Toy Show Haul

I just came back from the Action Figure Toy Expo here in Toronto today. Compared to the last show I went to, this was at least twice as big! Unfortunately I did not even realized I forgot to bring my camera until I got there (it was a 30 minute drive). There was a best costume contest so I saw plenty of amazing cosplayers. I had several items that I was particularly looking for at the show, they were Generations Kup, Classics Prime, and Beast Wars Waspinator (to complete my BW collection). But I also decided that I was only going to get Transformers figures, I wasn't going to get any other figures because my collection have been going out of hand and I have decided that I will have to narrow down the lines I am collecting from now on.

There were tons of everything at the show. There was a booth selling all the Comic con exclusives, I was very tempted with the SDCC exclusive Superboy in his chamber, but decided to pass on him in the end. A majority of the dealers was selling Transfomers, Star Wars, and Marvel toys. I ended up buying most of my haul from the loose bins of one particular seller because his "loose" toys were actually complete and were in great condition, most of them even came with instructions so I know this seller takes care of his stuff very well.

Another item I was looking for is a Beast Wars Transmetal 2 Cheetor, I actually already bought this figure used last month, but it was not in the "excellent" condition that the seller said it was in. The chrome on it was almost gone and that is one of the aspects why I like Transmetals. I was hoping to find a loose one with a chrome arm in good condition. I saw many loose ones going for $15, but most of the chrome were already wearing off. I ended up finding a MISB one for $30 so I just got that instead. Here he is along with the Kup that I was hunting for.



One of the Transformers that I regret not picking up in the last show was the Classics Prime. This time I saw it from the same dealer, but the price have already increased by $20 ($60 to $80). It was a bit on the high end for me for just one figure. While looking through the loose bins from the same seller, I found the BW Waspinator that I wanted and I also got Transmetal Scavenger and the Hot Rod from the Generations 2-pack. They also had a loose Classics Prime going for $60 or with the FansProject G3 trailer together for $100. I kept thinking if I should just grab the new Classic Prime since it is only $20 more, but then for another $20 more I'd be able to get the trailer as well. I must have walked around contemplating on this purchase for at least an hour before I went back to them. In the end, I went back and asked if he would take $50 for just the loose Prime and he was okay with that. Then he said I can take the trailer together for $80. I didn't really know what the trailer turned into so I was thinking about it and then he opened it up to show me all the gimmicks and such and I just handed him my money LOL

I never thought I would get a 3rd party accessory for my TF's since they were always so expensive. But man this purchase was an awesome deal and I really like how it looks in vehicle mode. The problem is I was going to buy Prime to display him in his robot mode, but I just love how he looks with the trailer that I might leave him like this. I am really happy with this purchase!

The trailer is the G3 trailer from FansProject.


Waspinator, Scavenger, and Rodimus from the same seller. These guys were in amazing condition, it was just like buying new without box.


I also picked up several TPB comics from the only guy selling comics in the whole show. Before Super Duper Toy Box got me into comics, I never had interest in them. I actually did not get why people liked comics at all. But after getting my first TPB, I was hooked. These were cheap so I picked them up for more reading. I actually can't wait to go to a comic con next time they are in town.



I don't know anything about Omega Flight except I think they are the Canadian-based super heroes team. I figured for $2 (all 5 issues) why not?


Then just as I was leaving, I picked this guy up for $15. Had to have him to finish my MMPR 8" figure collection.



All in all, it was an awesome show and I did end up sticking most of my purchases to TF-only with the exception of the comics and Green Ranger figure. Although I am still bummed I forgot to bring my camera since it was an awesome show, I'd love to give you guys a tour of the show...oh well there's next time! I am really glad I finally have the Classics Prime and extremely happy I got the trailer with him for an amazing price. With the Beast Wars purchases, I can finally say I am DONE with my Beast Wars collection. Now BRING ON THE TRANSFORMERS PRIME TOYS!!! LOL!

The never-ending journey of toy collecting...

Books

Received some books I ordered today.

Biography of Steve Jobs, I am not even an Apple guy, but he is just an interesting guy.


Beast Wars Omnibus and Infinity Gaunlets (recommended by Super Duper Toy Box)

I have gone over to the Dark Side...

I've been wanting to get one of these ever since ,Leon over at Open the Toy blogged about them a while back.



Blue is nice...but red is better...welcome to the Dark Side!



Just showing off my Sith fighting skills...LOL

Transformers Prime Coming to Canada Soon!

I've been absent for a few days since the graphics card in my computer died. I had a Nvidia 9800GT for several years and it has served me well. I figured since I need a new card anyways I should get a nice upgrade. So now I am running a Sapphire 6950 Toxic edition, I definitely see the improvements in my gaming, well worth the upgrade!

First thing I did when I got my computer back was check the Transformers forum! Then I found out that the Transformers Prime toys are going to be coming to Canada in a few weeks. The first wave include deluxe Starscream, Bee, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Zombie Cliffjumper, and Vehicon plus voyager Optimus and Bulkhead in addition to the deluxe Optimus + deluxe Megatron + Raf/Jack/Miko set. I think I am going to be getting all of them except for the 2-pack of Optimus and Megatron. The voyager Optimus is much better than the deluxe version anyways. And I am pretty sure they will have a voyager Megatron sometimes down the line...I don't really care for the human figures in the set either.

Anyone else looking forward to the Transformers Prime toys?

Victory is mine!

Picked up these guys today, I've been wanting these guys for a loooong time, but the Reveal the Shield line did not make it up to Canada in normal retail. I got these at a specialty toy store which usually sell toys waaay overpriced. But early this week, I read sightings of several of the TF's from the RTS line at these stores for only $13! That's even cheaper than retail pricing. Knowing that a lot of collectors will be hunting for these guys, I thought I wouldn't be able to grab Perceptor anyways. I figured I might as well just get him at the toy show at the end of this month.

But today since I was close to there for lunch anyways, I figured why not check it out to see what other new stuff they had. When I got there, there was already a collector there hunting around the TF's section. But he did not find anything and left shortly after. So then it was my turn, I spotted Tomahawk and grabbed it right away because I've wanted to get him ever since LEon at Open the Toy reviewed him a while ago. I used to see them everywhere, but I never took notice of him. Then when I wanted to get it, I never saw it again! LOL how many times have that happened before?! But my main goal was still Perceptor since I read a sighting of him yesterday at 5pm. I thought since it was almost 24 hours ago, it would be gone already, plus I am pretty sure the first guy there was looking for him as well and he didn't find it meaning he was gone already.

So as I was checking out what they had, another guy came and was looking around the TF's section. I knew right away that he was looking for Perceptor as well, it was just my gut feeling haha. Then while I was looking through the pegs for the characters on the top left of the packaging, I SAW HIM. He was hanging there at the very back of the pegs. I proceeded to slowly take off all the ones in the front then grasped him in my left hand. At that moment, I felt victorious LOL!

After I had gotten a hold of my prize, the collector beside me asked what I got and I showed him. And as expected, he was looking for the same one as well. Unfortunately for him, this was the last one in stock. Then I went to pay for my haul and had a grin on my face ever since, even as I am typing this right now =D

Oh ya I also found out they had the RTS legends Optimus Prime and Megatron that I've wanted since I saw them over at A Year of Toys.

My Spawn Collection

I opened the rest of my NIB Spawn figures tonight and put them on display.

Back left: Cyber Spawn from the Techno Spawn series
Back right: Overtkill from the Manga Spawn series
Front: Bottom Line from Spawn Series 12

Love the Cyber Spawn and Overtkill figures, both really articulated for Spawn figures, highly detailed as well. Not too fond of Bottom Line mainly because of the lack of articulation. He has no articulation on his kness, only articulation is in the arms and fingers.


Back left: Spawn the Black Heart from the Dark Ages series
Back right: Samurai Spawn from the Manga Spawn series
Front: Mandarin Spawn from the Dark Ages series

Love all of these guys, my favourite has got to be the Mandarin Spawn. He has very little articulation, but the details and colorful paint apps on this guy just makes up for everything else. He has a double-blade weapon as well as two more sword strapped to his waist. He also comes with a beautifully detailed shield.


Left: Green Vapor from the Spawn Nitro Riders series
Right: After Burner from the Spawn Nitro Riders series

I was really excited to open and display this Nitro Riders set. They just looks so amazing, each bike is unique and they pack a lot of details into them. The design is very steampunk-ish which is very cool. The figures have quite a nice amount of articulation as well and they can be posed to ride on the bike easily. Each figure/bike from this series has a lot of personality.


Left: Eclipse 5000 from the Spawn Nitro Rider series
Right: Flash Point from the Spawn Nitro Rider series

Again, these Nitro Riders are just SICK!


I am really glad I decided to open these guys up finally. They have been kept NIB on the top of my storage shelf for quite some time now and I have only taken them down several times to admire them. But now that I managed to open up some room to display them, it was time to let them breathe!

Rare Soda

So I got this soda from the same store that I got my other Kamen Rider sodas from. Since I knew them so well, they reserved this one for me. Apparently there was only one of these in every 3 cases of sodas, so yes this is one rare chase soda LOL

My Transformers Collection

Opened up the rest of my NIB Beast Wars stuff and put them into display. Here's some updated pics of my Transformers collection.

Beast Wars Transmetals...I still want the original Waspinator since he didn't become Transmetal in the show. I know Terrasaur never became Transmetal either, but he was the first TF I've ever gotten so I had to get him back.


Transformers Animated


With the rest of the stuff...except for the movie stuff on the lowest level of the shelf. Honestly I am not too fond of the movie line, I am thinking of just selling them all.

Maximals!

Got these guys from a member on the Canadian Transformers forum. The Transmetal 2 Cheetor was defnitely not in excellent condition as state since the plating on his right shoulder is pretty much half gone. Another problem was that the Transmetal 1 Cheetor had some sticky brown residue on his legs which made the joint almost stuck. Luckily I was able to clean this off by running some hot water through it. However, I did get these for a pretty good deal I guess so it's alright.

Thank you Hobby Link Japan

I finally received my Danbo's that I ordered 4 months ago from them. It was shipped on the same week as the strike here in Canada Postal services so I figured my order would be at the bottom of the pile of backlogs. Later, when the strike was over, I read on my local forums that people were starting to receive their packages again, so I figure it would be coming soon. But nope, I waited for 4 months and totally forgot about it. Then about 2 weeks back, I was checking my order history when I finally remembered that this order STILL hasn't arrived yet.

I decided to send HLJ an email telling them about the situation, but I thought I would just be told that since I shipped with SAL, I would be SOL. Surprisingly the HLJ representative was really helpful, he asked me to check with my local post office to make sure they are not holding my package there. I checked last Friday, but they did not have anything in their system with my address. I then emailed the HLJ representative about this and received a quick response telling me they would get the Japan postal service to start an investigation on the shipment and usually that would push the package through wherever it was being held up. If I still do not receive it in a month, I should contact them and they would resend the order if possible or give me a full refund. That was last Friday, and then last night after work, the package was here when I came home!

So I have to give major props to Hobby Link Japan for their customer service! I was actually hesitant on ordering from them previously after this order went missing, so I've been getting my stuff from Amiami. But after this experience, I will for sure be going back to them again. The HLJ representative responses were quick and professional, I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Candy Toy Review: Meda-Gabryu (Axe Mode)

Continuing on with the previous candy toy review, we will take a look at the axe form of Meda-Gabryu which is number 2 in the set of 3.



A neat thing I found out while applying the stickers on for this toy is that the black lines can be scrubbed down so it "sits" inside the crevices in the details therefore transferring the details to the surface of the stickers. I find this really cool and it makes the toy look A LOT better!



This is the same weapon as the one reviewed yesterday except it has the second gun support handle folded up. In the show, the Meda-Gabryu has to "eat" 2 cell metals for it to power up for the final attack.


Thoughts: I actually liked this axe mode better than the gun mode from yesterday mainly because of the "eating" feature. I can imagine the "GULP" sound every time I play with this gimmick (*GULP* sound is in the show as well). With the mouth close, it can resemble the gun as well. Overall, another interesting toy in the set.

*Bonus points for anyone who can identify the song playing in the background!*

Candy Toy Review: Meda-Gabryu (Gun Mode)

For the candy toys I got in my recent Amiami haul, I am going to take a look at this set first, these are the ones without the sound gimmicks. For this review, we will be taking a look at the #1 toy in this set, the Meda-Gabryu in its gun form. The Meda-Gabryu is the gun/axe weapon used by Kamen Rider OOO's Putotyra form when he uses the Pterodactyl, Tricetops and Tyrannosaurus Rex Core Medals.


The gimmicks for these toys are shown on the back of the box.


As with all candy toys, the instructions are printed on the insides of the box.


This toy comes in two plastic tree parts, a sticker sheet, and a piece of candy.


Putting it together was a breeze, but there were tons of stickers for this little toy and I am not very good at it either.


The surprising thing is that the stickers only cover one side of the toy, the other side is bare. Although here you can see the details in the mold, it will probably look a lot better with some paint instead of the stickers. The mold is incredibly detailed for a candy toy.


The toy also comes with 2 bullets and 2 cell metals, same thing with the cell metals, the stickers apply to only one side.


Now here's the thing, I was thinking of how to show off the gimmick of this toy and I thought what could be easier than a video right? So here's the video, it doesn't have any editing or anything, it is straight out of the camera for the sole purpose of demonstrating this toy's functions.

Part of the gimmick is that the cell metals can be inserted into the gun similar (like in the show), "locking" the metals in place does not do any other thing except to keep the metals from falling out. The bullet "loads" automatically when you insert it into the gun.


Thoughts: First, I have to remind myself that these candy toys are what you'd find in convenient stores for a few bucks a box and it mostly caters to little kids. That being said, I have to say it does leave a bit more to be desired, mainly because the stickers only cover one side of the toy. Although the cell metals gimmick is a fun addition to a basic bullet shooting gun. It is a fun toy none the less as it's the process of examining the packaging, looking over the instructions, putting together and applying the stickers on the toy which makes me love candy toys so much!

Reviews for the other 2 toys in the this set will be coming in the next few days!

Today's Haul

Picked up these two DOTM Transformers at Walmart today, they are very hard to find here even though they've been released for quite some time now. Got the Laserbeak for my friend and picked up the Hachet for myself.



And then here's something interesting I ran into at my local snacks store that I basically go every week to stock up on snacks. Went there today and the first thing the owner asked me was if I was interested in Kamen Rider. That question threw me off already since I wasn't expecting it at all, but I was like ya of course, and then she showed me these limited edition sodas that they got in from Japan. I picked up the Kamen Rider ones that I liked and my sister got the pink Goranger one as well.



What I really like about the first Kamen Rider cans was that they can combine! LOL!


On the back of each can is a biography of each character.


And also here's the rest of the soda can set apart from the ones I got.


Ya this time's haul is pretty weird (I mean it's sodas?!?!), I've never been so happy for getting sodas before LOL!