COLLECTOR INTERVIEW #85: Val (TORB)

We’re back for more Transformers collector interviews.

Today, it’s the super passionate Val (aka TORB) who many will know from Twitter or various other platforms where they have quite the following. Given their creative love of Transformers, it’s no surprise that they also have some very wise words to share with us about their approach and collecting in general, so take it away, Val!

Who are you and what do you collect?

My name is Val, or TORB, as many of you know me as. My username is @littlemisstfc, and I mainly create Transformers memes on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Like many Transformers fans, I enjoy collecting Transformers figures in my spare time. I mainly collect female Transformers figures, Optimus Prime & Orion Pax figures, Tarn figures, and figures of characters I have a strong emotional attachment to. I also enjoy collecting random Transformers stuff, such as TFA memorabilia and stickers that I used to decorate my bedroom walls with. When it comes to non-Transformers stuff, I love collecting fashion dolls; my favorite ones to collect are Bratz, Monster High dolls, and Disney dolls. Essentially, I love to joke that my bedroom is a physical representation of Autism because I have so many hyperfixations that fill it from head to toe, hahaha. 

I have been a Transformers fan ever since I was a kid, thanks to Transformers Animated and the Bayverse movies being the huge Transformers media at the time. However, being a young femme Latine in a traditional Latino household, I didn’t get a chance to collect Transformers because they were seen as something only boys could play with. I remember when I used to be so jealous of my friend for having Transformers toys. Like, during our playdates, I loved playing with a movie Optimus figure, specifically, and I would not let go of it even when it was time for my mom to pick me up. That’s how badly I wanted one of these plastic robots. 

There was a brief period where I forgot about Transformers during the first few years of middle school, until I rediscovered this interest when Transformers Prime was airing. Now, I jumped into that show on its third season, so it took me a while to figure out what was going on. Still, that show reignited my passion for Transformers, and I started small by collecting Transformers-themed items such as pencils and stickers.

Eventually, in my last two years of middle school, I found out about the website Tumblr due to its prominent Transformers community there; I started posting about Transformers Animated, the Bayverse movies, and the Aligned Continuity when I got to high school. Out of all the posts on that site, the ones that caught my attention were seeing other girls and femmes sharing their Transformers collections; it blew my mind because, “wow, there are other girls who love Transformers like me!”. It was seeing how comfortable they felt in expressing their love for the same thing I love that made me realize that I am not alone. From there, the interest gets stronger and stronger. By the time I graduated high school, I was able to build a decent income from my very first job, and I knew there was one thing I needed to do. 

The first Transformers figure I ever bought was a Cyberverse Arcee figure, which I bought from a Target one day. It was just her sitting comfortably on my shelf for a while until I got my second one, which was a Cyberverse Grimlock. After I have a room of my own, I’ll get more Transformers Cyberverse figures, which I still love even with their quality, hahaha. When the Legacy toyline started rolling out, it was the definite moment where I finally got to live out my childhood dream of having my own Transformers collection. My parents are very hard-working people who gave so much for my sister and me to have the life they couldn’t have in their youth, so I developed a similar drive to have the things I want.

Overall, it was the mix of finally feeling comfortable to share my love for Transformers the more I engage with this community, and working hard for my collection that made me who I am today. I am genuinely grateful to find a community of people who not only want to hear my voice towards the Transformers media I love, but also become the friends kid-me would’ve loved to have. I can’t imagine a world where I’m not interested in Transformers, as I will continue to love it for as long as I live. 

What do you love most about Transformers and the hobby?

I would have to say that what I love the most about Transformers is how accessible it is for anyone who wants to get into it. Arguably, you can watch any of the Transformers shows, and you would not need to know the previous ones to understand what’s going on. Heck, a bonus would be getting you interested in learning more about the specifics of callbacks to previous Transformers media, and you would enter another rabbit hole that leads you to another. Transformers Animated got me looking up which media it’s referencing on the TFWiki page of every episode as I got older. 

It also helps that the community is so welcoming and friendly for the most part. Of course, no fandom is truly perfect, but compared to others I’ve been in, this one has helped me figure out so much about my interest, as I mentioned earlier. I especially love seeing more people get into Transformers thanks to Transformers One really changing their perspectives on seeing the franchise as more than just funny robots that turn into cars and other vehicles. My main takeaway is that it’s never too late to find that there’s more to Transformers than meets the eye.

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

Based on my experiences in collecting Transformers figures so far, I’m seeing more women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people within the spaces of the collecting scene recently. As a kid, outside of Tumblr, the collecting scene was a very male-dominated space, and it was a contributing factor to why I was hesitant to express my love for Transformers at school. A majority of the toy reviewers I watched were all guys, and I wasn’t sure if there was any chance of someone like me who could have a voice in that space. Eventually, throughout my life as a Transformers fan, I’ve noticed other people share similar sentiments to mine, and that caused me to think more critically about representation in and out of this space. Thus, that motivated me into seeking out creators who weren’t given the spotlight, and I eventually made that a central focus of my TikTok page. I’m very touched by the messages and comments from other people about how creators like me inspired them to follow in our footsteps and pursue their own passions, which makes me very optimistic about further change in this community. While I will always have huge respect for the huge collectors who inspired me in my work, I also recognize that we still have more to do. So, I hope that more diverse voices will thrive in this community for years to come.

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

Alongside the need for representation in the scene, I also hope that we make this space much more welcoming for people who do not have the disposable income to develop the size of their collections. While I enjoy collecting Transformers figures, I have also noticed that there’s unfortunately an ostracization of people who have smaller collections than what the average person thinks of when they hear the words “Transformers collection.” As someone whose parents came into this country with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, this classist notion of needing a huge collection (and things related to this mentality) rubs me the wrong way. We have to take into consideration how there are several people in this community who might have to skip out on a figure they want so that they can have enough to eat that week. I am in a fortunate position to develop the size of my collection as is, so I want others like me to develop this level of understanding so that we can make these people feel welcome to develop their interests the best they can in their circumstances. No one should ever be made to feel bad for having small Transformers collections, and I hope that we leave behind this mindset within the next five years or so. 

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

I’m not sure if sharing a story that happened to me counts here, but I want to since I feel like it reflects the need to make this a welcoming space for women, girls, and femmes. It was this year at TFCon Los Angeles, and I was waiting in line for David Kaye with my friend. I brought my BW Megatron Bratz doll for Mr. Kaye to sign, and in front of us was a guy with a cart of Funko Pops. He asked us what we’re having him sign, and I told him that I want him to sign my doll. He looks down at her and says, “You’re having him sign that?” in quite a condescending tone, cause hahaha, it’s a girl’s toy. My friend noticed how uncomfortable I felt with this guy, so he redirected his attention from me to talking about something else. In a way, it’s poetic when David Kaye ended up loving the doll either way and was so charmed when I explained who she is; he even nicknamed her Megs when he signed her stand. This specific story still sticks with me because I feel like in the year 2025, we should’ve left behind this “Transformers is only for boys” mentality by now. Once again, I cannot stress enough that we still have more work to do, and I will still continue to push for the fandom to be more welcoming towards Transformers fans who are women, young girls, and femmes. 

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

My biggest success as a collector would be the two Braztformer dolls I made this year. The BW Megatron Bratz is based on a sketch done by a mutual on Tumblr a long time back, while the Optimus Bratz is based on the Bishoujo Optimus Prime figure. As I mentioned earlier, I collect both Transformers figures and fashion dolls, and I was very surprised that Transformers has never done official fashion dolls in its 40+ year history. Considering that other media such as Shrek and Spiderman aren’t afraid to collaborate with brands such as Barbie and Bratz, it makes me question why Hasbro is so scared of the idea. Thus, I got the idea to bring these dolls to life as a way to make a case for it. I poured a lot of time and love into the accessories and hair styling, and I especially appreciate the lovely @dolluxedesigns for helping me by making the outfits for them both. I’m so glad that so many people love these pretty girls, and I hope that it inspires others to make their own Transformers fashion dolls. At the moment, I plan to make one more later this year, so keep an eye out for that. 🙂 

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

It would have to be this little guy right here: the iconic Plushie Prime himself. It was developing the character of this cute, chaotic gremlin that helped me thrive as both a Transformers fan and a collector. He was the very first Transformers item I got, as he was a gift from my parents when we went to Universal Studios for one of my birthdays. For as long as I had him, he continued to be a security blanket for me, especially in so many vulnerable moments within my life. He’s the outlet to express my thoughts and opinions about Transformers-related topics, and I’m so happy that he brings so much joy to so many people who love his antics with his other plushie friends. It’s a sign of how much this little dude means so much to me when I brought him with me to meet Peter Cullen and Frank Welker last year at TFCon LA; he’s a one-of-a-kind plush, and I hope he remains with me for as long as I live. 

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

In full honesty, Keyan Carlile’s Transformers Animated collection is the collection kid-me would dream of having hahahaha. If I had to pick one specific item, I’d say it would have to be the Animated Wingblade Optimus Prime figure. What can I say? I am building an Optimus Prime army at the moment. 

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

I’ve had a lot of people asking me which Transformers figures I am getting within new waves, so it puts a lot of things into perspective for me when it comes to being a collector. I’d say the most important advice for anyone who wants to get into this hobby is this: Collect the figures you want. I am admittedly very selective with which figures I want to buy, so here is my main mentality when it comes to anything I want to add to my collection: Is this one going to stay with me for a very long time? It’s very easy to get into FOMO (aka Fear Of Missing Out), especially when it comes to harder-to-acquire figures such as retailer-exclusive ones. So, I have to think hard about whether I want a figure because I genuinely want to, or because I am scared to miss out on it when everyone else has it in their collection. It’s okay not to have every figure that’s coming out, because at the end of the day, your collection should be a reflection of who you are as a person. Don’t put yourself in a position where you feel pressured into getting a figure that’s most likely not going to remain with you once the FOMO wears off. Think of your collection as a museum; it’s up to you to create and curate it based on what you’re interested in, especially which characters you have a personal attachment to. Take your time and create a collection that you want to make. Variety is the spice of life, and each collection is great because it reflects the person behind it.

Special thanks to Val for their words & photos! Be sure to give them a shout on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok & YouTube!