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Can you still buy old-school Transformers?

PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
edited September 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
Specifically I want the original VW bug bumblebee. is there anywhere outside of ebay you can find these? If so, where?

Google just leads to a twisty maze of fan-sites, all alike.

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Posts

  • ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2007
    Pretty sure Hasbro isn't allowed to make anything Volkswagon/VW-owned anymore, but I could be wrong. Still pretty sure regular toystores are not an option though.

    ViolentChemistry on
  • ShimShamShimSham Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Even though you asked, outside of ebay, I'd still say that's the best place to look if you can't find fan trade/sell sites. And most of those I've seen just sell small accessories for the Transformers.

    If nothing else, I'd recommend finding the Classics Deluxe Bumblebee

    rmboth.jpg
    There's a comparison of Original G1 Bumblebee and Classics Bumblebee

    He retails for $10, but you can't find him in stores much now but since he was in stores about a year ago he's not at all that hard to find.

    Classics Bumblebee is a much better representation of G1 Bumblebee (aside from the race stripe) if that's what you're looking for.

    ShimSham on
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  • lordswinglordswing Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Man, I can't even find any Transformers in stores. I haven't exactly drove to every single Wal-Mart/TRU nearby, but if I'm inside one, I'll look, and they're always out of stock, =/

    lordswing on
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  • ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2007
    lordswing wrote: »
    Man, I can't even find any Transformers in stores. I haven't exactly drove to every single Wal-Mart/TRU nearby, but if I'm inside one, I'll look, and they're always out of stock, =/

    The ones from the movie are all over the place, and some of the ones from the more recent re-hashes of the original cartoon should be too. Those just aren't the originals is all.

    ViolentChemistry on
  • lordswinglordswing Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    lordswing wrote: »
    Man, I can't even find any Transformers in stores. I haven't exactly drove to every single Wal-Mart/TRU nearby, but if I'm inside one, I'll look, and they're always out of stock, =/

    The ones from the movie are all over the place, and some of the ones from the more recent re-hashes of the original cartoon should be too. Those just aren't the originals is all.

    That brings bad news to my wallet, thanks!

    lordswing on
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  • bigpandabigpanda Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Volkswagen won't allow any of their products to be used to represent "war" toys which is what they consider Transformers. Back in the day Takara/Hasbro was able to get away with using the likenesses of different cars without having to deal with the automakers much. Today that's not really the case and I belive they have to license the vehicle before they can use it for the toy. It's the primary reason why you'll never see a commercially produced Bumblebee (or any other TF) as a VW.

    As for where you can find an old BB toy, well, there's a lot of online toy stores that sell old transformers, some rebuilt, some used, some with the box, and rarely (and usually expensively priced) sealed in the box. You'll pay a premium to deal with these sites as they need to cover additional costs that ebay sellers usually don't. My recommendation would be ebay or see if you can find a trades list that you might be able to work something out with someone.

    As for the other TF's, Takara and Hasbro have released re-issues of G1 toys which can be relatively easy to find online (and occasionally at Toys R Us). There's also the toys that are based on the current cartoon which rotate through your Targets and Wal-Marts. Also just remembered that about a year or two ago Tak/Has released smaller plastic versions of some G1 characters that had more posability than the originals. They were quite nice, but I've heard that they've become somewhat expensive as they were a somewhat short run, although they may be renewing the line after the movie hype dies down as it was extremely popular.

    bigpanda on
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Yeah, I felt like finally picking up Alternator Grimlock or Wheeljack about a month ago, and all the stores gutted their displays to make room for the movie garbage. Sad days. Your best bet is probably the intertubes.

    Delzhand on
  • PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Wow you guys know your toys. guess I'm off to ebay then.

    PirateJon on
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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Takara re-released the G1 Bumblebee toy (with a new, show-accurate head) along with some of the other mini-Autobots as one of their re-issues a year or two back.

    DarkPrimus on
  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    edited September 2007
    www.bigbadtoystore.com is a pretty good non-ebay online store for TFs. so is entertainment earth.

    fightinfilipino on
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  • RoundBoyRoundBoy Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    wait... those linked are plastic... weren't the 'original' transformers heavy and made of metal ?

    RoundBoy on
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  • PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    No, they were plastic for sure. The one I'm trying to replace met his demise at the hands of megatron, who melted him with an estes model rocket engine.

    PirateJon on
    all perfectionists are mediocre in their own eyes
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    PirateJon wrote: »
    No, they were plastic for sure. The one I'm trying to replace met his demise at the hands of megatron, who melted him with an estes model rocket engine.

    Brawn was the one who Megs shot on the shuttle in the beginning of TFtM.

    He comes in that Minibot reissue pack I mentioned. TF Collection #12, if you want help looking on eBay for it. :P

    I found a picture of the set, though I haven't located a store with it in-stock yet.

    http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/dragonballzcentral_1964_392727607

    DarkPrimus on
  • RoundBoyRoundBoy Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    PirateJon wrote: »
    No, they were plastic for sure. The one I'm trying to replace met his demise at the hands of megatron, who melted him with an estes model rocket engine.

    I know that my Optimus Prime cab was, in fact, metal. My details are fuzzy on the rest, but I do remember the toys being fairly signifigant... and i did buy a replacement for a lost transformer all those long years ago, and the replacement was much shittier.

    RoundBoy on
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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    There are parts that were die-cast, but only parts. Even the G1 TFs had lots of plastic.

    RoundBoy: No, the G1 cab was plastic. It will also feel lighter to you now then it did back then.

    DarkPrimus on
  • Peeps ChickenPeeps Chicken Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    RoundBoy: No, the G1 cab was plastic. It will also feel lighter to you now then it did back then.

    I'm reasonably certain as well that part of the G1 cab was metal.

    Peeps Chicken on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Like, the wheels maybe.

    I have the Takara reissue, which is a perfect replica of the original Japanese release, and all the major parts of the trailer are plastic.

    DarkPrimus on
  • TM2 RampageTM2 Rampage Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    There have been these "replicas" of some old small G1 toys like Bumblebee and a bunch of Soundwave's cassettes... they're even in packaging that looks exactly like the original packaging. These are unofficial replicas... some sellers try to pass them off as the real deal... so uh... be careful about that. Even if they're identified as replicas, they still are priced somewhat high, at like 20 bucks or more.

    Also, one time at Hot Topic I saw they had an official Transformers keychain that was just a re-release of the original G1 Bumblebee with a keychain attached. There's also another guy in that line... I forgot who, though.

    TM2 Rampage on
  • RoundBoyRoundBoy Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    RoundBoy: No, the G1 cab was plastic. It will also feel lighter to you now then it did back then.

    I'm reasonably certain as well that part of the G1 cab was metal.



    I agree... Optimus took many hard knocks while battling on rocks in my youth, and much paint was scraped. I can't honestly speak for the rest of it, but the cab was metal.

    Even if the toys weren't 100% metal then (unlike Voltron.. god damn he was heavy) they were very solidly built.

    My previous story of returning transformers happened 4 times for the same one, simply because by the time i replaced him, i was on the next batch after manufacturing cuts... I remember the left arm having a few rotations in it before you could spin it like a propeller with a small flick.

    RoundBoy on
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  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    Nexus Zero wrote: »
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    RoundBoy: No, the G1 cab was plastic. It will also feel lighter to you now then it did back then.

    I'm reasonably certain as well that part of the G1 cab was metal.


    Is this the one that could also transform into a base? Because if so, it wasn't metal.
    Are you talking about the cab, or the trailer?
    Because I know the trailer was all plastic, but I would swear on a pile of bibles that I remember the most of the actual truck part being metal.

    This image in particular looks metal to me.
    http://www.unicron.us/tf1984/toypix/optimusprime1b.jpg

    see317 on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    There have been these "replicas" of some old small G1 toys like Bumblebee and a bunch of Soundwave's cassettes... they're even in packaging that looks exactly like the original packaging. These are unofficial replicas... some sellers try to pass them off as the real deal... so uh... be careful about that. Even if they're identified as replicas, they still are priced somewhat high, at like 20 bucks or more.

    As far as I know, the TF Collection reissues by Takara have not been bootlegged.

    And yes, I was confusing cab with trailer. My bad. Yes, Optimus' window section was metal.

    DarkPrimus on
  • SeruleSerule Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    see317 wrote: »
    Nexus Zero wrote: »
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    RoundBoy: No, the G1 cab was plastic. It will also feel lighter to you now then it did back then.

    I'm reasonably certain as well that part of the G1 cab was metal.


    Is this the one that could also transform into a base? Because if so, it wasn't metal.
    Are you talking about the cab, or the trailer?
    Because I know the trailer was all plastic, but I would swear on a pile of bibles that I remember the most of the actual truck part being metal.

    This image in particular looks metal to me.
    http://www.unicron.us/tf1984/toypix/optimusprime1b.jpg

    Optimus's chest (which forms the front of the cab) and part of his legs were diecast metal. The rest was plastic.

    Serule on
  • EliteLamerEliteLamer __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2007
    I had one of the old ones that was impossible to transform. lol

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  • SesphohemeSesphoheme Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    I've looked everywhere for the Original Toys. I've found a few old trinkets from some old Thrift Malls. One at a yard sale and some over Ebay and Amazon. (A lot of money into those ones.) But, as of late, since the movie came out, I've been disappointed to see that the movie based on the toys spawned into toys based on the movie. It's quite disappointing. Not commenting on the movie being horrible, but the fact that the movie has changed the toys makes the Transformers.... not the Transformers I once knew. It's kind of like Power Rangers, and Ninja Turtles. They're nothing now, like they were in my childhood. Anyone else feel the same?

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  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    The Transformers for the film were designed first, and the toys were based off the designs that ILM came up with.

    Every Transformers line has had changes to it, some more drastic than others. People threw a fit about Beast Wars, people threw a fit about Beast Machines, people threw a fit about Armada and the Minicons... and hey, people are throwing a fit about Transformers Animated that is slated for next year.

    Transformers fans love to bitch that change is killing their beloved toyline.

    DarkPrimus on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited September 2007
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    The Transformers for the film were designed first, and the toys were based off the designs that ILM came up with.

    Every Transformers line has had changes to it, some more drastic than others. People threw a fit about Beast Wars, people threw a fit about Beast Machines, people threw a fit about Armada and the Minicons... and hey, people are throwing a fit about Transformers Animated that is slated for next year.

    Transformers fans love to bitch that change is killing their childhood memories painted with sunshine and rainbows that never existed for them, their parents, or their parents' parents.


    This thread has made me want to go look for my OG toys. I'll see if I can find them and report on the metal content.

    MichaelLC on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    I think the reissue Soundwave is still available on Toys R Us.com. You guys should get one. He's awesome.

    DarkPrimus on
  • ShimShamShimSham Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I think the reissue Soundwave is still available on Toys R Us.com. You guys should get one. He's awesome.
    Not a chance, he sells out within hours or less everytime he's available now.

    ShimSham on
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