With the masses of recent reveals from 3rd parties and Hasbro (more coming at SDCC hopefully) is anyone else having trouble choosing what to get from the products being offered?

My budget which i thought was reasonable seems tiny now with the recent reveals we've had so i have to be picky and not get some items that i'd really like, or at least not get them straight away and risk having to pay ebay prices in the future. Its mainly 3rd party stuff that has my interest but also classics and movie toys (never thought i'd be interested in movie toys  )

One way im trying to do it is keeping my classics as official releases as much as possible, but PE figures make it in because i doubt hasbro would ever do rumble and frenzy or reflector that small. Movie line i only collect decepticons and its only DOTM Leader Megs, Shockwave and HA soundwave i want. Maybe the other two dreads as deluxes as well. 3rd party wise i want TFC hercules to go with my classics decepticons and a add on kit for leader starscream.

Im also using 3rd parties to get the Masterpiece soundwave just announced and maybe igear ironhide and ratchet. But what im hoping for is a masterpiece megatron and shockwave similar to the soundwave ^ so i can have my fav 4 decpeticons in "mp" form.

Whats your opinions on the amount of choices available to us modern day collectors? and how do you choose what to get?

 

I am not having issues choosing i do not buy third party products so my money is saved for MP-10 and Encore Devastator  

Almost forgot hasbro MP Rodimus as well

 

I can understand why it would be overwhelming. The engineering in today's toys is much better than it was 25-30 years ago, so we're getting nice updates to classic fan favorite characters. And for those that Hasbro/Takara don't produce, the unlicensed groups are always there to address the gaps in our collections. Can't forget about kitbashing, either. I feel that it's evolved quite a bit in the last 10 years as well.

As for being able to afford it all, I'm much more focused in my collecting than I was in 2007-08. I bought everything back then: G1, Movie, Classics, AEC, RID, Animated, etc. Now, I just focus my budget on Classics and other lines that consist of updated G1.

If I ever need to make room in my collector budget for a high-end release like a Masterpiece or 3rd party figure, I just cut back on some of my TF spending, re-evaluate my collection, and sell off what I'm no longer interested in. I also acquire bargaining chips for future trades.

The key is to have a flow of money constantly recirculating in the hobby. Don't just buy, buy, buy. Eliminate the loose ends if you have to.

 

It's much easier when you can evaluate the products as actual toys rather than a tribute to a character from 25 years ago.

 

I'm totally feeling you here. I want EVERYTHING. MakeToys Devs? Yup. Hercules Devs? Check. Fansproject Insecticons? Oh yeah. Then there's the iGear Ironhide and Ratchet, and Perfect Effect Rewind, Eject, Ratbat, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw, Fansproject Warcry and Flameblast, and although they're not new, Generations Darkmount, Encore Omega Supreme and Reissue Predaking.

There's just no way I can afford it all, though this post now makes a nice Christmas list for my wife. I'll have to bookmark it.  

I have no intention of getting Encore Devastator, though. I have the yellow G2 version already, and if I get one of the two 3rd party Devastators, then I definitely don't need him. I'm also skipping all the DOTM stuff, minus the Skyhammer I've already bought. That Cyberfire Devil Bee is mighty tempting, though.

Regarding what Satomiblood said above, I have a really hard time getting rid of stuff. I'm definitely a Transformers hoarder.

 

choices gives competition and variety in collection. As opppose to everyone having the same collection, this makes it pretty cool. I like it.

 

The movie line coming out and being almost completely caught up on Classics has helped me shift my focus to 3rd Party items. Giant, Hercules, FP not Insecticons, and possibly some other offerings will be in my budget as far as I can see. I also have spent a good deal of money lately on some G1 stuff I really wanted. Careful choices and proper planning can help when working within a budget.

CONTROL YOUR IMPULSE BUYS!!!!! AVOID THE TOY SECTION AT THE CHAIN STORES!!!

Stick to what you like and what you can afford. If you have to sell stuff that doesn't fit into your collection do so.

 

I'm just screwed.

The only saving grace is that I will not be buying any movie toys.

The ton of Takara stuff, Hasbro MP Hotrod, Prime toys coming out, ALLLLL the third party awesomeness, this next little while is going to hurt a bit.

At least all the releases are scattered to about 2nd quarter next year. phew

 

On the perspective of choice, there has never been a better time to be a Transformer collector.

 

theres only a few movie toys left that I want (really only Deluxe Leadfoot) and except for Prime stuff, theres not much coming out from Hasbro that I have interest. Only thing in my sights are TFC Hercules and the Insecticons. I actually feel like this is a slow spot at the moment.

 

i'm being selective on which 3rd party stuff to get.

 

Hey OP, I feel you bro, I'm on the same bind. There's so much to choose from and it kind of puts you on a bind as you want to make sure your priorities are taken care of first before investing in all this great stuff. I for one will probably pass on the FP Insecticons, I really want them but I can see myself going for other items that are much more greater to my interest (Hasbro MP Rodimus).

 

Did I miss something? What does Hasbro have coming out other than MP Rodimus? Prime toys? Prime only has like 11-12 characters. Whats that 2 waves, then COUNTLESS repaints.

 

i will be going hungry

 

It's tough. I've haven't found the need to plan my collecting too terribly carefully, but there is a lot of tempting expensive stuff in the pipeline.

Hasbro stuff is honestly not a problem (if you can find it), their prices are quite fair. I can't imagine Rodimus or Unicron hurting too much. I have imported a few Takara items, that always hurts a bit. And then third party stuff...fortunately I'm not tempted unless it's damn near perfect, but PP-05 and maybe Giant are going to kill me. That Soundwave + Blaster is another potent one-two punch, but I might be able to resist those since Ihave little else in that size.

 

Well, I never buy 3rd Party product. Some look nice, and I may consider it, but I'm not shelling out a hundred bucks for unofficial toys. As a Ratchet collector I might want an iGear Ratchet, but it doesn't excite me like an official release would.

 

Well, it ain't as though I was buying crap like Leader Ironhide or Bumblebee anyway, or HA repaints or most of the DOTM voyagers. There's hundreds of dollars saved for G1 homage toys right there.

 

For me it is pretty simple really,I don't buy 3rd party but once in a blue moon,the last ones I bought were the Justittoys WST Dinobot set a couple of years ago only because I am a diehard dinobot fanatic and just had to have those.As for this new stuff like MP Soundwave even tho its nice I just honestly can't see paying $200+ for him no matter how good he looks.

Now if they were to do headmaster repro's for Highbrow,Chromedome and others I might jump on those if they aren't too expensive say $15 or $20 apiece those would be added to my small 3rd party collection.The rest I will stick with my official hasbro figures.

 

Their's not much left for me to buy out of DOTM aside from Laserbeak, Sentinel Prime, Another Fireburst Optimus Prime, Sidearm Sideswipe repaint, Leadfoot and Twin Twist, Dark Iron, Mirage, Soundwave, Wheeljack, Human Alliance Wreckers, Hatchet, Guzzle and Air Raid.

Then their's Prime Starscream, Arcee and Bumblebee, I'l wait for Voyagers Optimus Prime and Megatron.

 

Hasbro and safe with their billion dollar franchise, but I think the third party guys are going to bury each other. The sheer amount of time and money sunk into development means that some of these guys are going to be heavily invested in before they see any actual return, all it takes is bad timing on release or two conflicting similar items and any of the third parties stand to make a potentially devastating loss. There are a seemingly never ending amount of third party releases imminent, and only a finite amount of dollars floating around. Let capitalism decide the winner.