Hidden behind the stacked trays of pens on top of the Good Old Desk is a toy near and dear to my heart, my Takara F-15 transformable plane/robot toy. You might know him as Hasbro's Transformers Decepticon Starscream. Back in the 80's when the Hasbro toys and cartoon were really popular, you could still get their original Japanese predecessors, made by Takara, in Chinatown in NY for much less. Such was the case with a lot of robot toys then and would still be now if trade hadn't opened up between the US and Asian toy markets and allowed more toys to come to the US direct from Asia without the need for US licensing and its associated price markup.
It was from such a Chinatown toy shop that my Mom bought me a Japanese Takara version of the Decepticon Soundwave as a surprise for my 8th birthday. Yes, Soundwave, the cassette player that came with Buzzsaw, the cassette that transformed into a spy-bird a la Laserbeak. What happened to Starscream? I'll get back to him in a sec.
When I got the Japanese Soundwave I was on cloud nine. Ecstatic. Truly one of the few times in my life when I was happy beyond any measure my 8-year-old mind could fathom. Alongside my 12" Mork from Ork figure (my main birthday gift), he became a central figure in my afternoon battles between the forces of the Decepticons and Cobra and the allied forces of my Autobots and 3" GI Joes.
A couple of months later, in September, out of the blue, my Dad bought me the Takara Starscream. And I pouted. It wasn't a "Transformers" brand Starscream, I believe, was the reason why. He had a strange box, and no Decepticon logo stickers. Wah wah. As I look back, we didn't have much money then, though I really didn't notice it at the time. And knowing what I know now about my Dad, I think I really hurt him. At the time I observed the look on his face as I complained, and now I recognize it for sadness and possibly even disappointment in himself for not getting his son, who was acting pretty bratty I must say, a toy he was satisfied with. Times were financially tough and that was the thanks I gave him. I could really kick myself.
It was the last time my father ever bought me anything that I didn't "recommend" or plead for. I'm not saying I was spoiled, but I had a real chip on my shoulder most of my life because my parents were never spontaneous about their gift-giving. It was never a dollar-amount issue, mind you. I realize I can't help but come across as a spoiled brat at this point, but I would have accepted a $1 trinket that they would have given me on their own instead of the standard check for $20 and birthday card that I got all through high school. And yes, I realize that a lot of kids don't get anything at all ever, but I can't stress enough that for me it was about re-creating the spontaneity of my 8th birthday, that's all. Dollar value be damned, I just wanted the feeling and all that the giving of that feeling to me by my parents implied about their love for me. That's all. I think I'd even have been happy to take the item back to the store the next day.
And you know what's ironic? That Starscream became my favoritest toy ever in a matter of days. I would take him with me everywhere. I'd leave his landing gear, tail fins, and missiles home for fear of losing those precious accessories and take him on the subway with me in a stripped-down "robot combat mode". I played with him so much that the sockets where his wings attached to his body loosened up and I had to wrap tape around the wings' mounting pegs to get them to stay wedged in place. That toy is still in my parents' home in a box with all my other toys.
The classic Transformers toys commanded a high premium among collectors until 5 years ago or so when Takara and Hasbro started re-issuing the original Generation 1 toys in assorted levels of packaging and pricing. I picked up the Japanese re-issue for about $44 shipped and, contrary to my collector ways, opened it up and played with it like any grown man shouldn't.
I keep it on my desk as a reminder to me that, when I'm not arguing with him, I love my Dad and miss him very much.
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