It’s time for another Transformer Fan Interview, and once again this one comes from overseas, the good ol’ US of A.  Chris has some of the most brilliant looking Transformers displays I have ever seen, and he’s sharing photos of it as well sharing the history of his hobby with us today.

Name and/or nicknames:

Chris Bishop.  I used to go by makoaspire as a customizer, but not so much anymore.

Family?

Married man, nearly 20 years this go round. Two teenage daughters.

Career?

I own and operate my own full service sign company. I do the little stuff  – like banners and such, and the big stuff – like shopping center monuments. As well as all the stuff in between. Having the equipment and the background I do from the sign business has helped incalculably in creating the collection display space that I have now.

 Website/Fan-pages?

Well I basically live on Facebook, so all of my content is there.  You can see my customs work, which includes exhaustive photos of my collection as well at: https://www.facebook.com/LNOWcustoms. 

I’m going to be starting up a side venture selling my background prints and creating dio pieces for anyone who wants them. I’m sluggish on the start, but hope to get that running soon.

How would you rate yourself on a C scale, C10 being MISB Mint perfection, to the lowest C1 ‘junker not worth it even for parts’?

I’m a 50 year old man. I’ve got more dents and dings in my packaging than I care to admit, but you see, the inside’s gone to pot as well.  I’m not a total loss though, so I’ll give myself a C5+

Fan/Collector since (year)?

September 17, 1984. The day the G1 cartoon premiered in the US.  A week earlier, a kid in my class had the first TF toy I had ever seen, a Buzzsaw cassette.  Up until that point Star Wars was the top dog in my toy arsenal. Then I see this thing, that’s TWO things.  And one was a robot bird! I was intrigued.  Then he told me a cartoon was coming out for these toys and it was gonna start the following week. I was hooked.

Transformers Allegiance, if you had one?

Decepticon. I have a tattoo of the symbol on my shoulder, a badge on the front of my truck, Devastator adorns my shop’s garage door.

I’m not all good. I’ve done some untoward stuff in my life. I love dark humor. The darker the better. I cannot suffer fools easily or at least without making my disdain known. I complain a lot, but I love cats, am exceedingly helpful and don’t want to cause any unnecessary pain.

Your Techspec motto if you had one?

Be nice, until it’s time to not be nice.

What existing, official Transformers character best describes you?

Blitzwing.  Has leadership goals, has a few sides to him, can avoid a hit when necessary, has his own mind, but is ultimately loyal and honorable in the end.

Which special ability of any Transformers character would you want to have for yourself? 

I’m a Skywarp fan and hate long car trips so, teleportation would be great.

Do you think you will collect Transformers until you die?

Difficult to see.  Always in motion, is the future. Just as you have with your Transformatorium, I have spent an inordinate amount of time and effort, as well as money and other intangibles to create the setup I have, so I’m definitely “pot committed” to use a poker term. AFTER I die, well, that’s my survivor’s problem.  But I have all the boxes in the attic for them to pack everything into to sell.

Do people outside of the hobby know you collect TFs (like at work/school)?

Yes. Several do, but I am of a generation where being a nerd was not something that you ever wanted to be labeled. So I still find myself low key ashamed to be into this sort of thing, especially at my age. I don’t broadcast it beyond the “community”. However, you make allowances for always loving what you grew up with and I love these things.

Were your family/parents supportive of collecting toys or did you have to hide your passion from them and friends?

I would say in retrospect, that I was spoiled with toys as a child. I was a good kid, definitely not a Veruca Salt, but I had a lot of stuff.  I was the first kid, first grandchild, so a lot of gifts at birthdays and holidays.  Not the rest of the year.  We were lower middle working class, but somehow my family provided plenty. Though there was always that one figure, or playset, or whatever, that I didn’t have or wanted, but didn’t get.

What does your partner think of your hobby?

She supports me, whatever.  She’s not into the hobby by any means. But she appreciates the effort and the artistry that I bring to it, because for me, it’s not just about the collecting, it’s about creating things and marrying the two.

Have you attended any fan-meets, Fairs, Conventions, Special Events?

I’ve been to many local cons, as well as a few TFCons.  Next up is TFCON Baltimore in November.

Favourite series/era/year, and why?

Geee-Wunnnnn!  Because it was the right time, I was the right age, it was made for me, crafted to manipulate me into loving these characters, watching their cartoon exploits, reading their comics (and shrugging off the differing from the cartoon storylines). And ultimately BUYING (or being gifted or stealing) the toys.

I know it wasn’t the best written thing. I cringe at AKOM episodes, or laugh at all the animation errors. But it was FOR me…at the time. And generationally as a whole,  Xers and Early Millenials are so entangled in their own pop culture nostalgia. Moreso than any previous or subsequent generation. Perfect storm, man.

Collect any comics?

None beyond the original TF ones, but I’ve read everything that’s come down the pike about the G1 characters. Dreamwave, IDW, Image.

Favourite Comic issue/story, and why?

I realize that when it comes to the original G1 comics continuity we have Marvel US and UK titles.  As an American, I’m always talking about the US title.  The comic stories didn’t really move me in any particular way, but Issue #9 with Circuit Breaker stands out, as well as the cover for issue #5. And of course the abomination in issue 70.

Favourite Cartoon episode/story, and why?

Don’t have a favorite, but I have ones that I don’t really like. Most of those are in Season 3 or by AKOM studios. Lol.

Favourite Character, and why?

If you could combine Shockwave, Skywarp and Motormaster into one badass hombre, then that’s my guy!

Which Transformers character would you want to exist for real?

Huffer or Gears.  He can help me work and complain all day with me.

Approx TFs toy collection count (or give a range like 200s, 300s, 2000s etc): 

Including items not on display I’d estimate in the 300-400 range.

Sealed collector or out-of-packaging collector?

I have done both.  But mainly out and displayed. The current Mainline/Studio Series 86 bots all remain MISB and packed away in the attic.

How much do you think you’ve spent on your collecting habit?

Including the lumber, supplies, lighting, toys and all the display redos since the Ikea Detolf days of 2014 – roughly $25 – $30K

Any rare/expensive figures in your collection? 

I have a few exclusives.  The most recent pickup was the Yolopark Clear Purple Megatron.

What interesting Licensed Merchandise items do you have?

I stay away from non-figure purchases.  I used to heavily collect Star Wars stuff in my 20s.  Had a display space similar to what I have for the TFs without all the dios and backgrounds, though.  I bought EVERY. THING. Star Wars branded and it had to stay MISB.  Of course I had ALL of the figures and playsets. But then I started buying scented markers, collectors plates, store displays, Bags of chips and Pepsi products, bookmarks.  It became untenable. It swallowed my time and was a small, but contributing factor to the disintegration of my first marriage.

First Transformers toy?

G1 Trailbreaker was the first one I unwrapped that Xmas.

One toy you most want?

I don’t have a grail. I’ve bought everything I want…so far.

The centrepiece/favourite toy in your collection at the moment (and why)?

It’s quite literally the entire centerpiece of my display. In 2020 during the pandemic time off I built a Legends scale G1 cartoon centerpiece display unit for the space.  It is comprised of 4 sides, each with 3-4 shelves that have dios of G1 cartoon scenes populated with legends figures. I intentionally built it with differing composition angles that force you to keep looking and moving around the unit. I feel it’s the finest work I will ever do. And I already did it… So I’m done, I guess. Lol.

Side 1: The Ark & Sherman Dam

Side 2: The Oil Rig and the Decepticon Underwater Base

 Side 3: The 86 Movie

Side 4: Cybertron, the Space Bridge and Season 4

Favourite toy in your early years of collecting?

Soundwave was always a banger to have on hand.

Worst toy(s) ever in your opinion?

Dino-Riders. Shout out to my buddy Gort. Lol.  But I assume you meant worst TF toy.  I personally dislike the pretenders, especially the mega super pretenders or whatever they called them. I was out of TFs by that point, trying to catch the ladies.

Toy(s) that were most disappointing when you got them?

All of the G1 toys, really.  Even then I held the toys up and compared them to the toon, and found them lacking.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved they toys then, but I was keenly aware they didn’t match the characters on the show.  I mean Where TF are Ironhide & Ratchet’s heads??  It started me on the road to customization.  Not knowing any different I would regularly repaint my figures with house paints or even one time I glued lego bits to Blaster to make him combine with the Throttlebots.

Thoughts on gimmick and non-convertible Transformers toys?

A gimmick is only cool if it doesn’t take anything away from the figure. I couldn’t care less about opening doors and hoods, or steering wheels on car robots. When you start making sacrifices to include a gimmick, that’s when the toy IS the gimmick and not the character. As far as non-converting – that’s a case by case basis, but I don’t prefer it unless it is a definitive representation of the character.  I’m slavish to G1 toon accuracy if you haven’t come to that conclusion yet. However you still have to straddle the line sometimes when it comes to Devastator.

Which single TFs toy should every fan own?

A Prime. For better or worse, he’s the sigil of the franchise.

Which Transformers toy/product would you give as a wedding present?

I can’t imagine that being a possible scenario in my life. LOL. My TF collecting friends already have everything.

Do you collect other toys? 

Minimally.  I have small collections or single shelves of various 80’s pop-culture properties.  Back to The Future, They Live, Aliens, Ghostbusters, Jaws (70s) Flash Gordon and others.

I also have 3 shelves of Indiana Jones.  Artifacts from the films and the recent 6” figure line. I had to make custom figures of several of the characters that Hasbro left out.  All the shelves have some sort of backgrounds or dioramas. I can’t help myself 😉

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How did you find out about www.bigangrytrev.com?

I’ve seen your Transformatorium photos in the groups before, and just watched your video.  It’s a massively, impressive collection you’ve amassed. Now it’s got it’s own orbit with people sending you stuff all the time to add to it. But to also be able to share it with your kids is golden, and best of all. I’m sure you’re supremely proud of it all, and you SHOULD be!

Thanks for requesting the interview. I’m quite proud of what I’ve done and like to show it off. I guess it’s the equivalent to gearheads and their rides and car shows or burning donuts. Except our collections can’t go anywhere to show off, we just get to post cool pics.

 Additional photos

Thank you so much to Chris for sharing his AMAZING Transformer displays with us!  If there is anything else you’d like to know about Chris and his hobby, pop it in the comments section below!