In an unassuming shed lives one of the largest collections of Transformers figures and merchandise in the world.
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The collection is owned by Trevor Hopkins, who resides 40 minutes from Mudgee NSW, has spent nearly his entire life amassing a seriously impressive collection of more than 10,000 pieces of Transformers paraphernalia from its inception in 1984 to the present
The ACM masthead, Mudgee Guardian, visited Mr Hopkins' purpose-built shed that he has dubbed the Transformatorium to view the collection and talk to him about his passion for the shiny shapeshifters.
Mr Hopkins was seven years old when he received his first Transformers figurine, a Generation One Decepticon named Dirge that transforms into a jet.
He, as he put it because his son was in the room, "lost his poop", and the love for Transformers has not waned in the 40 years since.
"It was just something new and interesting I hadn't seen before, and it wasn't the usual superheroes flying around with their capes and their underpants on the outside, and it seemed to have everything," he said.
"If you liked robots, there's robots. If you liked cars, if you liked planes, it had all of that. If you liked dinosaurs it has giant robot dinosaurs - so it really captured my imagination from the beginning".
Upon entering the Transformatorium, it is hard not to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of items housed inside the shed which sits next to the Hopkins family home.
Visitors are greeted with floor-to-ceiling views of the collection, which includes more than 6000 individual figures of all sizes and rarities from all generations, as well as more than 3000 pieces of merchandise like t-shirts, DVDs, video games, cushions and even a floor mat.
Mr Hopkins spent his time during the COVID-19 lockdown fitting out the interior with enough shelving to display the collection, which continues to grow.
Recently the collection was added to when Trevor was gifted a toy from the Transformers One movie by Hasbro Australia, signed by the voice actor. And a fan of Trevor's in the US sent some 1985 Transformers Mylar Balloons.
"This is one of the largest collections in the world. I hadn't intended to reach this point - it was more I just really enjoyed it and it was a fun, harmless hobby and it seemed to interest other people," he said.
"People would pass on their kids' older toys or they'd pass on their old toys from when they were kids themselves...".
"I just kept collecting and they kept bringing out new versions of classic characters and great new characters and then they started making new cartoons and live-action movies and it just became a hobby that I thought was dead but now is suddenly alive and brimming once again."
Mr Hopkins' collection and his prolific online presence mean he is well-known among not only the Transformers community but has also attracted the attention of Hasbro and Paramount, the owners of the franchise and the publisher of the Transformers films respectively.
"There's been a lot of promotional events around the release of the films," he said.
"I got invited to do the Roar and Snore at Taronga Zoo, after the company wanted some representatives of the fandom. I went along and did questions for the media and... then to say thank you they gave us more tickets."
"It's a bit of fun. You get a few freebies out of them. My son, Orion, is a big Transformers fan too so he usually comes to these events with me."
His son Orion, who sported a Transformers shirt and pants himself on the day of the tour, said he is as much of a fan as his dad.
"They look really cool and the cartoons are really good," Orion said.
"My favourite is the Bumblebee movie, it's really good. I like Bumblebee, both old and new".
According to Guinness World Records online, the largest collection of Transformers memorabilia consists of 10,568 items and was achieved by Mike Kaye in San Diego, California, in the US on September 30, 2023.
Mr Hopkins hinted that he might have a go at besting a record like that one day.
"It is getting crowded, but we're not out of room just yet," he laughed.
With visitors travelling from as far away as Sydney to view the collection, Mr Hopkins embraces all corners of the fandom and distilled his love for the franchise, while also taking a stab at the sometimes toxic online discourse around it.
"I do it for the love of it. It's toy robots, it's supposed to be fun," he said.
"If you're not having fun what's the point?"
The Transformatorium is not open to the public; however, anyone who wants to book a tour or would like to give any Transformers items can get in touch via the Big Angry Trev's Transformatorium page on Facebook.
