Phil Reed’s Battlegrip.com is one my favorite toy sites. Phil runs a great site with a unique perspective and a cool mix of reviews of new & old toys (including a strange obsession with FrankenBerry). Phil has a new project, an unofficial Transformers guide that he’s taken to Kickstarter. We’re in!
I love Transformers. I know we don’t feature too many here at IAT (beyond Vault’s love for Prime), but some still sneak into my collection and I find myself keeping tabs on the latest offerings even if I’m not always buying. One thing I’ve found fascinating about modern Transformers collecting is the massive proliferation of third party items! They’ve seemingly become a big part of the budget for many Transformers collectors. I’ve only dipped my toe in on the action with the Generations Kup upgrade kit and the Mini-Warriors Spray & Rager, but they’re some awesome pieces. And, heck, I’m dying to geonion on Project Uranos from TFC Toys (literally, my wife would kill me if I told her I intended to pick those up). There are so many Third Party items that it sometimes feels difficult to keep up with them all.
Enter Phil Reed’s new Kickstarter campaign, Transforming Collections. If the project is fully funded, Transforming Collections will serve as introduction to the unofficial third party items and feature commentary and photos from Phil’s time as a third party collector (Click here for some sample photos).
The project started this weekend and has gotten off to a great start – already at roughly 75% funded, but Phil has built-in some excellent stretch goals should the funding go higher. Those goals include some fun items like stickers and guest artwork, but what I’m mainly interested in is the expansion of the book. Mo’ money, mo’ pages.
If you’re interested in third party Transformers or if you’ve just got a bare spot on your coffee table begging for a a cool book, check out the Kickstarter Widget at the right and head over to the official page. Phil lays out his reasons for the project, what he intends to include, and details for each of the stretch goals.
You can also find out more about the project and receive updates by following @philipjreed on Twitter and, of course, by checking out Battlegrip.com.
Wow, thanks for helping promote this! I’m still just hoping we can reach the goal; I am amazed at the response and not yet thinking too hard about the stretch goals. Gotta hit that $999 before my brain switches gears.
So damn pumped for this, and I agree mo money mo pages is exactly why I am hoping for it to go big! Phil Runs a great site and his love of 3rd party Transformers is evident so this book should be incredible! I noticed a typo however you said “including a strange obsession with FrankenBerry” it should read “a perfectly normal obsession with Frahnkenberry” ha ha Frank rocks!
The difficult part about this book will be seeing awesome third party items that you didn’t know existed and now are damned near impossible to find since they have such limited runs.
Kevin, I know what you mean. I sometimes find myself searching eBay after reading a review or finding something in a book; I have a book on 70s action figures that makes me want the Lone Ranger toys of that decade.
as of right now its up to $1154 not bad for one weekend!
I have been fascinated with knock-off TFs since before there was an interweb on which to opine about them… got nothing but love and praise for this worthy project
Thanks, Morg! I hope to do the subject justice and create a book that gets a lot of use.