Dude, I'm seventeen and a couple of years ago my Dad said the same thing. He knows I like them and he thinks it's a waste of money, but he bought a brand new truck that he hasn't once used the bed on! So I bring up the fact that I'm a good kid and have lots of talent and such, and he never said anything again. My dad is the same as yours, not the touchy feely type, but it'll all work out if you really have a good relationship with your parents.
If my father ever brings it up in the future, I can bring up his train and nascar collections, which are both at least double the size of my Transformers collection (in overall size, not just numbers). My family's full of pack rats, so my collecting isn't anything too odd.
You're 13. If your parents say "Get rid of your God damn toys!", then you get rid of your God damn toys. Later on in life, buy them back at a higher price than what you could have gotten them for now. Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but all these people that are telling you to reason with your father, or what you'll need to do in life to be an electrician ... none of that shit will matter because a year from now you're not going to want to be an electrician, because you're 13 and you'll change your mind every 2 weeks for the next 10 years of your life. I didn't really get back in to Transformers until I was in college. And Beast Wars/Beast Machines happened while I was in high school. And I ignored all of it. And I don't regret it at all. If anything, I regret getting back in to the hobby to the extent that I did. I'm not saying it ruins your life, but I'd be more financially secure if I hadn't blown tens of thousands of dollars on plastic. To each his own, but while you're 13, your parents' make the rules kiddo. Don't be sad/upset if they make you throw your toys out, but don't waste your time or your life on a hobby that will take you nowhere. Get out and get involved and do some sports, meet new people, start skate-boarding, do a line of coke, anything.
Or you can just pack them away in a box and not open them back up until you're 18, or whenever you go to college/get an apartment. My dad is the same way, he hates it, but he's gotten used to it. There are plenty of things I think were a waste of money that he bought (new TV when our old one was working completely normal). He's also offered to help me build shelves to move my TFs to (from the tables to the shelves). Trust me, I'm a teenager and I still collect them. Is it the only thing in my life? No. Does it interfere with friends, family, school, job, etc? No. Is is a part of my current life, yes. Just a hobby that satisfies me. It really depends on which way you view it. If you spend ALL of your money, and I mean ALL of it, on Transformers and plastic toys, than your dad has the better of the argument there. Start a savings account. I spend saving money (not all of it) on Transformers, but I do save much more than I spend. You look at my Collection Count next to my avatar, reading 132. Not all of those were obtained in the last 1.5 years I've been a collector, they've been collected over 8 years (all my Unicron Trilogy, Minicons, and RID stuff came from my years prior to being a collector. I was just a fanboy back in those days). However, if you're dad is just annoyed by the occasional toy and just having a collection, you have the better. Everyone should have a hobby, whether its Transformers, GI Joes, Drama, Sports, Computers, Languages, whatever the hell it is. There is no shame in owning a collection at all. Even if your dad isn't the kind who likes to sit down and talk, try to talk things out anyways. Don't anger your dad doing so, but when he isn't doing anything else, you and him need to have a father to son chat about stuff. More importantly, don't let your dad completely control your actions, and don't let him get the better of you. It's not back sassing, it's talking things out, compromising is the better word for it. I'm serious, there is no better way than having a talk with your dad. That's what being a teenager is about, gaining independance (slowly yet surely), making your own decisions.
I'd tell him to f##k off but thats besides the point. Say you had a dream about men or women to freak your dad out then he'll have things desides transformers to worry about
Pretty much... My parents pulled the same crap on me around that age. Sold off all my toys except for the video games. No joke, FortMax for $10...gone. I can't say it was a bad thing in the end. I guess I really don't even care now. Proper social adjustment and a great education means I can buy toys now and both afford it and not carry around the misplaced shame some folks have in buying toys.
I have to agree with Kickback. You're still young, and while you're under your parents' care you have to follow their rules. I don't know what specifics your dad is concerned about, but our hobby is time consuming and your teenage years through college are supposed to be best the time of your life. Pick up some extracurricular activities and meet new people. My dad never had a problem with my toys, but he hated for me and my brother to stay in the house when we were around your age. So we joined our middle school football, wrestling and track teams and continued through high school. We got part time jobs, joined clubs, went different places and met lots of people. In the end, it made us well-rounded and when it was time to apply for college we had the upper hand on our peers because of our good grades AND extracurricular activities.
You sure that's a universal truth? I've wanted to be an animator since I was 8...and it's been 10 years now and I still want to be an animator. I'm not the only one I know who hasn't changed their mind either.
Er, no. If my parents had tried pulling that when I was 5, I would have asked why and we would have had a discussion about it. At 13? If my parents had said something like that, my first thought would have been "f&*k off," and I would still have wanted a damn good explanation. We're talking about a kid here, not a pet.
Tell your dad he'll have to deal with an angry fanbase if he gets rid of your TFs. That will at least make him wonder.
I don't think Kick was asking him to leave the hobby behind and/or forget about it completely. I think he was alluding to the fact that the kid's young; too young to get too caught up in this hobby to the effect that it clouds his very inexperienced decision-making-process. The smart thing to do would be to pace himself and not give too much importance to collecting toys such that it causes issues at home and can potentially lead to missing out on a few things in life. It's all about balance. IMO, telling one's parents to F^&K OFF would only serve to make things significantly worse.
Yes, so it's a good thing I didn't suggest he do that. My point is that good parenting does not involve taking things away from children without explanation or discussion. I wouldn't do that to my three year-old goddaughter, I certainly wouldn't do it to a 13 year-old.
Sell 'em to me. Cheap. Barring that, show dad some G1 eBay prices, and see if that convinces him to let you hold onto 'em a bit longer.
Start smoking, doing drugs, and become a murderer. Or tell him there are MANY things worse than collecting Transformers.
Tell them that you love your Transformers (if you really do love them), but if he still tells you that they must go, ask that you can keep at least the ones you really love. I'm just glad I have a mom who supports me collecting toys.