JoeCanuck

The increase in prices at TRU is insulting.  It isn't like the stock is flying off their shelves.  And with the current case assortment of a single figure per case, there are going to be some serious peg warmers.  They need to learn how to discount and move stale merchandise.  Target is the king in the US at getting older peg warmers to fly off the shelf.

Well they have done a pretty great job of shrinking the boys toys section down by half so they can add in their HMV section!!!!   Good job!!!!  I mean HMV is such a strong brand the easily survived the early 2000s and downloading/streaming right?  So why not double down on that in a kid's toy store!!!!   Makes perfect sense to me.  What could possibly go wrong??  I mean look at all the books they have been selling.  So many that they shrunk that section down and moved it away from the prime real estate near the front of the store.  A sure sign of success.   

Anyway.....

Just got my latest order from Amazon.  I had preordered the Techno Viper (x2) a while back with a gift card.  So I got them for less than retail, even the recent price drop Amazon had on them.  Surprisingly I didn't get a notification for them, but I also just ordered Airborne and 60th Action Soldier with another gift card and all 4 figures came today in one box.

Wow.  Good job Amazon.  I am used to multiple boxes/shipments with different orders when it would make sense, and save money, to ship them all together, and you did just that.  Chalk one up for logistics this time.

Techno Vipers are great, as usual.  Airborne is surprisingly fantastic in hand.  I liked him from the start, but in hand he is just more strikingly than the pictures made him out to be.  Can't wait for the Dragonfly to arrive later this year.  60th Action Soldier is great as well.  I'm not a big fan of the figure itself, or the camo pattern, but man all the accessories and soft goods really make this figure stand out in the Classified line.

I missed out on the boxed Eel so I was glad to get a chance at this one.  Also it looks like, from early views, that these will be plentiful because so far only a few places have sold out.

Also I decided on just one Ferret for now.  I know it sold out, but I'm sure it will be back much like the Trouble Bubble.

I love the concept, but the transformers looks a little wonky. They should have gone with some kind of masterpiece level design... then you would have the best of both worlds. Neat idea, but not sure I will cave in. The thunder machine looks cool though

Couple things for the idea of a Masterpiece level of design.

1)  Right now the price is already pretty high, and sales don't look to be all that great with each release going on sale/discount (Soundwave hasn't yet but he will).  Trying to go even more detailed/intricate would increase the price even further.  I don't imagine there is a large enough market for $200US+ offerings.  Also remember that the Masterpiece line has a large Asian fanbase as well that probably wouldn't be anywhere near as big if it was Joe/TF crossovers.

2) The designs are already pretty intricate for what they are, and I don't know that further engineering would make much more difference.  Remember there is a point where you can't do anymore with a product due to plastic tolerances, and design/model requirements.  Unlike the Transformers who were designed from the start to be able to convert from robot to vehicle, none of the Joe vehicles ever had that mindset behind them.  So to shoehorn in a robot mode after the fact means that unfortunately there are going to be sacrifices no matter what.  As well as making them be able to hold figures in vehicle mode.  Masterpiece or not.

In the end this line is one of the best things going right now for me and I love it.  Especially since we are getting new O-ring figures as well with each release on classic cards.  Soundwave is by far the best of the three  released so far, and maybe part of it is also the designers getting their heads around the process.  So the first couple of releases are a bit wonky, but now they are starting to hit their stride and better know what does, and doesn't, work for making these toys.  Bumblebee is a pretty good design as well considering it is an open air vehicle that has to hold figures.  Unlike other "car" Transformers which have closed roofs and windows/doors, the AWE Striker has none of those to help with hiding stuff during transformation.

Can't wait to see the Triple-T/Kup and Mobat/Optimus Prime.   Hopefully one of them gets revealed soon.

Rumour is that the Ferret w/Scout is going to be $55US (Pulse Exclusive) when it goes up for preorder later this week.  Everyone was speculating that it would be more expensive than the Trouble Bubble, maybe even up to the HMS ($75US), but hopefully this rumour is true and the Ferret should sell like hotcakes.

Got Techno-Viper and 60th Sailor/Diver from Walmart yesterday.  Both look great and I love that the window packaging is back.  Great number of accessories for the Sailor/Diver and I really like the Techno-Viper's holographic display.  Although I do wish it was blue instead of red.  The tubing is going to be an issue over the long term in regards to sticking in the backpack while moving.

A local seller, he orders direct from Hasbro and has a couple of dozen customers he sells directly too.  Both of the figures cost me $40 each, and I am able to pick up locally as he is literally walking distance from my house.  I found him on Kijiji and have been getting all of my figures from him the moment he receives them.  He is a great guy.  I will PM you his contact info if you like.

Sweet!

After moving to Ottawa (well back to Ottawa I went to university here) a couple years ago I was a bit bummed about losing easy access to Toronto dealers.  However DJC Collectibles opened up here and he gets stuff in so quickly that he has a dedicated US customer base.  I have seen some Youtubers mention him as well in their videos because that is where they got their stuff for review.  It is great having someone local to avoid shipping costs.