A frank conversation with an eight year old about Transformers

[Terome]

Good evening, Archive.

For the past week I've been videoing myself as I draw as the webcam acts as a cheap supervisor. I do this at my father's house and this evening he received a visitor in the shape of an eight year old girl brandishing a folder full of Topps Transformers trading cards who was very eager to talk to a grown up about Transformers. She has never seen any Transformers media apart from these cards but she does have a One-Step Grimlock at home.

Here's the link. I've skipped in to the relevant part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GJA...zmigxqqtlu5lio

It's pretty neat. She's very keen on Bumblebee and Grimlock and is kind of terrified by Lockdown. After this conversation I dug out some of my old toys and played Transformers Prime on Netflix for her (They don't have Animated, which would have been more her speed). Tellingly, she didn't realise that she was watching consecutive episodes and thought she was seeing the same one looped five times in a row.

Thought it would be fun to share that. It might be old news to those of you with actual children but I felt it was nice that the fact that large corporations are better able to manage their brands meant that I could carry a decent conversation with a child I barely know. Enjoy!
 

[Notabot]

That's awesome! I've found that my Transformers hobby/sickness has led to a lot of conversations that wouldn't have happened otherwise. Many of those begin with either, "No way! You know about Transformers?" or "Wait, how many Transformers do you own?" Either way, good talks have ensued.
(And the link starts at the beginning of the video, but it's easy enough to figure out where the fun begins in the top corner near the end.)
 

[Terome]

I elected to keep the true numerical value of my collection a secret. Maybe some day she'll be ready.

(And the link starts at the beginning of the video, but it's easy enough to figure out where the fun begins in the top corner near the end.)

Darn! I thought I was being so helpful.
 

[inflatable dalek]

Haven't had chance to watch (I'm a busy man! I'm having to watch Mummy on the Orient Express whilst I'm actually on a train) but to go to the other extreme, it's amazed me since the films came out how many people who were far too old to be aware of Transformers as anything other than a crap kids things first time around who now consider the Bay stuff to be bloody awesome.

My 50 year old Aunt loves Optimus Prime and the amount of greying balding men who slide up to me with a leer in their eyes and go "So... is that Megan Fox coming back then?" every so often is surprising.
 

[Sades]

I didn't even know those cards existed. I like cards...

My daughter's toy experiences with Transformers has been a bit limited due to my not being able to find something in stores for her age group (though I've only been passively looking tbh). She recently watched some G1 and Prime (I think Prime...) with her dad. She's just started to realise that most of the crap on the shelves above the kitchen table are actually toys that she can point at and try to ask for, or try to snatch when she's being carried. Most of her efforts seem to be focused on MP Grimlock, though that may just be because it is directly above a chair at the table so when she climbs up and stands on the chair/whoever is sitting in the chair, she can ALMOST touch it...

I'm looking forward to her playing with all the Transformers we've set aside for her thus far.
 

[Cliffjumper]

Originally Posted by Sades

I didn't even know those cards existed. I like cards...

Really good fun, actually - Jolt gets one.

EDIT: Sades, Rescue Bots might be worth a look... Aria's got a Boulder she's taken quite a shine to; simple one movement transformation means she can do it all herself.
 

[Sades]

I was looking at Rescue Bots just before I left for work actually. I think I know what this kid is getting for Christmas.
 

[Terome]

Originally Posted by Cliffjumper

Really good fun, actually - Jolt gets one.

EDIT: Sades, Rescue Bots might be worth a look... Aria's got a Boulder she's taken quite a shine to; simple one movement transformation means she can do it all herself.

This kid seemed to be getting a gigantic amount of fun out of them. I didn't get the full grasp of the gaming system but it looked pretty extensive. There is, however, a card that involves Megatron and Ravage being best friends which earns it my approval. Might gift her all my old Fleer X-Men cards I've got knocking about the place somewhere.
 

[Sades]

I didn't realise it was a card game at first. I am now a bit more intrigued. These are the Topps cards?

edit: http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/r...rd-game/042511 ?

Edit2: Oh, hey. You said Topps. And I knew that. Um.

Also didn't realise there were so many trading cards out there. Might look into this set at some point...

- They seem to be a bit expensive now. Maybe at some point.
 

[numbat]

I have a ridiculous number of Dark of the Moon trading cards, all still sealed in packages, plus an album for these, if anyone is interested in such things... (Robotkingdom seem to have decided to offload their entire warehouse load on me with a couple of recent orders of Age of Extinction figures...).

I've had a few experiences with kids as an adult Transformers fan. Always been a pleasure (be it playing around with Unicron or fixing a friend's kids' ROTF figures...). My wife really doesn't approve - makes her very embarrassed - but surely this is a positive aspect of the interest?

I've looked at Rescue Bots with my son in mind, although am worried:
- A: Maybe not suitable for a 7 month old baby...
- B: I'd probably be killed by my wife. (She has agreed that if our son discovers Transformers for himself she'll support his interest, but wants me to avoid influencing that. So it's progress!)
 

[Cliffjumper]

Aria's had Boulder about six months-ish now, from just before a year old. Only been able to transform him herself for about three, though. Very well made, no small parts, very docile mechanism (i.e. pretty much impossible to trap fingers etc with any force). I did put his accessory away somewhere, though.

Mind, at the same time mine was a charity shop find for about £2; baby toys are a complete minefield for much more as you could spend £20 on something brand new they're simply not interested in.
 

[numbat]

Originally Posted by Cliffjumper

Mind, at the same time mine was a charity shop find for about £2; baby toys are a complete minefield for much more as you could spend £20 on something brand new they're simply not interested in.

Yeah - we get most of Logan's stuff from charity shops. There's a great one that only does kids stuff in Stirling. I can't believe how much they charge for baby clothes and toys! And things that have a very limited time during which they are of use to the child too. I think a lot of baby stuff is really aimed as fashion accessories for adults, rather than the kids themselves.
 

[Terome]

Originally Posted by numbat

I have a ridiculous number of Dark of the Moon trading cards, all still sealed in packages, plus an album for these, if anyone is interested in such things... (Robotkingdom seem to have decided to offload their entire warehouse load on me with a couple of recent orders of Age of Extinction figures...).

I'd gladly take them off your hands, numbat. I've entered into a pact with the mother of the child in the video to give her all my old trading cards so she can portion them out as rewards. Tell me what you'd like for them and packaging and such and I'll snap them up.
 

[Clay]

Originally Posted by Sades

I was looking at Rescue Bots just before I left for work actually. I think I know what this kid is getting for Christmas.

You might also consider the wonderful Gravity Bots from a few years ago. You'd have to ebay them, but they shouldn't be too much.

Lookit! I made a video demonstration of how awesome they are!


 

[Sades]

Fantastic, I'll have a look for those too. Thanks!
 

[numbat]

Awesome! They go for around £5 GBP on eBay with postage at a quick look.

Terome - happy to send you all the cards and album for the price of postage. I'll package them up sometime and see what the damage is. May take a while as I'm quite busy with work just now.