As an adult I love being able to appreciate just how far figures have come. Child me would have loved the chance to play with this -


Rather than this -

 

I love the fact that nobody looks at me strange whenever I go to buy Transformers at my age.

 

I actually loved playing with my G1 ironhide

But I had a big imagination

 

Appreciate the engineering invested in their latest incarnations. From the boxy bricks of Diaclone to the kickbutt figs of the latest Siege and MP.

 

Most of these have been covered by others, but for me:

1. It’s something that’s just mine. I have my TFs down in my office and if I go down there to get work I can just pick one up and mess with it for five minutes.

2. It gives me regular small things to be excited by. Some new toy is released or rumored, a random reviewer in Asia posts a new video review. Some new piece of media. All inconsequential to my life generally but nice.

3. Relatively inexpensive. “Relative” being the key word. Obviously a lot of these things are pricey for a piece of plastic, but versus certain other things it’s not so bad. I don’t really drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t buy a lot of stuff so it’s not a hardship.

4. Harmless. This is key. It’s a totally innocuous hobby. There are plenty of ways that men my age try to make their lives interesting, and in the grand scheme of all of those, this is a good one.

I took a long, long break from collecting, partly because I didn’t feel like it was a “cool” thing to do. I don’t necessarily regret that, but I’m getting old now and I’ve realized that life is too short. If something gives you pleasure, and doesn’t cause pain to others, do it. Regardless of what anyone thinks.

 

Man, say what you will, but I'd say just about everything! The lore, the shows, the toys, the community, and so much, much more. You name, if the Transformers are involved, its likely gonna be a really fun time! It is also such an expansive franchise, spanning countless eras and itterations, that always manage to keep the series fresh in every medium for nearly the past 35 years. Wow, what a franchise!

 

It gets my mind off this sick fucking world I'm trapped in.

 

Lucky.

 

I may not be an adult but so far in my life I would say...uhhhhhh, all of it! The toys, the story, the characters, and especially the community around it.

 

We've gone from that to this:

 

What I love about Transformers is the creativity surrounding the lore of each new continuity, the depth of character that some series create (my favorites are Animated and MTMTE), and the thoroughly alien approach to the Transformers that can be achieved through worldbuilding and constantly remembering that these characters are robots and aliens and thus have different vocabulary or approaches to things as a result. I love the idea of a society that grew out of metal and that has no concept of things like children or gender, and the possible repercussions of that which could lead to new stories to tell with fun characters. It's just, filled with intrigue and interest for me, and sometimes I wish Transformers would push even further!

 

Several reasons.

One is, I love the toys. When I first found out that Transformers toys could actually transform (it was a stop motion video of some movie Autobot toys), my mind was blown. How on Earth were they able to get articulated robots out of realistic vehicles, and they look so much like they did in the movie! (This was before ROTF/HFTD and Studio Series.) Every new Transformer toy is a new mystery to me. How is this vehicle or animal or object going to turn into that robot? It's pure joy.  

I also love the characters. I know everyone and their dog posts on this site about how sick they are of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, but I can't help but love those characters! I've always been a sucker for underdog type characters, and (in most series), Bumblebee is the ideal underdog to me - he isn't arrogant, he's a nice guy who wants to do the best he can, and his flaws come from his insecurities. I like that a leader character like Optimus Prime exists, because he demonstrates good leadership skills. At his best, he is wise, kind, understanding, intelligent, and a father figure/friend to his soldiers, and I feel like there's always a place for a good leader figure in the world. I love the grumpy yet kind Ratchet, the entertaining dynamic Starscream has with Megatron, characters like Prime Arcee and Beast Wars Dinobot who explore complex themes like loyalty, honor, grief, and overcoming revenge. Thanks to the comics, I even appreciate Z-list nobodies like Whirl and Misfire. There is an endless library of characters, and while I'll never tire of the A-list main cast, I appreciate that there are hundreds of other characters who can share in the adventure.

I love the world-building. The Transformers universe has a great variety of history and mythology, and while I don't care for some aspects like Primacron or the Quintessons creating the Transformers, there are a lot of good stories about how the Transformers came to be, how their world started, how their society was formed and ideologies separate the Autobots from the Decepticons. I like what's been done with Primus and Unicron, the Thirteen Primes, and the backstories of Optimus Prime and Megatron in recent cartoons and comics.

I think that about covers the main things that I love about Transformers.

 

Transformers -especially G1- brings me memories of my own Golden Era. Love everything, engineering, designs, but mostly memories all the way for me.

 

I knew G1 Ironhide/Ratchet didn't have heads... but why is the first time I'm noticing the unfortunate placement of the weapon? Maybe because it's not so obvious where the legs should be with the way those things transform but I just realized.

 

How far the designs, engineering, and craftsmanship has evolved... while still trying to better emulate the original cartoon and comic. Really cool when you can see all the progress made. If they had toys like these when I was a kid... I would've never left my room.

 

As a adult, I have a lot more appreciation for the world building and scale. That includes more controversial topics like gender, relationships, religions, etc. Makes me regret I didn't get to grow up more with the G1 Marvel Comics outside the first several issues worth. Even the debates about these topics from different sides on these boards is something I enjoy (up to a point, usually at the "you're just plan wrong" point). The inclusiveness of the brand for others is also something I love. I guess for some, it's easier to relate to human-like robot characters than it is to human-characters. Probably less set expectations.

 

Risks taken in IDW's storytelling up to the recent reboot and the insane level of engineering and detail being put into so many MP and 3P offerings. Flame Toys and Furai licensing projects also stand out as a treat for my adult aesthetic and plamo-related sensibilities. Tubers like Thew, Skullface, and Chris McFeely also entertain me quite a lot.

 

I think it's very impressive, the amount of detail included in the toys. I'm just getting reacquainted with Transformers after having only minimal exposure to them when I was young. I didn't have many such toys, but I still do feel hints of nostalgia when I see certain ones. I think friends or cousins had them. Particularly the ones that have the heat-sensitive decal on the chestplate. Those ones really stand out in my mind.

But back to the level of detail. I have some light experience with CAD and am getting my feet wet in the world of plastic part design. The amount of detail that goes into the manufacturing and painting of these toys is very impressive. They're little works of art.

 

Engineering design. I love when toys surprise me with secrets and panels. (I don't normally look at instructions.) Character is almost secondary if the design and transformation mechanics are fascinating.

Lore. I love where the franchise has gone in terms of building a Universe. And i love that it's still growing and evolving. IDW has been a delight to read.

Inclusivity. I might be outing myself a bit here, but IDW has done something pretty special for minority groups, especially in the lgbtq community.

Puscifer's the Humbling River. That FoC trailer was like a proof of concept that Transformers didn't just have to be a kid thing. Transformers can ask adult questions and explore complex themes.

Fun. Transformers is just as fun now as it's ever been for me. I dream of one day watching shows and sharing toys with my kids, if I ever have any.

 

That it's been almost 40 years and it still exists.