Honest question, I've been collecting figures since G1 and while I used to keep a complete TF collection I've had to slow purchases over the year after the movies which resulted in a tremendous number of figures coming out and difficulty tracking down various store exclusives.

So over time it turned into only buying characters that appeared in the shows to only buying nostalgic figures for me to only buying main line (as masterpeice got too expensive). But with the announcement of Legacy and the rising cost of figures I'm trying to decide and figure out when one has had enough as a G1 character collector.

I love the new figures and have really been happy with the 86 Studio series and the WfC lines. I was hoping to take a break after them but Legacy also looks really good.

The question I have though is when I looked over my collection and realized just how many times I've bought some of these characters; it feels like every couple of years we get a new Jazz or a new Optimus or Starscream etc. etc. And while I love these sets I'm starting to wonder what is the point in collecting when you just keep buying the same dozen or two characters again and again with some simple retooling.

With WfC I could justify it a lot more because we never had the Cybertronian forms before and that was enough of a novelty on its own but when it just became earth modes again I just think back to characters like Jazz who I've bought the Studio Series 86, Power of the Primes, and War for Cybertron (the game) and does anyone really need this many of the character?

Some I can better justify like the new Beast Wars figures which are leagues above the originals but I would love to hear from other G1 collectors their thoughts.

 

I can agree yet disagree to an extent. I wholeheartedly agree that I am getting tired of some of the same G1 characters getting new releases every year. But there is still some G1 I would like to see either get their first Generations style releases (like Monstuctor, The Omnibots) and some that desperately need a better version like Thunderwing.

I also hear you on how the increasing prices are making you be a little more thoughful on what you buy. I try to stick to one version of each character already in my collection. When a new version is released, I ask myself is it really better than the one I already have. If it is, I buy it and sell my older version but if not, I pass on it. I admit, I went crazy on Earthrise because alot of those characters I thought were better than the ones I already had. But it also saved me some money since I felt Siege Magnus, and my original Cybertron Optimus Prime were good enough and decided to pass on Kingdom Magnus and Siege Cyb Prime.

I also went ahead and bought the new versions of the Beast Wars characters in Kingdom since I didn't have alot of the originals since I was taking a break during this time. I will continue to buy future BW generations releases as well. With Legacy coming up though, I do plan on being more picky what I buy as well. I'm actually happy with CW Menasor so I might pass on the new version. Also while I really like the idea of Legacy branching out into other lines for figures, there are some characters from those lines I don't feel a compulsion to add to my collection like Legacy Prime Arcee and the Titan Class Cybertron Metroplex.

The increasing costs has also caused me to drop collecting other TF sublines like MPs, SS Bay-Verse figures, and even some of the reissues.

 

Averages TF Fan:




But realistically... never? Nearly 60 years since the original star trek aired, but fans of that endure and still eat up the merch/ toys.

I do hope at least as we move along, there will be more room made for everything from G2 onwards too. Definitely have high hopes Legacy will bring us more beast wars, car robots and unicron trilogy stuff.

 

I buy for the figure, for it's looks and it's engineering, and not the character, well until WFC's Siege line came, which made me want the "original crews".. and that's pretty much done.

I get various figures from just about any of the lines and don't give a crap about such things as "it is or not G1".. if the toy looks good, looks fun I get it and that's that.

And for those that are similar in some ways, I will appreciate each for what it provides, and consider it as that character getting an "upgrade" in my head cannon... so they can keep doing G1-ish figures until the end of time and it will never phase me.

Cheap corner-cutting stuff and lower quality, etc. are what bugs me.

 

We are at a point where, like many franchises, Transformers is being strangled by a nostalgic plague, where the brand will either be suffocated by the weight of "G1" or only change after the current consumers die, but even then, it'll be a frail shell of what it once was.

TLDR: Till death do us part, Transformers Brand v. G1

 

About 3 years worth, in which case we'll get about a third of a toyline giving us something that isn't G1, only for the latest G1 updates to be considered outdated half a year later, and then we get 3 more years of new updates of the same G1 characters, and the cycle continues.

 

For me? As soon as they finish updating G1 as a whole ( there's like 10 or so left that I need).....

 

When I complete my G1 lineup, dammit. And I'm honestly not that far away from accomplishing that.

 

I'll be satisfied with Deluxe-class Brawn, Windcharger, Gears, Beachcomber, Seaspray and Powerglide. Anything else I want from G1 is either already out, coming out this year, or unlikely to ever come out, like a new Quickswitch.

But the comparison to Star Trek is apt. I wasn't born yet when the Original Series was on the air, but when I became a Star Trek fan in the early '90s, I still wanted figures of the original crew and the original Enterprise. It's the same with Transformers, as new fans come in, they're likely to want figures of the G1 cast.

 

The point of collecting is the endless buying and re-buying, not the having and enjoying.

Which is why I won't be "collecting" any more once my little (and ever-shrinking - only 60 to go) list of toys is complete. The recent toys are more than good enough for me, and I won't be buying the next iteration of the characters I already have.

 

It's likely never going to go away completely, and that's probably a good thing for the brand. Your average non-collector (say, a parent) tends to buy characters they remember, and they remember the 1984 G1 Cartoons, the Michael Bay movies, and whatever TF cartoon their kid is watching currently. Ask your average non-fan about anything else in the franchise, and you're likely to get a blank stare. Sure, there's going to be a few who know Beast Wars too, but we as a community have to face the fact that we're likely some of the few to even remember the Unicron Trilogy or Animated or what have you. We're probably never going to move away from G1 entirely, but as time goes along they're eventually going to run out of G1 to mine. Then they'll start again, with a slightly different aesthetic.

That out of the way, I am 100% on board for new stuff and more obscure homages in the Generations main line. Will it happen? Yeah, of course, but it'll be peppered in like it has for a while now. To solve this predicament, I've been advocating a collector-focused line that could explore the more obscure elements of the franchise. Basically: price it between CHUG and MP, keep it at a chug scale but upgrade the engineering/articulation, pack in a bunch of accessories, and sell it online so it doesn't have to meet retailer standards and whatnot. This is pretty much what third parties like Mastermind Creations and Planet X have been doing for a while now, so I could see it being similarly successful. Keep in mind this is just me brainstorming:

 

I feel the same way about G1 as I do superhero fiction. In a vacuum I enjoy it, but it sometimes goes through cycles of absolute dominance that make me temporarily hate it, made worse by online fans* who take enormous offense at the idea that anyone would not enjoy those cycles. We're several years deep into one of those cycles now, and it doesn't help that it's laser-focused on the aspect of G1 (Sunbow) that I find least engaging.

So I don't think the question is really framed right, I don't want G1 gone, but Christ do I want this cycle to fuckin' end.

___
*Take it as read that I don't mean you, G1 and/or superhero fan reading this, you're great and totally reasonable.

 

I hit the point of enough G1 back in 2019.

 

Not really the same. TOC has not, and will not ever be retired, but it isn't the sole focus of the merchandise/marketing, either. You can also get Next Gen, Voyager, etc. The mobile game Fleet Command doesn't even feature any TOC content that I've seen - it's Kelvin timeline, TNG and recent/current shows I'm not familiar with. Except for a TOC skin for the Enterprise, at least. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and co. are all the new movie versions.

Paramount, unlike Hasbro, actually realizes there's demand for incarnations beyond the original, and markets accordingly.

I just hope Legacy moves beyond "everyone is G1-ified" and starts doing updates that are truer to the characters.

 

Yeah, Star Trek is a weird comparison. There are... I think four current Star Trek series? You've got:

Picard: Direct sequel to TNG.
Discovery: Prequel to TOS.
Lower Decks: Immediate follow-up to TNG/DS9/Voyager
Prodigy: Indirect sequel to Voyager

If this was the general shape of Transformers, with G1 as one part of (or even the foundation of) a built-out universe, nobody would complain about G1. If anything, Star Trek fans are crossing their fingers for Strange New Worlds to be good because Discovery is such a friggin' mess.

 

Fair point, perhaps not the best comparison.

 

Praising Paramount? On THIS forum?!?!    

 

I know that is why I appreciate the odd ball characters. I don't mind something like Kingdom Blaster ; He has his place. But sometimes I was like "enough already with the Cyberverse Shockwave toys".

 

I think it greatly varies depending on the collector and their personal preferences.