In our latest interview we talk to Transformer fan and collector Brendan. Do not cross this guy! Not only does he have the titanium-manifold to jump out of a plane 4km up in the air, but he know how to swing a mean broadsword as well!
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
State you live in? Of perpetual bliss. Or NSW for short
Your occupation? Errrr bum. In reality, Train Guard for Sydney Trains, not as glamorous as it sounds
Your dream job? Space Fighter Pilot
Your age? Ripe at 33
*I’ve sniffed him – I can guarantee he is definitely ripe!
Single/married/kids? Married no kids
What other (non-toy) interests do you have? I have my medieval combat reenactment, run around hitting my friends with metal swords
What type of music/movies/TV/books do you enjoy? Heavy Metal music. Movies and tv, varies a lot. Sci fi, horror, action, cartoon, comedies. Just not crap ones. Books are the same, if it takes my interest.
Do you collect anything besides Transformers? Not much in the way of “collecting”, but I do have random pieces from various places. Specific pop vinyls of movies or shows I like but only have maybe 15
How would you rate yourself on a C scale? With C1 being ‘Junker not worth it even for parts’ to C10 being ‘Perfection’. I’m way off the scale. Which way off, you decide heh
How would you rate how sexually attracted you are to Trev? With 1 being ‘Immeasurably’ to 10 being ‘I’d even jump out of a plane at 14,000 feet just to watch the g-forces ripple that magnificent arse of his on the way down’. I’d follow him anywhere, even plummeting to the Earth. Just next time, he needs to jump first haha
*Wanna bet!
TRANSFORMER QUESTIONS
Transformers Allegiance, if you had one? Cons of course
Your Techspec motto if you had one? Always look on the bright side of life
What existing, official Transformers character best describes you? That’s a toughie, maybe Soundwave (not just because he is my favourite character) but your cries and screams are music to my ears fits me well. I sometimes suffer from schadenfreude
Which special ability of any Transformers character would you want to have for yourself? Flight for sure
Fan/Collector since (year)? Probably when the G2 reboot came out was when I discovered the show, then about 2002 I started collecting again when I went to my first Parramatta Collectors fair,though was bigger into Robotech then.
What drew you to Transformers, making you become a fan/collector? Cool robots, they transform.
Do you think you will collect Transformers until you die? As long as there’s ones I want that get released, I’m sure I will
Were your family/parents supportive of collecting toys or did you have to hide your passion from them and friends? For the most part yea they were all ok with it. Don’t particularly care what people think of me either.
Have you attended any fan-meets, Fairs, Conventions? Plenty of fairs over the years. And the Oz Con that was done back in 2006.
Any creative endeavours with Transformers (drawing, writing, customising, etc)? Attempted some customising, tried to turn a Classics Starscream into Thundercracker before we ended up with a cheaper Hasbro version to the Takara one. He’s still in parts soemwhere. Did try to create my own Robot Heroes out of clay for ones that were never done. Was doing Roadbuster, and he’s in parts somewhere too. I did paint up a G1 Prime to have cartoon colours, he was mostly finished, just needs his fists. Alot of unfinished products, lacking time to do them in this adult life.
Favourite series/era/year, and why? G1 still holds the best for me, probably post movie seasons moreso. And Beast Wars too, had some great episodes.
Least favourite series/era/year, and why? Animated, just couldn’t watch it, disliked the animation style.
Collect any comics (which ones)? Some of the IDW collections, not a lot though.
Favourite Comic issue/story, and why? Probably Wreckers or All Hail Megatron. Dark stories, and brutal.
*The first half of AHM was awesome, great to see humanity handed their arses without Autobot interference!
Favourite Cartoon episode/story, and why? Either a Beast Wars episode with Inferno, Transmutate, or Code Of Hero. Inferno is great comedy, Transmutate and Code Of Hero are just touching episodes
Favourite Video/Board game and why? The Armada game for PS2, or the WFC FOC games. The Armada game was fun because it gave us the ability to play as Transformers, and the Tidal Wave boss fight was fun for its epic scale. And what can I say about the WFC FOC games that people don’t know of? They were a lot of fun.
Favourite Character, and why? Soundwave, he was a cold machine.
Sexiest Transformers (robot) Character? Of course this question is in here haha. Arcee would be the one haha
Which Transformers character would you want to exist for real? I couldn’t think of one, probably best that they don’t.
Approx TFs toy collection count (or give a range like 200s, 300s, etc)? Been a long while since I have done a count. I’d say a rough estimate over 300
Sealed collector or out-of-packaging collector? What crazy person keeps them sealed? Nah nothing against people keeping them sealed, I prefer to play with them.
How much do you think you’ve spent on your collecting habit? Too insane to contemplate.
Any rare/expensive figures in your collection? None really rare, but the Botcon stuff does cost a pretty penny these days. And WST Soundwave.
What interesting Licensed Merchandise items do you have? Probably 2007 Vector Sigma and Key. Looks nice on my shelves.
First Transformers toy? My earliest one’s I remember was a G1 Optimus in a gold box classic, G1 Soundwave, G1 Hot Rod, and G1 Scourge. Cannot remember who came first, but they were all the earliest ones I can remember.
One toy you most want? I have most of the ones I want that have come out, but maybe an MP Sleep Convoy would be a grail.
The centrepiece/favourite toy in your collection at the moment (and why)? Love my Soundwave collection shelves. Don’t really have a favourite.
Favourite toy in your early years of collecting (if it was more than 10 years ago)? Can’t say I had one back the either aside from Soundwave.
Worst toy(s) ever in your opinion? I would have to go with something from Beast Machines, those figures just didn’t do anything for me.
Toy(s) that were most disappointing when you got them? I’ve been pretty happy with all my purchases, always looked for the good in figures.
Thoughts on gimmick and non-convertable Transformers toys? Always loved my Actionmasters, so the concept of it I do like if they are done right.
Thoughts on unlicensed fan-project figures/accessories? Filling in the gaps in my collection I do like. And to enhance an official toy I do like too. I ended up getting Universe/Energon Superion and Bruticus because of the upgrades that came out.
Thoughts on Crossover Transformer toys (Star Wars, Street Fighter etc)? If people enjoy them, who am I to judge. And if kids love them too, all the better. But not my thing.
Thoughts on the Transformers Brand over the last five years? Love it. Hasbro releasing toys that I am keen on getting. Most stuff is knocking it outta the park.
Which single TFs toy should every fan own? G1 Soundwave, though kids these days would never know what the hell it transforms into.
Which Transformers toy/product would you give as a wedding present? Any Soundwave haha
Fellow Fan Questions
Big Angry Trev
We both credit each other with building up the gumption to finally go skydiving. What other extreme activities have you done over the course of your life?
It was you who got me to jump lol. Was a spur of the moment lapse in judgment that when you mentioned that you had a coupon, that I should grow a pair to get us both to do it haha. As for other extreme activities, love rollercoasters and did do canyoning once while I was in scouts. Actually, many crazy things I did back then, one time a few of us went to abseil down Mt Keira, we didn’t think it through too well, and our leader found us and told us to go down a different way, which was still pretty perilous. We tied rope to one another in a long chain, couple of times a few of us slipped and the guy above us had to hold their weight. Thinking back on it, was kinda stupid. And canyoning, abseiling down a course in Macquarie Pass, much safer. Though I did nearly drown in a waterfall…
Michael
Transformers LARPing – yay or nay? Who would you LARP as? (If you’ve already mentioned a favourite TF character, pick another to answer this question).
LARPing is a bit of fun, and if I was to do so as a character (that isn’t Soundwave lol) I would go with Shockwave
Just Chillin’
What is the perfect blend of transformers & heavy metal music?
Transformers: The Movie Soundtrack haha. But to choose individual bands, Fear Factory or Meshuggah have a mechanical sound to them that works well. Or Cybertronic Spree, they look the part too lol
Dallas
We know you are heavily into Medieval stuff. I’m guessing you wouldn’t mind seeing some medieval themed transformers, much like the Transformers Evolutions: Hearts of Steel where the ‘alternate timeline’ story of the transformers existed during the industrial revolution.
Who do you think would fit a good story of the Transformers Evolutions: Medieval steel.?
Some autobots/decepticons and their alt modes. you are welcome to completely ignore anything that happened in a recent movie. I think a trebuchet would be quite awesome, imagine a transformer launching a giant boulder over large distances. I can’t think of many medieval themed alt modes that you could go with
Jason
What is Larping?
Live Action Roleplaying. People running around hitting each other with foam weapons and is fantasy based. I do reenactment where we use metal weapons and is historically based.
You have sold off quite a chunk of your collection over the last year or so. What was the hardest bot to part with and do you regret selling it? After having reduced your collection, do you feel better or worse for it?
Probably maybe 3 that I felt were the hardest to let go, Overlord, Shockwave, and Victory Sabre. Such cool toys, but had to do so. Felt better afterwards yea, made space in the collection room for a computer desk and room for more of what I wanted. There was a point where I looked at what was most important in life, and selling helped.
Got any follow up questions for Brendan? Pop them in the comments section below!
