Well, for me, seeing a Optimus prime, soundwave, jazz , starscream, etc unopened and brand new in its packaging since the 80s brings me back to seeing them sitting on the shelves in toys r us and getting them for birthday and Christmas presents from my father. I also have them loose, but something about having untampered with for me in their packaging.
I agree that every collector can decide for her/himself about their own holy grail but there is an idea of one figure that is both rare and supremely iconic...making it a sort of universal grail that at least every fan can appreciate and would love to have. I think this Bumblebee is a perfect example. Get that thing AFA graded and sealed in a UV proof case ASAP!
Forgot to say, I think FT Max used to fill this role of the universal holy grail. It was a giant, expensive figure that came out late in the run so most of us old timers never saw one or couldn't have one...an MISB copy used to be worth its weight in gold pressed latinum...right up until the mold was reused in TF2000 and reissued repeatedly.
Capitalized the term Holy Grail is directly refferecing the Holy Chalice or Cup of Christ. Technically it's called the Chalice of the Eucharist or the Dish of the Pascal lamb. Uncapitalized it means the object of an extended or difficult quest. The Holy Grail is Christianity's holy grail. The Mexican G1 Hoist with Trailbreakers head is Kevin's holy grail. *edited for spelling
THIS is the Transformers Holy Grail. Not sure how many test shots exist but I'm only aware of the one Takara keeps at their headquarters. Followed only by this one, although it never got far beyond this prototype phase. We do know that Hasbro may have a copy as one of the toy designers at Botcon years ago said it was sitting on his desk at work.
Did the pre-rub Bumblebee come with stickers already applied like that? When I googled it, I'm seeing some with stickers, some without, some with more stickers than what yours shows...has me scratching my head as to what is legit and what is a KO..
I'm right between you guys. I love the looks of the toys in package like godaiking, but at the same time I like being able to take one off the shelf open it up and get that tactile rush of holding a figure I had or coveted from my child hood, thus why all my boxed figures are opened. Carded figures however I do have loose and sealed examples, because it's so hard to get them back in and looking right.
I had quite a few autobot cars that were in foreign gold colored sealed boxes. I opened them all. At the time I wanted perfect mint examples of the g1 toys loose in my collection. It was awesome and I do now have some mint g1 loose figures but now I kinda miss having them sealed.
Brawn was my third Transformer as a child (behind Starscream and Optimus Prime), and I remember he came carded in vehicle mode. Hasbro may've started carding minibots in robot mode to compete with Gobots that were also carded in robot mode at the time, as well as to distinguish the mini Transformers from regular car toys. Thanks for posting that carded Bumblebee pic. Brought back many great memories for me!
It is my pleasure to share with the community. I love geeking out and talking transformers. You know what's cool? My 3 year old son knows bumblebee. Just awesome
Holy grail is different from person to person. Mine was always a G1 Fort Max and I got to scratch that itch with the Encore Reissue. But I love seeing stories of people sharing their stories and joy of finding their own collector's holy grail.
There's no consensus on what is a holy grail. The term usually conveys a rare item and a high pricetag and some pricy items in toylines are very expensive (G1 Fortress Maximus, GI Joe USS Flagg, Defiant space shuttle complex, etc) but aren't necessarily rare (He-Man's Eternia playset evidently is), although completing them (all their small parts) can be a serious challenge. I guess some of those can be considered crown jewels. Some would consider a Japanese G1 exclusive a holy grail perhaps. Few toylines seem to have a consensus of what *the* holy grail is (although some things can be considered *a* holy grail). I'm not sure a pre-rub Bumblebee is particularly rare although obviously anything still on card is rarer and more valuable (by virtue of being only a subset of what's out there), not to mention has a higher prestige to it. Pre-rub was 1984, red Bumblebees & yellow Cliffjumpers IIRC spilled over only a little into the rubsign era. Red Bumblebees, from my eBay data collection, accounted for ~45% of all Bumblebee figures out there. Bumblebee shipped 4 per case in 1984, 1 per case in 1985, 1 per case in 1986. 1985 was the highest volume year, followed by 1984. There are a lot of 1984 figures out there and 1984 figures are more common carded/boxed than some (non-Chinese Triggerbots/cons, still carded Seacons, junior Targetmasters for example) but are generally more valuable because they're chased after more. Carded Bumblejumper is probably the rarest 1984 item based on my eBay data.
i thought a holy grail was the Hot rod Go-cart from the Decipher the Decepticon contest, it's listed as one on tfwiki. but they spread lies before. my holy grail is the preproduction prototype of BH Ripclaw
Why not collect both loose and MIB/MISB? Not cheap I know. But having MISB/MIB is like going back in time for me like having a birthday or christmas in 1984 or 85.
My holy grail used to be G1 Powermaster Prime since I got one for my 9th birthday/xmas and I got that fulfilled when I got the reissue a few years back. I guess my grail now is the Nucleon Quest Super Convoy, cause everything looks better in black.
