the vynsane asylum

Got two Jungle Vipers today for custom fodder (aside from the connections to that absurd mock-ghillie suit everyone else seems to cream themselves over, he looks like an awesome base for a ninja).

As for the other toy I got, I won't say it specifically, but will just ramble: "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Happy motoring. Kill the grand poobah, eliminate even the toughest stains!"

Dammit, I've not seen any of the new TFs that are coming. Those stupid Movie figures clog pegs everywhere.

I got a bunch of LEGO sets, both in stores and on ebay.

And I got 4 MotUClassics Palace Guards and Vikor, the He-Man of the North. Which is totally a Conan figure. I also customized a Palace Guard from a leftover Triklops I had and posted pics over at TNI.

I haven't gotten Jazz yet. Saw him twice, first time two months ago. He was at K-Mart for $12.99. I laughed. Now that Target and Wal-Mart are $11.99, I'm not laughing at that price again.

I saw the new Bumblebee (what is this, tenth time for this mold with minor color tweaks? now he's got the stupid movie-inspired black stripes) and the G2 "Laser" Optimus Prime update. At $9, I would've gotten the second. Not so much for $12.

Found the new Star Wars wave at Wal-mart this weekend. I think they were all there, I don't remember seeing Han, but I didn't really look. The vintage-nostalgic thing got me and I bought R5-D4.

Isn't Toy Fair sometime this month?

Yup, Toy Fair starts this Sunday (February 13) and runs through the following Wednesday. I think it's usually a weekend thing but it's always in the middle of the month so it's probably off because of the weird dates.

I have everything from wave 5 except for Han and Yoda, and nothing from wave 4. As for carded figures, I got Gree, since I like his armor and the card art ended up looking pretty cool. So far, I'm more interested in the new characters and outfits on the vintage cards than I am straight-up reproductions of the original line (at least in terms of keeping them carded).

I picked up Jazz at K-Mart. They had some sort of unadvertised sale going on, and he was $10.99, so cheaper than anywhere else, curiously enough.

I'm watching the prices go up with some serious trepidation. I might have to cut back seriously on toys--not so much due to hardship, but because they're out of the "impulse buy" range and to the point where they make you think, "Damn, I'm spending a lot on toys."

Transformers Deluxe figures (the basic carded figures) were $10 at WM and Target until the price war just before Christmas, where they both went down to $9. TRU had them at $10 the whole time, and K-Mart at $13. Now, they're $12 everywhere (except K-Mart, where they're $13).

GIJoe figures were $6.99 before Christmas. Now they're $7.99 at most Targets and WM's, 8.49 at some, and $8.99 at TRU and K-Mart.

Star Wars Vintage figures have been all across the board. TRU raised them from a laughable $9.99 to an insane $10.99. Most Targets and WM's are $8.99, with a few reporting as high as $10.99. K-Mart had them for, no shit, $11.99. I'm not sure how much Clone Wars and Legends are.

I know JJL and I were discussing arguing about this elsewhere, but this is pretty seriously adding up. Raising prices across the board (and, yes, an average of $4.99 increasing to $9.99 in just over five years is a hell of a lot faster than the rate of inflation) when prices in general are increasing, and you're posting record profits, is a recipe to get a lot of people cutting back.

anarky wrote:Star Wars Vintage figures have been all across the board. TRU raised them from a laughable $9.99 to an insane $10.99. Most Targets and WM's are $8.99, with a few reporting as high as $10.99. K-Mart had them for, no shit, $11.99. I'm not sure how much Clone Wars and Legends are.

I know JJL and I were discussing arguing about this elsewhere, but this is pretty seriously adding up. Raising prices across the board (and, yes, an average of $4.99 increasing to $9.99 in just over five years is a hell of a lot faster than the rate of inflation) when prices in general are increasing, and you're posting record profits, is a recipe to get a lot of people cutting back.

Well, we wouldn't have to discuss argue over this if you'd pay attention for once. I only collect SW, so I can't say much on the other lines. But here's the SW basic figure price list again:

*1995-1998: $4.99
*1998: $5.99
*1999-2000: $6.99
*2000-2002: $5.99
*2002-2004: $4.99
*2005: $5.99
*2006-2008: $6.99
*2008-2010: $7.99 (Clone Wars $6.99 2008-2009)

Current prices:
*Walmart: $6.99 Saga Legends and Clone Wars, $7.99 Vintage
*Target: $7.99 Saga Legends and Clone Wars, $8.99 Vintage
*Toys R Us: $7.99 Saga Legends and Clone Wars, $9.99 Vintage
*Kmart: can suck a dick

TRU having them at $10.99 was just a temporary thing, from what I can see. Of course things can vary from store to store but that's the average for right now.

There are so many factors that go into pricing the figures, from inflation to the economy to rising labor costs in China to increasing articulation that you can't really blame it on any one of them.

And even though SW toys overall did very well last year, Hasbro's sales were apparently down in the fourth quarter, so I'm not sure if the big year was due in large part to Lego, or what.

I'm glad they got rid of the movie theme waves for Star Wars so I don't buy 6 figures at 1 time. The only other toy line I really collect is GI Joe, and I try to be picky with those. Well, I guess there is the McFarlane hockey figures, too, but those are usually a once a year purchase for me.

I got two more Transformers this week: a certain mega-awesome scientist who IDW stupidly decided is now a heartless sniper bastard for no apparent reason, and Laser Optimus Prime. (I would normally not get a non-G1 Transformer update, but I wound up getting Generation 2 Laser Prime around 1998 in a lot I traded for, entirely to get a Megatron and Galvatron, and he turned out to be an incredibly sweet figure. Oh, and you tend to forget until this figure reminds you: Michael Bay wasn't the first to put flames on Optimus Prime; the truck mode of both the original and update looks quite a bit like the movie Prime, though robot mode is clearly not a robot lemur like that atrocity.)

I've seen a few new Star Wars figures: Ceremonial Han, R5-D4, Jango, Kit, Super Battle Droid, Padme, and maybe one or two others I'm forgetting. I was really looking forward to Padme, and she looks like a lackluster figure, more like one from 2004 than 2011. She became the first casualty of the new price. She simply did not look like a $9 figure, though I could be suckered into getting her after all if I find the accompanying Anakin at the same time. Han is another I would've gotten at $6 or less, and seriously considered up to $7.50, but I'm not dropping almost $10 (after tax) what amounts to an Expanded Universe Han Solo from some story where he fights bulimia.

I got the DC/MotuC 2 pack with Aquaman and blue-hued Merman at TRU the other day. And I won another Lego Fire Station on ebay. Lego Fire Stations are kewl.

TRU is doing mega resets in all their action figure aisles. At least in my store they are. So hopefully SuperHero shit won't be in three different random places around the store now.

Got the RoC snowmobile w/ Snow Job on clearance from Walmart. Popped off Snow Job's head and added Rip Cord's. He's now Iceberg. For now he has the Ice Viper's gun. Need to find a better gun for him.

Ended up getting the Desert RAM from Ross, too.

My DCUC Wave 16 arrived from CornerStore today. Azrael Batman, Mercury from MetalMen, the Creeper, the Riddler in his question mark leotard, Jonah Hex, classic Robin, and a CnC Bane.

Sergeant Kup! Got him at TRU today. And they were on sale for $7.99 instead of 10.99, so bonus there. Still have not seen hide nor hair of any of the others though.

Also, saw the new Thor figures. Meh. And the new PotC figures. BLAARGG. Damn, those are hideous. JakksPacific really fucked the dog on those.

I saw those PotC figures, too. They look like those shitty generic toys you see at a Dollar Store.

Titanium Man.