Collector General: Pictures, Reviews and Discussion Thread

[Optimus Prime]

Alright, here are some photos of how much money I've wasted on plastic toys. The ones on the gray shelves are done up in pairs, two pics for every shelf.

Shelf 1: Rare Transformers/Busou Shinkis/Figmas (somehow I managed to cut out one of the Strike Witches, I have the full Figma quartet). Of note is the figure behind the tan, stocky guy (for those who don't know, that is G1 Ironfist); he's the Movie Evac toy that is only obtainable from the Transformers Ride gift shop at a Universal Studios park, so he's extremely hard to get for cheap if you don't live close enough to one of those parks to justify a season pass (1 day, 1 park ticket alone costs maybe $100, the toy itself is $21 + tax at the shop). Somehow I ended up getting him for just the retail price from a guy in New Mexico in a figure lot containing other semi-rare transformers for an extremely good total cost even with shipping, so he's one of my all-time best finds.

My Classics/Generations + Vintage G1 Autobots. Energon Optimus Prime is due to be moved to a more apt. location as I no longer need him standing in for an Optimus. Energon Star Saber still is my stand-in for Classics Wing Saber, though.

Bottom shelf: The BIG guys: MP Skywarp (WM exclusive), Energon Omega Supreme (paid $12 for him complete, absolutely no missing parts including the fragile "radar" panels on his left foot), an original 2003 Armada Unicron (holding a chromed Matrix from a giftset during the "Reveal the Shield" gimmick line), and random oddities. That MP Skywarp cost me only $30, too, thanks to Walmart overstocking.

Animated/Prime/Char Aznable Shrine/Ponies

G1/Movie/Generations Decepticons. The black Energon Optimus is a customized "Grand Scourge" and the knock-offs of the Bruticus limb guys in their RID 2000 deco were like, $1 each so they help fill the display out a bit.

Movie Autobots/Unicron Tilogy (2001-2006 lines). My Armada Megatron is missing all his parts (leg/tread compartments, horns, Leader-1 mini-con, missiles, etc.) but the toy was a gift from a friend back in elementary school who ended up moving away and he's still pretty awesome anyway. Though if anybody knows where I can locate spare parts to fix ol Megsy up I'd greatly appreciate it (and guns for my G1 Sixshot, too, that don't cost $30-$40 each).

The "Prime Helm" a.k.a. a 2007 Optimus Prime voice changer mask (these pics were from around the holidays, hence the hat) that McRascal sent to me free of charge as he wanted to get rid of it to free up space. Also two of my favorite Gundam models (the blue one was my very first, the white one is one of my finest pieces I've ever done) and three NECA Aperture Science collectible turrets.

The main Gunpla/random crap display.

Right corner of my computer desk a.k.a. "don't have space for these guys yet." The black, blue-green, and white/gold guys are the complete trio of Movie Landmine decos a.k.a. the best mold ever produced in the TF movie toyline period. The white one - DOTM Commettor - was a bitch to track down because he was a WM exclusive that was poorly distributed and never hit my area. But the Optimus figure on the left is the 2006 Classics Optimus Prime, from the 2014 "Evolutions of Optimus" 2-pack under the Age of Extinction line. That mold is absurdly expensive on the secondary market because of all the upgrade kits availiable like trailers and Ultra Magnus style armor packs, but also simply because it's a fucking bad ass toy that more than keeps up with the articulation on more recent Generations toys even though he's a toy dating back almost a decade by now.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

Just to elaborate a bit more about this, since gold plastic of a different nature is found on recent toys, "Gold Plastic Syndome" is a result of the bonding of the materials in the swirly gold plastic not being strong enough to hold up over the wear and tear of existing over time. There's a list on tfwiki.net of all the known figures affected by that problem for those who want to know more, but mainly it's rare for a figure to have GPS post 1995 as they don't use that kind of plastic anymore.

Yeah, and the problem wasn't limited to just gold plastic, either. Theoretically, any plastic that has those metallic swirls in them could potentially succomb to GPS given enough time, and some collectors think that all plastic with those pretty metallic swirls made in that time frame might become brittle, it just hasn't happened for all of them yet, which makes me concerned for the only vintage Transformer that I have (until my G2 Starscream comes this week, expect pictures), Motormaster, because his trailer is a sort of grey with metallic swirls, and it could eventually be dust in a more extended timeframe than that which affected the gold pigment.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

I love those little Classic Legends Class figures, they're really interesting, my original Starscream broke, and I managed to find another that had the cannons on the wings, but also the weird head molded entirely in black and I sort of kitbashed the 2 together and so I basically sort of made a variant that didn't exist before, with a reveal the shield fuselage on more recent retool of the mold, also screw those laws with the orange tips on toy guns, that Legends Megatron has the entire front barrel molded in orange plastic and painted grey, I'm planning on getting the reprolabel set for Megs and Starscream just to add some extra G1 Detailings.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Yeah, and the problem wasn't limited to just gold plastic, either. Theoretically, any plastic that has those metallic swirls in them could potentially succomb to GPS given enough time, and some collectors think that all plastic with those pretty metallic swirls made in that time frame might become brittle, it just hasn't happened for all of them yet, which makes me concerned for the only vintage Transformer that I have (until my G2 Starscream comes this week, expect pictures), Motormaster, because his trailer is a sort of grey with metallic swirls, and it could eventually be dust in a more extended timeframe than that which affected the gold pigment.

Your Motormaster should be fine, since GPS happens due to the metalic flakes in the plastic not bonding with the material, leaving tiny pockets of air inside it. Over time, wear and tear will cause these microscopic voids to gradually widen with cracks and such, becoming more brittle as less and less plastic is bonded on the molecular level to the point merely touching the plastic will cause it to crumble.

I've never heard of a Motormaster ever having showcased GPS on those gray parts so as long as you handle with care, you should be ok.

 

[Ravenor]

Yeah, and the problem wasn't limited to just gold plastic, either. Theoretically, any plastic that has those metallic swirls in them could potentially succomb to GPS given enough time, and some collectors think that all plastic with those pretty metallic swirls made in that time frame might become brittle, it just hasn't happened for all of them yet, which makes me concerned for the only vintage Transformer that I have (until my G2 Starscream comes this week, expect pictures), Motormaster, because his trailer is a sort of grey with metallic swirls, and it could eventually be dust in a more extended timeframe than that which affected the gold pigment.

Have you got any pic's of GPS in action?
Is this just them drying out an becomming brittle, or do they become stretchy like the polymer is breaking down?

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

Alright, here are some photos of how much money I've wasted on plastic toys. The ones on the gray shelves are done up in pairs, two pics for every shelf.

Shelf 1: Rare Transformers/Busou Shinkis/Figmas (somehow I managed to cut out one of the Strike Witches, I have the full Figma quartet). Of note is the figure behind the tan, stocky guy (for those who don't know, that is G1 Ironfist); he's the Movie Evac toy that is only obtainable from the Transformers Ride gift shop at a Universal Studios park, so he's extremely hard to get for cheap if you don't live close enough to one of those parks to justify a season pass (1 day, 1 park ticket alone costs maybe $100, the toy itself is $21 + tax at the shop). Somehow I ended up getting him for just the retail price from a guy in New Mexico in a figure lot containing other semi-rare transformers for an extremely good total cost even with shipping, so he's one of my all-time best finds.

My Classics/Generations + Vintage G1 Autobots. Energon Optimus Prime is due to be moved to a more apt. location as I no longer need him standing in for an Optimus. Energon Star Saber still is my stand-in for Classics Wing Saber, though.

Bottom shelf: The BIG guys: MP Skywarp (WM exclusive), Energon Omega Supreme (paid $12 for him complete, absolutely no missing parts including the fragile "radar" panels on his left foot), an original 2003 Armada Unicron (holding a chromed Matrix from a giftset during the "Reveal the Shield" gimmick line), and random oddities. That MP Skywarp cost me only $30, too, thanks to Walmart overstocking.

Animated/Prime/Char Aznable Shrine/Ponies

G1/Movie/Generations Decepticons. The black Energon Optimus is a customized "Grand Scourge" and the knock-offs of the Bruticus limb guys in their RID 2000 deco were like, $1 each so they help fill the display out a bit.

Movie Autobots/Unicron Tilogy (2001-2006 lines). My Armada Megatron is missing all his parts (leg/tread compartments, horns, Leader-1 mini-con, missiles, etc.) but the toy was a gift from a friend back in elementary school who ended up moving away and he's still pretty awesome anyway. Though if anybody knows where I can locate spare parts to fix ol Megsy up I'd greatly appreciate it (and guns for my G1 Sixshot, too, that don't cost $30-$40 each).

The "Prime Helm" a.k.a. a 2007 Optimus Prime voice changer mask (these pics were from around the holidays, hence the hat) that McRascal sent to me free of charge as he wanted to get rid of it to free up space. Also two of my favorite Gundam models (the blue one was my very first, the white one is one of my finest pieces I've ever done) and three NECA Aperture Science collectible turrets.

The main Gunpla/random crap display.

Right corner of my computer desk a.k.a. "don't have space for these guys yet." The black, blue-green, and white/gold guys are the complete trio of Movie Landmine decos a.k.a. the best mold ever produced in the TF movie toyline period. The white one - DOTM Commettor - was a bitch to track down because he was a WM exclusive that was poorly distributed and never hit my area. But the Optimus figure on the left is the 2006 Classics Optimus Prime, from the 2014 "Evolutions of Optimus" 2-pack under the Age of Extinction line. That mold is absurdly expensive on the secondary market because of all the upgrade kits availiable like trailers and Ultra Magnus style armor packs, but also simply because it's a fucking bad ass toy that more than keeps up with the articulation on more recent Generations toys even though he's a toy dating back almost a decade by now.

Very nice collection! If you don't mind me asking, is your Six Shot a G1 version or one of the reissues? My own is the 2002 Takara reissue.

I also like your Alternators Battle Ravage. I always thought that that figure never did get enough love.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Have you got any pic's of GPS in action?
Is this just them drying out an becomming brittle, or do they become stretchy like the polymer is breaking down?

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/GPS

All you need to know is on that page.

Very nice collection! If you don't mind me asking, is your Six Shot a G1 version or one of the reissues? My own is the 2002 Takara reissue.

I also like your Alternators Battle Ravage. I always thought that that figure never did get enough love.

Sixshot is an original 1987. Picked him up at Botcon 2008 for about $27 bucks. Stickers could be a bit better and I had to clean a lot of grime off him, but the chrome is almost entirely intact on his wing bases and hubcaps, and I'm only missing his twin rifles. The trigger piece still functions like new, too!

As for Alt. Battle Ravage, I agree that he's pretty flippin' awesome and probably caught a lot of unnecessary flak that caused the Jaguar XK version to exist. I don't know why, though, given Battle Ravage is technically the only Beast Wars character to have gotten an Alternator if you apply the Binaltech fiction to him.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

Your Motormaster should be fine, since GPS happens due to the metalic flakes in the plastic not bonding with the material, leaving tiny pockets of air inside it. Over time, wear and tear will cause these microscopic voids to gradually widen with cracks and such, becoming more brittle as less and less plastic is bonded on the molecular level to the point merely touching the plastic will cause it to crumble.

I've never heard of a Motormaster ever having showcased GPS on those gray parts so as long as you handle with care, you should be ok.

This reassures me, thanks,

Have you got any pic's of GPS in action?
Is this just them drying out an becomming brittle, or do they become stretchy like the polymer is breaking down?

I haven't had GPS happen to me, but I have heard it's been known to happen in plastics of other colors and not just the eponymous "gold plastic", but I'm no expert on the phenomenon so that literally means nothing coming from me.

While we're on the topic of GPS, I had a legends class figure break once and I thought it was GPS related but on closer inspection it was more a combination of stress applied and imperfections in the plastic because those metallic swirls make for really good fracture points when stressed if the part is small and the flakes make a flat 2D plane through the entire thing. I still have that figure, I fixed it with crazy glue and I can safely say that it wasn't GPS as the rest of it hasn't turned to dust in the past 5 or so years I've had it, but yeah that thing just snapped and it seemed like I hadn't put nearly enough force on it to snap it like I did.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

I just recieved my G2 Starscream the other day, as well as a new tablet with a camera, and I decided I would test the camera on the tablet out by taking pictures of the G2 Starscream, I only took a few, since I was just testing it, and I need to get some Reprolabels or something to replace the stickers, as they're a little worse for the wear, but here's the test gallery, I think this camera is a little better than what I was using.
I especially like the color of the metal part, a lot of collectors say it's orange, but I see it as more of a crazy Day-Glo salmon color, also I took a picture of the very G2 habit of having the character's name somewhere on the figure, Starscream has it a little better though, his name is slightly obscured in jet mode, as opposed to Optimus having his name in huge letters on the trailer for the whole world to see. The Electronic Gimmick still works as well, I had to go out to find batteries for it but it worked fine and the electronics weren't corroded at all, so I can annoy people &/or amuse my dog to my heart's content with it.

EDIT: I ordered Reprolabels for G1 Starscream to replace the worn stickers (Reprolabels doesn't make a sheet for G2 Starscream) and I also got labels for my Legends Classics Megatron and Starscream as well, so I made a small Gallery to serve as a "before" for before and after I apply the labels.
I took the rubsign off of Megatron because the reprolabels comes with an optional G1-esque sticker for the chest that I intend to apply.

 

[Cosmos]

I'm a huge fan of Sailor Moon and I started collecting merchandise of it about 3 years ago. In that time, I've amassed a pretty huge collection. Unfortunately, my display space is very limited considering that my room is all I have to display my collection in, so everything is kinda smushed together. I hope to one day have enough space for everything!

Spoiler: My Sailor Moon collection

This is the Sailor Moon section of my anime bookshelf:

This part holds the Sailor V/Sailor Moon manga series, what copies of the animanga I have, my artbooks (both Naoko’s artbooks and the animation artbooks), and doujinshi. I also store my Sailor Moon necklaces here. And I have many, many necklaces. I also store my Starlight Studio brooches here. If you don’t know of them, they’re AMAZING. They make replica Sailor Moon stuff that’s crazy cheap. The brooches also function as hand mirrors!

I also store miscellaneous charms, trinkets, and jewelry here:

And here are the necklace boxes:

Here’s the second shelf. It’s mostly doujinshi and merchandise I have no other place for. The reason why I’ve got so much doujinshi, by the way, because I do manga colorings of the series and I’ve found that the artwork in doujinshi is very beautiful and worthy of coloring. I stick to non-hentai doujinshi for obvious reasons, haha.

More doujinshi and books that I have not sorted through yet. I’m terrible.

Here’s the bulk of my collection. This is where I display all of my figurines and dolls.

And here’s my mountain of plushies:

I have a ton of replicas of the brooches/wands/etc. I’ve had to put them in storage because I just don’t have enough space for them. The bin is open, though, so I can still see their sparkly goodness whenever I want.

My pen replicas:

My Figuarts and replica Ginzuishou! They have a special place on my dresser.

My assortment of Princess/Neo-Queen/Queen Serenity merchandise, which I consider to be the jewel of my collection:

Random stuff:

And that’s all! I’m so proud of my collection. It’s not the biggest out there, but I’ve handpicked everything I have and have been working on expanding my collection for three years now. It’s a very fun, intimate hobby for me. Also, I've added to my collection since these pictures were taken and there are a lot of little things like charms, keychains, and jewelry that aren't pictured in detail.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

After an arduous day of shoveling snow that was more slush and ice and felt like the stuff that black holes are made of with how heavy it made my shovel, I found that my Reprolabels arrived in the mail, and after applying them, I took some after pictures of G2 Starscream, and Legends Classics Megatron and Starscream.
I like how Megatron looks now, and G2 Starscream looks really nice now as the stickers are all brand new and shiny, and Legends Starscream doesn't bother me that his tails are just grey anymore.

 

[c-no]

Don't know if it counts as a collection but I do have old games (but if all the video games I own count, both physical and digital, then that right there is my main collection). A handful of NES and N64 games along with some old computer games (those being Fallout 2, Daggerfall, and Baldur's Gate). Only other collections I have is a small handful of pastel horses and Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

 

[A.Shitposter]

I got tons of Pokémon shit, no pictures though.

 

[Descent]

I have many things I collect, although I'm more of a quality over quantity person. For now though, I'll share my collection of Gameboy Advance e-cards.

I love the GBA, and I actually really do like the e-reader and wish it was more appriciated when it was out, although I do understand why people didn't like it. When I started collecting e-reader stuff last year, I lucked out and got a bunch of good cards and an e-reader plus for $40 with shipping. I got all but five of the cards for Super Mario Bros. 3, two Eon tickets (the listening didn't say there were two), some game and watch and NES cards, plus a couple cards for Animal Crossing. I ended up selling one of the Eon tickets, animal crossing, nes, and game and watch cards because I wasn't interested in them.

Spoiler

My English Pokemon cards are small, but I do plan on adding to them.

Spoiler

I loooooove this game. It's one of my favorites, and I loved the e-cards for it. I love having the items, the demo cards are fun to watch, and I was so excited about the idea of having all these new levels. The level cards are my favorite and I plan on getting a Japanese copy of the game and collecting the rest of the cards that didn't make it over seas ( I believe only 1/3 of the Mario cards were translated for the English release). I'm only missing five English cards. Three are item cards that are redundant and I could do without them, but I never see the other two sold by themselves, so I'll probably end up getting the entire set.

Spoiler

Another good deal I got the Japanese e-reader plus set for $20 shipping. It came with a bunch of promo cards for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, Super Mario Bros.3 (LEVEL CARD!!!) , F-Zero, and Megaman. Also, you can see both Japanese and English versions of the Air Hockey card because why not? :/

These two are my most recent and favorite:

Spoiler

Top ones for Pokemon Channel. Don't really care. They made and English version of it anyway. But the bottom one is for Pokemon Pinball and I've never seen it anywhere on the internet before. It's legit though. It only makes the bonus areas in the game more common, but it's rare and it's a fun game.

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

After an arduous day of shoveling snow that was more slush and ice and felt like the stuff that black holes are made of with how heavy it made my shovel, I found that my Reprolabels arrived in the mail, and after applying them, I took some after pictures of G2 Starscream, and Legends Classics Megatron and Starscream.
[MEDIA=imgur]MTfvX[/MEDIA]I like how Megatron looks now, and G2 Starscream looks really nice now as the stickers are all brand new and shiny, and Legends Starscream doesn't bother me that his tails are just grey anymore.

Oooooh, G2 Starscream. I had one when I was a kid and I've been debating adding one back to my collection. I'm a bit of a sucker for the G1 Seeker mold, but I think I'll go after a black Starscream before getting a G2 one.

Nice pics again, as always!

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

Oooooh, G2 Starscream. I had one when I was a kid and I've been debating adding one back to my collection. I'm a bit of a sucker for the G1 Seeker mold, but I think I'll go after a black Starscream before getting a G2 one.

Nice pics again, as always!

Yeah, I wanted to get a G1 Seeker Mold and when I headed on ebay I figured G2 Starscream was my best bet to get one in reasonably good condition that didn't cost more than 100 dollars, since all the reissues were far enough off that even they were wildly expensive now. I was not disappointed.

EDIT: While I'm on the subject I want to sing Reprolabels some praise, their stickers are a little expensive but they're definitely made with the collector in mind, they're made in a way that means the sticker is entirely plastic, like the modern stickers Hasbro occasionally releases when they feel like making the consumer do a little work, even the vintage stickers, so they're not gonna rub off the paper backing, like so many vintage Transformers toys get, my only gripe is they might not have the correct sticker sheet if your figure is extremely obscure, like I had to make do with a sheet for G1 Starscream and only replace the sheet stickers, which were identical on my G2 Scream, but I'd loved to have replaced all of the factory stickers too, as they'd gotten a little dingy.

EDIT: I added some of the additional decepticon logos from the sheet to G2 Starscream and I decided I'd show off one of the bonus holo stickers from the sheet I got that I added to Generations Legends Nemesis Prime, they sort of have a holofoil that goes between the colors on the rubsigns, and it looks pretty neat, the camera really doesn't do it justice.

 

[Mourning Dove]

I have a scented candle collection. As of now I have:

Nebuleuse d'Orion by Popup (sp? It's a French candle) - idk what it really smells like, and the product has no description of scent notes
Ambre Rouge by Popup (also a French candle) - Amber scented
Waikiki Pikake by Pacifica- Jasmine Sandalwood scented
Sandalwood by Pacifica
Aphrodisia by Tru Melange- Scented by lavandin, lemon, litsea. grapefruit, and ylang ylang essential oils
b.e. loved by some local brand bought at a co-op - Jasmine Rose scented. Really strongly scented despite not being made from synthetic fragrances.
Gilded Amberleaf by Illume - Amber scented. Really strong and I love this scent, but unfortunately one of my roommates is allergic to it so I abstain from burning it.
Desert Tulip by Illume - Haven't burned this one much but it smells like tulips I guess??

 

[Tricksy Fuckin Hobbitses]

I have a disgusting amount of WWII items; models, part of a medic kit (it still has the original thing of morphine in there too!), books, medals, an SA officer's knife that my grandpa brought back from the war (he also nabbed a Luger from the same officer. It's currently in my uncle's possession but one day it will be mine, oh yes).

Edit: Actually I guess I also technically collect Soviet-era stuff as well. I've got maps and coins and some uniform parts.

 

[Hawker Hurricane]

I sort of started collecting these Scribblenauts DC Heroes figures because I like the style they're rendered in, I only have 2 because I got one as a Gamestop reward and I found a single solitary remnant of them from when they're relevant, but I ordered 5 from series 1 off of ebay so that I'd have a small handful of them but I don't know what they are as they're blind boxes. (On an unrelated note the Scribblenauts games are fun, for a game so casual it can be pretty cerebral at times, since in a mission you get docked for using the same word multiple times or using words that are kind of cheat-y, so you have to think of alternate solutions or synonyms if a solution is a repeat of a previous thing used.)
I'll put in an edit with pictures of the 2 I have in a bit, I gotta go take them.
EDIT :
On the left is the one I got as a Gamestop Reward, 70's Batman, I got it because I don't know why, but I'm kind of really down with Batman in a Blue Cowl and actually doing Detective Things in addition to beating the shit out of bad guys. The one on the right is Ultra Man (not THAT Ultra Man), he's an alternate version of Super Man from one of the universes where the heroes' and villains' roles are reversed, so basically he's Evil Super Man.

EDIT THE TWO:
My five random Series 1 boxes arrived, and I'm posting the images to sort of take you through the experience of me opening them.

Spoiler: UNBOXING RIDE

The First Figure was:

Deadman, possibly the only obscure figure in series one if you don't count the Vampire Batman from Red Rain.

The Second Figure was:

Deadman. Again. This was the point at which I wasn't sure whether I wanted to open the rest because I was wondering if I would get a team of 5 Deadmen, but I pressed on, and was glad I did.

The Third Figure was:

Gold Superman, which is a Chase Figure, and while I'm not personally particularly a fan of Chase Figures that are just other figures in the series but literally shiny and pretty, I felt this more than made up for the duplicate, but would my luck hold up?

The Fourth Figure was:

Green Lantern Maxwell! This was the other Chase Figure in Series one, and though I'm not actually sure what the relative rarities compared to the "standard" figures is on these, I do feel incredibly lucky at this point.

The Fifth and Last Figure was:

Aquaman! I, uh, Well he's not a double! Ehehe...

Group Shot:

So these are the Five I got. As an aside, I really like that Green Lantern Maxwell has a green dot on his hand to represent the Power Ring, that was a nice little touch.

The TL;DR is that I got two that were the same, then 2 different Chase Figures, then Aquaman. So it went from low to high to kind of in the middle.

 

[sparklemilhouse]

With my recent interest in Commercial Airline livery, I want to start collecting airplane models, but they're crazy expensive.