A Transformers fan in 2019 has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reference. The TF Wiki alone is as comprehensive an info source as you will find, and the numerous dedicated websites and message boards fill in every gap imaginable. Once you add in social media accounts there's not much you can't find with a quick Google search or Twitter post.
Like most spoiled kids we take for granted how good we have it. What made me realize this for myself is the recent news that CollectionDX is in dire financial straits and will shut down if its GoFundMe fails. Operating for almost 20 years, the site is a gold mine of information, pictures, and reviews of robot and robo-adjacent toys.
Many of you may have never visited the site, if so I encourage you to check it out ASAP. (Here's a link) It's like wandering through the warehouse in Indiana Jones, except every crate is full of toy robots.
As a collector of rare and obscure robots, CollectionDX has been invaluable to me. The photos, the reviews, sometimes they are the only information available I can use to see if an item is complete, or how it transforms. Not to mention the world of knockoffs and bootlegs it takes detective work to identify.
The thought of this site disappearing is painful to me personally, and devastating to the robot collecting community.
So I humbly ask you check out the site, and donate if you can. And also that you take inventory of the sites you have enjoyed and rely upon. For those that don't ask for money directly, use their links, support their advertisers, take a few extra seconds.
As much as we love our plastic, I think we can all recognize that we enjoy the immaterial part of the hobby just as much.
The endless creativity I see on social media, the YouTube videos, blogs (*waves hello), and every other corner of the internet, we understand these are fleeting. This CDX situation reminds us that even the institutions we take as permanent are only as enduring as a servers pay cycle. Don't get me wrong, the fickle nature of the cloud is worth the lack of durability, but I am still glad to have the old bricks of paper sitting on my shelf. Buyers guides, Almanacs, the Marvel Handbooks, solid as a rock.
Let's do what we can to keep our beloved hobby sites just as permanent.
Thanks for keeping it #refined!
And if you find yourself wanting to explore some unique robots, check out the Super Toy Archive the very comprehensive Figure Realm or the Robo Synergy blog.
Follow dan on Twitter @mantisninenines
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