i was dirrected towards here via the transformer reddit, here i need some imput on how to start collecting tf toys for my own collection and personal pleasure i got my eye on some transformer titans,because i was a fan of the head masters theme,but heres my big question how do i get caught upo from the begining to collecta series and how would one try to preorder future toys coming up?

 

There's only one rule to Transformers collecting: buy what you like.

As for preorders, there are a ton of websites that have the latest stuff available. I rarely use online stores so I know little about good and bad ones, but TFW's front page usually gets frequent preorder updates from a bunch of sponsor websites.

 

thats the thing im a huge g1 fan and i honestly do not know what to get, are the titan returning and combinors war are they main line and collecting or is the tv show ones consider mainline? just curious

 

It's all mainline really. At the moment the three big things are Robots in Disguise, The Last Knight, and Titans Return. It really just depends on which aesthetic you like best.

 

so would u give me your ideal top two places you would buy from? i honestly do not know what would be the best or to choose the best

 

Everyone has their own personal preferences but personally the biggest names seem to be BigBadToyStore and TFSource if I had to just pick two. I'm sure someone else will come to this thread and tell you they suck for whatever reason, lol. I mostly just stick to prowling Targets and Walmarts myself.

 

ah ok sorry if all these seem like noobish questions ive been out of tf collectiong since i was 14 or so

 

No worries. It's always great to see more people getting back into collecting. Titans Return is a great time to, well, return!

 

Hit the nail on the head right off the bat.

Since you're just coming back into the hobby, my advice is to hit up some of your local stores (Toys r Us, Walmart, Target, etc.) and have a look around.

 

my local store is my walmart which i work at and the big issue is they dont get alot in terms of transformers in the , adult side of them they got plenty of the cartoon one not the g1 based ones much

 

Amazon.com then. They have a huge stock of Transformers, I buy from them often.

 

My recommendations are as follows:

1. If you are a causal fan and is likely to just buy from your retails and local toy shops, the best way to collect is to start from the Prime Wars Trilogy; Combiner Wars, Titans Return, and the upcoming Power of the Primes toy lines. There is a great selection of characters in these lines and will give you a great head start. If you do not mind the Generation 2 colours for the Combiner Wars figures; I believe some places still stock the Generation 2 box sets at a discount.

Note: If you are more hardcore and want better versions of the same figures from the Prime Wars Trilogy and is willing to spend more on each figure for perfection, you can import from the TakaraTOMY Unite Warriors and Legends toy lines. If you live in Asia like me, then just buy the TakaraTOMY versions as they are almost the same price as the Hasbro versions.

2. You can also choose to collect the Masterpiece figures. I would recommend you to buy the TakaraTOMY versions starting from MP-10 Convoy (Optimus Prime) as that is the figure that rebooted the Masterpiece aesthetics to be more G1 accurate. The good thing about Masterpiece figures is although they are far more expensive per figure, there are also far less releases per year. Therefore, in the long run you actually save more money and space collecting Masterpiece figures. Not the mention they are also meant to be the very best versions of each characters, and have a uniform box style so they display very classy and neat on a shelf.

 

also one question has jazz been reproduced close to what he used to be, same with the three bots that formed a camra? my dad always loved jazz and id like to get him one for xmas as well, what is the power of primes suppose to be about compared to the others? now what makes the master peices worth 80+usd just wondering just wanting to understand

 

Power of the Primes Jazz is coming out soonish, about Christmas I think?

The Reflector trio did get Botcon toys, but otherwise, not really

 

As said above, buy what you want. There is no wrong way to collect so long as you are happy with your collection. Accept human heads... Don't do that.

For robot heads though, a list of Titans Return is best found here:
Titans Return - Transformers Toy Galleries

Seibertron may be a lot of things anymore but their figure index is a tight ship.

In regard to online stores, any of those icons across the merchants row [starting with the BBTS icon] will be happy to take your money.

 

1. Look up Reveal the Shield or United Jazz.

2. The only modern Reflector (camera robot) figure that is an official product is the Generations version. It does not split to 3 robots, and it is actually more of an accessory to the main robot; Skrapnel than an actual robot. It does however still transforms. Look up Generations Thrilling 30 Skrapnel.

3. Combiner Wars is about combiners, Titans Return is about Headmasters, Power of the Primes is about a modern Transformers lore where there were 13 original Transformers that were also Primes. They are able to share their power by transforming into a cube like add on for the regular Transformers. It also kind of a homages and is reminiscent of the 1988 Powermaster figures.

4. Masterpieces are basically premium figures made for adult collectors. They are the supposed to be the best toy representation of the characters from the cartoons. In order to produce these figures, their vehicle modes are officially licensed by the car companies that their vehicle modes are based on, and they are also partly die cast. Honestly, in the long run you do save more money and space collecting Masterpieces as there are far less releases per year compared to the normal toy lines.

 

1 focus
2 know how difficult you want your toys.
3 how do you want your display
4 how much money are you willing to spend

Challanging then i recommend Mp and 3rd party.
Easy i recommened main line.

Why are these first because money on adjusts how long between pieces if you find things to easy or cheap looking you will eventually regret getting it, if its to hard to play with then you will hate it as well.

Have a look at peoples collections, work out what you want, big figures display better by themselves where little figures can give a wow factor for sheer numbers.

Ultimately price can be a killer to, if you can't afford a toy it becomes hard to get the toy.

So think about how you want to collect and display and spend

 

to get caught up quickly, buy a big lot on ebay (when you can find one for a good price).

i'd probably look at spending $150-300 if you can find a good lot on ebay; it will probably have things you don't want or doubles you can sell off or trade.

and speaking of trade, check out the buy/sell/trade section on this forum

-

 

Screw bbts and tfsource. Figure out what characters you like and google them, not exactly brain surgery. See what toys exist of those characters and hit up toydojo. Problem solved.

 

heres another thing im trying to find some of those really obcure first gen series one characters as well like jazz , sideswipe and his broski and what notm, now cani ask a question where do they come up with the class size of toys?

the main reason i asked was becausemy budget is limited right now untill my hours go back at work ( they cut hours untill 5 people quit or transfer to a diff shift) then ill get 40 hours again then ill be free to buy as i please