This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[Cat]

I picked up a resissue original Playmates soft-head Leonardo today. These hit the shelves about a year ago and languished. Why? The price. They were asking $40 for each of them, the same price as a Marvel Legends or a Star Wars Black Series or a deluxe Transformer, etc etc. There's just no value comparison. 

Obviously they sold incredibly well to be on the shelves a full year later give or take a few weeks, but here we are. So I finally picked up a Leonardo today, the only one the store had, so I'm lucky he had decent paint and a perfect card, for the clearance price of $11.20. That's much better. Honestly, $20 was a fair price point for these. $40 is a blatant laugh.

He'll go up on my wall, an unoriginal replica sitting amongst original Star Wars figures still fully sealed on cards of varying quality, and carded Toy Biz Marvel (X-Men and Fantastic Four) figures, an Estrada bright green G1 Cliffjumper, stuff like that. He'll play his part well. 

And for roughly 75% off their original non-starter of a price. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Cat

[BitterOldMan]

NERF Aliens LMTD Aliens M41A Pulse Blaster GameStop Exclusive

Coming out in October from GameStop, to help you fight off those pesky Aliens.

Edited September 26, 2022 by BitterOldMan
Added more info

[MetalPSI]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:05 PM, BitterOldMan said:

NERF Aliens LMTD Aliens M41A Pulse Blaster GameStop Exclusive

Coming out in October from GameStop, to help you fight off those pesky Aliens.

Hiyo!

[fantastic_four]

On 9/24/2022 at 12:25 PM, Cat said:

Mafex Jean Grey arrived at BBTS this week, and I have one now sitting in my Pile Of Loot. I haven't had much to do with Mafexes, so I'm looking forward to having their Jean. Just going to be super careful with her, I'm aware of their joint problems. 

Even their lesser releases usually turn out to be the best version of the character in twelfth scale.  Jean doesn't look perfect, but she looks better than every other version of her.

And some Mafex releases are absolutely perfect.  I'd put the brown suit Wolverine and Gambit in the perfection category.  Lots of others are close to it as well such as Spidey, Ben Reilly, AoA Magneto, MCU Black Panther, MCU Iron Man, Hush Superman, Hush Batman, DKR Batman, Dark Knight Rises Batman, Heath Ledger Joker, Tom Hardy Bane, Anne Hathaway Catwoman, and plenty of others.  I own over 30 Mafex figures now and am just totally in love with the line.  

[Cat]

On 9/26/2022 at 11:28 PM, fantastic_four said:

Even their lesser releases usually turn out to be the best version of the character in twelfth scale.  Jean doesn't look perfect, but she looks better than every other version of her.

And some Mafex releases are absolutely perfect.  I'd put the brown suit Wolverine and Gambit in the perfection category.  Lots of others are close to it as well such as Spidey, Ben Reilly, AoA Magneto, MCU Black Panther, MCU Iron Man, Hush Superman, Hush Batman, DKR Batman, Dark Knight Rises Batman, Heath Ledger Joker, Tom Hardy Bane, Anne Hathaway Catwoman, and plenty of others.  I own over 30 Mafex figures now and am just totally in love with the line.  

I think this is, honestly, the second Mafex I've owned. I know it is, I'm just unsure if there's more than that, but I don't think so. The other is a sequel Stormtrooper I got for a bargain price. Really looking forward to this Jean.

[fantastic_four]

On 9/26/2022 at 9:33 AM, Cat said:

The other is a sequel Stormtrooper I got for a bargain price.

How is it?  I know it was made during a period when a third of Mafex's releases had design problems.  The only Star Wars Mafex figures I have are Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett, Return of the Jedi Boba, and Mandalorian (Din Djarin).  I'd like to have the one great Vader they made, but I haven't been able to find it for a decent price and am fine waiting for them to re-release it.

They really hit their stride starting in 2020.  Everything made from 2020 on is absolutely outstanding, and there have been VERY few design flaws the past few years.  I have seen two reports of Jean's wrist peg

[Cat]

On 9/26/2022 at 11:57 PM, fantastic_four said:

How is it?  I know it was made during a period when a third of Mafex's releases had design problems.  The only Star Wars Mafex figures I have are Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett, Return of the Jedi Boba, and Mandalorian (Din Djarin).  I'd like to have the one great Vader they made, but I haven't been able to find it for a decent price and am fine waiting for them to re-release it.

They really hit their stride starting in 2020.  Everything made from 2020 on is absolutely outstanding, and there have been VERY few design flaws the past few years.  I have seen two reports of Jean's wrist peg

It's alright. I can see why it was on clearance. Why buy them when the Black Series version was on shelves at the time still and looked almost as good for a fraction of the price. The differences weren't dramatic enough to justify it as a full-amount purchase, IMO. 

[fantastic_four]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:03 AM, Cat said:

On 9/26/2022 at 9:57 AM, fantastic_four said:

How is it?  I know it was made during a period when a third of Mafex's releases had design problems.  The only Star Wars Mafex figures I have are Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett, Return of the Jedi Boba, and Mandalorian (Din Djarin).  I'd like to have the one great Vader they made, but I haven't been able to find it for a decent price and am fine waiting for them to re-release it.

They really hit their stride starting in 2020.  Everything made from 2020 on is absolutely outstanding, and there have been VERY few design flaws the past few years.  I have seen two reports of Jean's wrist peg

It's alright. I can see why it was on clearance. Why buy them when the Black Series version was on shelves at the time still and looked almost as good for a fraction of the price. The differences weren't dramatic enough to justify it as a full-amount purchase, IMO. 

Yea, I thought the same thing about their stormtroopers--the Black Series versions are good enough, didn't feel the need for the Mafex.  I mostly feel that way about Vader as well.

Lost part of a sentence in my post--I've heard two reports of Jean's wrist peg splitting in half.  It didn't break in both cases and was easily repairable.  Mafex wrist pegs are molded as two separate parts glued together, and both of the Jean wrists I heard came apart when the glue holding the two halves of the peg together gave out.  Both people were able to re-glue the peg back together and it's totally fine after that.

[Cat]

On 9/27/2022 at 12:11 AM, fantastic_four said:

Yea, I thought the same thing about their stormtroopers--the Black Series versions are good enough, didn't feel the need for the Mafex.  I mostly feel that way about Vader as well.

Lost part of a sentence in my post--I've heard two reports of Jean's wrist peg splitting in half.  It didn't break in both cases and was easily repairable.  Mafex wrist pegs are molded as two separate parts glued together, and both of the Jean wrists I heard came apart when the glue holding the two halves of the peg together gave out.  Both people were able to re-glue the peg back together and it's totally fine after that.

Oh great. Well, it won't be a massive issue for me (hopefully). I just pose them once and put them in a Detolf. 

[SpineTic]

[fantastic_four]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:13 AM, Cat said:

Oh great. Well, it won't be a massive issue for me (hopefully). I just pose them once and put them in a Detolf. 

The likelihood is you won't experience the issue.  But mine is also still in my BBTS Pile of Loot so I haven't had experience with her yet myself.  The reports I heard were from other collectors on The Fwoosh forums.  Usually the worst Mafex design issues are experienced by reviewers, and I have yet to see a reviewer who has had ANY design flaws with Jean.

I recall watching three reviewers break the wrist pegs of the Mafex cel-shaded comic Spider-Man DURING their reviews, and I've heard numerous other reports of that figure's wrists snapping.  I've heard someone say that some of the cel-shading paint was getting into the wrist joints, and when you go to move the wrist it's stuck due to the paint, so people force it to break the paint and end up snapping the joint entirely.  But that figure was from 2019, and like I said everything released from 2020 on has been almost entirely golden.

[Cat]

On 9/27/2022 at 12:22 AM, fantastic_four said:

The likelihood is you won't experience the issue.  But mine is also still in my BBTS Pile of Loot so I haven't had experience with her yet myself.  The reports I heard were from other collectors on The Fwoosh forums.  Usually the worst Mafex design issues are experienced by reviewers, and I have yet to see a reviewer who has had ANY design flaws with Jean.

I recall watching three reviewers break the wrist pegs of the Mafex cel-shaded comic Spider-Man DURING their reviews, and I've heard numerous other reports of that figure's wrists snapping.  I've heard someone say that some of the cel-shading paint was getting into the wrist joints, and when you go to move the wrist it's stuck due to the paint, so people force it to break the paint and end up snapping the joint entirely.  But that figure was from 2019, and like I said everything released from 2020 on has been almost entirely golden.

Yeah, I remember all those problems, they scared me off getting Cyclops, who came out during that time, and Wolverine was up first and had problems, and that put me off, but they seem to have things under control now, so time to try again with Jean. I'd love to ship her out now, but I'm waiting for some other stuff supposedly due very shortly. 

[F For Fake]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:05 PM, BitterOldMan said:

NERF Aliens LMTD Aliens M41A Pulse Blaster GameStop Exclusive

Coming out in October from GameStop, to help you fight off those pesky Aliens.

Oh cool, didn't realize Gamestop was carrying these as well. I ordered mine from Hasbro Pulse last year, and had honestly forgotten about it. Received an email this morning from Pulse saying it will be shipping soon!

[F For Fake]

Picked up another Transformers Ultimate from Super 7 on the cheap. $29 and change from Amazon, for Action Masters Bombshell. I really dig the bright colors, simple geometry, and thick plastic chunkiness of this line. Its the price that's a killer. Four figures would have run me $220 or so, had I ordered through the usual outlets. Patience has paid off, as I've manage to get three of them for under $40 now, which is much more palatable. Still waiting for Banzai-tron to drop a bit more.

Also, oddly enough, just saw that BBTS is running a one day sale, $169 for the set. Much better price, but still not as good as what I've gotten through Amazon.

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/151631

 

[Cat]

I feel sorry for Ultimates collectors, seeing the deep discounts their products are already available at. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence in some lines. 

Also, an article about adult buying power in the toy industry. After all these years, they've noticed us! I'm still so flattered by the idea. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/27/investing/toys-adult-shoppers-holidays/index.html

[F For Fake]

On 9/27/2022 at 1:52 PM, Cat said:

I feel sorry for Ultimates collectors, seeing the deep discounts their products are already available at. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence in some lines. 

 

I'm wondering if the Transformers Ultimates line isn't already in trouble. The first wave is the only one out, and it's already being discounted. Meanwhile, the fourth wave solicited cut the selection down to three figures from four, and two of the three were repaints. I'm thinking this line may not be long for the world. Hope I'm wrong, because I'm digging them, but the writing seems to be on the wall.

[F For Fake]

Oops, looks like I spoke too soon about the NERF Pulse rifle. or rather, Hasbro spoke too soon:

 

Thanks for your recent order on HasbroPulse.com. We understand that you purchased the below item:  F5729 NERF LMTD ALIENS M41-A Blaster We recently sent you an email about this product shipping soon. Unfortunately that was a mistake on our end - technology, am I right?!  The product is currently in production and has encountered some unexpected delays in the process. The new approx. ship date for this item is November 1, 2022.  We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience! - Hasbro Pulse   What's fascinating to me about these "unexpected delays" is that I originally placed the preorder back in August of 2021. So it's been well over a year since the orders were taken, and they're STILL having trouble. Oy!

Edited September 27, 2022 by F For Fake

[Buzzetta]

Walmart has the 90th Anniversary Lego Galaxy Explorer on sale for $75 with free shipping.

I happily thought it was a good deal at $100 when it came out through Lego and was very surprised that this showed up at Walmart to begin with. 

Here is a link if interested. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/LEGO-Galaxy-Explorer-Building-Set-for-Adults-who-love-Space-10497/140718640

[Cat]

On 9/28/2022 at 4:08 AM, F For Fake said:

I'm wondering if the Transformers Ultimates line isn't already in trouble. The first wave is the only one out, and it's already being discounted. Meanwhile, the fourth wave solicited cut the selection down to three figures from four, and two of the three were repaints. I'm thinking this line may not be long for the world. Hope I'm wrong, because I'm digging them, but the writing seems to be on the wall.

I thought the same thing, and really wondered it out loud this morning when I saw the BBTS sale, too. 

I wish Hasbro had put more into it's own RED line. They were surprisingly good figures, but they never made it to retail here, so I had to resort to eBay, and only ever managed to find wave 1 for sale. Still, they were really decent figures for the money. 

[Buzzetta]

Hasbro Pulsecon will be held the weekend before NYCC as Hasbro does not do NYCC anymore... here is the online schedule if you didn't get the email 

Day 1 is 9/30 

Day 2 is 10/1

I am anxiously looking forward to what is expected to be the Indiana Jones 6" line.  This might be the first 6" line a pick a few figures up from.