DAVE STEVENS of Transformers United West Australia is a true champion of Transformers toys. His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for Transformers and other toys know no bounds!

It is always a pleasure to meet another collector and Transformers fan face to face.

Even more special to visit them in their own home and get a guided tour of their personal collection.

I’ve met Dave Stevens previously in person at a busy shopping center where I traded him a Carnifex (IDW style Overlord from MMC) for his Generations Metroplex – a trade we were both very happy with, and yes that got some jaws dropping to the floor from other fans out there online.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dave today for a second time, in his own home. A drive on a wet and windy Sunday to pick up a couple of toys I was buying from him, was also a rare invitation to talk with a man about his amazing toy collection.

The size of anybodies collection is not what holds my interest, I’m more interested in what specific pieces they have held on to, or re-aquired once lost – and what their focus is now due to the usual constraints of money, time, interest and the dreaded SPACE to display kick ass toys.

I took some photos while visiting with Dave, and I’ve uploaded them all at a nice screen filling size, so please do click on any image in this article to see the full screen version, as all the toys are rather lovely and drool worthy!

Dave’s collection has some nice variety, and you can see the love over the years that has gone into various main and sublines of Transformers.

His Masterpiece Seekers are a force not to messed with, they stand ready to go to war at a moments notice, his Beast Wars toys look sharp, showing off some of their chrome / Transmetal highlights, and I particularly enjoyed getting a close look at Optimus Primal, a toy I look forward to buying myself later this year.

Dave also has the Masterpiece Optimus Primal, along with a nice shelf of official and third party Masterpiece style toys.

MP Jazz, Sideswipe, Ironhide and Prime and hiding in back a cheeky Spark Toys War Within Optimus Prime.

Getting to see DX9’s Galvatron up close was a real treat, and the Overlord that formerly lived at my place now has a very fitting home. Both are truly spectacular toys.

Dave has collected many toys from various lines, and like a lot of collectors who have been around a while, had gone through several downsizings, or streamlining of his collection over the years.

Masterpiece Soundwave lurks creepily in the shadows, while Apollyon Megatron shines in all his glory.

It was a true joy to spend a couple hours with Dave this afternoon and get the guided tour of his beautiful collection. Any chance to talk about geeky topics like Batman, Ninja Turtles, Dino Riders, Toxic Crusaders and Transformers is not one I am going to turn down (curse those retail stores that stopped selling Toxic Crusaders action figures just when I started buying them)

In the main living room area is a very large cabinet proudly displaying mainly Transformers with a few key pieces from other toylines.

A McFarlane toys Robocop, a large Assassin’s Creed figure, some Mortal Kombat toys including a large very kick-ass Sub-Zero, some Batman Arkham Asylum series toys and a few Gears of War figures and other treasures make for a lovely display that draws your eye in for a closer look.

Further down the large cabinet, in big and beefy town is Titans Returns Fortress Maximus (one of my all time fav toys!) and two of the Gigapower Dinobots, that Dave insisted I get a look at, and feel how damn heavy they are. You could probably kill someone with those Dinobots, they really are that solid and impressive.

The Gigapower Dinobots are truly lovely toys, and I am still torn on whether to get them or the Fans Toys versions of the Dinobots. Perhaps the only answer for a dino-fan like me is both? Dave pointed out to me that the line has the more flat regular colors, and the more reflective high gloss options, making for even more painful buying decisions for fans out there when picking up these behemoths.

I noticed that whenever Dave talks about Transformers, or toy collecting, he had a big infectious smile on his face, his enthusiasm was refreshing and I can think of no better way to spend a windy rainy Sunday afternoon than talking about toys!

Over the other side of the cabinet is some of the lovely anniversary Ninja Turtles toys, Alternator Smokescreen and a super expensive third party Nova Prime, that Dave somehow got for an absolute steal leaving me rather jealous, as I love any version of Nova Prime – but would not pay the absurd full retail price it goes for.

Over in one of the bedrooms, is nice tall shelf with some very very cool toys.

Armada Unicron sits at the top, with the next top most shelf displaying some CHUG toys from various lines, and a couple others mixed in there. On the next tier is Combiner Wars Victorion and some very nice Beast Wars toys, Optimus Primal and Transmetal Rattrap being my favourites. Not pictured were some Ultra class Beast Wars toys that Dave pulled out of storage to show me, and they were very cool.

The next tier has the mighty Star Sabre from Transformers Victory (another of my all time fav toys, the BEST Masterpiece toy ever if you ask me) next to a 3P Shockwave, Road Rage, Ghost Starscream, Ultra Magnus, a 3P Chromedome, Wheelie and RID Omega Prime (another toy I also love).

Moving down the shelf we have a lovely Generation One themed display, a mix of some vintage and reissue toys. It never ceases to amaze me the power these formerly Diaclone toys have in a collection.

The tiny toys just have some lovely details to them, and whenever you see them in person, they just you back to another time, there is a bit of magic about true vintage toys that you just don’t get with some of the later lines, and seeing the mainline toys here together really is something special.

Powermaster Prime and Menasor are two stand outs that grabbed my eye. I have my own Powermaster Prime, but while in overall good condition, he is rather dirty and the stickers are a bit faded, Dave’s PMP looks just gorgeous in contrast.

Moving down to the next tier we have Blaster, Blitzwing, some Insecticons, Reflector, Jetfire/Skyfire, Devastator, Kup, Tracks, Grapple, Smokescreen, Ratchet, Defensor, Cyclonus and Wheelie.

This was the first time I’ve seen the Takatoku Toys Valkyrie mold up close and in person, and it sure is a sight to behold. I think the pre-TF Takatoku toys such as Jetfire, Shockwave and Roadbuster/Dorvack are some of the finest toys available to humanity, and one of the rare cases where the pre-TF versions look just as good, if not better than their American Transformers counterparts.

Moving down to the lower shelf, some wicked Generation Two Turbo Masters, some of the most under rated Transformers toys ever made in my opinion. Also featured is the lovely redeco of RID Gigatron, that has convinced me I must pick up this alt color scheme to go with my regular purple and black one. A couple of WFC/FOC toys that Dave has done some nice repaints and highlights on rounds out the shelf along with other Bits and Bots.

As we both talked (well rambled) on enthusiastically about Transformers and other toys, I noticed that Dave had a big smile on his face whenever he talks about his collections and Transformers in general. His enthusiasm for Transformers shines through when he talks about his collection, and it was a real joy to get to spend some time with him today, and he was a most gracious and welcoming host. I turned up to buy a couple of toys, and it was a welcome surprise to be invited in to talk with him and view his amazing collection.

Big thanks to Dave Stevens of Tranformers United West Australia, which is a club affiliated with TCAA Transformers Collectors Club Australia. Dave is passionate about Transformers and shares his enthusiasm with anyone fortunate enough to meet him, and has been involved with various club meets and other pop-culture expos where he waves the flag for Transformers fans old and new, helping to keep this hobby alive for one and all.

ADDENDUM

“Pedro was here 2017”

While writing this article, a certain somebody climbed on to my lap and swished his tail back and forth on the keyboard for a minute or so, which makes this the first article Pedro has officially contributed to, he is a rather vain cat, and seems to be craving internet fame these days, as well as cat biscuits. Expect to see more of him no doubt as he contributes to further articles on this Transformers blog.