goldage-migration

so sorry to hear about that swoop. in MISB form, the box is the best KO produced and hardest to detect hands down. the only small giveaway is on the wings of the KO version figure itself, but it gets overlooked so easily in MISB form because you are not going to open the box. but where they can take it up to another level, is taking a legit sealed on card SWOOP that is genuine and then stuff that into a KO SWOOP box that is C10 condition. at one point years ago, i believe there was even a KO dino, not SWOOP, possibly floating around that was slabbed. as you pointed out, you have to pay attention to the quality of production, especially on the back art. on the KO's, the dinos in particular, the spacing is just slightly off, or certain characters are cut short on either corner of the box; where they have that picture art of autobots fighting with decepticons floating through space. soundwave's cassettes were pretty well done, other than a very small slight perforation type opening/hole on the backside of the card. the soundwave KO box itself is incredibly well done. its really tough. whats very interesting is that TF KO's are probably the best done vs. several other toy lines i can think of. for instance i have never personally touched a SW 12 back that even came close to fooling me. keep in mind, i am talking specifically about the replication of the card itself not the reset or re-sealing of an existing genuine bubble/card with authentic weapons/figures.

well all those transformer auctions got ended early. here is where things stood right before the untimely finish: AFA 85 (85/90/90) soundwave = $3201.01 AFA 90 (85/90/90) optimus prime = $7600 AFA 85 (85/90/90) starscream = $2000 AFA 95 (90/95/95) bluestreak = $1760ish the AFA lot of all series 1 mini autobots (both rubs & pre-rubs) = $4550 too bad we did not get to see the final pricing. i can not imagine that optimus prime going for <$10K to be ended so early. the mini autos was most interesting because there has never been a lot like that one; complete series 1 all 85 slabbed rubs and all pre-rubs slabbed 80 with 2 of them in 85.

i am familiar with the significance of the three letter variations and what it means to price/demand with respect to the 12 backs. honestly though i have never paid that much close attention to each specific variant and their respective prices. so reality is, an A variant has not popped up at all in a really long time, for at least whatever auctions i was watching, so all those lower priced auctions i have randomly seen close here and there were either B's or C's. but that B variant auction i mentioned finishing in the $2700 range really shocked me but you are obviously way more privy and in tune to this marketplace. so how often would you say a solid 85 A variant actually shows up? once a year or less? you are right that if another popped up, the market would easily absorb at that price point. if 5 more popped up though, i would venture to say that would be a different story. however, good news is, you can not exactly "press" one of these out from an AFA 80 vader slab so the float on these 85 slabbed A's is probably very thin.

wow. that is a crazy price. these have to be all time high prices -no?? there was one 85 vader slab i was watching that ended 11/25 on ebay that fetched $2705 with subs C85 B85 F90 but it was a C version and i was floored by that. you think people are buying into the rumor that they are bringing vader back somehow for ep VII? those prices are most impressive, especially given how many collectibles, slabbed especially in the higher tier quality range, have had prices drop since a few years ago when AFA mania had peaked. so maybe there is something to my theory here; back in september, before the big lucas film buyout, an 85 vader, B version, fetched only $1175

btw $11.99 is a super price to pay back in the day on that starscream. is it a pre-rub or rubsign?

woolworth = thanks for sharing pics and congrats on your recent acquisitions. definitely concur with you on the price stickers giving it that extra nostalgic authentic vibe, especially with how good some of the ko's have gotten. they are easy to spot, but for the average non-toy collector, possibly not.

its interesting how past that later 1985 generation run of say shockwave, dinobots, etc. they started making "bigger" ones starting with jetfire, than omega supreme, and onto the trypticon, etc. these were not exactly chump change to buy off the toy shelf back in the 80's either. as i recall, the autobot cars were in the $9.99 range. optimus prime & megatron were $19.99. soundwave was $14.99. believe shockwave & jetfire were the most expensive out of that whole run from 84-85. shockwave was like $24.99 while jetfire topped $29 range. dinobots were $14.99 each. the decepticon jets were $14.99. the mini autos were like a few bucks if that. those were the days. was just chatting someone up about the star wars 12 backs in the late 70's. you could walk into a k-mart and in those days they had huge rack like bins in the front middle of the store with tons of the 12 backs just poured in there for, i think it was, $1.99 each.

small world. you do not see these everyday at all. but here is an AFA 75 trypticon that just went up, but keep in mind, its qualified, meaning not factory tape sealed on both sides. best offer style or BIN @ $3500

Gotcha! I do remember rubbing the hologram on their chests, I didn't realize there were versions that predated that. I would love to get some nice in-box versions of the stuff I had as a kid, like Grimlock, Slag, Soundwave, Astrotrain, etc. I also remember having two of the big guys, Scorponok and the Godzilla looking Decepticon that was battery operated. In fact, I posted a picture of me with it awhile back. Anyone know the name? great pic! the decepticon you are inquiring about is called trypticon. i believe he came out not until 1986ish. this is really out of my expertise range, as my primary focus and knowledge base was generation 1 and generation 2 spanning 1984-1985 time frame. trypticon though factory sealed C9 condition and slabbed would bring in some big money.

ditto here on x-mas time gift; although i believe mine was a pre-rub. for me personally, that service sticker only enhances; as you pointed out like a really cool "date stamp." but as far as grading goes though, sometimes those stickers and where they are placed could be a deal breaker and grade detraction if the box sub is on the proverbial fence so to speak. but that soundwave in the auction looks pretty crispy case fresh mint. wonder what held the box back from getting a sub 90 grade like the other subs did - maybe the sticker did not help. What's pre-rub? Loved Transformers as a kid, but didn't keep up with the particulars of collecting them. I had a bunch of G-1 stuff in the mid-80s, but that's about all I know. transformers was one of my fav cartoons indeed. the pre-rubs were the actual first release; very limited in supply. they essentially have autobot/decepticon stickers as opposed to the rub-signs style (you have to rub them and then you see whether the robot is an autobot or decepticon), like the rub-sign on the chest area/plastic opening cover of the cassette player on that AFA 85 soundwave. a pre-rub soundwave of this caliber is insanely rare. think there is only 1 of those in the census. that would sell for some pretty crazy money.

ditto here on x-mas time gift; although i believe mine was a pre-rub. for me personally, that service sticker only enhances; as you pointed out like a really cool "date stamp." but as far as grading goes though, sometimes those stickers and where they are placed could be a deal breaker and grade detraction if the box sub is on the proverbial fence so to speak. but that soundwave in the auction looks pretty crispy case fresh mint. wonder what held the box back from getting a sub 90 grade like the other subs did - maybe the sticker did not help.

here is another one you will not see everyday; an AFA graded lot of mini-cars rub & pre-rub. current bid is $4K.

great thread. just wanted to share this little tidbit for those transformers folks. currently on eBay, there is an AFA 90 optimus prime up for grabs. current bid is $6,600. a true grail in this ridiculously high grade. census pop is 1 of 1; possibly 1 of 2; can not remember for sure. this item in this grade has never come to a public marketplace like this before. should have a chance of breaking $10K.