Moving your Transformers Collection – Part 1: Sorting & Packing

Packing and moving.  Truly a terrible job.  Having to pack up the entire contents of a house and get them to a secondary desitnation safely is time consuming, back breaking and frankly boring.  But you can add to that list a hefty amount of stress if you have something like an expensive collection you have to move.

Sleep well my babies

When I moved out of home at 18, I was able to fit all the belongings of both my buddy and me in a small station wagon and my small box of G1 Transformers stayed at Mum’s.  When I moved to the country at the age of 33, I had accumulated over 900 TF figures and had a respectable amount of  comics, books and clothing to go with it, it took up a nice bit of space in the moving truck.

Now nearing 40 I am moving again and this time across states, a solid 10 hour drive from where I am now.  And my collection has grown expodentially!  Currently my collection boasts:

  • 2000 figures – over 100 of them MISB/MOSC
  • 500+ Comics
  • 40+ Books
  • 60+ DVDs/Blu Rays/Video Games
  • 80+ Pieces of clothing
  • Lots and LOTS of MISC (cups, mugs, board games, lunch boxes, backpacks, posters etc).

So probably about 3000 pieces all up.

 

Moving all this is very daunting.  Not only the sheer scope of packing it all in the first place, but packing it all in such a way that nothing will get lost or broken.  In this two part blog I will be sharing my tips for how to move your collection in such a way that it stays safe.  And thus we will start with Part 1: Packing.

 

Step 1: Sorting

Sorting action figures

Hot Shots in baggie

To make sure you leave nothing behind I strongly suggest you sort your collection.  How  you do this is up to you.  You may choose to sort via the toyline (G1, Beast Wars, Armada, Movieverse etc) but personally as a Multiverse collector I choose to go by the individual character.  This has the advantage of being able to bag them to keep them grouped whereas an entire toyline , especially ones that have big figures like Cybertron, might be too big for a single crate.  Also if your collection is smaller you might take the time to transform them all into vehicle modes to be more compact, though this was something time precluded me from doing.

In cases where you have a lot of characters you might even give them their own crate.  I have these for Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream, Megatron etc.  With my Optimus I needed two huge crates, one for loose figures and one for MISB’s.

Too many Optimus for a baggie!

 

Sorting Paperwork

I have to give my wife credit for this one.  Very occasionally I get stuck with a TF that I haven’t transformed in many years and have forgotten how.  When this happens rather than dig through over 1000 instruction manuals I turn to youtube.  However where we are moving we wont have internet for quite a while so my wife sorted all my instruction manuals into 26 individual alphabetical plastic pockets.  This was also handy for checking I was not missing any accessories.

 

 

Sorting accessories

Missiles & launchers

Primarily you want to have them bagged with the figure they come with.  However if you have thousands of the buggers time may stop you from doing this.  In that case I recommend sorting them into bags of missiles, rifles, shields etc.  I’d also bag all your smaller figures like Kre-O in a similar fashion.

 

Step 2: Packing

As I’ve shown above, large plastic sealable bags are the go for keeping your robots separate.  But now the larger packing begins.  For this you will mainly use three different materials: cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes and plastic crates.

 

Cardboard boxes

Proper moving boxes
The TF boxes that other TF boxes come in

In these you can pack items that are not breakable.  This includes TF boxes you have kept (such as perhaps Unite Warriors or from busts) and Transformers clothing.  Other misc items such as backpacks, lunch boxes etc can be packed the same way.

 

Cardboard tubes

Used for all your Transformer posters.

 

Plastic Packing crates.

Expensive when you need a lot but worth it

Now these are really what you need for your figures.  The stronger construction will protect the figures from getting damaged and you can buy them up to a 140L size for around $20 each from places like The Reject Shop.  When packing these crates, try and pack them with similar toys.  I have all my versions of the Combaticon and Stunticon characters in one crate, all my versions of the 84’ Autobot cars in another and so on.

 

Bubble Wrap

Resist the urge to pop – you wont be able to stop!

If you wanna go the extra mile and pad all your plastic crates with bubble wrap on the inside it’s a good idea.  However if you have a collection as big as mine its probably impractical and I would suggest just bubble wrapping any of your irriplacable or particularly fragile items.

 

So, by following the above you should be able to get your collection, no matter how large or small, ready to move to its new home.  Please check back for part two – The Move!

All packed up and ready to go!

 

Got any tips to add to the above?  Would love to read them in the comments section below!

Ask Trev: I’m gay and I can’t find love – help!

This is a stumper of a question but as you will see, I have come up with a brilliant, if somewhat unorthodox, solution.

Dear Trev, I am a gay male in my mid 30’s.  I’ve been trying for years but can’t find a relationship.  All the good guys my age are taken and all the younger ones only want sex.  What do I do?  I’m feeling lonely and desperate!

 

Well, I have the answer to your problem.  An answer so brilliant I expect I’ll get a float in my honor in Sydney’s next gay pride parade!  This is a solution that will work for most any member of the LGBT community (Well, maybe not the B’s) that finds themselves in the same boat.

 

If you are a gay guy looking for a relationship but genuinely can’t find one with another guy – marry a lesbian!

Come together

Now hang on, don’t tune out or start shouting angrily just yet!  This isn’t as preposterous as it sounds.  Let me explain.

 

I’m not talking about marrying some random lesbian off the street.  I’m talking about marrying one whom you feel a deep emotional connection with and finds themselves in a similar situation.  This is about finding a relationship somewhere else if you genuinely can’t find one in your own demographic, not finding a sexual partner.  And in the end, what is it people really want from a relationship anyway?  Someone to love and to reciprocate that love.  Someone to talk to at the end of a long day at work.  Someone they can cuddle with on the couch watching TV and put their arms around at night.  Someone to introduce to their family and maybe have children with.  Well this platonic arrangement can provide all that and some unexpected perks!

Emotional security

  • You can do all of the above with someone you are not sexually attracted to. You don’t need to share a sexual attraction to love someone and enjoy spending time with them.
  • Being with someone will assuage those feelings of loneliness and isolation. Nothing better than a good hug and chat with someone you love.

Shutting up the small-minded

Disclaimer: I don’t think any gay person should be anything other than proud, or ever feel they have to hide who they really are.  These are just options you could use, if you wished, to deal with a society that is still not as accepting as it should be.  Don’t want these options?  Feel free to bin them.

  • Despite the fact it’s the new millennium unfortunately homophobia, like racism, has refused to die the death it deserves. Do you have a boss you suspect is a closet homophobe and that is why you keep getting passed over for promotion?  Get nasty looks from your Christian neighbors?  Your Mum loves you but keeps asking if you are ‘going through a phase’?  Well this shuts them all the hell up!  Introduce them to your new wife and watch them back off!  It means living a bit of a lie but if it means not having to put up with fricken idiots on a daily basis who will never change their minds, you might consider it worth it.  If not, quite rightly tell them to go f*ck themselves!
  • Want to experience a wedding one day? No waiting around for another decade while the government stalls on a decision that the majority of the public thought was a no-brainer long ago.
  • Want children? Well gay couples can adopt but the system is still biased towards ‘heterosexual’ couples sadly.  This will push you way up the list and provide a child with a much needed home where the parents love each other and will in turn love them.

Sexual fulfillment

  • Want a child that is genetically your own? Both of you get really drunk and engage in a bit of cross-dressing cosplay coitus – it could work!  No going hunting for sperm or womb donors.
  • Sexual jealousy is off the table. You can f*ck whoever the hell you like!  Open marriages don’t usually work because of the jealously one feels when you think your partner finds another man/woman more attractive than you.  Well here you know it’s the case from the start so no problem!  Go get your jollies with as many sexual partners as you like then come home for a nice cup of tea and a cuddle with your spouse.  You will be the envy of all other couples everywhere!
  • It’s way easier to get someone to video tape you during sex. For heterosexual couples you can never find someone (so I hear) as you know whoever is using the camera is attracted to at least one of you.  Nothing ruins a shot like the cameraperson trying to do some ‘audience participation’ right at the climax of the scene.  Here you know your spouse has no interest in either you or the person you are having sex with, so will concentrate on getting the best camera angles possible and the lighting just right.

 

The list goes on and on but I reckon the above illustrates the point well enough.  If you are gay or lesbian and genuinely can’t find another person of your persuasion to have a meaningful relationship with, then this might just be the answer to all your problems.  Hell – it IS the answer to all your problems!  All of the love, none of the fidelity.  You lucky, lucky buggers!

I’ll see you all at the next gay pride parade where I expect I’ll get my trophy for Best.  Idea.  Ever!

Got something to say about the above?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Multiverse Blurr Toys Gallery

The sixth of my Multiverse galleries.  Blurr first showed up in the 86′ toyline and animated movie.  We had to until Armada to get another version of him but since then the speedster has taken off once again!

For my review of Titans Return Blurr see HERE

For my review of Combiner Force Blurr see HERE 

 

Individual Figure Pic’s

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generation 1
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Hover Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Armada
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Speedcar

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Animated
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Speedster

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generations
Mode: Robot
Mode: Sports Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Rescue Bots
Mode: Robot
Mode: Race Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Titans Return
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Hover Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Combiner Force
Mode: Robot
Mode: Race Car

 

Comparison Pic’s

Robot Modes
Vehicle Modes

It’s valid for you to feel stressed

Stress.  Ironically in a country where it could be argued we’ve never had it so good, more and more people are suffering from it in Australia.

And I never thought I’d be among those ranks but I’m one of them.

Stress is a bastard of a thing.  It stops you sleeping, it stops you eating properly, it makes you feel like there is a giant knot in your gut that won’t go away.  It’s most certainly something that stops life being as fun as it could be.

 

But is the stress you are feeling valid?

 

Well I don’t know you but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say yesYes it is.  Because you can’t control what stresses you – if you did you would most likely put a stop to it so you could stop being stressed.  Stress isn’t like say a teenage-angst depression (rather than the full blown one) where people get, as the song goes, addicted to a certain kind of sadness.  And since you can’t control what stresses you and that stress is particular to you then that stress is valid.  But it can be hard to maintain perspective.

 

Two pieces in the media last week have made me think about my own stress.  One was a half hour special on the ABC from the show ‘You can’t ask that!’ where they posed questions to former soldiers.  These people have, almost across the board, crippling physical, emotional and psychological impairments and will never be the same from what they went through in service of their country.  Many of them have had their relationships end or otherwise have trouble forming ones to begin with.

The other was a story on JJJ’s Hack program where they had people talking about how with the current state of the rental property market in Australia. To afford a place to rent these people have to sacrifice using the heater, eating properly and so on.  Now that may have been my world when attending Uni (I didn’t use the heater, I sat in a chair with a blanket over me and a hot water bottle between my legs) but then I wasn’t working a 40 hour week with children to support.  Amazing the amount of cold you can ignore while playing Mario Kart 64.

Now compared to those two groups I’ve got it pretty damn good.  Besides a back that plays up from time to time I don’t have any ongoing physical injuries and besides having the odd dream where I am back in high school, where I was constantly beaten up and bullied, I don’t have any emotional or psychological problems.  Financially I’m earning more money than I ever have and am comfortably ahead on my mortgage repayments.  Relationship wise I have the most wonderful wife in the world and our mutual love is never in doubt for a moment for either of us, likewise our love for our kids and theirs for us is rock solid.  Yep, compared to many I’ve got it pretty bloody good…

…yet I’m stressed as hell!

Does this mean my stress is less valid than others?  Well maybe the above groups would see me the same way I reacted to the suicide of Robin Williams a few years ago.  The outpouring of sadness from the public was phenomenal.  My reaction was somewhat different.  All I could think was “He had children – how DARE he kill himself!  When you have kids suicide is off the table, even if they are grown up –  period!  And what was wrong with his life anyway?  A multi-millionaire, internationally famous and beloved – what the f*ck did he have to kill himself over?  I’d kill to have the life he just threw away!”

In retrospect I didn’t know the man personally.  I don’t know what stresses he had in his life, though it was probably more a deep seated depression that caused him to take the action he did.  Just as other groups could look at me and be disgusted at me being stressed considering my relative good fortune, I reacted the same way to him and that was not the right thing to do.  Just because on the surface he had it a lot better than I doesn’t mean the stresses he felt in his life were any less valid.

 

I don’t want to go in to my own stresses too much.  Suffice it to say I am desperately trying to change careers and am feeling very trapped at my inability to do so due to my lack of experience in other fields.  I’m being turned down for jobs that pay half as much and require more hours yet provide less yearly leave than I get now.  I can’t simply quit my current job as I have a mortgage and bills to pay and a family to support – my actions affect far more than me.  My beautiful daughter still does not sleep properly and there is only one or two nights a week that my wife and I get enough sleep – sleep deprivation really does your head in, especially when it’s been going on for years.  I keep trying and failing at quitting cigarettes, mainly because I am stressed and I smoke when I’m stressed, and the fact I am smoking is making me stress about that too.  There are other stresses in my life but these are probably the big 3.

I try to combat this by thinking of all the good I have.  I have a wonderful wife, 2 beautiful children, a nice house and hobby a farm in the country. My job at least pays well and is reasonably secure.  I’m in no imminent danger of not having food in my belly or a roof over my head.  Does this dwelling on the positives always work? Often but certainly not always.  There are times I’m lying there awake for hours in the middle of the night and all the negatives in my life join forces and become a bit too much.  Those nights the giant knot in my gut rules the roost.

So how does one combat stress?  Well, there are a million experts out there that will give you the answer (and probably charge you a pretty penny for doing so) so I won’t really go into that.  All I can say is do what works for you.  Whether that’s spending time with friends and family, losing yourself in movies and television, having a beer at the end of a long day – it’s what relaxes you.  But, if I had all the answers I wouldn’t be stressed myself.

Sometimes true

So don’t stress that your stress is not valid.  If you are feeling stressed and think you shouldn’t because there are those worse off than you, just remember that there are also people that are better off than you and they get stressed as well.

Now if you excuse me, I’m off to play with my kids and then sit on my veranda and have a beer -that’s what works well for me.

 

Got something to add or say about the article above?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Toys Review – Combiner Force: Blurr, Windblade & Soundwave

 

The Robots in Disguise(15) toyline continues, despite being wound down somewhat to accommodate shelf space in shops for the upcoming TF5 toys.  Today we will be looking at the latest wave which oddly does not involve semi-creature modes in any form.  No, this wave consists of new versions of much loved (in two cases anyway) classic characters.  Despite being part of the Combiner Force subline these figures do not combine, but rather try to seduce you with a mixture of new alt-modes and nostalgia.  So let’s take a look at the Warrior-class Robots in Disguise: Combiner Force Blurr, Windblade and Soundwave.

 

Blurr – Robot Mode

I likes to play it fast baby!

Seems to be a nice amalgamation of Blurr’s look from Rescue Bots (which RID does do crossover episodes with) with the look he has been sporting in the Generations line.  He has the more rounded head with the large goggles that he has in the RB cartoon/toyline but the lighter colours and high shoulder pads one associates with Generations/G1 Blurr.  The proportions are quite nice and he is able to be posed in a number of positions due to the ankle, knee, elbow and shoulder joints.  The head is quite maneuverable too, tilting in pretty much any angle you desire.  Being from RID instead of RB, this Blurr is now sporting a blaster as well.

Blurr – Vehicle Mode

Sleek and Sexy!

Almost a cross between the first and second Generations Blurr toys.  Most definitely a stylized Earth vehicle however with the distinctive pointiness that the latest Titans Return version has.  Quite a sexy futuristic sportscar with its spoiler, big wheels and dome.  The blaster can be put on either side of the vehicle or on top, giving you different battle options when at play.

 

Windblade – Robot Mode

My mask hides my pain. Well… actually it hides what is otherwise a cool face design.

Windblade is sporting here her battle mask and due to her having such a distinctive face it is a shame it cannot be removed, detracting somewhat from the figure overall.  A nice touch I found was the different options you have with the sword and sheath.  You can either have her holding her sword with the sheath on her hip (as pictured) or the sheath can act as a giant second sword.  Also the sheath splits in two  so you can have half on each hip if that is the look you like.  The way her wings affix to her body looks far superior to the Generations version with which she shares the more lithe arms with.  If it wasn’t for the head, overall I would say this is actually superior to the Generations version but as it is that one will have to go to the judges.

Windblade – Vehicle Mode

Do VTOL turbines still work if you cover them?

What is disappointing is that her wind turbines are covered by caps on the top in her VTOL jet mode.  With the Generations version you could actually blow on the turbines and make them spin, here they are not even visible in her vehicle mode.  It’s not a badly proportioned jet and is very indicative of the screen character.  Her sword sheath can be affixed underneath but I only recommend this as a way to not lose the piece – otherwise it looks simply terrible and certainly ruins the aerodynamic look of the jet which is somewhat already hampered by the way the robot arms jut out from the sides, much like many of the Combiner Wars figures.

 

Soundwave – Robot Mode

Soundwave superior-ish

Like Blurr being an amalgamation of RB and Generations Blurr figures, this Soundwave seems to be an amalgamation of the TFPrime and Fall of Cybertron Soundwave toys. The head sculpt is most definitely a carry over from TFPRime (the precursor cartoon to the current RID series) and the proportions are very in line with most of the other RID figures.  However with the added shoulder cannon, distinctive chest and bulkier limbs he is certainly as shout out to the Soundwave figures of old.  The light piping in the back of the head can make for some good effects and the shoulder cannon can be removed to be used as a handgun.

Soundwave – Vehicle Mode

Gun or periscope?

This is where the toy really calls out to the Fall of Cybertron figure.  Ruby translucent wheels along with a roof cannon and a bulky blue Cybertronian-armored car is the flavor here and the flavor is good!  He has a more distinctive cockpit which is a definite plus, but the peg that holds the roof cannon in is way too long, it makes it look ungainly sitting on top.  Despite this I couldn’t bring myself to remove it as it seems intrinsic to an otherwise odd alt-mode.  This peg flaw is made up for somewhat by the fact that the cannon can not only be swiveled 360 degrees but also be tilted up and down.

 

Overall

Well I’d say Blurr is a definite must-grab if you like the character and fits in well with the other multiverse versions of him.  Windblade has her pros and cons and it will really be decided on whether you like the character and whether you already have the previous RID version of her.  Soundwave… well… it’s damn hard to pass up a new Soundwave figure!  However there is another SW RID figure on the horizon which, whilst looking inferior, will come with Laserbeak so it may be worth waiting for that toy to be released and then compare before making your purchase.

 

Related Post: Multiverse Blurr Toys Gallery

Like the reviews above or got something to add?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!