Walmart's False Advertising

Today was the start of Walmart's Part 2 15th Anniversary sale. In their flyers, the Universe Voyagers and Animated Voyagers were advertised for $10, regular price being $30. I was really excited for this sale because I wanted to get a bunch of TFA voyagers since it is afterall, my favourite series at the moment. I have gotten most of the Deluxe class I wanted in this series, still have to hunt down a few more. Leader class, I still need Ultra Magnus. But voyagers-wise, I have none of them. I was hoping to get in on an Optimus Prime, Blitzstorm, Lugnut, and Starscream on this sale.

Being so excited for this sale, I decided to drop by Walmart before going to school since my classes starts at 10am today. Upon arriving, I found Optimus Prime, Blitzstorm, and Lugnut on the shelf. So I grabbed them and scanned them on the price checker, it scanned at the regular price at $30.

I had a chat with one of the employees there and she gave me the most ridiculous replies in trying to convince me that what I am holding are in fact, not "Animated Voyagers". It was an interesting conversation because the advertisement consisted of a page dedicated to the toys on sale, with exactly 10 toys surrounding a label "10 great toys for $10". I showed her the flyer and read out the label for her. She proceeded to count the toys surrounding the label,

Walmart employee (WM): "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...and these don't count."

I paused for a moment because I was surprised at her response. Then I pointed to the "Save $19.92, Reg. Price $29.92" print under the toy description. Then she told me,

WM: "Yes, regular price is $30."
Me: "But it says save $19.92, so that makes it $10"
WM: "No, it's because the regular price is $50."
Me: "But I thought you just said the regular price is $30, and it's clearly printed that the regular price is $30 on the flyer."
WM: "No, this just means the price right now is $30, and the regular price is $50."
Me: "..."
WM: "Okay, let me input the SKU in to show you."
*Data pops up on scanner*
WM: "Oh! It is $10! What did I do wrong?!"
Me: "...so it is $10?"
WM: "No, these are different size, these are not Animated Voyagers. These are $30."
Me: "But it says here on the box..."
WM: "No, it's not the same, this one is bigger."
Me: "...Alright, thanks anyways."

I couldn't waste anymore time trying to argue with her because I had to catch the train to school. But I just find it amazing that Walmart would not honor their own advertised price. Maybe it's just that one store, since I've always had problems with that store because the employees there are generally quite rude (not really referring to this case).

Anyways, I ended up grabbing 2 more TFU Infernos(1 for a friend) and 1 more Vector Prime so I could have one NIB and one to open. These were scanning at $10, but these were scanning at $10 last week even though the sale should officially start today.

Also got 2 Star Wars figures last week at Toys R' Us since they had a 2 for $10 sale (Reg. price $10 each). I wanted to get a regular clone trooper, but couldn't find any of them. I've wanted a Magnaguard before, but they were always nowhere to be seen because they sold out very quick. The Shock Trooper looks awesome as well. I was wondering why the Shock Trooper helmet looked different from the Clone Trooper Officer I got from jacobot in a previous post. Did a quick google search and found out that the CTO was a phase 1 armor clone, while the Shock Trooper was the phase 2 armor. I like the phase 2 armor more because it looks similar to the Storm Troopers.

Revenge of the Fallen: Soundwave

The ROTF Soundwave and Bumblebee have been released here at several Walmarts at the start of this week. Apparently they aren't suppose to be on sale until the 30th, but some stores already have them put out. The one I went to only had a BB on the pegs, I found out the rest of them hidden on the top shelf (the advantage of being tall haha).

I've seen pics of the pre-released Soundwave and was pretty sure I was going to pass on it because I thought it was going to be an ultra size. I prefer deluxe size figures because of my limited room and limited budget. I usually wait until there's a sale before buying TF's, all my TF Animated and Universe are purchased when they were on sale. This Soundwave is the first one that I got at full price ($18cdn) because I just had to have it when I saw it. I passed on BB because the one I want is the Alternator style one. Anyways here's a short review on the TF.

ROTF Soundwave Review
First thing I noticed was the in package mode. Most of the time, deluxe size TF's are usually in their vehicle mode when in package, so you couldn't really see how they would look in robot mode. This is what turns me away from some TF's because I only display them in robot mode. Being able to see the robot mode right inside the package is probably what caused me to buy this right away. Not much to say about the package, background design looks pretty interesting with the hieroglyphics. The picture of Soundwave's head in the front of the package reminds me of a evil-lized first movie Optimus Prime head LOL

And here's the description of Soundwave on the back of the instructions,

"Stationed in orbit above Earth, Soundwave swiftly taps into every satellite in range. Within minutes, communications, data traffic, weather information, and high-resolution spy photography flood his sensor net. The spill of data fills him with pleasure, and one by one, the humans' systems come under his complete control. From his seat on high, he is in a position to control the destiny of mankind without their knowledge...or to run their civilization into the ground."

Out of package:
In robot mode, his proportions look a bit weird, short and wide. But I haven't seen the movie so I don't know how he really looks like. I will comment further when I have seen the movie. In robot mode, articulation is pretty good, I still have to play around with it to see. The best part of this TF is the transformation. I thought it was complicated yet neatly engineered. All the pieces go together perfectly and it looks awesome in its satellite mode and vehicle mode.

Paint apps are pretty good, a little messy around the top of the head, but not very noticeable. I looked through several figures to compare the paint apps and they were quite consistent. However, he is begging for a metallic paint job, maybe that will be my next project.

Onto the pics!
(Click pics to enlarge)

Packaging




Robot mode




Satellite mode






Vehicle mode


Overall, I really like this TF. It is really fun to transform. I can't stress enough how well engineered the transformation is. Everything is well thought out and the fitting is perfect! After getting this TF, I can't wait to see how he looks like in the movie!!!

This TF scores a 5 out of 5 from me!

Review: Revoltech Optimus Prime Convoy

To start off...Happy Chinese New Years everyone!!!




First, I have to admit that I am addicted to Revoltechs. I just love the amazing amount of poseability these figures have. They are excellent for me because I love taking pictures of my toys. Today, I walked out of the hobby shop with this Optimus Prime plus 4 other Revoltechs on order. Hope I get them soon!

Another thing that I would like to comment on is the price of these figures. The Tetsujin-28 was $25cdn and the Prime was $27cdn. These prices are considered as a deal here because I've seen them go for $30+tax at other stores. But it has come to my attention that these figures sell for around $90-$100hkd in Hong Kong! I just knew about this tonight because my cousin's boyfriend collected these too. However, I can understand because HK is closer to Japan so they probably get their goods at a lower cost. It doesn't change much for me since I am not going to HK anytime soon. But when I do, for sure I will bring back a lot of toys! Until then, I will continue to support my LHS (local hobby shop)!

Ok let's start the review. It's going to be a brief one since I have tons of reports and assignments to do.

What is included in the box?
Optimus Prime, beam rifle, 3 variant hands, and the Matrix of Leadership. This figure did not include a stand which was disappointing.







Also got this notice in the box too, can anyone read Japanese???



First thing I noticed was the arm joint on his right shoulder was very loose. This limited the poseability because this is also the arm he holds his beam rifle with. I am pretty sure this is not a common case and just that I am unlucky to get a bad joint because his other arm is fine.



Detail-wise, I would give it a 4.5/5. Overall, the paint is really good, although a bit sloppy on the windshield on his chest.



One of the hands he comes with is for holding his beam rifle. Another hand looks like it was for holding the Matrix of Leadership. However, it doesn't hold onto it snuggly. In the picture the Matrix is just balanced onto his hand.







Overall, I would give this figure a 4.5/5. The main thing that reduce the experience is the loose shoulder joint. I would like it to include a display stand, but it stands fine by itself. I definitely recommend this to any Transformers fan out there, I don't think any other Convoy Optimus Prime has this much poseability. There are of course better quality ones such as the Masterpieces, but at a much higher price. IMO, at this price, the Revoltech is a MUST for all Transformers fans!