At what point do we age out of collecting?

[andersonh1]

A statement by Dom over in the toy hunting thread has made me think.

The Transfandom as a whole is getting older. And, there are quite a few among us who are stereotypical "fat guys collecting toys". I know that a few have died in the last few years of expected complications. (That is not counting guys who get random maladies like cancer and such, or die in accidents.) I expect the next 10 years to be high-attrition for the fandom. (And, I know a couple of guys who are likely to be in that demographic unfortunately.) Joe fans, being anywhere from 5-10 years older on average are not likely to fair much better.

This is an interesting perspective that I haven't heard before. Two things jump out at me here.

What exactly do you mean when you say "The Transfandom"? Are you referring mainly to the older fans, say late teens and up who have moved past the age where they play with toys, and who strictly view this as a collecting/social hobby? People like me, for example, who had Transformers as a kid and for whatever reason got back into them in my late 20s? It's correct to say that segment of fandom is aging, but do you really see fandom contracting as the older fans either leave the hobby behind or, sadly, pass away for one reason or another? Maybe that's not what you meant at all, and maybe you were just referring to that older segment. But that's how I read it.

I don't think you can discount the kids who are being drawn into Transformers today, of whom a portion would presumably retain interest and form the future fandom. I think at some point the look of Transfandom will change greatly, but then wouldn't that be the case with anything? The older guys will move out and move on, but there will still be enthusiasts for the hobby.

Tangentially, at what point does it become awkward for an older fan to be involved in this hobby? We're adults who collect toys, which is fine up to a point. But is it just strange for someone to hit 30 or 35 and be discussing the finer points of a paint deco with someone who's 15 or 12, for example? In future, could we expect to see the fandom segregate itself into older and younger groups to deal with this issue?

[Onslaught Six]

The organized "fandom" as it currently exists can best be traced back to the early 90s at best, and some of them who got involved then--primarily some ATTers like Walky, M Sipher, DVD and that other guy--have stayed with it, while others have disappeared entirely. Go back and look at an old ATT post from the mid-90s--you'll maybe see a face or two you recognize from then, but you'll also see the unoriginal usernames of a bunch of nobodies. Not unlike TFW or TFormers is today.

Interestingly, there seems to exist some form of fandom 'outside' the internet as well, because there's totally people that I've met out there who were seriously not as well versed as I was in the hobby. I met a very enthusiastic guy in a Wal-Mart once who barely knew anything about what was actually out, owing to the fact that he didn't participate in any kind of online fandom. But on the flip side, I met a guy who primarily collected Joe and Star Wars who was 'very' well versed in online fandom, so he knew what he was doing. Nice guys, the both of them, nonetheless.

But yeah. People come and go. Barely anyone from even 'this' board when I first joined is still around. Sure, there's Prowl and such, but they came around the same time I did--before, there were guys like BigMD and Metrotitan and some other guys I don't remember. And then there's guys who came when we did, but seem to have dropped out of the fandom like Shin--I think, I don't talk to him as often as I should because I sorta owe him money. <.<

And then some guys just plain drop off the face of the Earth, like Pcm979. His father died some years back and that screwed him up pretty good, if I remember, and then we didn't hear from him for a while. Then he came back for like, two weeks. I think he was gonna build a bigass gaming PC or something. Every once in a while he still signs on to MSN for exactly three seconds and then signs off again--I don't get it.

[Dominic]

Wow. And the "interesting thread based on a complete misreading too much into something" award goes to Anderson.


Joking aside, by "older" fan, I meant strictly in terms of relative age. Adult Transfans tend to run from mid-30s to 18. (18 being legally adult, and on the high end of ages for people being "kids" when BW was in fashion.) Transfans are any fans of "Transformers", regardless of age. But, those of us on the older end of it, (likely getting in with G1), have different concerns than the younger fans. One of those things is a more visceral awareness of our own mortality.

It is too early to say if the fandom will contract. Toys in general seem to be making the same mistakes that comics made in the 90s. "Transformers" is not as bad as say, "GI Joe" or the new DC lines in terms of freezing kids out. But, it is also not as accessible as it was even 5 years ago.

Kids tend to be less into toys now than 15 years ago, let alone 20. That is more a problem right now. And, older fans may leave either for economic reasons or simply for being annoyed. (Comics, again, provided plenty of examples of either.)

I doubt the fandom will split into age related camps. Our group here is aging on average. (Our average age is maybe 27 or 28, bu more realistically 25 or so.) That is because our younger members are aging, and not being replaced. (I think Misanthrope Prime, Crossrook and Dinobot are the youngest here. Scourge, JT and I are the oldest active posters, and DvD the oldest registered member.) For me, toy collecting got "awkward around 14 or so. Most of my same-age friends lived some way off at that point, so solitary hobbies were just the way to go. And, several of them were also into toys.

I know Misanthrope and Crossrook started here in their mid-teens. (If not earlier.) Only the most insecure fans would try to shut out the younger ones though. The internet is a great equalized on this, as age does not matter so much as participation.

I started drifting out at around 16, more for lack of interest in any lines than anything else. (Marvel got too big and expensive too fast.) If not for BW, I likely would have been out by the mid-90s.

The key thing for sustaining the hobby is staying accessible. Hasbro has to be better about distributing product if they want to get new fans.

Dom
-getting older.

[Onslaught Six]

The key thing for sustaining the hobby is staying accessible. Hasbro has to be better about distributing product if they want to get new fans.

They 'have' been better about this--at least as far as I've seen. I'm 'continually' seeing Wave 3 of Animated pop up in places, and ClaSunstreaker and Prowl are plentiful and ready. (OcTankor seems hard to find, for some reason.)

It's not like the Movie line, where pegs would be 'entirely' bare for ages. I remember a stretch of nearly two months there where I found 'absoloutely nothing.' If nothing else, there's at least product 'on the shelves,' which is still a good thing.

[Dominic]

I can see what you are saying. Of course, saying things have improved since the movie line is not syaing much. (I could not believe Hasbro missed Christmas of 07.)

Still, the line is still pretty scarce in some places. it is almost like Hasbro is shipping every wave like it is the one they expect to shelf-warm. Forcing kids and collectors to compete for every single toy is a bad idea. Collectors will get annoyed and kids will simply give up, assuming they even know what toys are out. Co-sells know are not as well listed as they were 10 years back.

.

Dom
-willing to bet Octankor is short packed.

[Onslaught Six]

Animated has apparently started coming with catalogues now, and there's a page dedicated to Universe, so we'll see.

Mind, sometimes I wonder if all this knowledge is a good thing. I remember walking into stores and finding Totally New Toys I Had Never Seen Before. It was such a great feeling and I totally miss it. The closest thing I've gotten to that feeling lately was digging in bins of G1 and BW toys at Steel City Con.

[Dominic]

I dunno. I grew up with that whole "hey look, wow, what is this" thing. And, yeah, it was awesome finding 1986 Minicars and the Autobot tapes. I ain't gonna lie.

But, it really sucked seeing a toy that a friend had and never being able to find it because it was a store/regional exclusive or was simply rare.

Dom
-notes that just finding the toys at all is sometimes fun.

[Onslaught Six]

I think I actually may have played catch-and-release collector last weekend at Target. Stopped in and found Dropshot and Blades--neither of which I have an interest in owning--but snapped a photo, in case I got home and this was the first sighting. It turns out it wasn't, but hey.

[andersonh1]

Wow. And the "interesting thread based on a complete misreading too much into something" award goes to Anderson.

Hey, at least an interesting discussion came out of it.

And just for the record, I'm 37, just a bit younger than DVD, though I've only been involved with online fandom since about 2001 or so. Wait until the big 4-0 is only a few years away, and see how aware you are of mortality. At least I have a 4-year old running around the house to keep me feeling young.

[Dominic]

I find kids make me feel older. Something about always being winded from chasing them.

Dom
-likes kids more for not being a parent.