25 years of transforming fun

[Dominic]

buying Lego instead of TFs? For shame.

Dom

[Onslaught Six]

Forgive him, for he was young and foolish. It matters not the mistakes you have made in the past--but the mistakes you're making now!

[BWprowl]

I played with a lot of toys in the early 90's, partly because my mom left me in the care of one of those stay-at-home-moms who ran a small day-care service on the side, and her kids always had an interesting sampling of toys available (I never got my own Stretch Armstrong, but I played with theirs extensively). Then, one day, the day after Easter, it was, I got dropped off at their house and they showed me what they had gotten in their Easter baskets: little toy cars (I was big into toy cars at the time), a shiny gold one, and a shiny red one, that could be moved around and turned into ROBOTS. I was floored. I fiddled with the things the entire time I was there, and when I left, I KNEW that the next toy I wanted my parents to get me was that little shiny red robot car. I even knew his name already.

I wanted Hubcap.

So when my birthday rolled around, Hubcap I got. And I then I convinced my mom to buy me a few more when we were out at the store sometimes (I got Scrapper, Long Haul, and Sideswipe in this way). And I got Transformers every Christmas and Birthday for the next couple years (including Optimus Prime, plus Jolt, Sizzle, and Space Case). I did see a few episodes of the G2 cartoon (with that space cube which, at the time, I thought was the coolest thing I had ever seen in a cartoon), but it was mostly on at the wrong time of day for me to watch, so I didn't get too entrenched in the mythos.

And throughout my getting of G2 toys, before I even knew it was called Generation 2 and I just called it "Transformers", my kid imagination kept asking questions about the limits of the line. "Why do they only turn into cars and planes? What if they turned...into ANIMALS? That would be AWESOME!" The idea of Transformers what turned into animals stuck with me, well after I failed to notice that there weren't Transformers on toy shelves any more.

So you can imagine the joy nine-year-old me felt when Beast Wars arrived. Some kid came to day care (I was in a 'real' day care at this point) with the bat/gator two-pack, and I was like "Oh my God they DID IT! Holy crap they have spring-loaded Transformations! This guy's the leader and his name is Optimus PRIME-AL? That is RAD!" It was the greatest thing I had ever experienced. It was not long before I convinced my mom to take me to the store so I could get Wolfang. And then I got Rhinox, and Blackarachnia, and Airazor, and Drill Bit, and ULTRA OPTIMUS PRIMAL, and things were so great, these were the best toys ever. And then I got wind of the cartoon. Oh hell yes. And I started getting up early to watch it on UPN of all channels, and I couldn't understand any of the technobabble, and I really had no idea what any of the references to G1 were since I didn't know shit about G1 other than who Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Hubcap were, but I didn't care because the show was just so, so awesome. By then I was already in the habit of toy hunting. If my mom took me to the store, my first question was 'Can I go look at toys?' so i could see if there were any Beast Wars I hadn't seen yet. If I had a birthday or christmas or any other gift-giving occasion coming up, and a relative asked me what I wanter, it was 'Beast Wars', such to the point that my Grandma stopped having to ask, because she already knew. I created my first fan-character based on Beast Wars when I was in fifth grade. I explicitly designed him with a flipchanging basic in mind; he was a frog named 'Aim-phibian'. Horrible, I know. But imagine how jazzed I was when Spittor popped up just a little while later (though I never actually got Spittor, but still).

I really cannot underscore how integral Beast Wars was to my childhood. I did extra work for my parents and saved like a madman so I would have enough money to buy a Magnaboss for myself, because I wanted that toy so badly that I couldn't wait until my birthday. And then me and my dad went to three stores before we found one. Beast Wars was the entire reason I first *got on the internet* back in sixth grade, when people were still using Dogpile to search. There was no question to what the first thing I typed in was. 'Beast Wars'. And I was introduced to Dave's Beast Wars Page. And I read about ALL the toys that were out, and found out about awesome Japanese stuff like Lioconvoy and Magmatron and Longrack, and started to get an inkling of What Came Before.

This led to me eventually discovering Unicron.com, where I was able to finally see some of these G1 toys I had heard so much about... I promptly laughed my ass off. THESE were the Transformers of old that everyone said were awesome? My Beast Wars toys were way more awesome and poseable and not-covered-in-worn-out-stickers. So imagine my shock at lurking around on ATT threads (before I even really knew what they WERE, just that they were a bunch of people on the computer talking about Beast Wars) and discovering some of the hate that people had towards Beast Wars. BM was just hitting full stride at this point, I think, and I still loved it, just because it was a continuation of Beast Wars. It's funny that a lot of BW fans seemed to dislike Beast Machines so much because of how different it was, but as a kid, I adored it because Optimus Primal and Rattrap and Megatron were still on TV, and I loved those guys. I was devastated when FoxKids put the show on hiatus, and elated when I found out about its return from DVD's page.

Now, I can't remember exactly, but it had to be somewhere around here that I came into posession of and watched TFTM, mainly because it was Transformers. Mostly thanks to TFTM being the peak of G1 as a cartoon, I gained something of an appreciation for the old series, and the toys I was checking out on Unicron.com started to grow on me.

Thanks to DVD's page, I actually knew a fair bit about Car Robots, so when RiD came out, I was pretty excited. Of course, I knew nothing about the show, so when it came on and was not up to par with my beloved Beast Wars, I was beyond disappointed. So I started to divert myself from that by poking around a lot on this other site I’d come upon: BWTF. This led to me discovering the forums, and after lurking for a while, and witnessing that Beast Wars hate was still alive and well, I decided that I had to leap into action. For quite a bit of my early tenure on that old version of the boards, I was the Angry Beast Wars Kid, picking fights and screaming at anyone that dared denounce the idea of Transformers That Turned Into Animals. Sure, there were more civil, intelligent discussions on such matters (I have fond memories of the debates I had with RaddSpencer), and the ones that were… less so (Trinachron, for those who remember him). But finally, I pulled my head out of my ass and settled down (or maybe the Beast Wars hate let up, it’s hard to say which came first).

Since then, I’ve pretty much been as I am now. Steadily amassing both my collection and knowledge of the franchise as a whole. I got to sit through AEC with the rest of the fandom, and all the stuff that came out of that (anyone else remember the shitstorm that erupted over Powerlinx Blurr?), as well as turn the tables in having to vehemently argue that Beast Wars (Comics) sucks. I became The One Energon Fan. And going into the comic shop to buy the TF books is pretty much what got me to start reading the various other comics I keep up on now (Whether or not that’s a good thing is debatable…).

So while Beast Wars alone was so integral to my childhood, I hope I can look forward to Transformers as a whole being integral to my adulthood, maybe for another twenty-five years…

[Dominic]

It was not until the late 90s, when I got a G1 Cliffjumper on the after market, that I realized Hubcap and Cliffjumper where two different molds. (As O86 pointed out, the internet was not the resource it is today.) I used to call my G2 Hubcap "Cliffjumper" just becase it made more sense.

I wonder if TF still has the ability to retain new fans. We know that new fans are coming in, but how many will stay? I have a hard time seeing myself having started off with the movie. It is not a nostalgia thing, nor a question of me not likeing the movie. I have mostly disliked all of the post-Beast cartoons, but I could still see myself starting the hobby in the post-Beast era. But, as much as I like some of the toys and comics, I am not sure if I can see a kid starting off in the post AEC era.


As for pages, Dave's page was one fo the first that I found. For a brief time in the 90s, I actively sought fanfic, (especially in the summer months), and Dave had a fair amount of it on his page. His manga summaries eventually became a bigger draw.

Dom

Dom

[andersonh1]

anyone else remember the shitstorm that erupted over Powerlinx Blurr?

I missed that one. What happened? I remember the fuss over "Red Thrust" which we saw on the cardback but never actually appeared, except for a limited run in Japan. Was the deal over Blurr something similar, where a figure was expected but never appeared?

I wonder if TF still has the ability to retain new fans. We know that new fans are coming in, but how many will stay? I have a hard time seeing myself having started off with the movie. It is not a nostalgia thing, nor a question of me not likeing the movie. I have mostly disliked all of the post-Beast cartoons, but I could still see myself starting the hobby in the post-Beast era. But, as much as I like some of the toys and comics, I am not sure if I can see a kid starting off in the post AEC era.

I don't see why new fans wouldn't be retained. The movie fiction and Animated may not be as compelling to kids as the old G1 cartoon was (and I have no way to prove or disprove that of course), but the live action movies are drawing in far more than any of the cartoon series have. The movies are out in the public conciousness in a way that AEC or Animated could never be, sequestered as they are on a small niche cable channel. I tend to think that if nothing else, the sheer volume of new fans ensures that a good amount will be around for a long time.

[Onslaught Six]

anyone else remember the shitstorm that erupted over Powerlinx Blurr?

I missed that one. What happened? I remember the fuss over "Red Thrust" which we saw on the cardback but never actually appeared, except for a limited run in Japan. Was the deal over Blurr something similar, where a figure was expected but never appeared?

Hasbro, in an unprecedented move of fan participation, decided to use Ben's site as a means to let The Fans Choose Powerlinx Blurr's Colour Scheme. So Ben puts it out there on the forum. Anyway, the bigwigs of the other forums catch wind of this, and bomb the place with registrations and attempts to vote on this thing.

Eventually, none of our proposed colour schemes are chosen and Powerlinx Blurr is never released. There's some talk that he might've eventually gone on to become Universe Swerve, but that's neither here nor there.

Here. Have a Swerve.

[Dominic]

I recall the Blurr incident now. (I recalled the All-Spark invasion, but forgot that the Blurr recolor was the trigger.)

I don't see why new fans wouldn't be retained. The movie fiction and Animated may not be as compelling to kids as the old G1 cartoon was (and I have no way to prove or disprove that of course), but the live action movies are drawing in far more than any of the cartoon series have. The movies are out in the public conciousness in a way that AEC or Animated could never be, sequestered as they are on a small niche cable channel. I tend to think that if nothing else, the sheer volume of new fans ensures that a good amount will be around for a long time.

I am wondering if the movie has the same kid appeal as the old cartoon though. I know the movie got the franchise out there. And, I definitely see more kids looking at TFs than say...."GI Joe" figures. But, will the new fans, young or old, stay? I *really* do not want the Transfan base to turn inwards like say, Joe-fans have.


On another note, I actually kind of miss the enthusiasm of the Dreamwave era.

Dom
-honestly like DW.

[donosaur]

Do ANY franchises nowadays have that kind of staying power? It's hard to say I guess because time will only tell, but it seems like shows that were really big just five years or so ago have all but evaporated. Whatever happened to the Powerpuff Girls, eh?

I wonder if there was just something about the early 80's and the generation of kids from that time period that makes a significant population really grab onto a franchise and not let go. It that's the case, there is no new loyal fanbase out there waiting to be discovered, not for TF or any newer franchise.

[Dominic]

Well, the early 80s were the first time that toys were marketed as TFs were. "He-Man" of course was the first, (if one discounts "Star Wars" by virture of it being a movie), and it seems to be the earlier franchises that lasted.

"GoBots" came before TF, but it faltered for a lack of intellectual property. (If success was determined purely the strength of the toys, TF would not have made it to 1986, let alone had a second generation, and this forum would likely be "gbviews" or something.)

I think the "newness" of the marketing likely helped. By the late 80s, it was common to have a cartoon/toy/comic tie-in. And, other distractions were becoming more common. Video games existed in the early 80s, but the cost:value ratio was much different than it was in 1989. I never had an Atari as a kid. But, in 1990, I got a Nintendo (a year later than most of my peers mind you). Most parents I know now, (several of my friends and cousins), have game systems for their kids. My cousin's boy has a.....somesuch or another new-fangled thingamabob in his room. She and her husband do not play the games. He likes "Transformers", and remembers "Armada" as being "old-skool". But, he has more options and distractions than many of the older guys here (myself included) did. There is simply less room for a new franchise to grow and succeed.


Dom

[BWprowl]

In terms of more 'recent' fanchises with that sort of fandom staying-power, I daresay that Pokemon and Digimon are contenders. Pokemon's been going strong for ten years now, and seems to be doing just fine. Digimon attempted a comeback last year, which doesn't seem to have stuck, but I know there's a lot of people out there who're firmly entrenched in the mythos enough to not just forget about it (I need to rewatch Tamers again...).