ROTF train, I've had lots of extra time and money to throw into the time machine.

Anyway, G1 Cyclonus. Wow. This is an amazing toy to me. I had no idea he had so much articulation. Yes, it's impossible to put him into a pose that doesn't look 'stiff', but it is very impressive for a G1 toy. Shoulders, elbows, arm swivels, hips that are individually articulated (clicky joints!) and bend 90 degrees for a sitting pose, knees. I know not all G1 toys are bricks, but for some reason I always assumed Cyclonus was. He's quickly jumped up to my #2 favorite G1 toy, right next to Soundwave who has been my favorite since 1985.

So who else has been pleasently surprised by older toys that are new to you?

 

Powermaster Optimus Prime! There is just so much to him.

 

Regardless of articulation, I personally feel that G1 toys have something magical to them. It's even beyond nostalgia, as some of my G1s were unheard of in my childhood, like Headmaster Jrs. Yes, they are bricks, but very very special bricks in my eyes...

 

I know it's not G1, but Cybertron Sideways is my recent "Whoa!"

It looked cool, I heard great things about it, and my roommate was able to buy it along with a figure he wanted (he was partly paying me back for grabbing him an ROTF Long Haul ^_^). I'd never messed around with the guy before, but he was a blast through and through, and one that I had never really encountered before.

 

I don't have any older toys  

 

Don't feel bad, I have or had only 3 or so.

 

Very interesting topic. Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge were me and my brothers' first Decepticons. Always loved them, Target 2006 went a long way towards that love. So I appreciate your fondness for Cyclonus.

Sadly Scourge was dropped and one of his wings fell off. Blue-tack 'fixed' him to a degree and allowed him to transform but it wasn't the same.

Metroplex, in common with the other 3 Metroplexes I encountered as a kid, broke at the waist so was never fully appreciated.

A few months back, I bought them both on Ebay in great nick and have a new found appreciation for them. Due to my earlier experiences, I am also very careful with them though not to the point that it spoils my enjoyment.

I had G1 Ratchet and because of this, I never bought Ironhide since the head thing was really disappointing. Although Ratchet did get a lot of play due to Mr. Furman'a American run. Last year, I bought the set of custom heads for them both. Seeing the difference it made to Ratchet prompted me to very quickly buy Encore Ironhide.

The heads are very well made and I cannot articulate properly how much they improve the toys. Ironhide in particular is now definitely one of my top ten TF's. Out of a collection of 800+, that's quite a feat.

Yes, there really is something about the rediscovery factor of older toys. It even extends beyond G1.

Got a huge set of G2 toys on Ebay about 4 years ago and discovering the likes of Dreadwing, Skram and the Laser Rods was nothing short of magical.

BW Hydra (Terrorsaur Basic Repaint) and TM2 Cheetor also hit the spot.

More recently acquiring the full set of Stormtroopers or Energon Roadblock again reignited that spark. Roadblock was a real surprise, given that I had Inferno, the few differences really made the toy stand out. What I really love about him is his resemblance to the miners from Megatron:Origin.

So yes, the rediscovery phenomenon is one of the funnest aspects of collecting.

Again, great topic!

 

One toy that just burns in my mind from a child and still is there is sunstreaker, i could never attain him but every time i traveled to fort wayne to visit with my aunt and uncle their would always be a shitload of toys there that belonged to one of my cousins and he had sunstreaker and i love it to this day and remember holding it and coveting it, and to this day i still dont have a G1 sunstreaker, he is the EPIC elusive

 

this is kinda inapropriate but well...

i picked up 2 weeks ago a KO devastator set (for my 4 year old), it was of very good quality and after fiddling with it a few times (i played with it more times than he did) i found myself hunting for an original G1 release. he's a damn great looking figure, granted he doesnt have proper articulation, he's got this 'presense' (bad-assness) to him.

i grew up with the G1 cartoon but only started collecting after the first bay movie and its fun to know that there's so much stuff out there that is still all 'NEW' to me also..  

 

You mention Scourge as well. I love this toy so much that I had to get 4 of them just to simulate the Sweeps  

 

nice! 4 sweeps thats sweeeeet

 

I got Fire Guts Ginrai recently, my first PM OP. I've been really enjoying him, he's much better than I was expecting. He is a bit of a brick, though base mode helps to compensate   And he's more poseable than I thought he would be:

 

Well, I've only had experience with the 25th Prime re-issue, but the G1 Prime mold has more articulation in his arms than I gave him credit for.

 

His legs aren't that bad too (for a G1)

 

Perceptor. (Not vintage, TFC, though.) I was really impressed with his playability as a microscope, and good articulations.

BW Optimus Primal when I first handled him. I had seen him (Universe version) on a shelf and was like WTF Monkey Prime, but he's a bloody good toy. Paved the way to my actually preferring Beast Prime/Convoys to vehicle ones.

 

I have never played with a powermaster Prime but I want to!
I am also attracted to RID Prime. One day I hope to have these bots to add to my collection.

In terms of TFs I did end up finding, it's TRU reissue Soundwave with ravage and Laserbeak. Much like your story I remember playing when I was 5 and a kid in the school yard had a Laserbeak. I could only play with the silver rocket accessory, ever the actual tape so it was great fun to transformer the buzzard and put him into Soundwave.

 

thats awesome! i have the powermaster prime with apex armor (the TRU reissue) i love the boxing and everything, and always wondered how good of a toys he is?????????????

 

ordered a G1 Blitzwing from the JCPenney Catalog.
got him home and was disappointed.
So damn small.
but played with him constantly. the fact they crammed 3 well conceived modes inside such a modest frame.
i still love that particular mode.

if i had time, money and skill, i'd buy the KO's just to repaint into a Blitwing "Blitzkrieg" assault squad. maybe 4 or five of em...

that's my Whoa! moment.

 

it was last year, and that was wheeljack, there was a box of toys at the bank when i was a kid and wheeljack was in there, i fiddled with him every time my parents took me to the bank and wanted to take it home, but after a bit someone else had the same idea, and i didn't see him again until last year when i bought another one, i played with him tons lol