Well here we are again! Another year of happy blogging has gone by. To me it certainly seemed like much less than a full year since the 2 year anniversary. I think when you get older, time just seems to go by much faster. When I was a kid, a whole year feels like forever. Now it passes in the blink of an eye, or maybe I should say the refresh of an optic sensor.

As I look back on the past year, I see various trends developing in the world of TF. Some good, some not so good:

• Third party items seem to have caught on like wildfire. I think we saw more of this in the last year than any previous years. I can’t even keep track of them anymore!
• Prices of all items skyrocketed. Even adjusting for inflation, prices have soared. Using official Hasbro Deluxe class figures as a benchmark, in the 2000s they were around $10 a fig. Now in 2012 they average about $15. A 50% price increase seems like a lot to me in such a short span. And I won’t even go into third party products.
• 2012 was a non-Movie year. Toys are not produced in major quantities, like DOTM, which perhaps explain why they cost more.
• Release through store exclusives seem to be on the rise. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer limited release over no release at all. But it’s kind of a problem when you have to be vigilant about every exclusive release, or risk them running out and you have to pay some scalper a markup to get them.
• Hasbro are still releasing too many Bumblebees! The latest batch of TF Prime deluxes all come with a DVD. And I see deluxe Bumblebees in the DVD packaging, meaning they were just made. C’mon Hasbro, STOP THE BUMBLEBEES PLEASE!!!

As far as the blog stats go, I’m pretty happy on where it’s at. I have nearly 100,000 hits in the past year. Pretty modest by today’s standards, but not too shabby for a personal blog. The huge spike in July 2011 is from the release of Dark of the Moon. But after that, there appears to be a sustained momentum. Most of my visits come directly from Google. Sometimes I wish I knew how their search algorithm works (me along with everyone else).

It is amazing that the Transformers brand is still going strong after 28 years. Very few other toy lines can say the same. I was away from it for 16 years (1988 to 2004), but I’m happy I’m back. Will TFs ever stop? Will I have another hiatus? Your guess is as good as mine. I am proud to be a TransFan, and I will keep this blog going for as long as TFs are part of my life. Transform and Roll Out!

Teletraan I Communiques