About
My name is Miguel, and I love Beastformers. It would be fair to say that, like so many guys in their forties, as a kid I was utterly helpless against the pocket-sized toy invasion of the late '80s and early '90s. Z-bots, Monster in My Pocket, Trash Bag Bunch, and Mighty Max were among my favorites. Still, none of these then-current offerings would capture my imagination the way Battle Beasts would!
If you collected Battle Beasts as a kid, you likely remember your first figures and where you got them. Whether they were plucked from a Series One two-pack you got for your tenth birthday, or a Series Three figure pack rescued from the depths of the bargain bin at your local KB Toys, these figures are likely your favorites today for the lasting impressions they made on you as a kid, and may be the very reason why you're reading this today! Being born in 1984, I identified more as a '90s kid than an '80s kid, so I missed out on those kinds of in-situ collecting experiences. By the time I transitioned from Glo Worms to action figures, Battle Beasts had already left store shelves to make space for a myriad of inferior toys, and it wouldn’t be until 1991 that I would get my grubby little mitts on my first Battle Beast!
I remember it vividly: I was seven, the Beast was a raccoon, and I traded my cousin my ice cream money for him. He didn’t have a weapon, a battle emblem, or even a name. To be honest, I wasn’t even convinced that he was a raccoon, let alone a Battle Beast! Still, there was something about this little green and beige figure that resonated with me, and I knew there had to be others out there! A couple of years later, while rummaging through a box of my older cousin's unloved toys, I unearthed a haul that would be truly epic by today's standards—a large Ziplock bag bursting at the seams with Battle Beasts! There were lions, and tigers, and bears—OH MY! But there were so, so many more! There were spiders, and crabs, and reptiles like the cobra and the iguana! I remember being overwhelmed by the variation of bold colors and the unique details of their cybertronic armor. There had to be at least eighty figures in total, not to mention weapons for all of them! This had to be the first time I encountered a battle emblem, and naturally, my nine-year-old brain was firing on all cylinders to unlock its secret! For months I would revisit this cache of incredible creatures, lamenting the fact that when it was time to go home, I couldn't take them with me! After all, I was a good kid, and although I confess that the thought of shoving one or two of them into the pockets of my Bugle Boys crossed my mind, I knew that I wasn't cut out for a life behind bars!
Time would pass, action figure lines would come and go, and the inevitable crushing force of adolescence would eventually separate me from the toys I loved so much. I would go on to find new hobbies like skateboarding and video games to keep me occupied well into my adult years, but as so many of my fellow articulation addicts know, nostalgia is a powerful drug! In my twenties, I discovered that my love for toys transcended the feelings of my own nostalgia, and that I had the rare gift (or curse) of seeing toys as works of art, rather than objects designed to distract overly-imaginative children. It was during this period of my life that I began collecting Kenner Star Wars figures, a hobby that I love to this day! In my thirties, after completing my main-line set of vintage Star Wars figures, I decided to breathe new life into the dim little fire Battle Emblem that smoldered within me. With a small amount of adult money, and a surplus of ignorance, I decided to begin my new journey as a Battle Beasts collector! How expensive could it be, right?
Today, my collection exists because of the unending support of my dear friends in this community. Everything I have learned, and thus am able to contribute, was built on the backs of those who know far more about this toy line than I do. What started as an eBay search to chase some low-hanging nostalgia, quickly led to instagram messages to sellers who seemed to be mysterious purveyors of Japanese-exclusive beasts that I didn't even know existed! Many of these wizards are my dear friends today; our friendships built on trust, integrity, and our shared obsession for all things Beastformers!
It is my hope that this little website serves you well, and that you, my fellow Beastie might be inspired by its contents. If all you glean from your visit is a brief feeling of nostalgia, then I've done my job. If, however, you are compelled to begin your own collecting journey, my job has just begun and I am here to help you every step of the way! Just remember:
"Fire burns wood, wood floats on water, but...water will put out fire every time!"
Sincerely,
Miguel
