A toy is whatever you make it- especially if you're too broke to afford official merch. Here's a thread for photos of Transformers action figures that can be found in the form of common, affordable items. Duchamp called this art of "Ready-made." Tarantulas Rewind Soundwave ...and the Cassettes: Ambulon MTMTE Tailgate First Aid And lastly: Mirage (This has been a joke at my own expense about my inability to afford to collect all the TF figures I want. Feel free to add your own.)
Goofy idea for a thread, but theres something cool behind it. I remember when i was little, RID2000 got me into transformers but i didnt have Optimus. So I took a rescue hero fireman and used it as Primes bot mode, then I'd swap him out for a firetruck to "transform" him.
I have similar memories of using "stand-ins" when I was a kid, and I think that's part of what makes this fun in a genuine and sincere way. With just a little imagination, even a handful of utensils from the kitchen drawer could easily be stand-ins for the characters you were missing when you played as a kid. Similarly, aside from using other toys and everyday items for play, I also got a lot of enjoyment making my own toys growing up. It's all part of the fun.
Oh cool! How would you make your own? I would also make my own transformers out of paper. I got pretty good in 1st grade with drawing them out and cutting/folding them into whatever they turned into (at least i thought so)
Well for characters from TV, I did what you did sometimes by making "paper dolls." I'd usually just find pictures of the toys I liked in magazines, cut them out, and back them against pieces of cardboard. (TBH, I think you probably earned more fine motor skills than I did in this endeavor since you actually drew the characters yourself and it sounds like you were getting some paper origami alt-modes going on.) Funny non-TF story though, my brothers and I technically owned 1.15 GI Joe action figures growing up. We had one large action figure who we picked up at a garage sale (and later lost because we threw him in a tree and couldn't get him down for years.) And aside from that, I once found the right calf and boot broken off of one of the 6-inch figures busted on the sidewalk. I kept it, and I built a whole new body around that boot using clothespins, tape, glue, and a few fuzzy pipe-cleaners. IDK where this DIY figure wound up, but his name is "Bootstraps."
I did that too and called them "Changers". I drew them, held them up to a window to trace and draw the back, and taped them together. Usually they were flat planes or cars with paper wheels taped on. I made comic books for them, too. The bad guy leader, Cutter (a plane with a propeller) got killed in the second or third issue and was replaced by Cannon Cutter, a cowardly character who transformed into a cannon. He was made out of a clothes pin and spool. There are more memories about them but I don't want to keep going right now...
I preferred my lego-made Transformers over the transforming turd I got from Grandma... man I was a spoiled kid.
robot tank is best tank There are a lot of budget transforming action figures that are pretty decent... Yeah I know that the gist of the thread is that ghetto things are used as a replacement... It's heartbreaking how things are now, but I do like to make fun of bootleg or knockoff properties.
Oh. I didn't build anything that elaborate. Mine were more like those Kreo mini-figure transformers. But I got some pretty nifty transformations out of them. Especially Galvatron. The only big TF I did build was an in my imagination city-bot sized warship.
Inner Ginari Shell: Hound (???) Megatron Gun Mode Until MP-36 Inflation: Mirage: Movie Ironhide: (It's been done I know)
