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James Pascoe's avatar

Wonderful read, and I think this sums up why I don’t want Missing Link but I’m so grateful it exists because of the joy it brings those who do. The passion, the happiness and awe of rediscovering an old friend with a new twist (or elbow) makes for wonderful reading, and in a toyline essentially all about the nature of change it’s a beacon of positivity

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Alec Meer's avatar

Diolch yn fawr! I think on balance I prefer the originals to ML, precisely because they require me to apply a little more imagination/personification to the toy. But on the other hand, getting minty-fresh versions of these bots, rather than knackered eBay ones, is magic - particularly for those who never experienced them first time around.

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Orion Ghia's avatar

I really good read ,thank you. This puts into words exactly why Missing Link is my jam (I'm 46 also) and why it doesn't appeal to a lot of younger folk or 'toon' obsessives. My experience differs slightly, in that as a kid I DID notice these toys lacked articulation and differed from their appearance in comics or from the rare times I'd seen the cartoon... but I just accepted it. Missing Link is, for me, addressing those issues without throwing the baby out with the bathwater in the way a lot of modern takes on these toys have in the pursuit of 'show accuracy'. Thanks again.

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Alec Meer's avatar

So glad the post worked for you! It's definitely interesting that we can just accept so much abstraction when we're young - the thin line between not noticing and not caring, as you say. Our imaginations smoothed over the gaps, but now we want 1:1.

And yes, I do love Missing Link even though it creates some complicated feelings. Sunstreaker arriving this week has been an absolute delight.

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Captain Pigheart's avatar

Thank you for this. It reminds me of how desperately I loved Transformers toys and always wanted more, and desired them all over again as an adult, and yet they were kinda terrible toys. I have the Darth Vader/Death Star crossover toy and it's amazing, but virtually impossible to transform.

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Alec Meer's avatar

You're very welcome. The good news is there's an absolutely absurd number of different TF toys now - whether modern or second-hand, so you can probably find something that scratches the right itch.

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