COLLECTOR INTERVIEW #99: Joebot

We’re back for another Transformers collector interview!

In today’s spotlight is JoeBot, who has made a name for himself in recent years after sharing photos of his highly impressive collection online, showcasing some of the best colour-sorted organisation we’ve seen! Today, he’s taking us behind the scenes.

Who are you and what do you collect?

Hi, my name is Joe, and I go by JoeBot (tfjoebot) on social media. I’m a toy collector who collects lots of toylines, but my main focus is Transformers. There were many awesome franchises when I grew up in the 80s and 90s, but the robots in disguise were the ones that I loved the most. A large part of my collection is vintage and modern G1 toys, but I collect toys from every era of Transformers. Optimus Prime and Hot Rod/Rodimus are the two characters I tend to collect the most, but I also have a soft spot for Soundwave, Shockwave, Starscream and Megatron.

What do you love most about Transformers and the hobby?

It’s hard for me to name just one thing I love most about the hobby. I would say that collecting the toys and Transformers social media are the two things I love most. I’ve always loved collecting toys. I had a large collection of Transformers as a kid but regrettably don’t have any from my original collection. The 25th Anniversary G1 Optimus Prime set brought me back to the hobby and after that I caught the collecting bug. I was determined to assemble my old collection again and add the ones I always wished I had. Since then, I’ve collected all those toys, and I’ve added a lot more.

Toy hunting is one of my favorite things to do. Finding new items on the shelf or coming across a good deal online always feels like time well spent. Collecting Transformers toys affected the house we bought. My fiancé and I had our hearts set on living in a specific neighborhood. There were a number of houses that we looked at and then we saw our house. One of the bedrooms in the house had the closets removed and in its place were built-in shelves with 18 different sections. I knew right away it would be perfect for my collection, and my fiancé thought the same thing.

Interacting with the Transformers community online through social media has been a great experience. For over 10 years I read the websites and followed the creators and personalities of the Transformers community on social media. I never posted and just enjoyed the content. Then around the time Covid happened I decided I wanted to join in on the fun. I had a hard drive full of Transformers material I could use. I had bought and collected a lot of media over the years.

In 2020 I started sharing the things that I thought were cool about the franchise. I also share pictures of my collection. The response was amazing and I had a lot of fun doing it. Discussing Transformers with fans from all over the world is (mostly) great. I’ve interacted with artists, writers, designers, and content creators whose work I’ve enjoyed for years. I still really enjoy looking at other people’s toys and media collections. I see new stuff all the time because of others sharing their love of Transformers. It makes me happy to contribute and be part of the community.

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

The number of items available seems to be the biggest change for me. There are so many choices for fans. Hasbro seems to release a lot more Transformers toys compared to when I first started collecting. There’s a variety of different lines with something for seemingly everyone. It’s not just Hasbro either. Recently I’ve bought Transformers related toys from Mattel, Yolopark and Blokees. Don’t even get me started on 3rd Party toys and kits.

I’m a little more selective with my purchases now because there is so much to choose from. We used to have to settle for repainted toys from older toylines to have character representation in our collection. Now many characters have multiple updated versions of their toys.

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

I know this isn’t a popular opinion with some people, but I really hope we see TakaraTomy go back to doing their own thing again and not releasing the exact same main toyline Hasbro is releasing. I feel that it’s been noticeable how Hasbro has been cutting corners when it comes to paint apps because of costs. I miss Takara’s Henkei! Henkei!/Transformers United/Transformers Legends era. I live in the U.S., so it was a little more expensive and difficult for me to collect the TakaraTomy versions, but it was awesome seeing the variety and having the choice to buy them. I bought the ones that I felt were worth it and passed on the ones that I didn’t want. I’d love to see TakaraTomy go back to this.

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

I really don’t have anything strange or outrageous, but the closest thing I could think of involves some Transformers Collectors’ Club toys in my collection. A number of my TFCC toys were bought on eBay and the seller was a certain divisive member of the Transformers community. I noticed that the name on the shipping labels was the same name I saw on other TFCC material. This was years before I started following the scene on social media, so I was blissfully ignorant of this person’s reputation and shenanigans. A few years later when I became more active is when I realized who I had bought from.

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

I love collecting Hot Rod/Rodimus toys and for a long time 2008’s convention exclusive Timelines Shattered Glass Rodimus was near the top of my grail list. At the time it was kind of pricey in the aftermarket and there weren’t many available. A while back I found a seller on eBay who was accepting offers for one. I placed an initial offer expecting a much higher counteroffer but to my surprise their counteroffer was very reasonable. I don’t think there was much activity on the listing because of the high price, and I made the right offer at the right time. It always makes me happy when I see it on the shelf.

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

My mind would say Haslab Unicron. It’s big, it’s rare, it’s expensive, and it draws attention. You could sell it and make a house payment. It’s an impressive toy and I’m very happy to own it. My heart would say keep G1 Powermaster Optimus Prime. It’s my favorite toy of all time. I can still remember walking into Toys R Us and seeing it. It blew my mind that there was this brand new, much bigger Optimus Prime toy. I had no idea this toy existed before seeing it. I played with it so much. The multiple robot modes, vehicle and base mode kept me occupied for many hours.

One of the first toys I bought when I started collecting Transformers as an adult was the Commemorative Series Powermaster Optimus Prime with Apex Bomber set. Learning how the toy had another life in Japan was so interesting. It wasn’t the same toy I had, but it was awesome and for years it was my G1 Powermaster Prime. Finally last year I bought a vintage one with red fists. It’s a toy that will always be special to me.

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

I’m not sure who has one, but the one item I want most is Diaclone Fairlady Z a.k.a. blue deco Bluestreak. That toy is at the top of my grail list. It’s beautiful. Bluestreak was my very first Transformer, so the toy has always had a special place in my heart. Just the lore behind it makes it worth chasing. How many people remember being on the playground and hearing a kid say they know someone who has the blue deco Bluestreak? My group of friends would come up with ideas why we ended up with a silver version instead of blue. I really hope we see a Missing Link version but I also hope to own the original one day.

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

Three things:

Make sure you’re having fun and don’t be afraid to take a break if it isn’t fun. A little time away to recharge your collecting battery can do wonders.

Chasing toy grails and having collecting goals are fun but make sure to do it in a responsible way. I don’t want to be a drag, but I have to say it.

Collect the things that you enjoy. Listen to your heart and not what others say if they’re being negative about what you love to collect. Be the world’s biggest Wheelie fan if that’s what you want.

Special thanks to Joe for the words & photos! Be sure to give him a shout on Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter!