Why are Junior Headmasters So Expensive?

[JosephBardsley]

I was on a weekend trip to San Francisco, and had the opportunity to
stop by a place called Toy Safari, which is a massive vintage toyseller.

G1 was in ample supply: the usual suspects. Lots of Scramble City
figures (esp. Scattershots, oddly), plus Wreck-Gars. Surprisingly, also,
a smattering of Machine Wars toys.

What really shocked me, though, was the prices for the G1 Headmasters. A
complete, loose G1 Squeezeplay was going for $199 USD; his colleague
Horri-Bull, the same price.

These toys are not even that good. I can't see how they are objectively
worth this much money. Have I been asleep at the switch, or is this
really what these G1s are going for these days? (Are we - maybe -
hitting a ceiling?)

(Also, I totally own that the weaker Canadian dollar makes these prices
extra surprising to me!)

JB

[Zobovor]

Post by JosephBardsley
These toys are not even that good. I can't see how they are objectively
worth this much money. Have I been asleep at the switch, or is this
really what these G1s are going for these days?

Well, I think specific toys have certain issues which makes them
difficult to find in good condition on the secondary market. All the
1988 Headmasters have between three to five accessories that are easily
lost (especially the helmet guns for the Autobots) so those tend to
command a premium.

Nightbeat was a major player near the end of Marvel Comics, so he tends
to be expensive due to the popularity of the character in the same way
that Thunderwing and Bludgeon tend to be. Also, there are lots of
badly-yellowed samples out there, where his blue color has turned green,
so a proper blue sample can go for a lot of money.

Siren also has issues with yellowing, as his light grey plastic is often
a sickly copper color.

The hinge on Horri-Bull's animal neck is very frequently broken. It's
almost impossible to find an intact sample on the secondary market. An
unbroken toy commands a very high premium.

Fangry's wing piece is very important to complete his animal mode, so
toys without it are worth very little, but toys that include it tend to
cost a lot. Even the wing piece itself can sell for a very high amount.

Squeezeplay is only notable in that he recently got an update for
United, so I wonder if people are wanting to track down his vintage toy
for that reason. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't be especially
expensive or difficult to find.

But, it's never about whether the toys are objectively good or fun to
play with. It's about scarcity, especially finding toys that are
complete and in good condition. You've got to remember that
Transformers as a brand began to fade in popularity after the movie, and
I'm sure that the characters produced in 1988-1990 weren't manufactured
in nearly as great quantities as they were during 1984-1986. There just
aren't as many existing samples out there today. If we assume that most
people's childhood toys were eventually broken and/or thrown away, and
that the best surviving samples made it into the hands of collectors and
are no longer in circulation, that could leave only a few thousand or
even a few hundred worldwide that are actively available on the
secondary market.

Ultimately, it comes down to what people are willing to pay.
Colectively, we tend to get angry at scalpers and market opportunists,
but really it's the buyers who are in near total control of the market
pricing.


Zob (so far I'm trying to get every single 1985 Minispy for less than
$20, but I might have to start considering that a soft limit)

[JosephBardsley]

This is good insight, Zob, and also helpful information to have.

It's funny how - like you say - these toys are ultimately worth what
people are willing to pay for them.

I had no idea how many small pieces were associated with those mini
Headmasters, but can appreciate that, intact, they can definitely
command a premium.

It's also a good point that, at that point in the G1 run, fewer people
were buying these figures, and (perhaps) fewer were even being made,
which also translates to scarcity today. All very interesting!

Joseph, wondering at what point this particular bubble will pop.

[GustavoWombat]

Post by Zobovor
The hinge on Horri-Bull's animal neck is very frequently broken. It's
almost impossible to find an intact sample on the secondary market. An
unbroken toy commands a very high premium.

I wonder where my Horribull is. He was fine last time I saw him.

Post by Zobovor
Squeezeplay is only notable in that he recently got an update for
United, so I wonder if people are wanting to track down his vintage toy
for that reason. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't be especially
expensive or difficult to find.

I think you’re underestimating the demand from people who are fans of
Masterforce. Squeezeplay in the US was Cancer in Japan.

And Masterforce is beloved among those who watch the entire thing. I
don’t recommend anyone forcing themself to watch it in order to learn to
love it though. The people who will not love it check out early, as they
should.*

Cancer was an important character, to the point where the fine folks at
Takara released the toy with the saddest name in Transformers history
during their version of Titans Return — “Shockwave with Cancer”

Small number of surviving toys, and a slightly rabid, small number of
fans.

*: sometimes Transformers is like Doctor Who. If the current version
doesn’t work for you, that’s fine, come back in a few years and maybe
the next version will be for you.

[GoBackaTron]

Post by Zobovor
Zob (so far I'm trying to get every single 1985 Minispy for less than
$20, but I might have to start considering that a soft limit)

Are you going for one of each mold, or one of each mold in each color,
or one of each mold in each color in each rubsign faction, or one of
each mold in each color in each rubsign faction and wheel spoke variant?

[Zobovor]

Post by GoBackaTron
Are you going for one of each mold, or one of each mold in each color,
or one of each mold in each color in each rubsign faction, or one of
each mold in each color in each rubsign faction and wheel spoke variant?

I can't do wheel spoke variations. That sort of thing is for people
like Jon and Karl Hartman.

But I do like the idea of having every style in every color in every
faction, so my ideal set will consist of 24 of the little buggers, 12
Autobots and 12 Decepticons.

I think I own ten of them now, so I'm almost halfway there.


Zob (challenging to find the Jeep style with the spare tire intact, I'm
finding)

[GoBackaTron]

The Decepticon Junior Headmasters were major characters in the Japanese
Masterforce cartoon and for a lot of fans in the 90s the Hasbro versions
were the closest we could affordably get. They looked pretty much the
same as the Takara versions, unlike the Cybertron Headmaster Juniors
that were very different colors and ungodly expensive. I think the
cartoon's popularity among anime aware Transformer fans and their lower
overall production numbers made them tougher to find ever since the late
90s.

Plus all the problems with tiny parts and discoloring plastic that Zob
mentioned.