Botcollector:  Are you now into the toys only, or do you still get involved w/ the cartoon, comics, fanfics, artwork, etc.?

Kath:  I've been involved doing different things over the years. At one time I illustrated other fans' characters. But one thing I love to do (and that I'm still working on) is my own comic book called "A Day In the Decepticon Camp." I'm on issue 5. It's a spoof of the TFs. When I first started it, I was in the TF club that made contact thru mail (snail mail that is), and people were doing their own fanzines of comics, newsletters, and stories. Some of the stories were dark and serious, so being the light-hearted person I am, I did a comedy since I love to laugh and I have this thing for spoofs. Right now I'm slowly getting the comic on-line on my friend Rose's site. She is a major TF fan too. I used to do old-fashioned paper and mail, but the interest for readers is not what it used to be, so I go where people are.  I also try and make a special art piece each year to put into the convention. Usually a more serious piece but... oh heck, I'll take a photo of one of them and you can see it for yourself.  I'm also making "The Heart of Cybertron." It's a joke that my friends Tony and Rose and I came up with on the phone one night. For every toy you get, you get a ton of twistie ties. What do you do with all these ties? So I started making the biggest ball of Transformer twistie ties ever. I put it in the art show of OTFCC '03.  Who doesn't understand about all those darn twisties? (smiles). Even a mother of one of the attendees commented and laughed about it with me. The ball's getting bigger, too. Maybe one day I'll send it to Hasbro (smirk, smile, and a wink).

Botcollector:  What kind of collector are you? Meaning, do you try to get boxes, perfect and complete figures, etc., or do you just want to get the toys, and the whole "MISB, MIB, C-0, C-8," etc. is not really part of your criteria for collecting? 

Kath:  Well, I do have a lot of MIB toys. In my living room I have a huge curio case where I have about 30 to 40 of them on display. I have some BotCon and OTFCC exclusives displayed in there too. They are my "crown jewels."  I have more in the garage in storage containers.  But all my new toys I take out of their packaging. What's the point of having it if it cannot be played with? I always throw away the bubble since it's just a waste of space, but I keep the card (especially if there is info on there about the toy).  If I buy a "used" toy from someone else, I am not that particular about having all their weapons and stuff, especially if I don't have the toy already.  I DO like having the accessories, but if the price is right, how can I argue?  At BotCon '02, I found a Trypticon for $10!!  He was dusty and didn't have all his accessories, but he was in really good condition, and the price!!  How can I turn that down? I was only in the dealer's room for 10 minutes of the first day, but I think the dealer also liked the Matrix I was wearing around my neck (slight laugh).  Yeah, I had a Matrix made that I can wear (guilty smile). I had it commissioned by a guy in California.  Due to a hurried job and time restraints, he wasn't able to do the job he wanted on it 'cause it was falling apart on me when I got it, but I wore it anyway. I mean, how many people have Matrixes? But he's building me a new one and will hopefully have it ready by the next convention. 

Botcollector:  How many figures do you have?

Kath:  (Laughs) Ummm.... just Transformers or all the toys I have? Either way I have to get back to you on that. Like in a few weeks..... (laughs again). I have quite a bit. I have not only Transformers but also different toy series that I also enjoy like McFarlane. Oh I'm huge fan of McFarlane toys. Not precisely playable toys, but they are affordable, detailed statues with SOME play quality. I also have other toy lines, like Voltron, Hellraiser, Evangelion ('cause they look like cool robots), some Resident Evil, some Japanese lines (especially Resurrection of the Monstress collection). Any toy for whatever reason that just gets my attention.

Botcollector:  How do you handle the collection? Do you display figures, store them, switch out figures that you get that you think are cooler than the ones you had already, etc.?

Kath:  I handle them the best I can. Sometimes I seem to be fighting for space in the toy room, so I have made all the shelving I can, but I try to figure out how to put as many as possible out. Space is often an issue, but I have fun rearranging them and whatever. I will put some of my toys in shoe boxes or small storage bins to be kept in the closet to make space for other toys. If I'm looking for a specific toy I have fun looking for and finding that one.

Botcollector:  From 1 to 10, with 1 being a very casual interest, and 10 being obsessive to the point of criminal insanity, what would you rate your involvement with Transformers and collecting them?

Kath:  Mmm...well definitely not a casual interest to me but I'm not insane either.  Well, nothing that can be proven! (laughs for dramatic effect). 

Botcollector:  What do you think about the general assumption that most girls don't like guys who have a collecting "habit," or who have and maintain/add to large collections of a particular theme or toyline? Fact or fiction?

Kath:  Depends on the girl I think.

Botcollector:  Well, for the ones that DO seem to have a problem with it, what is it about collecting that is turning these girls off?

Kath:  These girls are just not understanding enough to realize this is a major part of his life and what he loves. They think it's silly or childish.  You shouldn't go into a relationship thinking you are going to change someone or how he feels. No matter what he collects. Cars, Coca-cola products, Lion King, whatever. It's a part of him. Like it's a part of me, and I don't want anyone changing me.

Botcollector:  So obviously neither of you has a problem with the collecting habit of the other.  What's a scenario you can imagine of a problem BEGINNING?

Kath:  The only scenario I can imagine is when you cannot pay the bills cause the money went elsewhere. (gives a little look) You got to have a place not only for your toys but for you too.

Botcollector:   You seem to have a history with the Transformers.  Have you ever dated someone who has NO interest in them (or collecting in general) whatsoever?

Kath:  Unfortunately yes. But there was more to it than my toys that was the problem. There was nothing really in common between us to hold us together. A common ground. And the guy in question was a jerk about a lot of things.  Thankfully we did not date that long. But, in regards to the toys being an issue I do remember one incident. One day we were waiting for a car stereo to be put into his car and to get a conversation going, he asked me about my toy collection. Well I knew he wasn't into it so I gave a brief summary of my toys that lasted for about two minutes. Two minutes after that he asked me if I will tell him about my toys. I said I just did. Obviously he wasn't interested at all.

Botcollector:  What would you have to say to or about a woman who automatically dismisses a guy as "undateable" when she sees that he obviously is crazy about something like Transformers?

Kath:  Mmmm ... .(thinks) I think I would ask would they think I'm undateable to men? What made you think he was "dateable" until you found out about the toys? That would be my questions to her. Not to be mean or anything but just to know if she saw more before or what.

Botcollector:   If there are any unpleasant qualities about collecting, or potential problems that can arise from it, what would you say the most serious would be?

Kath:  Not being able to pay your bills. If you can pay your bills and collect at the same time, who cares?

Botcollector:  Have you ever met anyone who collects that you think is OVERLY into it? If so, what would you say is THEIR problem?

Kath:  (bewildered face) mmm.. ..(thinks some more) I don't think I've ever met anyone like that .. .. oh I'm sure there is someone out there with a problem but I've never met them:>)

Botcollector:  What do you think about this whole "Barbies are for girls, 'Bots are for boys" phenomenon?  Why are girls expected to play with pink fluffies and baby dolls, and boys are supposed to run around with guns and war toys?

Kath:  Heck I played with Star Wars and Masters of the Universe as well as Barbies when I was growing up. Heck they even interacted with each other. But not Transformers. Maybe my mother thought I was getting too old for toys .. .. :/ Who knows? But I think the whole thinking behind "boy toys" and "girl toys" goes back a long way. I mean did girls hunt for food during colonial times? No. That's was left to men and their sons. That thinking about gender roles has continued thru the ages and even now it is slowly changing how girls should see themselves. Instead of wimpy Snow White who is scared of a friggin' tree branch (if you don't believe me watch Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I couldn't make it thru the movie without thinking how torturous it was to watch. I had to stop the movie) to brave, bold Belle who took her father's place as the Beast's prisoner. But still the thinking is there in today's toys. Do you see pictures of boys playing with Barbies? Do you see advertisements with girls playing with Transformers? No on both. 

Botcollector:  So how did you break away from this typical mould?

Kath:  Mmm..I don't know. I played with dolls and furry toy animals. They even interact with my other toys. Peacefully of course. I guess I wasn't always one to do what other girls did at times. But my favorite stuff toys were a black leopard that even when I was a teenager I kept on my bed. I didn't worry about what others thought. I played with what I liked and loved.

Botcollector:  The release of figures in the Robots In Disguise line through Armada and the now-shipping Energon figures, a rough estimate of the percentage of recolored or repackaged pre-existing figures is around 50%. What are your feelings on half of the figures being released being recolors or re-packs?

Kath:  I have bought very little of the recolored toys cause I feel it is a total waste of my money. I have bought a few but I bought them cause I thought they were cool in some way like Ratchet in Universe line is a reminder of G1, Blackarchnia cause she's female, Hot Shot cause of the HotRod colors and Inferno Universe should have been Red Alert personally but the rest is a waste to me. I have the original toys so why bother?

Botcollector:  So, this whole die-cast vs. plastic thing with the Binaltechs and Alternators.  For instance, this figure is die-cast from Japan, and plastic in the U.S., with less stylistic packaging and instructions, etc. What's your stance on that?

Kath:  [The Alternator] is 1/2 the cost of the die-cast one! That's what I heard. That is why I'm buying that one. There are so many Transformers to buy right now and if it doesn't matter to me about the die-cast parts or not, then I can save that $25 and buy another toy with it. Oh I would like to have the die-cast one but right now .... too many new Transformer toys out.