COLLECTOR INTERVIEW #84: SkywarpSCS

We’re back for more Transformers collector interviews.

Today, it’s the legendary SkywarpSCS (aka Steve from Stevenage!) who is not only one of the tallest Transformers collectors on the UK scene, but also one of the nicest. A regular at conventions such as TFNation, he also has some rather tempting pieces on his shelves… take it away, Steve!

Who are you and what do you collect?

I’m Steve (from Stevenage!) or SkywarpSCS if you’ve encountered me online. I’m a Transformers collector from the UK. Historically, I’ve collected a little bit of everything, but I had quite the purge back in 2023, having reassessed my focus and how I was interacting with collecting, which actually saw me sell off my *entire* CHUG collection! I’m currently focusing on vintage US G1, with a smattering of Euro G1 here and there and vintage Beast Wars; of which I’m *very* late to the party on,  having only started picking them up in the last couple of years so there’s plenty there to still discover both from the Hasbro and the Takara-only lines! I’m also a big TF: Prime fan. I went all out on that, completing the Hasbro retail line, including amassing the “Arms Microns” decos that Hasbro didn’t touch, such as Wildrider and Ironhide, as well as all of the campaign Microns they released across that and “TF: GO!”. I’m also a big (big!) fan of both Transformers comics and comic books in general, in particular the Marvel Transformers book, having grown up with the expanded stories we got here in the UK, as have a number of collectors in my *ahem* demographic, which has had a huge influence on my takes on some of the characters, probably more so than the G1 Cartoon! 

What do you love most about Transformers and the hobby?

The two big things for me are the people and the sheer amount of ways you can engage with the franchise. 

Only want to watch the cartoon shows or read the comics? Go for it. Couldn’t care less about the characters, but are fascinated by the engineering and how it all works? Masterpiece has got you covered. Want to get a huge nostalgia hit from your childhood toys? Then go for the G1 reissues or the vintage toys on the aftermarket. Love the older characters but find the original toys too limiting? Then you should be checking out Generations. Want to indoctrinate/ get your kids/nieces/nephews involved? Then Rescue Bots are absolutely for them. I’m sure there are many other examples, and that’s without going into the different aspects that you could focus on, such as The Unicron Trilogy, Bayverse or Animated, that would break it down even further for what fans do and don’t follow!

As for the people, I’ve been a lot more involved over the past few years than I ever have been. I’ve finally been brave enough to put myself “out there” more on social media and have friends with folks who aren’t just my “Transformers” friends anymore. I’ve even been invited onto some live Transformers YouTube streams. I wouldn’t have had those opportunities if it weren’t for forging those relationships with like-minded fans in the first place, both online and in person at events such as TFNation.

How has the collecting scene changed since you joined the fandom?

Exponentially! The Bayverse brought Transformers to the mainstream, along with the MCU, which collectively made “geek-chic” accessible to all. This has created a whole generation of fans who have that as their “starting point”, dare I say it brought a few folks back who had the toys as kids and now have disposable income and access to both the internet and online auction sites. The COVID lockdowns also saw people pursuing a raft of online hobbies. Still, the big shift for me is just how accessible professionals in the Transformers scene are outside of convention panels. The Fanstreams that the brand team does are so important as sources of information. I can’t recall Hasbro ever having been that open with customers about what’s coming or why certain things aren’t happening or had to be done in a particular way. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of collecting, such as the last stream confirming that no SS86 Devastator gift set was in the works for 2026 or 2027 (so if you want them, get them!), straight from the design/marketing team and with no ambiguity. We’ve never had that before. 

Between that and the likes of the Triple Takeover podcast getting the Hasbro team on, as well as Daniel Warren Johnson and Transformers: The Show on YouTube having the IDW artist Jack Lawrence on as a guest – to have people who have literally shaped the direction the brand is taking, willing to engage with fan-channels beyond liking the odd post on Instagram, whilst still being responsible to their professional commitments is a phenomenal peek behind the curtain and long may that level of access continue, NDAs permitting!

How do you see, or hope to see the scene changing over the next 5 years?

That’s a tough one! The toy market as a whole is changing, and there are a lot more collector-targeted lines out there, such as HasLab, MPG, Missing Link and the multitude of third-party offerings. I was only reading a news article this morning about how 20% of toys sold in the UK are to adults. Somehow, “Generations” has become the “mainline”, and the media-associated lines that would traditionally go hand in hand with other merchandise to sell toys to kids and their parents are playing second fiddle. What that means for new, younger fans coming into the community in the longer term, I don’t know – they potentially won’t have the nostalgia to latch onto like we did. What I’d be really hopeful for is that Hasbro have a knock-it-out-of-the-park success like RID(2015), which had toys being repackaged and re-released almost three years after their original release!

Now, don’t get me wrong, Earthspark was great, and I loved the fact that it was willing to introduce new characters along with the classic ones. I also know I’m not the target demographic, even though I really enjoyed it. However, it was locked behind a Paywall for many, depending on which streaming service you had access to and where you were in the world;  I think that hurt both the show and the toyline in the long run. I really want to see Cyberworld do well, as being on YouTube, it should be accessible to all, as long as they don’t do anything daft and geo-lock it. I’ve caught the first episode, and it’s exactly what is needed to bring in the younger audience. Again, I’m not the target for it at all, but I can still thoroughly appreciate it for what it is doing. That said, that Bull-Megatron is quite a cool take on the character, and I could see that appearing in Generations as a concept!

What is the most surprising or outrageous collecting story you have heard?

I think at this stage in the game, we are probably beyond case-finds and the like, although what’s to say Armada or RID(2000) won’t show up en masse tomorrow? 

However, honesty and integrity are both really important to me, both personally and professionally. I would be absolutely *mortified* if someone thought I was trying to have them over in a sale or a trade. If I’ve messed up, I’ll absolutely do my best to fix it and be upfront about how. So with that in mind, the one thing I absolutely cannot stand is when you read the reports of “toy swapping”. Not only is it blatantly entitled, greedy and deceitful, but you are potentially souring someone’s first-ever Transformers toy.

The most audacious example of this I can recall hearing about was an Alternators Dead End box that contained a regular black Dodge Viper convertible scale-model. From memory, it was being touted as some sort of rare factory error as the convertible version was actually Sideswipe and not Dead-End, or even a potential new, as-yet-unknown release that had snuck out in the wrong box as the moulds were so similar. I believe it may have even ended up on ebay and attracted a significant number of bids. Somebody somewhere knew *exactly* what they were doing, and I can’t believe they ever thought it was acceptable. As with anything, it’s the minority that ruins it for the majority.

What has been your single biggest success as a collector, or your greatest ever find?

If it’s not too much of a flex, I would have to say my Lucky Draw Arms Micron Hades, of which there are only (allegedly) 100 of! I can still remember finding it on ebay. My wife had been on a Late Shift the night before and I was aware that she had got home a lot later from work than she should have done, so trying to keep the noise down so she could sleep; I opted to stay in bed for a bit and just browse random stuff on my phone, news headlines, message boards etc. I’d said previously that I was a big TF: Prime fan and had been collecting the Takara only repaints, and this would have been when the Arms Micron Line was “current”. Inevitably, I  ended up on eBay (who wouldn’t?!) and whilst I can’t recall exactly what my search term was, there it was, just sat for the princely sum of £75  (give or take for the exchange rate!) posted from Japan. I did a bit of a double-take, had a lightning-quick read of the auction description and then just hit “Buy It Now” quicker than I’ve ever hit that button before! About 10 days later, it turned up, as pictured. I still have it on the sprue, and given all the vac-metal chrome, I’ve never had the guts to try to snap fit it together! Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time…..

If you could pick one item from your collection to keep, what would it be?

Like I said, I’m a big fan of the comics, and when Dreamwave were riding high, one of the best things they did was introduce brand new characters to the G1 mythos, such as Sunstorm and The Fallen. I can’t recall why (although our financial position was a lot different then!), but I’d been too slow on the E-hobby pre-orders and missed out on Sunstorm, who subsequently started to shift for a bit on the secondary market. Then one morning, out of the blue, not a birthday, anniversary or special occasion, Mrs. S presents me with one. I’ve no idea where she got it or how she sourced it, but it’s the first Transformer she ever bought me and thus holds a special place. Even with the re-release in 2009, he’s probably the easiest e-hobby to reacquire!

If you could have one item out of someone else’s collection, what would that be?

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a sucker for Emergency Service decoed ‘bots, which is why Defensor is clearly the best G1 combiner. For anyone who read your recent interview with Paul Duggan, they’ll know that he’s not long picked up the “Guard City” version of the mould. A “999” themed late era, J-G1 set with associated bragging rights? Yes, please… best he keeps that one under lock and key next time I see him!

What advice would you give a new collector starting out today?

Starting from scratch today would be an incredibly daunting prospect. Just take your time and soak it all in, find your focus and what bits of the franchise appeal to you, it’s really easy to say but if you get sucked into the FOMO, you’ll end up with a fair bit of buyers remorse on more than one occasion, burn yourself out and probably never want to see another Transformer again. Don’t compare your collections to other fans because you’ll just make yourself miserable. There are collectors who got in on the “ground floor”, as it were and only ever paid RRP for things that may seem unobtainable now. It’s all about perspective – they’ve simply been collecting for longer, and this is a 40-year-old franchise! There are plenty of sought-after pieces that change hands behind closed doors, too, so get involved and network. You’ll get so much more out of it, including some “mates rates,” and most importantly, you’ll make friends along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, if you’ve thought of it, somebody else has too, and don’t be put off by folks who think it’s trendy to denigrate the latest iteration of something, just because you like the G1 Wheelie mould, that makes you just as much of a Transformers fan as anyone else. Everyone has an entry point, and this is yours, so enjoy the ride!

Special thanks to Steve for his words & photos! Be sure to give him a shout on Bluesky, Twitter & Instagram!