I became interested in Transformers when my parents bought me G2 Optimus Prime. After that I continued buying the toys up until Energon started. I got back into Transformers at the time of the '07 movie, but I didn't start seriously collecting again until January of this year.
Man, lots of people younger than my daughter in this thread. I feel old. I got into Transformers when I was 6, back in 1984. I watched the cartoon, but didn't get my first toy until Christmas that year after I turned 7. It was Optimus Prime. I got as many as I could get for birthdays and Christmas. I told everybody that was all I wanted. Had quite a few. Got out of Transformers around the time I hit puberty. The last one I remember getting was Pretender Landmine. Pretty much all my childhood Transformers were lost or destroyed by younger cousins. I didn't get back into Transformers until 2000. I watched Beast Wars reruns with my daughter around the launch of Beast Machines. My interest really got peaked when I saw "The Agenda" the first time. So much nostalgia flooding in. I started with a few of the then new G1 reissues by Takara. Then I found out about Car Robots. I remember even emailing Hasbro about when/if these toys were gonna be brought to the US. They were so much more appealing than the beast crap on TV ( I actually enjoyed BW and BM, just had no interest in the toys ). My collecting got ramped up to 11 when RID hit the shelves in 2011. Been here ever since.
I got interested because of the movie and some reviews about the toys on Youtube. I watched MatrixPrime's review on concept Camaro Bumbleebee after seeing the movie, thought it was cool, and started collecting. Wasn't really a fan before because I mostly only was able to see the Unicron trilogy, and I hated it (still do). I also sometimes bought some of those unofficial transforming toys you could find at the dollar store or pharmacy when I was kid, so I was into transforming toys already.
Right at the end of RID I found X-Brawn on clearance in some random store (clearanced down to normal retail price though ). I'd watched the Beast Wars series but didn't know they had toys for the line since the only time I went to the store was for necessities, since I got into Beast Wars too late. Then I realized Walmart was still stuffed with RID stuff and I finished off the line's cast just before Armada started. Unfortunately, I wasn't too organized back then so half my TFs from back then are either lost somewhere in the basement or lost somewhere period. And don't get me started on missing accessories. I kind of want to go back and rebuild my RID collection now.
Didn't care much for TFs in the 80s. When Beast Wars rolled around, I watched a shitton of that, but I didn't buy my first TF until right before the first movie; it was Classics Starscream and Bumblebee, purchased at the suggestion of my ex-girlfriend, due to her love of TF from her childhood. Years later, I'm still collecting, and have no signs of stopping.
-Back in 2004 with, believe it or not, Energon. -Right before the start of Classics. Up until that point I had been avoiding repaints, and then I went completist on Classics.
Heh, Insane Galvatron, I'm pretty sure he meant at that time she was his girlfriend and as he writes this message, they are already broke up. For me, was loads of issues. Eventually, I stumbled across Universe Prowl, SDCC Blaster, and Smokescreen last year summer at HTS.com. I told myself it be only a few figures. Now my Chug line is just growing! I guess collecting is like a drug.
Beast Wars I'm not seriously collecting Transformers. I have no problems at all not buying figures as I only got for what I like. Sometimes it might be 30 in one year and other times it might three in five years.
I had watched a couple episodes of Energon and Cybertron when I was younger. So I was already well aware of the franchise, but it wasn't until the movie came out did I start taking a greater interest in the franchise and buying toys and watching cartoons, like BW, TFA, G1, and BM. I didn't start collecting until this year when I started buying my own figures. Before then my parents had bought me Transformers as gifts.
I got that. My point is why would you let a female Transfan go? They are a rarity in comparison to male fans. Most of us have to settle for a woman who will just tolerate our hobby. Having a woman to share it with is a dream come true.
I'd say maybe 1977-78 I got interested in transforming robots with the Shogun Warriors (Raydeen in particular) !984 for Transformers. LOL, 1984! I was 14 and heavily into sci-fi so they were just amazing for me. I kind of stopped actively collecting around 88-89, with the exception of a few RID figures. Sold the collection off in 2003-04, and that got me back into collecting again with Energon and Universe series.
You're assuming that my fiancee isn't also a Transfan She has a collection that's only a fraction of mine, but it's steadily growing.
I had my first G1 figure around 85-86, Optimus Prime, and then Soundwave, and some minibots, but stopped till the late 80s, where I got in again with the Micromasters, and Action Masters before stopping for a while. Beast Wars, I got the first wave, they were nice figures, but it wasn't enough to interest me to keep on going, so I stopped again. It wasn't until Car Robots launched in 2000 that I decided to get into collecting. I started when the Hasbro releases came out, because they were easier to find, and everything started from there
First interest: 1984 Mild resurgence: 1993 (G2 "Hey I can buy some of the toys I lost or never had as a kid!") 'serious' collector: 1996 (thanks to a combo of Beast Wars, joining the internet, and "How come no one told me they made toys this good?" G2 Laser Optimus found at a flea market)
