What happened to retroblasting threads? To be honest, I kind of miss them. Can he come back?
>>11604876He never left. He just randomly argues with anyone who's opinion he disagrees with. It's just that he doesn't seem to make as many toy videos as he used to. He and Melinda have made a fair number of YT shorts lately, and those were alright. Besides, one thing I've noticed about the toy community is it isn't as influenced by social media opinions as other mediums are. If a given toy has the right "eyeball appeal" to any given toy-anon, he's not gonna give a fuck about someone else's opinions unless it's something that breaks easily. So "influencers" are less important to /toy/ than elsewhere.
>>11604880Hey be nice!
>>11604891didn't he sperg about a random youtube comment because someone said his delorian was fake or some shit lmao
>>11604909I think a poster said it didn't run, which he came out and disagreed with. Either way I don't give a shit. I ahve driven one of those. The heavy body paired with a weak engine really do make it to be a shitty sports car, and I've driven econo-shit-boxes that have more "zip" than a DMC12 has. But hey it looked cool.
> just argues with peopleI don’t think it’s fair to say Michael. He’s always been opinionated, sure, but that’s kind of what made RetroBlasting stand out in the first place. He wasn’t chasing trends or parroting the usual “this figure is awesome, go buy it” routine that floods YouTube, he actually challenged people to think about quality, design, and how companies treat collectors. That’s a big part of why so many fans stuck with him even when he ruffled feathers.He hasn’t been cranking out the same longform toy videos lately, but that doesn’t mean he’s disappeared or “lost it.” The shorts and smaller projects are probably just a way of adapting to YouTube’s current mess of an algorithm. You can’t really expect someone to spend weeks researching and editing deep-dive retrospectives when the platform now rewards 30s clips. When he does make full videos, they still have that mix of honesty and passion you don’t get from channels that just chase free review samples.As for the toy community being independent of influencer culture its true, but I’d argue that’s exactly why voices like Michael’s matter. He’s not there to tell people what to buy; he’s there to remind collectors why they care in the first place. That’s the difference between a hype machine and a preservationist. You can disagree with his delivery, sure, but he’s been consistent for years about calling out cheap QC, lazy reissues, and corporate spin. That’s not “arguing,” that’s integrity and in a hobby that’s increasingly commercialized, I’ll take a little righteous stubbornness over empty positvity any day.
Zatlit got humbled by kiwifarms
>>11604916Nice chatgpt blog.
>>11604916Hi, Melinda! >As for the toy community being independent of influencer culture its true, but I’d argue that’s exactly why voices like Michael’s matter. He’s not there to tell people what to buy; he’s there to remind collectors why they care in the first place.So........that still makes him an influencer, but a different kind?The toy industry doesn't need influencers because nostalgia, eyeball-appeal, and personal sentiment to any given property are all that really matter
>>11604921I can understand what you mean because in the broadest sense anyone with a following could be seen as an influencer. Still I think that label misses what Michael actually does. Most influencers exist to drive attention toward a brand or product but his focus has always been more about education and preservation than persuasion. He spends his time exploring design history craftsmanship and why certain lines mattered to fans instead of just chasing whatever is new. If people happen to be influenced by that it is usually toward thinking more critically about what they buy or why they collect at all. That is a very different thing from trying to steer people toward the latest preorder.I also agree that nostalgia and personal appeal are what really drive most collectors and that is exactly why someone like him still matters. He is not trying to tell anyone what they should like but rather reminding them of why these things were special in the first place and why quality and respect for the source material still count. In a hobby that is constantly being reshaped by corporations and marketing that perspective helps keep a sense of authenticity alive. If that kind of influence encourages people to think for themselves and value what they already have then it is the healthiest kind of influence the community could ask for.
>>11604907At this point I wonder if the bot does this ai response only once per retroshitter thread
>>11604917I cant believe he still comes here, geez man what a putz. He had a presence on /pw/ as well. All he wanted was to kill asian hookers and get chicken for his mom.
>>11604876He looks so goofy with that hat. I want to fuck him.
>>11604876His channels pretty much dead and irrelevant so no one cares anymore>>11605012Yeah whats with the hat, is he balding?
>>11604876Hair status?
>>11605089Club for Men
>>11604909The poster asked him if it was some kind of car kit or if it was an authentic DeLorean? The idea that his car might not be legitimate caused him to write entire essays on the matter and complain about the for days. Trolls then started accusing of having a replica as a joke, but he kept taking the joke at face value.
>>11604876Wasn't he datamined for Marvel Rivals?
>>11604916he over reacts all the time anon, he is just waiting for his chance to unload on someone for the most trivial reason, I've seen numerous posts by people who've felt that they've been misconstrued by him
>>11604917I'm still waiting on the farms to clown on Diosoth, way past overdue
>>11605849I understand what you are saying, and I have seen some of those exchanges as well, but I think part of what makes Michael stand out is that he reacts with a level of passion that comes from genuine investment rather than hostility. It can look like overreaction, especially in an online space where tone is hard to read and people tend to assume the worst, but most of the time he is defending an idea or a principle that he feels is being misrepresented. When you care deeply about something like preserving toy history and calling out the ways the hobby is changing, it is easy for that energy to spill over in discussion. I do not think he is looking to unload on people so much as he is trying to make sure the conversation stays honest and that his points are not reduced to sound bites or misquotes. That intensity can be misread, but it is also part of what keeps his content from feeling hollow or rehearsed.I have also seen the stories about people feeling misconstrued, and I do not dismiss them, but it is worth remembering that communication online is messy and imperfect, and sometimes even the most thoughtful discussions can spiral once comments get taken out of context. Michael is a very direct communicator, and while that can ruffle feathers, I think it also shows that he takes engagement seriously. He reads, responds, and stands behind what he says instead of vanishing when challenged. That kind of accountability is rare these days, especially among creators who prefer to ignore criticism entirely. So while his reactions might not always be gentle, they are at least sincere, and for many people in the toy community that honesty is still a big part of what makes him worth listening to.
>>11604876Fuck off Retrospammer
>>11606336Hey be nice!
Michael's biggest problem is an instant hostile reaction when confronted with something that doesn't line up with his "well-educated and researched" perspective. A prime example is rocket-firing Boba Fett:https://archive.org/details/tomarts-afd-20/mode/2upThey first showed up in the 90s, but that's also when people first started making counterfeits of them. That's also the one single figure that 99% of all Kenner employees who risked their jobs by stealing test shots and production samples for singled out the most as if they magically knew future values over two decades later. But today Michael and others like him will claim "they're all legit" while selling for insane amounts of money............while defending modern bootleggers like Chris Chan. All while getting pretty nasty and insulting with those who confront his version of reality.
Imwill never understand why some of you inbred retards are so fixated on not just YouTubers, but toy YouTubers of all things. It's insane how much you guys give a fuck about these literal who's that have like barely 10k views per video. Y'all need to go touch some grass and stop fixating on random nobodies on the Internet that will never know you exist.
>>11605012>>11605012and I want to fuck your sweet pooty booty little loli
>>11605056He should wear a sith hooded robe instead. Hed have so much aura.
PI like Mike and his British partner in crime. Based takes and BS calling out abound on both channels. I'm not paying $30 for a small transformer or joe, so I'm basically done with modern too. They speak to and for me.
>>11607126>I'm not paying $30 for a small transformer or joe, so I'm basically done with modern too.I sold off my collection ten years ago due to a big personal issue and needing the money, but over the past year or so I've been re-collecting the vintage stuff. I put it on pause for the past few months while trying to collect Classified Joes, but now that it's reached shit levels like $60 for a Ghost Viper that's 85% recycled from other figures, well fuck that. That same money can get an original Cobra Commander or Zartan without swamp skier in good shape. I'll pay that price for something vintage with no guilt at all, but not for modern. Even the $30 regular figures are too high when considering how many loose 80s Joes in good condition I can get for that. My biggest modern splurge was Rattler Baroness for $150. I figured that it won't get any cheaper and it really is one of the best in the line. I know I could have gotten a perfect Snake Eyes 1985 for that money, though, and that's always in the back of my mind when I look at what I paid for something new instead of vintage. So yeah I'm being pushed back into filling in my vintage collecting, which is fine. That's how I started off collecting anyway.
>>11605056>His channels pretty much dead and irrelevant so no one cares anymoreIt's not dead. It's just that the toy fan/hobby base isn't as influenced by "influencers" as other points of interest are, so ALL toy channels have relatively low numbers in comparison to girls who "accidentally" show nip-slips while doing try-on haul videos.
>>11606977no i won't touch grass anon, i'll stay inside and fixate on whatever the fuck, whoever the fuck, whenever the fuck i want thanks, heed your own advice and fuck off outside then you won't get all, like, fixated on a handful of, like, individuals fixated on a youtubers with, like, barely 10k views per video, liketldr: kys dipshit
>>11607575>Getting this bent out of shape because someone pointed out what a waste this shit isLol, lmao even. Imagine getting this personally offended at this. Lmao
>>11607591What you have to remember is that this is the core audience for literal who youtubers. They live a sad and pathetic existence, but they're blissfully unaware of this, so they tend to lash out with impotent rage when you reveal the truth.
Last I seen of him he was trying to start fights with other YouTubers so he could say he was more deserving of being a bigger influence and relating the same old corporations bad crap. His videos fell off since he only really seems interested in retro crap and there isn’t much left to cover
>>11607684He hasn't done that in probably a couple of years. >>11607575Believe it or not telling people to kill themselves is actually against the law. And why do you even care if some toy collectors have Youtube channels?
>>11604876The tiniest face I have ever seen...
>>11606361Are we even sure he’s still alive and not just an AI?
