Longtime friend Alan, also known as Waspinator and Mousepad, makes his first RFC Mini-cast appearance to talk Transformers display. John DeLuna walks him through two decades of collecting, from cheap Walmart shelving to custom glass-door bookcases. Alan shares tips on lighting, dust, risers and sun damage, including a faded Alternators Meister. The pair close with first impressions of Combiner Wars and Robots in Disguise.
From Alt.Toys.Transformers to a Collection
Alan says he found the Usenet group alt.toys.transformers in early 1996 as a college freshman. Beast Wars was brand new, so he bought the Optimus Primal versus Megatron two-pack and never stopped. He also picked up a G2 tank Megatron and a Powermaster Optimus Prime he had missed as a kid. John recalls the handful of independent vintage sellers online before eBay took over, and paying about $60 for a loose G1 Computron he always wanted as a kid. The two also compare BotCon attendance streaks, starting in 2001 and 2002.
From Plastic Shelves to Glass-Door Bookcases
Alan started with $20 to $25 plastic shelving units from Walmart, sorted by line and faction. After buying a house at the end of 1999, he wanted something less tacky. He bought unfinished wooden bookcases, sanded and painted them black, and mounted glass doors with simple glass-door hinges. He now owns a couple dozen of these cases. When the store closed, a Memphis coworker who did woodwork built more to the same design, though he has since moved to Idaho. John jokes that Alan will simply have to stop collecting. John describes his own setup: black wire shelving topped with laminated white shelf boards. He calls it scalable and store-bought, but admits it gets dusty.
Lighting, Dust and Risers
Each of Alan’s cases has fluorescent lighting and glass shelves so light filters down. He chose fluorescent over halogen or incandescent for fear of heat. He has since learned fluorescent light can yellow plastic, so he rarely turns it on. The glass doors keep dust down, and he dusts only when rearranging. His favorite tool is a small makeup brush from the Walmart cosmetics aisle, which John calls a great tip. Adjustable shelf height was a must for Alan, and he skips the popular IKEA glass cases for that reason. Clear plastic jewelry-display risers from Amazon handle the rest. His biggest toys, Metroplex, Fortress Maximus and Brave Maximus, sit on a fireplace TV stand under a vaulted ceiling.
Scale and Sun Damage
John admits he is a stickler for scale, and Alan prefers characters roughly in scale too. Alan says he gave up being a completist and now buys the best version of each character he wants. While repainting his great room, Alan discovered sections of toys damaged by partial direct sunlight over about five years. Alternators Meister is no longer a consistent pearly white. He accepts that plastic toys will not last forever, but he paid a professional company several hundred dollars to tint about a dozen windows.
Combiner Wars and Robots in Disguise
Alan likes the Robots in Disguise Warrior Class figures and the animalistic Decepticons, but the One-Step and Three-Step Changers do little for him. He wishes for larger, more complex Voyager-style versions. On Combiner Wars he is all in. He found Beast Wars Tripredacus overly complicated and the Energon combiners prone to losing hands and feet. Combiner Wars, he says, holds together and poses well. John agrees.
Contributors: John DeLuna, Alan (Waspinator/Mousepad, guest)
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