It's all perspective. I remember not having enough for a Megatron I wanted to get for my father after he got in a car wreck and they suggested some fiddle toys to get the nerves to reconnect. Me and my mother together (we were struggling) got a Brawn. He liked it because he thought it looked like what he drove in the army. Even when things improved considerably later, sometimes five or ten was just beyond my means.
1988 Minibot Equivalents
- Thread starter ZacWilliam1
- Start date
Never saw the Prime reissue in stores. May not have been able to afford one if I had at the time, but never saw one to buy.
Those were the days. Magnus was the one I wanted.
Soon. Very soon. Missing Link will finally heal this wound.
Soon. Very soon. Missing Link will finally heal this wound.
They just couldn't deal with him then.That Optimus and Hot Rod were impossible to find. Their existence at retail is practically a myth.
Magnus, however, was easy to find in plentiful amounts, because nobody wanted him.
I never saw a Hot Rod. Rodimus Major, on the other hand, I was able to find and buy...
I saw one once, when I was coming back from visiting family half way across the country. I was tempted to get it, I had the money, but I thought I better not spend it on toys when I might need it for something else on the way back. I always regretted not getting that toy then.
Ultra Magnus was the easiest to find for me. I got him and Hotrod at the nearest Toys R Us, which was a 30 minute+ drive to get to from where I grew up. Optimus I only saw once at a Toys R Us in Kansas.That Optimus and Hot Rod were impossible to find. Their existence at retail is practically a myth.
Magnus, however, was easy to find in plentiful amounts, because nobody wanted him.
The weird thing is some of the reissues were super easy to find in Toys R Us and WalMart, others I never saw in stores at all, there was no consistency. Even today, I got the 'movie' G1 recolors for Thundercracker and Skywarp for my newphew, no Starscream ever appeared.
But this whole thing is making me remember RID, weirdly, when a friend who had better TV access than I did was seeing 'new' Ultra Magnus's debut and summarized it as "He's dealing with it! NOW!!!"
But this whole thing is making me remember RID, weirdly, when a friend who had better TV access than I did was seeing 'new' Ultra Magnus's debut and summarized it as "He's dealing with it! NOW!!!"
RID Ultra Magnus was one of my favorites! In fact that was the toy that I saw in stores that made me start collecting again after Beast Machines.
I think I must have been one of the first people to get that first Commemorative Series wave. I had just moved to San Diego in June of 2002 and started my career. Came across them at the nearest TRU. I'd never had G1 Hot Rod or Magnus before, and my Optimus had broken long before, so I snatched them all up. I remember reporting on it at the TFW boards (might've still been Transfandom at that time?), confirming details like the rubber tires and metal toes. No pics though. Didn't have a camera yet at that point.
At the time, I took it as a good omen that I was in a good market and was likely to get early access to all the new stuff! Ultimately turned out that no, distribution is a crapshoot anywhere. E.g. I never did find Energon Galvatron anywhere out there. Only managed to get him when I was visiting home for Christmas.
At the time, I took it as a good omen that I was in a good market and was likely to get early access to all the new stuff! Ultimately turned out that no, distribution is a crapshoot anywhere. E.g. I never did find Energon Galvatron anywhere out there. Only managed to get him when I was visiting home for Christmas.
I remember when they were first found in store listings. Like we had no idea they were coming, all we had was the three listings with just names, and people speculating on whether it meant G1 reissues or something new. A lot of people didn't think we were getting reissues, as that just never happened before in the US.
And then everyone whined about the prices. If only we knew.
Complaints about the missiles were valid though. What a dumb time.
Complaints about the missiles were valid though. What a dumb time.
To be fair, a cheeseburger was still $.69 back then, so $40 was like $200 today.
Looking at the camera with a defiant "What?"lmao at snaptrap
I'm also noticing what must be Seawing's undocumented fourth mode.
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I had Cindersaur, I wish I could have had Flamefeather too, especially when I realized it's the SAME alt-mode after a Mario Mushroom. They'd be great together...
He can't deal with that now.