I had a paper route as a kid, so each month I had about $120 burning a hole in my 10 year old pocket. The kid next door had a great Xmas in 1985, but he was already done playing with toys. I paid him $50 for OP, Ratchet, Hound, Sideswipe, Starscream, Thrust, Dirge, Devs boxset, and a few others. This transaction took place just before new years day, so they were all still sealed in the boxes, with the exception of OP. I remember thinking he was wrong for selling them to me for nothing, but I think he wanted to buy a bike or something. He was definitely not into playing with toys anymore. Haha My mom was kind of pissed that I blew $50 all at once, but she let it go.

 

Given I got into Transformers at 10 or 11, "growing up" is relevant. I decided that maybe other people would think Transformers is a childish hobby, and I should start limiting my collection in early 2012 (TF: Prime kept me from losing interest altogether, though). The only Transformers I got in 2012 and 2013 were birthday or Christmas presents, and Armor Topspin broke (though FOC Soundwave survives to this day). The finale of Transformers: Prime and an upcoming movie line snapped my interest back in the franchise, and in 2014 I bought my first Prime figure (Ultimate Predaking), and received AOE Grimlock and High Octane Bumblebee for my birthday. I was buying Doctor Who action figures during 2012 and 2013, so maybe I didn't "grow up" completely. These days, my collection is more than 100 figures strong, and nearing the stopping point, save for presents and occasional purchases if a figure really interests me.

 

The only TF I remember buying from a store was G1 Soundwave with Buzzsaw at TRU on my birthday. Besides that, I used the money I earned from doing neighborhood chores (moving lawns, washing cars, etc.) to buy TF's from friends that didn't want them any longer. There was no way my parents were ever going to buy toys for me. The response would always be, "Can you eat transformers?"

I somehow amassed a pretty large TF's collection in my youth, but for the life of me, I don't remember how I got most of them.

 

Hunn-gurr and a terrorcon limb (the white 'n'blue "earth shark" one, dont remember the name ...) in '87.
I was 12.
Never bought anything else until 2012 when i saw a binaltech hound ko in a market, did my "homeworks", discovered binaltechs and mps, and fell in love again ...

 

Ripper Snapper was the shark.

 

I believe it was the Micromaster Greasepit. I was fifteen years old, and Transformers was dying anyway. I remember seeing the G2 figures a few years later and thought how strange that they were trying to sell the old figures again. I decided I was out for good.

Then around '98 I got hooked on Beast Wars and my future wife convinced me to pick up a toy or two. Transmetal Tarantulas was the gateway. After that I was in for good.

 

Most of the Galaxy Force/Cybertron series, I think the GF Rumble/Frenzy/Buzzsaw were the last ones I imported and that was during my Junior year of High School in 2007. I completely stopped collecting my senior year of High School due to an unhealthy WOW fixation, bought a few during my freshman year of college (The Games of Deception Box set, which I sold and MP-6, which I still have), then didn't really buy much again until 2011 when I got back into collecting for a couple of months, but I lost my funding for college that year and lost all interest in Transformers, eventually selling 60% of my collection. I didn't buy another transformer until picking up Generations Springer on a whim in 2014 but I only really started collecting again last year. So I guess I'd say the GF trio but it's been an on-again, off-again thing my whole life.

 

Hah. I never gave up. I bought Transformers from the start through the G2 fiasco I knew it was because I just had to complete Bruticus somehow.

And then I somehow didn't (I never got a shot at Onslaught of all of them), which in hindsight made it funnier. In-between I bought practically one from every gimmick that came out since the end of the show, such as getting one Combiner limb from each combiner since Predaking (the only G1 combiner I ever completed, so he's special in my collection). Particular in the random assortment was Cindersaur, who I THINK was the very last G1 figure I bought before the G2 line was put out.

Then Beast Wars came along. It only took watching the third episode once (the first episode I saw) to go out and buy them. The best part was nobody made fun of me for keeping them around.

 

lol "growing up". I'm an immortal child and completely unapologetic about it.

 

I have to ask did you leave them in the boxes knowing they would be worth a fortune?   for me TF took a nose dive after the Head masters. Never carded for the Action masters or the Micro masters. As I said before about the Pretenders the robots that went inside the human shells were cool but the human figures were lame seeing they were molded at one piece.

 

ERECTOR was the last thing from G1 , but I never quit , only that period between G1 and G2 ... then through BW,BM , RID , UT ect ect .... I guess I never grew up lol .

 

Ouh.

I think it was 1992. I was 11. From time to time my dad (or his kid brother, my uncle) bought me some Micromasters things -which I loved- and I never asked for the "big" guys (I could spent HOURS just looking at the Turbomasters in stores. And don't start with Overlord), because, yeah, money and stuff.
I was happy with what I had, and I remember my dad in a store telling me "You've got this guy ?"
It was Long Haul. The only Constructidudes I was missing. Yup, in 1992. All in a yellow glory. So I answer him "no" and he bought him for me.
I was DELIGHT. You can't imagine how much. I still remember how I was smilling in the car while playing with him, and thinking about how my dad is the best guy in the world (and I mean my world, at 11. It was a rather tiny place but a LARGE one in my mind).
And then he stoped the car and we go say hy to my grandma. I'm cool with that. I got Long Haul in my hand and I love my Grandma.
That's when her husband told me "Aren't you a bit too old for toys like this ? You should be ashame to make your father pay for thing like that. He's too nice with you."

Immediate reaction in my mind: "That guy's a mean big douche."
But... I couldn't help but thinking about what he said. Maybe I, indeed, was too old now. Maybe something's wrong if I enjoy toys like this while entering Junior High. Maybe i'm a jerk for making my dad spend his money on thing like this.
What would I know ? Only thing I knew: My excitement for Long Haul was gone.
I never asked for any toy after that. Heck, when i wanted something and I knew my parents couldn't, I worked for them. That's how I had my TV, my VCR, my comic books...
It's not that I thought that douchebag was right, It's more that I didn't want to hear anymore, from anybody, that my dad was TOO kind, meaning too stupid (for me).

So no TF after that. I always remember them, I always had memories of my love for them, be the toys or the cartoon, they always been in my heart somewhere, but, yeah, no more TF after that.

With internet's raising, of course I went online and from time to time read things about that franchise, what it became after I leave and all. So I knew it was still alive.

Then one day, one 2009 day, I enter a comic books store with my then love of my life, found a TF comic, smile, put it back, go home, and she goes "Tada! I saw how you smile while reading it. Why did you put it back you big jackass ?" with that comic in her hands.
Honestly, that book wasn't that great (AHM trade 1) but that's how I came back in the game.

Little did I know back then how big that will become... Ouh and first toy I bought since Long Haul in 1992 was Reverse the Shield Jazz in 2012, with MP10.

Dad's still great.


Oups, sorry for that looong and boring post. Hey, that's your fault, I didn't even remember about that until i saw this thread!

 

Haha, no. I'd never thought about saving the boxes until that point. Most of the time I'd just cut out the box art and specs, and put them in this little photo album I had. I kept all of the boxes from that point on because they looked cool. Cardbacks too.

 

By "Growing Up", it means the first figure I bought independently? Or after I stopped playing with them and just having those figures in display?

 

That actually never happened for me. To this day I still play with my transformers toys in the same way I did when I was five, setting up my own battles and playing out fun adventures. I am almost twenty- five now, and I can still say they are just as much fun as when i was little.