The Transformatorium, my personal collectors shed with over 5000 pieces of Transformers merchandise, was featured in the Mudgee Guardian Newspaper last month.
Something that was a bit of a laugh was when I went to pick up a copy of the newspaper, the guys in the newsagents recognised me from the front page and had me sign a bunch of copies.
Signing autographs: gotta keep the public happy
For those readers who are not local to our region, and therefore unlikely to have an online subscription to the newspaper or have picked up a physical copy, please find a roughly accurate transcript of the interview below, as originally written by Mudgee Guardian Editor Benjamin Palmer.
Inside a relatively nondescript shed 40 minutes from Mudgee lives one of the largest collections of Transformers figures and merchandise in the world.
The collection is owned by ‘Big Angry Trev’ who has spent nearly his entire life amassing a seriously impressive collection of more than 5000 pieces of Transformers paraphernalia from its inception in 1984 to present.
The Mudgee Guardian was invited to Trevor’s purpose-built shed that he has dubbed the ‘Transformatorium’ to view the collection and talk to Trevor about his passion for the shiny shapeshifters.
Trevor was seven years old when he received his first Transformers figurine, a generation one Decepticon named Dirge that transforms into a jet. Trevor, as he put it because his son was in the room, ‘lost his poop’, and the love for Transformers has not waned in the nearly 40 years since.
“It was just something new and interesting I hadn’t seen before, it wasn’t the usual superheroes flying around with their capes with their underpants on outside. It seemed to have everything,” he said.
“If you liked robots, there’s robots. If you liked cars, if you liked planes, it had all of that. If you liked dinosaurs it has giant robot dinosaurs – so it really captured my imagination from the beginning.”
Upon entering the Transformatorium it is hard not to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of items housed inside the shed which sits adjacent to the family home.
You’re greeted with floor-to-ceiling views of Trevor’s collection which includes more than 4000 individual figures of all sizes and rarities from all generations as well as more than 1000 pieces of merchandise like t-shirts, DVDs, video games, cushions and even a floor mat.
Photo courtesy of Mudgee Guardian Website
Trevor spent his time during COVID lockdown fitting out the interior with enough shelving to display the collection, which continues to grow.
“This is one of the largest collections in the world. I hadn’t intended to reach this [point] – it was more I just really enjoyed it and it was a fun, harmless hobby and it seemed to interest other people.
“People would pass on their kid’s older toys or they’d pass on their old toys from when they were kids themselves…,” he said.
“I just kept collecting and they kept bringing out new versions of classic characters and great new characters, then they started making new cartoons and live-action movies and it just became a hobby that I thought was dead but now is suddenly alive and brimming once again.”
Trevor’s collection and his prolific online presence mean he is well-known among not only the Transformers community but has also attracted the attention of Hasbro and Paramount, the owners of the franchise and the publisher of the Transformers films respectively.
“There’s been a lot of promotional events around the release of the latest film,” Trevor said.
“I got invited to do the Beasts Base Camp at Taronga Zoo, after [the company] wanted some representatives of the fandom. Also theMore than Meets the Eye Exhibition. It’s been very gratifying to be invited to take part in these events.”
“It’s a bit of fun. My son Orion is a big Transformers fan too so he usually comes to these events with me.”
Photo courtesy of the Mudgee Guardian website
Trevor’s 10-year-old son Orion, who sported a Transformers shirt and pants himself on the day of the tour, said he is as much of a fan as his dad.
“They [Transformers] all look really cool and the cartoons are really good,” Orion said.
“My favourite is the Bumblebee movie, it’s really good. [And I like] Bumblebee, both old and new.”
According to the Guiness Book of World Records online, the largest collection of Transformers memorabilia consists of 5,150 items, and was achieved by AJ Ard in the USA on 5 September 2022. Trevor hinted that he might have a go at besting that record one day.
“It is getting crowded but we’re not out of room just yet,” he laughed.
Photo courtesy of the Mudgee Guardian Website
With visitors travelling to the from as far away as Sydney to view the collection, Trevor embraces all corners of the fandom and distilled his love for the franchise, while also lamenting the sometimes toxic online discourse around it.
“I do it for the love of it. It’s toy robots, it’s supposed to be fun,” he said.
“If you’re not having fun what’s the point?”
The Transformatorium is not open to the public, however anyone who wants to get in touch for a tour or would like to donate any Transformers items can get in touch via the Big Angry Trev’s Transformatorium page on Facebook or the Big Angry Trev website.
I’m a Transformers collector. For quite a while now, people have been asking to see more than just photo’s of The Transformatorium, my specially built shed housing over 4000 Transformer figures! But doing a quick few vids with a camera phone to post online didn’t seem like it would really do the scope of the shed justice.
So in conjunction with Able Media Productions, for the first time we have proper footage of The Transformatorium in all its glory, as well as questions about the shed answered by yours truly.
The following video is the extended cut with 12 extra minutes of footage, showing through my personal collection a history of Transformers toys going back nearly 40 years!
I’ve been collecting Transformers for nearly 40 years. For quite a while now, people have been asking to see more than just photo’s of The Transformatorium, my specially built shed housing over 4000 Transformer figures! But doing a quick few vids with a camera phone to post online didn’t seem like it would really do the scope of the shed justice.
A film 39 years in the making
So in conjunction with Able Media Productions, for the first time we have proper footage of The Transformatorium in all its glory, as well as questions about the shed answered by yours truly.
And so it begins, the great cataloging for my personal and ever expanding Transformers Collection!
And what better place to start than where the whole shebang kicked off – G1! Listed sequentially, and with accompanying photographs, here is the G1 Autobot toys I have amassed over the last 35+ years.
Transformers Generation One Autobot Collection
(Note: All figures in photographs listed from Top Left to Bottom Right)
This month – January 2021 – marks 20 years of me being an adult collector of Transformers.
It also marks the 20 year anniversary of my first (very short lived) marriage. And the two are not unconnected.
As a kid we didn’t have a great deal of money, though I never went without a roof over my head or food in my belly so we did OK. I’d get a few transformers each year with my bit of pocket money I earned mowing the lawns at home or turning in rabbit skins when visiting my dad. And I sometimes got a Transformer for a birthday or Christmas as well.
My collection circa 1987
In my teens G1 was coming to an end. However this was also the time that my mother began running a small Toys & Gifts shop. This meant that I could get my Transformers wholesale! It was also the time of reissues so as well as being able to purchase Micromastersand Action Masters at cost, I was also able to grab theCombaticons, Arielbots, Protectobots and even a few bigger figures like someDinobots & Autobot Cars. Yes sir, it was a golden time.
Primus bless reissues!
Sadly I strayed in my late teens as so many young men do. G2 didn’t hold much appeal for me and suddenly beer and girls were very interesting. So my collection, which at the time equalled 1 gross – 144 figures (if you counted individual bots such as Micromasters and Target Masters) – was put away in a box and did not see the light of day for many years.
I never stopped loving Transformers, even when I moved to Melbourne to go to Uni. But once again partying, friends and girls seemed somehow more important. I hated BeastWars (I appreciate it now but back then thought it was an abomination) and sometimes my mates used to get me liquored up and goad me into a ‘trukk not munkey’ rant. To be honest to this day organic alt-modes still do little for me. So Transformers stayed waaaaay in the background of my existence.
Now comes January 2001
I got married. Stupidly. It was partly as I’d always been too lazy and cowardly to break up with the girl and partly because she had a balcony you could do Shakespeare from (I was young, shallow and dumb OK – a large chest seemed more important than a pleasant personality!). A couple of dear friends of mine were filming the wedding for us and asked what present we would like. I replied filming was more than gift enough. When they persisted I said jokingly ‘Get me a G1 Optimus Prime’.
Well the night of the wedding we are unwrapping gifts. I’m trying to stifle my boredom as they are mainly ‘grown-ups’ gifts like linen and breakfast trays (once again – I was 23 and immature). Then I unwrapped the gifts from Tammy & Michael.
And there… lo…. was a loose GENERATION ONE OPTIMUS PRIME!!!
Me on honeymoon with Optimus Prime. I swear he got more action than I did
There was also a Wreck-Gar(whom I already had but now they could ride each other!) and a Chop Shop. I squealed like an excited schoolgirl! For me it was the highlight of the night!
And thus after nearly a decade away, I came back to Transformer collecting. I discovered eBay and found so many G1 toys that my ranks quickly swelled. With a new career I had more money, and from big toys like Omega Supreme, Metroplex, Sky Lynx & Trypticon, to smaller figures like the Throttlebots, those G1 gaps were filling fast!
7 months into the marriage it ended. Shan’t go into details but let’s just say my ex worked in education and I discovered she was doing some very ‘private tuition’ with one of her teen students and leave it at that. So the marriage died which in the long run was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me; I ended up moving in coincidentally with the friends who had given me Optimus. But though my marriage was dead, my love for Transformers was thriving! I continued to buy G1 stuff online, and the new Robots in Disguise toys hit the shelves in Australia, bringing back all the concepts I loved like vehicular transformers and combiners.
My G1-cartoon cast in the early 2000’s
My collecting has continued ever since. By the end of 2001 my collection, which had stagnated at a count of 144, was over two hundred and I had no inclination to just how far it would end up going! I’ve continued amassing Transformers right through all the cartoons from Armada to Cyberverse, throughout all the live-action movies and especially the G1-inspired toylines such as Generations, right up to the latest Earthrise figures. I’ve travelled many parts of the globe and brought back figures you couldn’t find in Australia. I got married again 12 years ago but this time it was for all the right reasons and I couldn’t imagine loving my wife more. If I’m 100% honest the fact that she is so tolerant of my hobby makes up a small part of that (only a small part, there are a plethora of wonderful things about her to love!). And my kids love to play Transformers with their Dad!
They even have their own playtables set up – bless their hearts
Now 20 years on I’m sitting at around the 3500 figures mark along with about another thousand pieces of TF merchandise, have my own Transformatorium shed and indeed this blog where I often share my love of the hobby. So I’m a pretty damn lucky guy!
“Who says I have an obsession?!”
I can’t even remember the exact day in January 2001 I got married on, but I damn sure remember getting that G1 Optimus Prime.
