Re-buy favourite CHUG: Delta Manus, Rioter Despotron, Stealth Azalea, Carnifex, MMC Deadlock, Wing, asterisk Drift and Wing, the Takara Orion Pax vs Megatronus pack, FE Prime Starscream and Dark Guard Optimus, and so on. 20 figures in total, heavy MMC dominance. Then I’ve already spent much of the 3000, but I should have just about enough for a JX Metalbeast and:

 

 

My toyworld devy, Phoenix jetfire, ft dinobots, FT Kup Takara sunstreaker, KO- but improved design megatron and Ironhide ( with the hip door kit) would be an easy re-buy, since i really like those figures. I would get an Omega Supreme ( whichever you like the best) and they I would add the gigapower dinobots, and maybe do a movie collection ( Ultra magnus, springer, wreck gar, Galvatron cyclonus, sweeps, scourge ( most FT offerings) I do like my badcube insecticons as well. OH and mmc Rumble and Ravage whenthey reissue it, since I missed it ( 70 seems liek a lot, but if I can afford it...) I don knwo what that all adds up to. The dinos are probably 2k alone.

What WOULDN'T I waste money on. KFC Blaster ( buyers remorse on the first transformation) , KO soundwave ( I would get the robot hero KO over whatever cheap one I got prior) . Wouldn't get the oversized Starscream. Maybe I wouldn't get Primorion. I like him, but I wish he were regular Prime sized. Maybe I woudl wait on Trailbreaker, but I like the little log tea set mine came with.

So is this all speculative, over do you have money and want to get into the hobby?

 

I'd probably NOT go down this rabbit hole knowing what I know now, or I'd just make a legends collection instead of MP

 

A trip to Japan, in which there may be toys purchased, but who cares.

 

Shoot, that's only one and a half month's rent out here. Basically working not to freeze to death during the winter.

 

Well, the first decision you have to make is "what kind of Transformers do you want?"

There are 3 main options. Masterpiece scale, CHUG, and Legends scale. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES - MP: great cartoon likenesses. Consistent scale. Multiple options for many important characters. Best price-to-value ratio (third party figures are often cheaper than comparable official ones). At this point, there is a nearly complete lineup of G1 characters available at this scale, as well as a nearly complete lineup of Bayverse characters. There are also some random characters from other series like the Unicron Trilogy floating around out there.

CHUG - Best combination of cost-to-value and actual cost (typically being cheaper than MP scaled figures, though 3p is about 2x the cost of official stuff). Best option if you're not into G1 or Bayverse characters, as literally EVERY iteration of TFs has characters available at this scale (since it's the official main toyline scale) -- if you're into Animated or the Aligned continuity, this is pretty much your only shot. Combined with official toys, pretty much every G1 and Bayverse character is available, even the most obscure ones. Best option if PLAYING with your toys is most important to you. Best option if you're into the old IDW-verse.

Legends - Great cartoon likenesses... like, INSANELY good for the scale. At this point they're mini MP figures. Multiple options for G1 characters in both Earth and Cybertronian forms (BUT... see disadvantages). The furthest from a complete lineup right now but at the rate they're cranking these things out, there will be a complete lineup pretty soon. Also, the legends scale characters tend to scale very well with "CHUG" city-bots and can be made to work with CHUG scale combiners (if you accept combiners as 'mass shifting' to absolutely huge proportions, as we saw in the IDW comics and some G1 cartoons). Usually the least expensive option for owning a character, outside of currently-available official toys. The best option if space is at a premium. It's also worth pointing out that when I started collecting MP stuff, that was your only option for getting characters who looked like they stepped right out of the screen or off the page; like many others, if I were starting today from scratch, I might have just gone in this direction instead.

Other - This is a catchall for statues, non-transforming poseable figures like Flame Toys and 3A, and anything else you might want. These items are often very expensive but also are amazingly high quality.

DISADVANTAGES - MP: internally inconsistent design aesthetics (are they real-world vehicles or not? Are they 'if G1 was real' or 'slavishly cartoon accurate?). If you don't want G1 or Bayverse TFs you're pretty much assed out. Great cost-to-value ratio masks the very real issue of having the highest ACTUAL COST. Figures are so large that display space becomes a real issue, especially if you start collecting combiner teams at that scale, and ESPECIALLY if you display figures in multiple modes. Also, official Takara MP prices have gone absolutely insane in the past couple of years. Their new Optimus Prime retails for $440 in the US... I get that other transforming mecha markets pay those kinds of dollars routinely, but it's new to us, and that would eat up about 1/6 of your budget by itself.

CHUG - 3rd parties seem to have abandoned this scale for the most part. It's often hard to get a CHUG-scaled figure that PERFECTLY embodies the character you want. For example, there is no actual G1 accurate Galvatron available at that size (both UT and CW take design liberties) and the best Blurr figure -- Takara LG version -- is a headmaster so it's still kind of weird. While you can usually find the characters you want at a decent price, some characters at this scale are super hard to find and INSANELY expensive for what you'd be getting (for example, TF: Prime Breakdown retails for like $3-400 nowadays... it's a great toy but NO WAY is it worth all THAT.)

Legends - the cheapest price, but BY FAR the worst price-to-value ratio; you might only be paying $40 for the character but it's only 3 inches tall and it's 4x the cost of an official one at that scale. (I have MP Scaled toys I bought for that price). More concerning, you really have to pay attention to which manufacturer you're buying from, because the scales are WILDLY different. NewAge Toys has some of the, if not THE, best legends designs, but they're friggin tiny, as are Iron Factory figures -- except for the old Iron Factory figures which are even smaller scaled. MechFanToys scale is nearly Deluxe sized. In the middle are all the rest (DX9 most notably). Finally, there are almost no characters available aside from G1 (and now, we're starting to see Beast-era figures done at this scale, which I personally interpret as Masterpiece-scaled, since the BW characters would be about that size relative to MP scaled TFs).

Other - There isn't a really consistent unified theme collection you could even come close to completing outside of the 3 main scales. This stuff tends to be expensive -- Flame Toys' Tarn is one of the most beautiful Transformers things a person can own, but you're gonna pay for it. Most "other" stuff tends to focus on the Bayverse or G1; if you're not into those, you probably won't find anything you like.

Obviously, the decision about what kind of Transformers you want will completely inform every other decision you make regarding how to allocate the money.

 

Mortgage is 1800.

 

Based on the variety and proliferation, I'd probably start a legends collection. There's hardly a figure you can't find or that isn't in the works that will complete a G1 collection.

 

1. TE-01 and MS-01 (Prime)
2. IT-01 Megatron
3. Maketoys Meteor (Starscream)
4. Takara Shockwave (1st version)
5. MP KO Soundwave as a placeholder for Fanstoys Acusticwave
6. XTB Stunticon limb bots (iow, no Gravestone or trailer/base)
7. UT Combaticons
8. JinBao OS Gravity Builder
9. Takara + versions of Prowl, Wheeljack, Bluestreak, and soon Smokescreen
10. Badcube versions of Sideswipe, Red Alert, Huffer, and Gears
11. X-Transbots versions of Trailbreaker and Cosmos
12. Takara Inferno, Grapple, Ironhide, and Ratchet
13. DX9 Gabriel (Omega Supreme)
14. Fanstoys Jetfire (assuming no late tax and good luck lol)
15. KFC Opticlones (Reflector)
16. MMC Mirage or wait for Transform Element
17. Probably take the QC gamble on TT Bumblebee v.2 and MP-47 Hound.
18. KFC Transistor (Blaster)
19. Finally, assuming 3k is not exceeded, which I kind of doubt, DX9 Capone.

Most of the rest of the cast consists of Fans Toys pre-orders and praying for reissues like Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz), Skycrow (Skywarp), and Lightening (Thundercracker).

 

$3,000 won't even fill a detolf. I'm confused by what the thread is asking for. If I had no transformers and was given $3,000, I'd probably do something boring like get a CD or something.

 

This kinda happened to me recently. I woke up one day realizing I had sold my collection in my early adulthood out of severe shaming from mom and dad. Had been rejecting part of who I was all along. Then I realized there was an even huger community now that all the movie and animated stuff was years old. With all the video reviews I decided not to buy anything I missed until the right opportunity arises. Spent a good amount of time "catching up" with what was released officially and 3rd party just reading and watching. I did however fall in love with the Diaclone reboot line... I am collecting these now but focusing on molds and desired repaints. I'm a sucker. I remember drooling over the original toys and godaikins back when comic con was cool. I surprised much older collectors with my acquired knowledge, one of these vendors pulled out a loose minibot from a box and I said, "warpath!" He handed him to me and told me to take him. I still have my 6 inch diarugger diecast with removable chest ship, got him super cheap from another discerning vendor.

 

I'd start with a Fewture Ultimetal Battle Damage Optimus Prime.

 

I have a very specific list, however, I won’t type it out as I know for a fact I ain’t getting an extra 3k from anyone. So I’ll refrain from making the list and sitting in the realization that I wont be able to buy any of it....

 

I'd probably just get Iron Factory figures for transformers. I currently don't own any but my current collection takes up a lot of space. I'd rather have more Robot Damashii figures and Gundam kits.

 

If i had no transformers and $3 grand,.......I'd buy drum equipment acoustic,electronic and buy as much as i could get. Then I'd finish the rest of money on a few Masterpiece transformers that are highend figures. That's what I'd do if i was new to the hobby. I want more equipment cause I've been playing for awhile and want more.

 

Easy! All Ark G1 bots in boxes and call it a day! That's what I did and the best part is ........you keep your money, just not in your pocket.

 

1. FT dinos- bec. i waited 20 years for these. They are my favorite version of my fave characters
2. jx metal beast winged dragon-objectively it is the best transformer for both modes be it official, unofficial ,transforming or non transforming
3. pe mega doragon- One of the most awesome looking bot modes and 2nd only to winged dragon in terms of alt mode.
4. Planet x vulcun- the best chug figure for me. awesome dino mode
5. Gigapower dinos- bec. they look awesome on the shelf and they're fun and easy to transform.
6. ft insecticons- i dont have them but these look so awesome. i doubt hastak can make something like them with the same kind of materials anymore.
7. flametoys tarn- another figure that i wish i had. looks so awesome.
8. mmc kultur or meteor- i dont have kultur but again the aesthetics....meteor bec. of the articulation
9 overlord- that mug of his is so expressive. definitely has one of the best face sculpts of any transformer

stuff i wish i didnt buy...buster skywing bec. he looks nothing like jetfire and springer bec. of that gap below his neck and the lack of finger articulation bugs me.

 

The clap

 

Jeez Louise, makes me appreciate my $1100/mo. That's mortgage, property taxes, and insurance. Go go coonasses!

 

Well, it's also a new 2200 square feet, 4 bedroom, 2 car garage, 2 bath home.