RID car brothers. I was never into the beast machines/beast wars stuff, but once I saw those in stores, it was like re-discovering transformers for me. About 1,000 purchases later, I'm just about as into it as I've ever been.

 

We'd just watched ROTF a week or so ago (I know, we left it really late) and my 5-year old went ga-ga over Devastator (and I kind of really liked Rampage for some reason). It was his birthday on the 2nd too, so I thought I'd get him a Transformer (they do say 5+ on the box). As our interest sparked rather late most of the relevant toys (those which you can see in the movie) were gone from the shelves, and the only one I could find in the regular shops which looked anything like the movie was the Deluxe Ironhide. Actually he seems to be an excellent likeness, and I got it for my son.

The more I looked at it, the more I was torn between giving it to him and keeping it, but there wasn't time, and my wife was giving me the stare of death, so it was wrapped for him. Naturally, a 5-year old can't possibly transform Ironhide whatever the box says, so I did it for him, and thought "damn, these toys are so cool". So here I am, belatedly trying to get a nice set of Deluxe transformers which are identifiable from the movie (maybe the odd Voyager for the bigger robots), and after hunting around for a week I've already gotten Deluxe Desert Rampage, Alliance Bumblebee, Ratchet and a nice Voyager Demolishor Shanghai Attack (as well as a Legends Ravage). It's going to be a real nightmare (not to mention costly) to hunt down the 2007 movie deluxe figures, I'm sure. When the Deluxe or Voyager sized Constructicons come out connectable into Devastator I'm going to go bust, probably.

I still eye my son's Ironhide. He'd probably trade it for my Desert Rampage (which he really loves too). Realistically, both of us want both, so we probably have to share. Ironhide was the figure which got me into collecting, although thankfully I think the movie-based figures aren't that numerous, so the damage should be limited. For now.

 

I've had a couple starts and stops over the years, but the most recent start, at least Transformers-wise, was inspired by Animated Grimlock.

 

Season 1 BW Optimus Primal. I hadn't collected G2 figures like the cyberjets (...yet), so I was fascinated with the poseability and the gimmicks as compared to G1 figures. Amazing toy.

 

Well I had been collecting Star Wars[POTF mainly] up to the point I got into Transformers, I guess it was some of the Cybertron that got me back really into collecting Transformers the figure was Vector Prime. Prior to that I hadn't had but just a few figures, but it's like once I got Vector Prime just said "Hey, transformers are pretty cool and now that there are A ton out I need to get to collecting these guys again!"

Pretty much set off a chain reaction of buying up all the TFs I could find after that.....

Course the interest was killed off till Bay released the Movie figures, then Classics Got me back into Collecting TFs......

I think back way back the first TF line I had any of was Beast Wars......but just at that time I was sucked deep into the Power of the Force Star Wars line....

 

G1 Kup when I was thirteen back in 2004 (my first internet auction purchase, yaay!!). At the time I had stopped playing with Transformers but I've collected ever since I bought Kup, with a couple of short breaks inbetween.

 

Energon Windrazor. I found one at Big Lots in the Universe packaging (During the time or Cybertron) for like $5 I think, so I snagged one to put in the DJ booth at work. One day I was fiddling around with him and figure out that he had a 3rd mode as a foot/leg (the universe instructions didn't include this information), so then I had to find out what he combined with and get them...

That's how I found TFW   and it's bee all down hill from there LOL  

 

I lost interest with Beast Wars as a kid (I had one toy which was decent, but never could get into the cartoon) and didn't get interested in anything else besides G1 and G2 toys until the movie. My gf surprised me with a Legends Barricade when I picked her up to go see the movie and I thought it was awesome. Then, when I was visiting my mom for Thanksgiving, we happened to be at the mall and they were having a buy 3 get 1 free at KB Toys. She suggested that she get me one for Christmas, but encouraged me to buy a couple more and get the free one (being 26 and having your mom take you in and buy you toys at KB toys is quite the experience, lol). I went in with the intent of sticking to Legends, but they didn't have any. So, what the heck, I decided to get 4 deluxes: Classic Camaro BB, Jazz, Brawl, and Bonecrusher.

They took me forever to transform the first time, lol, but I was hooked at that point (I've also gotten much more proficient at TFing since then, lol). I really loved the movieverse toys' realistic alt-modes, complex transformations, poseability and more "alien" look. With the occassional odd purchase here and there, that's really the only non-G1/G2 line I've gotten into.

 

After loving G1 as a little kid, I never got anything post-movie and I didnt know anything about BW or BM.

My sister bought me RID Optimus Prime, Megatron and Prowl for Christmas in 2000 or 2001 which planted the seed, then I saw pictures of the protoype for MP-1 and knew I had to have it and then things exploded after that!

 

Back in 2000 when i was 16, a UK based Shop called Poundstretcher had an absoloute TONNE of Beast Wars scouts and some deluxes going for about £2 - £3 each. I bought a transmetal optimus minor and sonar, and that was it. At that time, my family got onto the internet for the first time, and i discovered the joys of online shopping, and many places were hetting rid of beast wars stuff for pennies!

 

I was a rabid Beast Wars fan as a kid and I stopped buying the toys shortly after Beast Machines started hitting stores. The excitement from the movie line brought me back to buying a few here and there, but I wouldn't call myself a collector. I will however be all over the first non-movie line that comes out, probably Transformers Prime if it gets a release.

 

I stopped collecting Transformers after Beast Wars started, actually! I got one or two toys from there, and that's about it. What got me started collecting again was ROTF Ravage. Ravage was the only saving grace from the second movie to me, so I had to get the figure. Well, as things turned out...Ravage, then deluxe Barricade...then Mixmaster...then Megatron...and it all spiraled from there and I've more or less have built a collection from these lines. I'm starting to go back and pick up 2007 movie figs I should've got.

I'm not much of a nostalgia buyer so I doubt I'll go back and get G2 stuff.

 

I stopped collecting after G1 tanked. But, I went into Walmart towards the end of Beast Machines and there was a large wall of basics on clearance; cycle-drones, tank-drones, Spystreaks, and the hammerhead shark; for $2.50 each. I thought "what the hell" and bought one of each. And, the rest is history.

 

Rid Optimus Prime. I always loved the vehicle tfs so BW and BM never did it for me.

 

Commerative series Wheeljack and all the rest like Jazz and bluestreak in that series.

 

For me it was universe 2.0 starscream....when I saw it my childhood came back to me....I was a poor kid, so I never got starscream as kid, so here was my chance.....then I saw universe cyclonus..then universe hound...so on.....plus I battle it out with wheelie81....

 

I was a child of the 80's and was a big fan during the G1 and G2 runs, but when I got into Jr. High and High School, Transformers were pretty low on the totem pole of stuff I felt I needed to spend money on.

Then, after college, the classics line came out. Specifically, Classics Starscream. It was kind of a "holy shit, I've been missing out" moment where my love of Transformers came flooding back all at once and got me into collecting again. Been going strong ever since.

 

Three years after I quit TFs, I was lonely and decided to watch Beast Wars. That's what brings me back to TFs every time, so it's not really a particular toy.

I will share the toy that got me into collecting though.

I was a kid walking home from school and I see this kid crossing the street with a TMII Dinobot. Me and my friend ask him to transform him and he obliges. Too be honest... me and my friend were bigger than he was, plus we outnumbered him, and I think he was scared we were going to jump him and take it (it was that kind of neighborhood). Luckily for him, and for me, all things considered, I am not that kind of character. But yeah... I had no idea there were Beast Wars toys, but then when I watched that Dinobot transform... I had to have them!

 

Armada Unicron. I saw him on the top shelf at Walmart and my childhood dreams had come true. I had to have him for christmas. So my dad bought a few other armada toys to go with him.

 

As far as Transformers, Masterpiece Prime was kinda the first big one, but I was so picky I didn't like anything else on the shelves then. Then I discovered Alternators - So Alt Smokescreen was a big one for me. I still wasn't buying the "regular" smaller figures. Finally I found some early Classics Figs like voyager Prime on Clearance at Walmart, and that was the final figure to open the floodgates. I feel so dumb for not picking up a Mirage and B Bee for super cheap when I had the chance!

Pre-Transformers, Star Wars (Droids and robots) got me in after not buying toys since I was a kid. I was in to Anime and Manga also, and I had models and import figures from high school on.