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Welcome to Bot-Hub! This website is intended to provide information on collecting Transformers figures at an entry level.
About the Hobby
Transformers is a long-running science-fiction franchise that began in 1984 with the cartoon The Transformers. Toys and figures have always been intertwined with it, as it was originally created for kids. Through dozens of TV shows, cartoons, movies, books, and comics across 40 years, it has grown to be enjoyed by people of all ages, and the toys and figures have evolved to match.
The toys are based on a simple gimmick: manipulating the shape of the toy to convert it from a robot mode to a vehicle or animal mode. Thousands of official and third-party figures exist, with many different ways of categorization. Many different toylines are available commercially, while some must be "hunted" for: on ebay, from resellers, or found in-person at places like conventions, vintage toy stores, or even thrift shops. This website compiles information about several well-known categories:
- Common toylines, which can be found in many stores' toy sections for generally reasonable prices.
- Retro figures, or genuine 1980s toys, only found in the secondary market.
- Collector toylines, the expensive, high-end figures.
- Third party figures, the unofficial "knockoffs," which can be a surprisingly good option!
Recommended Sources
This website links to multiple separate websites to buy specific figures, as well as resources to learn more about the franchise itself and the toylines. Here is a list of every website supplied as an option, linked to their homepage: