I just saw this forum this morning, and was wondering if there were any diaclone/G1 Transformers fans out there? I used to have a pretty nice collection at one point with a MIB Diaclone Corvette Stingray, then I sold it when Takara Reissued it (As Road Rage) and then sold that (and most of the desirable pieces of my collection) during college when I was sorely broke. =(

My collection now is mostly the Takara Reissued stuff from several years ago, most of its boxed up... Optimus Prime and a few others are out on display, The original Optimus Prime will always be my favorite toy. I used to dream about having one in pristine condition for years, then in 2000 when they reissued it I was exstatic.

Damn, I think I might have to bust out the Transformers and re-arrange my toy display now.... =)

You should talk to akum6n.
I remember talking with him awhile back about robots and he has some pretty cool transformers. Not sure which generation they were...

Thanks Bryce- good memory! Yes, I am a huge TF fan. Which generation? Uh, a little from all of them! I even went on a weird Beast Wars binge a couple years ago when a local store cleared out their stock.

I would have loved to have seen that Diaclone Corvette- a boxed version of any Diaclone is a pretty rare occurrence. Even after Road Rage was sold through eHobby, the Diaclone original still seems to be sought after, unlike maybe some of the rarer TFs that were reissued. Maybe it is the relative scarcity of the toys or minor variations in materials/paint. However, even the older or more popular reissues have become pretty difficult to locate.

My dream for TF collecting is still unrealized, I guess- the Diaclone 'Devastator' (Build Gattai) with the variant blue components. Not as rare as it sounds, but very difficult to find complete (sold as a gift set only, I believe).

If you're getting back into TFs, I recommend the Classics/Universe/Henkei releases from the past couple of years. These are essentially updated versions of the original toys- not tied to any particular show or movie. You would probably like the Optimus from that line.

Believe it or not, Super 7 used to have Transformers in the store. Josh also collected/collects TFs.

Yeah I saw the Classics line and the Japanese counterparts, but I steer clear of them. It would just snowball into too many pirchases. The last line I collected was the Alternators/Binaltech... I wish they would revive that line again. The Alternity OP and Megatron don't wow me though. I need to stop buying vinyl for a bit and catch up on the Masterpiece releases- Grimlock looks awesome and I never got Megatron...

As for Diaclone, I used to have an small, but OK collection, the Stingray (in pristine condition in was the gem of my collection and the most I ever spent on a toy), Fairlady Z racing (Smokescreen), Inferno, Jazz, and Topspin all mib- and I had a couple drivers (still have one), and I used to be all over the Ehobby reissues.

Have you ever check the Autocon mailing list?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/autocon/

If you're serious about trying to find that DIaclone Devastator, I would check them out- its a yahoo mailing group- the hardest of the hardcore Transformers collectors. They're oldschool, just interested in collecting and documenting and have a lot of connections... I haven't been around in a couple years, but I used to be a regular. Those collectors have shit like an unreleased, Gold-plated Smokescreen that was originally to be a contest prize for Diaclone back in like 1980... If you stop by tell them Phil (hellopike) says hi!

phil

Thanks for the recommendation, Phil. I didn't know about that group. I'm not surprised to see Maz is one of the moderators.

Oh, you know Maz? He's my buddy, his website is a nice one- http://tf-1.com/

then of course diaclone.net, thats an awesome site, glad to see its still around.

phil

Nice link to that site! I'm mainly into Microman stuff, but as far as pre-Transformers stuff I like snagging Taiwanese knock-off variants of the first Microman "Micro Change" stuff. Unlike modern knock-offs, these were really quality items and the packaging matched he Japanese originals pretty well. Except for the fact that they are covered in "Engrlish"... I'm currently waiting for a somewhat complete "Cassette Man" (aka: Soundwave) that I bought mainly for the nice "Engrish" packaging that includes pictures of Microman figures on the back of the box.

My personal "holy grail" was getting this knock-off Jaguar (aka: Ravage) a year or so ago. I clearly remember seeing this exact same item being sold on Fulton Street by the Chinese vendors there back in the day... But skipped on picking them up since I was "older" and toys were for "kids".... Now that I can truly appreciate it, I have it... Finally...

Hey, shouldn't this thread be on the Microman/Henshin Cyborg board???

Anyway, the Car Robots stuff is pretty cool...I mean, hell, *I* sure loved TF as a kid in America. But as a collector now, what I really dig is the older, weirder Diaclone stuff. My favorites are the Walk Insectors and the Fortress Robot X!

hellopike, thanks for the info on the more "hardcore" of the TF sites. Most of the mainstream ones out there are a little...yeesh...well...y'know... I've heard that autocon e-mail group is the shit. Maybe they can help me find *my* personal holy grail, another knock-off like MicromanZone's Ravage: a brown Grimlock variant with a lot of spikes all over him & shit...

I think so. Never though of Diaclone/Microman as super robots... No disrespect...

'
That stuff is fascinating. I think that comes from the period of time when Takara was having an identity crisis for their line. They were phasing out Microman and trying to find the next big thing. So all these crazy and elaborate designs that don't fit neatly in any predefined collector niche. And on top of that, during the 1980s when pre-Transformers were knocked-off and bootlegged like crazy.


Good luck. I'd recommend checking eBay's misc listings for it to slip in. The good/bad thing about hardcore TF collectors is some of them are just not fully aware of where there stuff came from. I know there are exceptions and such, but I remember mentioning the original transforming cassettes from Microman/MicroChange and these folks kept on insisting those were "bootleg"... Geez...

The bright side is that means a lot of really cool stuff slips through their hands into other folks.

Well, they are robots... and they are pretty damn super.






Autocon knows what they are talking about. They are to TFs/diaclone/microman what Skullbrain is to Kaiju.

phil

I still try to collect G1. Mine is a mish mash of re-issues, original releases, and Takara. They really display well when they are all together, and are still some of my favorite non-kaiju toys. I haven't had them on display for almost a month now and it's killing me.

Go here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009 ... -pano.html

Go into the panorama and look around. You will find quite a stash of transformers.

i used to collect transformers somewhat seriously, mostly picked up G1 stuff, the occasional japanese G1 piece, and all the re-issues. I never got that deep into beast wars, or the later toy lines, although i did pick up some car robots stuff, including the fortress maximus repro. in the end, the pieces i really wanted were too expensive or too hard to find, and my interest gradually shifted.......to more expensive, harder to find toys.

i always wanted the original soundblaster (had the jr. version), and those japanese-release only combining cassettes whose names i forget. they turned into combining dinosaurs, i think. i would still love to get all the original dinobots in good condition. the ones i grew up with were among my most favorite toys, and i played with them all the time. they are now really thrashed!

edit:
omg want all - http://tf-1.com/articles/jtf_frame.php?art=dinocass

Good fricken' luck getting the Dino-cassettes... they routinely go for $500+ each when they do show up (which is like once or twice a year). They command even more money than the JP exclusive Headmaster Heads. They are totally rad tho.

I used to have some transformers figures. I need to get back into them, epsecially the japanese ones, that would be cool. is there any specific store that has these that are great to deal with?

I'd recommend BigBadToyStore. They are more of a standard "collector" store; the kind I don't go for. But they have an extensive selection of stuff and have a strong Transformers inventory. Including Japanese reissues. They also have a "vintage" department that has prices that are a tad baffling at times. But whatever. They ahev done me right the few times I've dealt with them.

They also have the reissue "Big Mission" TF G1 casettes in stock here and here.

I dig the Diaclone stuff, and I've got a few (nothing in great shape, and most incomplete). I'd love to get more.

Hey there. Karma hits... I think?I just spotted this on eBay. Auction ended (why I'm linking to it; I assume that's cool) and I snagged the photos so you can get a better look here. Is this the knock-off Grimlock you are looking for? FWIW, I just bought something from this same seller seller and they were excellent. Fast/secure shipping. Who knows if they will get another one of these guys.

Man, MZ...you sure make a brotha nervous! Yes, posting info like above is totally cool...but it sure makes a brotha nervous when it happens to be the day a particular auction that's been haunting his every waking moment ends!

All's well that ends well, though!

I feel bad about this. The link I posted was for an auction that went for $30. The auction you spied went for $127. Whoever that other bidder was... Wow... Someone really wants that.

I had a couple of those Dinobot knockoffs. They were called "Ancient Animal." They were on the shelves long before the real Dinobots, and the real ones sold out so quickly that the bootlegs were the only game in town. I always wondered what those little "seats" were for. Of course I found out later. Wish they came with caveman pilots.

There is an oversize Grimlock bootleg out there, like a foot tall or so, right?

I believe it was "Prehistory Animal", but I'm not 100% sure. But, yeah, it was weird to see them on the shelves...then the "legit" Dinobots...at the same time!

Might have to get some junker Diaclone figs and customize some cavemen pilots! Bitchin' idea!

Yes, I believe VF5SS of TBDX/CDX fame has one of those foot-tall Grimlock boots. I think he photographed it in some Transformers thread on TBDX about the WST Dinobots by Justitoys (which everyone reading this thread should buy!!!).

Mine was an Ancient Animal:

http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/ ... lock2.html

But there were also Prehistory Animals:

http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/ ... lock2.html

I'd love to see that big Grimlock, but I'm sure one discovers it suffers from Bootleg Crap Quality Syndrome when you handle it.

I collect Diaclone/Kronoform etc. and their bootlegs. I'll shoot some pics of my stuff later on.



That is a fantastic Dai Attacker bootleg Kingboy!

Some of my Diaclone and related stuff: