This question comes from master filmographer Pieter:
If The Transformers never existed do you think you would you have become a die hard collector of anything else like perhaps Robotech, Star Wars/Trek etc?
I’m going to have to give a big YES to that, though I’m sure never to the extent I have Transformers. I’ve collected various other things over the course of my life, and if I didn’t have Transformers I think my collections of them would be a lot bigger than they are. Given how much I spend per month on Transformers, the rest of my nerdy passions don’t get much of a look in.
Mid 90’s: Home Improvement Merchandise
Remember the 90’s sitcom Home Improvement? Back in the day I LOVED that show! Maybe it was because from 1987 onwards I lived away from my father, who had tried to be a good Dad in his way, but was 50 when I was born and already suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia and Manic Depression. Thus he wasn’t a father who was overtly loving or would play catch with me at the park. So watching a TV Dad who openly loved, played and did activities with his sons, as well as being funny, perhaps was a substitute for something my own life was missing.
During the 90’s I wasn’t collecting Transformers as I wasn’t a big fan of Beast Wars, so for a while I collected Home Improvement merchandise. This included everything from collector cards, posters, jumpers, t-shirts, socks and even a board game.
Mid 90’s:/2000’s: The Tick
I love The Tick! He is by far and away my very favourite super hero and has been since the cartoon came out in the 90’s. I don’t have a great deal of The Tick merchandise, but truthfully in part that’s because there isn’t that much out there, as super heroes go he is on the obscure side.
Late 90’s: X-Men Comics
I used to collect X-Men comics in the late 90’s. Sadly when I moved in with a girl I gave a ton to a mate to hang onto who subsequently lost them, and now only have the special edition ones I kept for myself.
Early 2000’s: Men’s G-Strings
Hold up! This isn’t as pervy as it sounds! And they were all mine, not someone else’s!
When backpacking around Europe in my mid 20’s I had to lug all the clothing I had in my backpack and didn’t get to wash clothes that often. And two or 3 thongs would take up the same amount of space in my swag as one pair of boxer shorts would. So by wearing mens g-strings I could triple the amount of underwear I had before I had to find a laundromat in whatever country I happened to be in – now that’s just good common sense for a world traveller. As I traversed Europe I would occasionally pick up a new one at places like a fancy men’s underwear store in Florence.
When I arrived back in Australia I found I had accrued quite a few. The oldest have been tossed now. Back then I was young and very fit, these days it would look like wrapping a rubber band round the bottom of a pear. Ah but back in the day, it was amazing how many bar patrons across Europe would buy drinks all night for a Mad Aussie dancing round in a blokes thong – a great money saver!
90’s/2000’s: Star Trek
I’ve seen most everything made in both franchises, though admit to being far more of a Trekkie than a Star Wars fan. I bought nearly every Star Trek book written by Shatner, but never collected Star Trek merchandise in a huge way. Back in the 90’s I collected the ‘Star Trek Fact Files’ that came out each week for $5 and could be put into associated binders. Considering that there were a bit over 200 issues I guess that was a thousand bucks over 4 years which was a decent bit of cash. Sadly I had them stored in a shed and mice got into them so they are pretty wrecked now.
2000’s: Anime Statuettes
For a while about 15 years ago I collected Anime Statuettes from some of my favourite Japanese cartoons and ended up with maybe a couple dozen. However parenthood changes ones perspective, and given the… ahem… proportions of many anime girls, they didn’t seem appropriate to have on display anymore, so I stopped collecting and those I had got packed away and have spent a decade in a box in the storage shed. I might get around to selling them off one day as I don’t think I’ll really ever want to display them again.
2010’s: My Little Pony
When I was the househusband and not working for 6 months when we first moved to NSW I used to watch My Little Pony with my young daughter each morning, and found it to be very entertaining and something we could share! So both she and I started collecting MLP figures, myself specializing in Rarity figures since I found her hilarious!
However the cartoon came to an end and she got older and lost all interest. She actually donated her MLP toys to me and I was a bit sad to see something we had enjoyed together cast aside. I kept a bunch of the Rarity ones, the rest went to goodwill as the joy for me came from collecting them with my daughter and sharing the hobby rather than the figures themselves.
Now my daughter is into Lilo & Stitch and I do try to share the hobby with her as best I can, but for my money the Ponies were more fun.
80’s/90’s/2000’s: Ghostbusters
If I didn’t collect Transformers, I think this would be mainly what I would collect now. I adore Ghostbusters, it is definitely my No.2 pop culture love. I’ve got a full uniform (gets busted out once a year to take my kids Trick’or’Treating), a few toys, DVD’s, video games, a board game etc.
Though nothing will ever equal the the first two movies for me, I love that the franchise is still kicking strong today.
Hooray for Crossovers!
So while I may not be able to afford to collect much outside of Transformers, luckily there are Transformer Crossovers! Between comics and toys Transformers has crossed over with the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, Jurassic Park, Avengers, X-Men, Mr. Potato Head, Ghostbusters, Street Fighter, Back to the Future, Terminator…. heck, even Angry Birds! 
So these crossovers have enabled me to dip my toe into other sci-fi genre’s without having to compromise my Transformers budget.
So yep Pieter, I would definitely still collect something. And maybe its in the blood because my son also collects Transformers and my daughter collects Stuffed Animals & Stich merchandise. But would I have a Ghostbustertorium Shed or MyLittlePony Stable? Probably not. Transformers have been producing toys for the last 40 years and never so much as in the past 20, and with dozens of different cartoons and movies, hundreds of different characters and thousands upon thousands of different toys, I don’t know how many other passions could have offered so much variety – it’s a lot of fun! But there will always be one small cabinet in the corner of The Transformatorium for those little extra’s from my other nerdy loves.
Thank you Pieter for your question.
If you would like to see some of Pieter’s great work, check out the short film he did about my Transformatorium!
Do you collect something interesting? Why not tell us about it in the comments section below!