Droid factory

During the past year and a half or so of the Build A Droid concept being used for the Star Wars lines, I have gathered up quite a few pieces of droids. I have managed to complete a few of them as intended (and I'm one right arm away from finishing the YVH droid!), and a few that I have cobbled together from disparate droids. That is one of the cool things about the droid pieces, you can use them pretty much interchangeably. It would be cool if you could do the same with pieces from other lines, like DCUC. I'll never complete a build a figure from DCUC, so I have a bunch of random pieces that don't even connect to each other. Anyway, pictured above are the Frankendroids I have made so far. Don't mind the mess.

Since this year is the 30th anniversary of Empire Strikes Back, and so far many of my new toys are Empire themed. That all ties in nicely with my recent discovery of the Empire Strikes Back sticker generator, which I used to make a new header image for my blog.

I'm up to 50 followers now, cool! My 50th follower is soundwave810, who wins a No-Prize.

Waiting

No new toys yet for the year, but I have a couple on the way, so I should be updating about them soon. Unfortunately, Hasbro's site seems to employ the slowest possible shipping process.

Although still unofficially confirmed, it is looking more and more like Hasbro will be releasing an updated AT-AT this year. I wonder how big this thing will be. Assuming that it is released towards the end of the year, I know what I'll be asking my family for as a Christmas gift. I'm not sure where I'd put it, though. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Blog plugs

I think we have a good overlap of readership, but for those of you that don't know, my friend James is doing a Lego advent calendar countdown over at his blog, Why Did I Buy That Toy?

Also, my OTHER friend James is new to Blogger and is doing an Armor Month at his blog, All Things Fett.

Check 'em out!

Now, this is a toy blog, and normally that's all I write about here. This isn't a toy but I think you are the right audience to appreciate this:

That's right, I got the Batman costume hoodie. I love this thing, it even has a detachable cape. It's a nice throwback to when I was a little kid and had Batman pajamas, which also had a detachable cape.

Black Friday

This is it, the official start of the Christmas season, Black Friday. The biggest shopping day of the year. I went to Target, but that was after noon, so all the crazy sales were over. I didn't buy any toys, because there was nothing out that I am looking for.

Fortunately, the internet has some great crazy deals as well. The Joker Squad is selling on Entertainmentearth.com for 20 dollars right now, and that is a very good price. That's almost half off for a really cool set of Stormies, including the first (and so far only) female Stormtrooper action figure.

Hasbrotoyshop.com is selling the basic white armored Clone Wars style clone trooper for 2 dollars each. Crazy! It is tempting to order a bunch of them.

Did any of you venture out for Black Friday? Make any good finds?

Mostly random Star Wars stuff

Now that I've got all the Imperial Knights, I can attempt to re-create the cover of Star Wars Legacy #6, which came with Antares Draco and Ganner Krieg. Sigel Dare's armor is a lot more shiny.

I went back to Target again today, and they had some of the A New Hope wave of figures out. I don't want any of them, but it is always good to see fresh stock on the pegs. They also had the new Star Wars, GI Joe, and Transformers exclusives. I'm not really interested in any of them, except maybe the Star Wars battle pack that includes a clone trooper sporting a 'stache. But it's two figures I don't want (already have animated Cody and just don't want animated Mace Windu), and two that I do ('stache and another clone), so it's not worth buying.

It's been about 8 weeks since the check for Qui-Gonn and the eopie was cashed, so I am declaring the beginning of Qui-Gonn watch. I hope it shows up soon!

In case you haven't heard, the remainder of the Dark Knight Movie Masters line will be coming to Toys R Us. This is great news, because they will have lower prices (and no shipping!) than they would have if they had remained Mattycollector.com exclusives. Now I will be able to get movie Two-Face (I am unofficially boycotting any Mattycollector.com exclusives due to their prices).

Happy Friday the 13th!

I'm going to Target today. Since it's Friday the 13th, maybe I'll find a Hawkgirl, but she'll be missing her wings! How about you?

Shocking

The other day, I was at Target and I saw something amazing. One of the employees was actually putting more DCUC figures on the shelf! It's a good sign that they are actually selling here. I asked if he had a Hawkgirl in the box, but it looked like it was all wave 7 figures. I hope they get more wave 8 figures, because I would definitely like to pick up a Hawkgirl figure.

Another amazing thing that I saw while I was there is the official A Christmas Story train set. That is one of my favorite (Christmas) movies, and I know there has been a lot more merchandise based on it lately, but that kind of blew my mind. It's such a random way to use the license. If I had the room, I'd be very tempted to pick up a set.

I also picked up a few figures while I was there, and received some more in the mail that same day, so I'll be updating soon.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Spockcation!

A few weeks ago, I was visited by Spock, as part of Chunky B's Spockcation. My camera couldn't handle the waves of pure logic that emanated from Spock, and that is when it broke. Check out the entry over on Eclectorama to see some of the pictures I was able to take. There are a couple pictures that didn't make the final cut, so if you'd like to check them out you can see the full set on my Flickr account.

Curse you, Mattel!

So I decided to pick up the Public Enemies version of Superman. When I got him home and was repositioning his hands, they broke off. Yeesh. I've heard horror stories about the quality control from Mattel in their DCUC line, and this is my first time experiencing it in person. I'll be taking it in and hopefully exchanging it for another one. If not, I guess I'll exchange it for something else or get a refund. Maybe they'll have Hawkgirl!

Stay on target...

Big news. Target has finally opened here in Davis! Finally, there is a decent place to buy toys in town. Until now, there has been one toy store in town. Although they carry Lego and Playmobil, it is one of those stores that is mostly based on selling more "educational" toys, so they don't really carry anything to interest your average nerdy man-child like myself. Then there is the comic shop, which tends more towards the older and/or overpriced figures. Rite-Aid also carries toys, but they are way overpriced, and with a terrible selection. Oddly enough, this Target sells Star Wars figures for 25 cents more than other Targets usually do.

It's a nice store, although laid out in a different way than most Target stores. It's also one of the largest Target stores I've been in, with an expanded grocery section. I ended up spending about forty dollars when I went in, although I only bought one toy that I'll be posting about here. I'm glad to have a proper place to buy toys without having to leave town, and hopefully it'll cut down on the necessity of ordering toys online.

Also, I have added a section to the sidebar with a list of toys I'm currently looking for. I could add more, but for now these are just the toys that are currently available or that should be very soon. I'll be deleting toys from it as I get them, so if you have nothing better to do and are paying close attention, you'll be able to figure out what I'm going to post about before I do so.

Halloween is in the air

There isn't too much to talk about this week. I just got a shipment of figures in, so I'll have something to write about soon. I should have my new camera in hand tomorrow.

The check I sent in for the Qui-Gon and Eopie figures has been cashed. I hope the mailing out is just as quick.

Joe sale

In case you didn't know, Big Bad Toy Store is currently running a sale on all 25th anniversary G.I. Joe toys, which lasts until the end of the month. There are some good deals to be had. I have been thinking about getting the Cobra "Defense of Cobra Island" seven pack. It's not included in the sale, but it does have some good figures. If I do get that, I might even get the Joe "Attack on Cobra Island" pack too, since buying them together is a bit better of a value.

After my camera broke, I was able to borrow my roommate's and take pictures of the Freddy and Jason figures, so I should be posting about them soon. I ordered a new camera, and that should be arriving next week. I've been thinking of setting up a makeshift miniature studio for taking pictures. I think it will be a nicer look than just setting the toys on the kitchen table.

At the beginning of the week, I sent in for the Qui-Gonn and eopie figures, hopefully they arrive in a somewhat timely manner. If anybody needs some proofs of purchase for that figure offer, I have some extras.

Well, that's just great

Many months ago, I pre-ordered the Cinema of Fear 3.75 inch figures, and now they have finally arrived. They were sold as a set, so I thought they would all be in the same package, but they were actually individually carded. They are just in time for the beginning of the run up to Halloween. The other toy I pre-ordered at around the same time should be shipping soon.

Unfortunately, my camera has decided to break. I was able to get a picture of Leatherface, so I'll be able to post about him soon. I'm going to dig out my previous camera, and that should hold me over until I get a replacement. This may mean I will have to be a little more choosy about what toys I buy for a little while, but it's not the worst that could happen.

Clone madness

I was thinking about the upcoming Star Wars figures for this year that I want to get, and of course that means more clones. At this point, I think that more than half of my Star Wars figures are clone troopers or some sort of Imperial troop. I'll have to count and check one day.




I took this picture in February 2008, and it contains all the clones I had at the time. I think they may have doubled since then, but it gives you some idea of what my trooper collection is like.

I'm almost ready to post about my 100th toy for the year! I wish I'd been keeping track of what I got and when for the previous years to make some comparisons. The 100th toy is already here in my room, although I haven't opened yet. Clever guesses may reveal what it is before I post about it.

Welcome to August

Today I got a package in the mail, and did some toy shopping. I got something completely unexpected while I was out, so I will be posting about that in the next day or so.

I think that the for the rest of the year, most of the toys I get will be Star Wars. There are a couple Joes, some comic characters, Ejector, and a couple other oddballs that I want to get.

What are you looking forward to?

August is Joe Month!

Since it turns out that the only toys I bought during the month of August were G.I. Joes, I am retroactively declaring August to be Joe Month. I'm not done yet, there are more Joe toys I'd like to get my hands on. I am strongly considering picking up the Defense of Cobra Island 7 pack, and there is a motorcycle with a sidecar that is coming out soon that I want to get. And of course, I am still trying to score a Rattler. Ebay may not pan out, since there are people willing to pay more than me for one.

There should be some new Star Wars figures dropping soon, so hopefully I'll be able to find those that I'm looking for.

Last week when I was out at Wal-Mart, I saw DCUC wave 9 figures on the shelf, and was shocked. I almost bought the Black Canary figure because I was so shocked. It's too bad there aren't any figures I actually want from that wave, because that was a good chance to have them. I still haven't seen wave 8 anywhere, and that does have some figures that I want. Annoying! It occurs to me that all of my DCUC figures are either members of Batman's rogues' gallery or Batman himself. I guess that is to be expected, as he has some of the most memorable villains, and he is my favorite DC hero. Hopefully I can get my hands on the Joker from the upcoming Wal-Mart exclusive wave 10.

What is, and what will be

I have a favor to ask of you. If you see one of those Target exclusive Cobra Rattlers (the blue Cobra one, not the repainted Joe version) on the shelf, will you pick one up for me? All the non-movie stuff has been clearanced out around here, and I didn't pick one up while I had the chance. I took too long deciding that I wanted one, and now they're not available around here anymore. If you can help, I'll pay you back, and be most grateful!

This week, G.I. Joe officially overtook Transformers as my second most collected toy line for the year. Star Wars, of course, is number one. That won't be changing, I'm sure. If I combined Marvel Universe and the Wolverine movie line, Marvel would be in the second spot.

As for the future, there is only one Transformer I still want to get, and I'm sure I'll be getting a few more Joes. I suspect that Marvel Universe will end up overtaking Transformers for the year as well. I guess Rise of Cobra did a better job of selling me toys than Revenge of the Fallen. There is a lot of Star Wars coming out that I want to get. Also, there will be some Back to the Future, some horror, and some more Ghostbusters. Maybe some DC figures, if I can find them.

No matter what, Transformers will stay on top for the most expensive single toy in my collection thanks to Masterpiece Grimlock.

Yo, Joe

A few days ago, I received the toy that I'll be posting about next. I haven't posted about it yet because I haven't opened it yet. The packaging is so cool that I haven't felt ready to open it yet. In fact, the packaging is so nice that I probably will keep it even after it's been opened. So far the only other time that has happened is the packaging for the mailaway Captain Rex figure, because the back of the card folds out into a diorama and it makes a neat display.

I finally got to the theater to watch G.I. Joe yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It certainly did a better job of reminding me of what I liked about it so much as a kid than either of the Transformers movies did. I hope they come out with another cartoon! Speaking of the movie, I have some information about the inevitable sequel. Look who will be joining the team:



Luke Skywalker!

Kidding aside, I was amused by how well the Rebel commando suit or whatever it is fits in with the movie G.I. Joe aesthetic. Even if the scales don't exactly match between the two lines. Luke may be short, but not that short.

IT'S A TARP!