F For Fake

Ah yes, Cookie Monster! Pour one out for my blue boy. Was there some monkey business related to Unicron? I'm sure I've heard whispers that BBTS or some other companies must have bought up some stock to push it over the limit. This being the internet, that could also very easily be compostable_fertilizer, but I do wonder.

Really? That's interesting, because to me, I think it'll blow past it. There are a ton of Ghostbusters fans, and I've seen a lot of them cosplaying over the years at conventions. They have groups like those 501st Legion Stormtrooper people, so a ready-made Proton pack seems like an easy sell. They're already halfway there less than 24 hours later with 3532 backers. Meanwhile, the Rancor and Sky Striker have been up for nearly a week, and are sitting at 3789 and 4414 respectively. I think it's going to do just fine. (Side note: I don't care much about Ghostbusters one way or another, so I have no dog in that race.) Along those lines, has anything ever NOT gotten funded? Seems like the necessary backers always pour in over the last couple of days. It's funny, Unicron was kinda stagnant for a long time and there was a lot of hand-wringing about whether or not it would fund. Not only did it fund, now it sells for $1500+. Insanity. Should have gotten one!

Yes, the Pulse inventory trick is the best, I wish I could use it everywhere! The Transformers Generations Selects line gives us some really neat repaints and niche figures that wouldn't fly at retail, but LIft Ticket is a pass to me. I'm usually only interested in the ones that have references specific to my fandom, like the gray Shockwave which is a tribute to the Radio Shack Galactic Man. I think stuff like that is pretty cool. However, these days I'm trying to stick with just 86 movie and Lost Light crew members for my modern TF collection. Must...exert...self control. Cobra Officer is indeed the "secret" figure in the three pack being sold on BBTS, good to know. I'll take all of these army builders. Can't wait for that Viper/Viper Officer pack that is rumored. So far all of the new reveals were 100% correct according to that list that was leaked a while back, so it appears to be legit. Which means Tomax, Xamot, Zarana, Crimson Guard and Dusty should all be on the way next year. I will buy a boatload of Crimson Guards!

Dunno, pretty sure there's a couple of buns.

Yes please.

I've been tempted to get a slabbed copy on this issue, because a disproportionate amount of copies I've owned have had the centerfold falling out of the book. I've had numerous copies with this defect. Am I the only one? The one I bought off to the stands way back when had that problem, and I've owned several more since then. I have a stack of them, and many copies perfectly intact, but it really seems like part of this print run went out with some sort of stapling problem. Beautiful stuff as always. Enjoyed catching up on the thread!

I think Omega Men 3 is a solid book. Classic character with great potential down the road, great cover, from a great time! I'd take a OM3 over a stack of Spawn 1s....but oddly enough, I do feel like I kinda WANT a Spawn 1 these days. What the hell???

I'm not aware of the back story here, but on what planet is calling someone a "turd" not hilarious? Turd is an inherently funny word. I don't make the rules.

That was very interesting, thanks for sharing. Nearly 20k copies of Spawn 1 graded, print run of a million zillion copies, and 9.8's keep going up and up. We live in interesting times.

Not at home to grab my copy, but this is a good excuse to post some Bolland WW goodness.

I care about o-rings, as I have never really gotten into the pvc bodies and weird elongated features of the 25th/50th anniversary and retro lines. The proportions just seem off to me. However, I'm not really interested in o-ring rereleases of stuff I already have. I ordere the Storm Shadow/Snake Eyes two pack to support the idea, but if it becomes strictly a reissue program, I'll not be buying them. What I (and a lot of other Joe fans) want most of all is a continuation of the o-ring line. Give us the characters that never got an o-ring release, or new outfits/decos on classic figures. Expand the line, don't just give us what we already have. That's why I bought in on the Super 7 reaction line. They seem to be committed to giving us Sunbow accurate figures in a WIDE variety. The first wave has six different Cobra Trooper variations and a lesser known character in Kwinn. If they keep that up, I'll be in for the long haul. They're not o-rings, but they're giving me the classic retro vibe and designs that I want.

Very good points all around. I also wondered about the tier unlocks, because that was always a fun part of the process, at least to me. With this project it almost felt like they were saying "Look, the tiers will unlock more o-ring figures, and we know that's all you lunatics care about!" I could almost interpret it as a lack of confidence in the Sky Striker itself, and a need to hedge their bets and encourage buy-ins by showing that you'll ultimately get six new o-ring figures if we all pull together and back the project. The chatter that amuses me is the folks that think the flight crew figures are a boring final unlock, because boy, that's the thing I want the most! I love "generic" figures like that. As for the seeming focus on adult collectors, I'm going to chalk some of it up to the fact that the 40th anniversary is coming. Hasbro knows that they have a certain number of middle aged nerds hooked, and that they can reliably sell x number of units to those fans. So for the 40th they are going hardcore into the nostalgia. Although I liked some of the stuff they were doing with the retro line (the vehicles are repaints or re-do's of old molds, but $25 for a vehicle, figure, and retro package, is a pretty good deal these days) it seems doomed at this point. It doesn't help that it was Wal-Mart exclusive. I could see it being quietly euthanized in favor of a new "retro" line with o-ring figures centered on the 40th anniversary nostalgia that is open to all stores, online sales, etc. Seems like a slam dunk compared to the narrow focus of the Retro line. If it somehow survives, I will keep buying the vehicles and occasional figures, but I can't honestly say I'll miss it too much if it goes away. I agree that the current focus seems to be centered on old fogeys like me. However, I understand that there's a new animated series in the works, as well as a new video game, so I could very much see figure lines related to those bits of media that will be targeted directly at kids. Something like what we saw with the Snake Eyes movie roll-out: classified scale figures for the old heads, smaller/cheaper figures for the kiddos, along with motorcycles, role play toys, etc. It seemed like a very smart approach, to me, catering to both markets. The only problem? The movie was a deadly bomb, so no one really cared at all about ANY of the merchandise. But I could definitely see them adopting this strategy for future Joe media. I'm not sure how figures do with kids in general, not just Joe. Do kids still play with action figures? I truly have no idea. But colorful characters with crazy gear and vehicles seems like an evergreen idea that they can sell with successful media tie-in. The heyday is long since past, but I think the line is safe for at least a while longer.

For the personal collection, I don't slab things often because once they're slabbed, they're so easy to sell, I can't resist! If I leave 'em raw then in my mind they are "going to get graded some day", and are thus spared from the auction block. The increased turnaround times and qc issues makes it easier to just hold onto them. There were a handful of books I wanted in 9.8, and I took care of those. Since then I've recently enjoyed picking up some slabs on the cheap, but am mostly a raw collector. I've fallen down a little clink rabbit hole lately. Drekky 9.8's under $100 and 9.6's on pricier moderns, and ultra low grade SA keys are pretty appealing in slabs, at least at the moment. We'll see how long my wallet holds out. (Spoiler: I'm always broke, so not long!) There's no wrong way to collect. Have fun!

I'm curious about the secret figure myself, as I also ordered that set from BBTS. I'm wondering where the classic deco BAT is going to end up, since they showed it at the event, but only the Python Patrol BAT has gone up for sale. Classified has been such a weird line for me. I passed on it initially because I (generally) don't collect the scale, and I really didn't care for the designs on the first couple of waves. Then I really dug the Cobra Island designs, but those figures were impossible to find! So, I was done done done. But then, suddenly Cobra Island pops back up this summer at Target, and now I'm drowning in Classified stuff and can't wait for more. I'm really loving these new designs that split the difference between the classic looks and a more modern, tactical upgrade. I feel like three years or whatever in, they have finally struck the right balance. As for Haslab, a lot of folks are thinking a Flagg is coming, but I just don't see how that's feasible. If the Sky Striker was $230, how much would a Flagg be? $2k?? More? The Sail Barge was pretty big, so that may give a ballpark, but I just don't see it being something they could possibly offer that would sell enough units to put it into production. Maybe I'm wrong, but man, I can only imagine the $$$ we'd be talking about. I'm planning on probably getting 2 Sky Strikers, and that's already making my stomach hurt ha

Aw thanks bud, much appreciated. I think of you whenever I look at my Mr T comic and Grendel sketch, which is often!

Mum is the word!

Good to see you, my friend!

I have really missed the boards. For years this was my #1 time killer at work. Then covid hit, and we were working from home for a year, which ironically lead to less screen time, rather than more (translation: I didn't have much to do!) We came back to the office in March, but I was pained to find that the firewalls were suddenly blocking the boards. In the nearly 20 years I've been here, this has happened a couple of times. I'm assuming due to changes behind the scenes, either on CGC's side, or on our firewalls. At any rate, I wasn't able to spend my days on here, and by the time I get home at night, I don't really want to look at a computer anymore. So my posting was pretty much limited to occasional weekend bursts, if I thought I had something cool to share. Anyway, just now, lo and behold, I was checking the Census, and accidentally clicked on the "Chat" link, and BOOM, I can access the boards again! Hallelujah! How long will it last? I have no idea. But I'm happy to see your smilin' avatars again. Now I have several months worth of carp to catch up on. If anyone wants to give me a Cliff's Notes on anything I may have missed since spring, I'd gladly take it!

Also, for the first time in many months, something must have changed, either with the firewalls here at work, or the boards themselves, because I can once again access the boards here in the office! Woohoo! I have so much catching up to do, man, I've really missed this place!

Yes, precisely so. When membership was free, it was fine. But since mine expired, I've seen no reason to pay the membership fee, considering that shipping is free on orders over $50 anyway, and I've not had MUCH trouble getting the exclusives that I wanted. It's just not worth $50 a year for that ONE HOUR WINDOW of pre-order time, or the early access to Back in Stock stuff. For this most recent round, Galvatron was still available a day later, and Zartan did sell pretty fast, but I was able to get one. So, yeah, I'm not paying for the premium, at least not anytime soon.

Catching up on Pulsecon topics: 1. Was on the fence about the Haslab Sky Striker, but the accessories sold me. I want the fueler, the missile loader, the blast effects, the o-ring figures, etc. I can’t say I was excited by it, but it does look like a cool piece with lots of fun bells and whistles. And what I’ve learned so far with Haslab is that it’s better to back it and be sure rather than pass and regret it later. If I get it and don’t love it, I’ll surely be able to get my money back. Really hoping it hits the stretch goals, I want those flight crew figures more than anything else in the package! 2. I got Galvatron and Ravage with no issues on Friday (I don’t pay for the premium membership). I don’t care a whole lot about either figure, but I reaaaaally want those mini figures and ships from Galvatron! 3. I had my cart filled with all of the Joe stuff at 5:01. As I tried to check out, things kept selling out. Every time the cart would refresh to tell me that an item had sold out, something else would sell out. Super frustrating, so I gave up. About five minutes later I refreshed the shop, and Zartan was back in stock. Managed to get an order through this time. Ordered the Python/Tiger figures at Target, and the rest (Spirit, Stormy, Croc Master) at BBTS, so even though Pulse gave me agita, I was able to get everything ordered. I’m in for any o-ring figures they want to make. I still don’t love the modern figures. They just don’t look right. The torsos are too long and skinny. That being said, I thought the recent Retro Stalker and Cobra Trooper figures were two of the best they’ve done in this style, and I’ll probably pick up Grunt if I ever find him.

Hey Buzz! Yes, it’s definitely on my list to get around to, I dig the design for sure. I also need the Street Fighter Devastator, and the Collectors Club Havoc MkII. Not in a hurry, but some day I’ll get them all!

Thanks! Yeah, I’m always looking for second prints, newsstands, and shiny junk from that time when I can grab them on the cheap!

All a dollar, picked up at a small show today.

One of my favorite covers for sure. I got this print from Dave at Dragoncon way back when. He was terrific, and is much missed.