Customer Reviews

Transformers: Identification and Price Guide

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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More than years after they took America by storm, the Transformers Toy line seems to be stronger than ever, bolstered by a big-budget Hollywood movie, and toys that just keep coming. What better time for a brand new Transformers price and, far more importantly, an identification guide. The Transformers Identification and Price Guide comes from Krause Publications, a renowned leader in collectibles books.

Thankfully the author, Mark Bellomo doesn't skip over the very rich history of the Transformers BEFORE they made it to American soil. His introduction covers Takara's Diaclone and Microman lines and Hasbro's eventual purchase of the license to that line, and the backstory that was created by Marvel Comics. The guide runs in chronological order, beginning with series 1 in 1984. Each Transformer is show in both vehicle/robot mode in very crisp photography. The book reprints all of the information off the toy's original techspecs including name, function, motto, biography, and techspec ability ratings. Next is a paragraph or two about each figure that gives facts about the toy and the character, and various minutiae about things like joint and sticker wear, collectibility, etc., The book also lists each accessory that comes with the figure which is one of the most important aspects of the book. Finally, three prices are given for each toy: Loose and complete, Mint in box, and mint in sealed box/Mint on Card. Kudos for that although a price for loose figures without accessories would have been welcomed.

In addition to the pictures of the toy in its various forms, all of the figures accessories are also pictured. I cannot stress how important picturing the accessories is. While I am fairly knowledgeable about Transformers, I cannot just look at most accessories and tell you whom they belong to. Often coming across odd lots of weapons at garage sales and flea markets, the book is invaluable in matching the part to the figure.

Credit again to Bellomo for also explaining long and complicated history behind Jetfire as well as giving the famous Jet two full pages of coverage including photos in robot mode, jet mode, jet mode without armor, and Gerwalk mode, as well as a picture of the figure mint in the box and even close-ups of wing variations. The mail-away figures such as the Omnibots, Powerdashers, Reflector, etc., are also covered. Each of the various Gestalts (Devastator, Superion, etc,) are also pictured, as is one of my favorite Transformers, Sixshot, in all six of his modes.

The book is 254 pages long and doesn't waste an inch of space. It's well written and well researched with gorgeous photography throughout the book. Is it perfect? Well, not quite...I honestly think the prices for MISB/MISP figures is a bit low, based on what I've seen these toys go for at places such as eBay. Also, I would have loved to see Generation Two toys included. The G2 line is regularly overlooked which is unfortunate since there were some very nice toys included in the line. Finally, I would have loved to have seen some coverage of the Japanese variants such as Twincast and Soundblaster, but ok, I guess that might be wising for a bit too much.

There haven't been many books put out about the Transformers toy line but this one is easily the best and most detailed. Indispensable for Transformers collectors!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

This book is fantastic! It features all of the US released Generation One Transformers up to the Action Masters line (includes Headnasters, Targetmasters, Micromasters, and Pretenders). Each figure has the original tech spec bio, a description of the figure, photos of the figure in each mode, as well as pictures of all their accessories. This book is like the pin-up book for Transformers geeks like myself.

The book is a great resource for USA released G1 figures. I wish it included Japanese releases too, but I can appreciate the in-depth focus of this book for what it is.

Some of the photos are out of focus in some spots, and the book is limited to USA G1 figures, but despite the flaws this is still a 5 star book. I was not disapointed. I love this book!

Fast and Efficient!! I am the mother of a 30 year old that had these toys and now I am trying to put the Transformer together. This book is very valuable in getting the right weapon with the right Transformer. What an education.

As a long-time collector, I am happy with this book on my shelf. Pictures are very good, descriptions are good and even informative to a long-time fan/collector such as me. The prices, however, are occasionally inaccurate. This is by no means the fault of the author, as prices fluctuate wildly. I would dare say that the MIB prices are accurate-to-low and the loose sample prices are accurate-to-high. This doesn't mean the book is bad however, as every toy (and many variants) from this area are documented nicely, much like his coverage of the same era of G.I. Joe. Recommended product to long-time fans and people curious to see the early history of one of the greatest toy/cartoon/movie franchises in the world.

excellent pictures showing all you need to know to be able to identify any Generation 1 figure and to know how complete it is, i cannot recommend it enough. The price guide is a bit dubious as prices for Vintage transformers are so fluid in nature

Overall, this is a good book on Transformers toys. It has a lot of info about every vintage toy that was released. Many nuggets of info and trivia throughout. Lots of pictures as well. The book itself seems a little old and dated in style compared with the author's 2nd edition on GI-Joe toys. Bellomo has a good writing style, and his passion for 80s toys comes through in his work. I enjoyed Bellomo's 2nd edition GI-Joe book so much I wanted his Transformers book as well. However, I would recommend waiting for a 2nd edition of this book as I'm sure it will be much improved with an overall better presentation and photos. Still, if you need to have a book now on Transformers toys, this is the one to get. Having this book is almost as much fun as collecting the toys themselves.

Awesome guide, everything a original transformers fan could hope for. Great detailed colour photos of every toy. Compehensive descritipn on each toy including all accessories. Essential for collectors to know what they are paying for.

The Transformers Identification and Price Guide by Mark Bellomo is the greatest for the Transformers, More then Meets the Eye show every action figure created from Gen 1 and more. I have not seen a more detailed Transformers toy book with strenght, weakness, and more in one complete book. I recommend this book if you are Transformers More then Meets the Eye fan.

This is the best Action Figure guide I have ever seen. It is very informative and very accurate, the author even adds his personal take on most of the figures. And talk about bringing back old memories. I actually bought this book for nostalgic purposes and was very pleased. It was nice seeing all the old Transformers from the 80's in one piece. Makes me wish I knew what happened to all my old ones, man I'd be rich if I would have taken better care of them. Hope Mark Bellomo does a guide book for the rest of the Transformers. If you are looking for the ultimate 80's Transformers Action Figure guide, this is it!

I had heard good things about this author, and this guide, from reviews at other Transformer sites, so I bought it (it was also being sold for half price at amazon.com when I bought it). It was well worth every penny! It is very thorough and gives great details on each type of Transformer and each of the "lines of Transformers" that were made up to 1990. Each Transformer is also given approximate prices for what they are worth as well. Granted, the prices will change over time, but this guide will still be a worthy identification reference for a very long time.
I would have given it a 5, but there were quite a few grammatical errors in the book, but it won't affect your ability to understand the information.
My favorite part of the book is that the author appears to have had fun writing it, but takes it seriously enough to make it a very thorough reference guide. A must have for any Transformer fan, from beginner to expert!