I'm 45 years young and I'm still into these MPs and 3rd Parties. Dunno when it'll end. I just can't let go. Specially because they just keep making them. I mean, I even got myself an Xbox 1 X and some cool games with it but I don't even freaking play games anymore. I just watch my 5 year old boy and 7 year old girl (gotta love em) play Skylanders and Roblox on it. I'm probably gonna end up getting Street Fighter 30th anniversary FFS. I mean, did we just refuse to grow up? I don't have a big collection of Transformers, but the ones I have (mostly 3rd parties) have a special place in my heart/ liver/ colon whatevs.

 

They're robots that turn into machines!

And the cartoon/movie made me happy in 4th/5th/6th grade.

 

Probably some combination of nostalgia and arrested development, honestly. I know that it has a lot to do with my upbringing in part. I grew up pretty frugally and while I had quite a few toys I rarely got to finish my collection. Nowadays, I have the means to complete a collection with things that look like what I saw on TV and in my head.

 

Best not to use them with your Colon - I suspect.

I don't know - perhaps some can ask the same question of Star Trek and Star Wars fans.

I do tend to buy way more KO's and Unofficial items than Hasbro /Takara ones now though these days - it's a novelty when I do buy something official to me. But I am real keen to get Cordon - he's the 1st MP I've thought GOTTA HAVE for a while - and G1Toy-inspired Megs & beast Megs look rather spiffy too.

But for me it's an attachment to the characters in some cases - a fondness for action vehicle toys, robots and transformation play too.
I really like the little guys - Minicons - Targetmasters etc.. which is pushing me in the direction of Mech Fan Toys Lost Planet KOs too - as fun things to fiddle with.

In general I like stuff that has some juxtaposition angle to it - like something that looks like something else - so things like the T-Beasts really appeal to me.

 

The simple answer is that life relentlessly beats us down, day after day, granting us only minor respites. We become pessimistic, bitter, and lose faith in so many of the things we believe in. We see bad people abuse power, take advantage of others, and get ahead without consequence for their vile actions. We see the world as a darker place than we ever imagined in our youth.

That's why nostalgia is so powerful. The things we cherished when we were young only seem better with age. They were simpler, more colorful, and represent the ideals we had when we were young. It's something that some people would pay anything to have again. It's that ray of sunshine beaming down on a dark, unforgiving world.

Plus, robots are cool.

 

Nostalgia for me, with a dash of original disappointment with the original toys. But my collection is almost done, I’m waiting on one gestalt to be completed.

 

Two main things that keep me interested:

1. Nostalgia - TF's were one of my favorite toys.
2. Engineering - The whole design process someone went through to create something that turns into something else. This isn't just some action figure, or toy truck/car. TF's are what I consider "smart" toys. They involve some thought, like a puzzle would. I like that.

 

This. So much this.

I collect a lot of lines and they seem to migrate through phases. The spending "burst" almost always follows something that I wasn't mentally prepared to handle. The most recent was four years ago (and what brought me to Transformers and away from Star Wars/ GI Joe and He-Man.) My grandmother, who had essentially raised me from six months of age, passed away. She died two weeks after my son was born and it blind sided me. She had kept how ill she was a secret from me so that her situation wouldn't tarnish his birth. That decision was the largest, among so many, sacrifice she had made and most selfless act while also doing more damage to my psych than anything else I've been subjected to. Considering that I was abused by both parents, nearly killed at the age of fifteen by a drunk driver and live with physical and mental scars...well, not being prepared to say goodbye or having the chance to cherish those final months...it hurts more than anything else.

Every time something bad happens though I turn to my toys and games. They take me somewhere else. Somewhere the hurt doesn't exist.

 

Gee, I feel kinda shallow now if that's the "simple answer". Sounds like you're one bad day from a Super villain origin story.  

 

I’m about two thirds your age, @barok, and, while I don’t live in the Garden State, this is highly relevant...

Moreover, I grew up with a more specific penchant for science fiction and fantasy than most and went down the path of the mecha otaku. I used to get up at about 5:30 in the morning and watch the basic cable news until Zoids and Transformers were on on The SciFi Channel at 6, and then come home from school and watch/listen to Toonami while I did my homework. Best of all, trying to sneak in Midnight airings of Betterman, Silent Moebius, and Vandread on G4TechTV in middle school  

It also probably helps growing up with someone who is a bit of a nerd, since my mom and I used to watch the X-Files together, for example  

Now, I left Transformers alone for a few years after Animated and the first two Baylamities, after I’d already taken a breather after Energon and Cybertron just didn’t look like Armada.

Until 2014, when I played the War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron games and the ~ S p a r k ~ was rekindled, a bit, and I got Hasbro’s FoC Grimlock...  

But, between Revoltech shying away from giant robots a long time ago and a general lack of interest in putting the time and money into painting Gundam and Super Robot (Wars) model kits, I’ve been waiting for a surge of 3rd Party mini-figs that would both be less expensive than bigger releases and fit MP like love into my book shelves.

So, when I was playing Fall of Cybertron, I said to myself, “if anyone releases a mini-MP Bruticus, then that’s the sign.”

A couple years ago, I noticed in my vicarious window shopping through various Toy Tubers that there was this little company called Iron Factory making waves.

And, now, you guys are stuck with me  

 

IDGAF about all lore or cartoons, i'm 25 i buy MP and 3P for the awesome toys.

 

For me it's engineering plus I think I'm in midlife crisis

 

Its a hobby really. Others smoke, drink (been there done that), take drugs (if you call that a hobby), watch soccer etc etc. For me TFs are another hobby. As simple as that.

 

Megas XLR was a great show, although full of dirty, awful lies. My overall experience has been that approximately 65% of chicks are mildly bemused by giant robots at best on the whole, with only roughly 15% actually digging them, with about 15% actively disliking them, and 5% responding with "huh?" or "Undecided."

 

Funny you say that. I actually do a webcomic called Supervillainous.

 

Man, I told my wife they are therapeutic and she said that I need to go on meds, lol.

I'll stick to fiddling with nostalgic and innovative figures.

 

I'm starting to grow out of chug stuff, and I'm starting to limit myself to mtmte and lsotw.

 

Its our childhood...and we can finally afford everything we couldn't as kids!

 

Because sentient transforming ass-kicking space robots will never not be cool.

 

Aren't you like, 15 though?

And @barok I don't understand your signature. The name TFW2005 comes from "It was the year 2005" from the animated movie.