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captain_cbecker

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Posts posted by captain_cbecker

  1. So, I ordered the Omega Red pack when these first came up, it shipped on the 11th, and won't be here until the 17th! Goldurn UPS. . .

    and lots of others are getting 1-2 day delivery. That sucks you have to wait so long.

    I hate UPS, because they definitely take their time, to make sure you know you didn't pay for anything faster... sometimes stuff just sits at a warehouse in the area for a day or two to make sure you don't get service you didn't pay for....

    That being said, that UPS-USPS hybrid service really pisses me off too... the tracking is so hit-or-miss if you can find the special UPS portal that tracks those packages - the std UPS thing doesn't work.

    Hate to say it, but for the cost, Priority Mail is almost the best deal going

  2. has anyone even been able to place an order for these yet? my source in the states is having trouble even placing one order on TRU.com

    ::EDIT::

    Never mind, he got the order placed after all. Yay!

    I got a set ordered without any issues -

    Oddly enough - a few days ago I was thinking about the way TRU.com used to take pre-orders and that it had stopped as of late.

  3. My kids had a number of the Castle sets with the landscape plates as well as the POTC sets (most of which we bought on clearance) - sadly, megabloks do not secure as well as lego and we often had issues with bases disintegrating, unless they were built on a solid piece of wood. too many of the megabloks pieces have sporadic placement of the connecting points to be of much use. Not sure that that I'd bother buying any more sets, given how unusable they are compared to lego

  4. 'DSTChuck: I have to be honest. I can’t think of a way a single collector can have a big influence on what gets made and doesn’t get made.'

    At least he answered, but i can't help but feel slightly bummed by this reply . . . .

    After the number of times that fan polls have ben snuffed in the Q & A, I can't really say that this should come as a surprise.

  5. I picked up a single pack Undertaker, and got the HHH/Big Show pack to decorate a cake at a Wretlemania party last weekend... otherwise, these look and play like superhero squad/Galactic buddies - definitely preschool aged toys.

    I saw a commercial for the ring, which is a cross between hungry hungry hippos and wrestling - you just pound on paddles that make everything in the ring bounce, until the figures are ejected - lame!

    Minimate wrestlers would be interesting, but given the the wrestlers' moves and positions, i think they would not be articulate or sturdy enough to pull it off.

  6. Perhaps, to celebrate Minimate Inquisition day, we should market the Minimate Q & A Magic 8 ball, with all the stock answers to Q & A questions.

    Answers would include:

    • All signs point to No retailer Interest
    • It is doubtful
    • Nothing Planned for 2011 - Try again later
    • Never Say Never
    • Cannot predict now - but it's something we have considered
    • Better Not Tell you now
    • Don't count on it - our current license doesn't allow that
    • Blah Blah Blah Cost to Produce Blah Blah Blah
    • My sources say: "We have no plans to go forward with that"
    • No Kang.

  7. I can see DST's point, that Trek may be a slow mover right now. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that most retailers are still trying to liquidate all that lousy Playmates Trek product - especially since so many people got stung by the incomplete waves and that build-a-bridge mess.

    Playmates notwithstanding, other non-Playmates ST product has also been pretty sluggish. One specific example, are the Hotwheels ships, which tanked and stalled - I thought those should have been a solid seller.

    Moreover, the Comicbook store-dominated specialty market often does not embrace the non-comic licenses. I have found many stores that will not stock 'mates, other than Marvel or DC.

    On the other side of the coin - look at all the other Trek novelty product that is on the market - 3 types of cologne, enterprise bottle openers and pizza cutters, bobbleheads, potato heads and so on (not to mention that DST seems to be going strong with ship replicas, props and retro figures).... classic trek especially still appears quite viable.

    Sometimes I wonder if DST has set its expectations for retailer interest a bit high

  8. Though I always thought of RGB as a cheap commercialized rip-off of the GB movies, I do like the way the mates look and will most definitely pick these up.

    As for Knight Rider - it's definetley an interesting direction, but given that the recent, re-imagined, spin-off tanked, I think that KITT may end up chauffering Axel Foley, Don Corleone and Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose to the minimate graveyard.

    I do hope I'm wrong, 'cuz I'd definitely pick one up if it ever made it to production.

    KITT does beg an interesting question - what might round out the next series of vehicles? Dukes of hazzard isn't a bad guess. Smokey & the Bandit might also fit into the stunt-car genre. As far as cheesy, 80's, vehicle-based TV shows go... Airwolf anyone?

  9. Oh, man I'm in serious trouble on this one... I've been eyeing the Imperial Flagship set for a while, and now I'm thinking how good it would look along side the Black Pearl.

    Off to start selling blood...

    The imperial flagship is a nice looking set but at $200 + shipping it's pretty steep.

    Cost or not, I will have to get the Queen Anne's Revenge and will be financially doomed if they throw the Black Pearl, Dauntless or Flying Dutchman into the mix

  10. Yeah Cap, they were not very articulated, but the accessories were so varied that I would hate to be a collector. I had tons of the figures and accessories and I am sure I had a small fraction of what was released.

    If I were to start developing MAX sets, I would first look at Adventure People and GI Joe/Action Man/Adventure Team. That stuff is/was awesome.

    The 12" GI Joe from teh 60's & 70's are some of my favorites, when it comes to outstanding attention to detail on accessories.

    I don't know if you've seen one of the vintage books that talked about foxholes and camp setup, but those were great.

  11. Seriously,

    Anyone knows where they are available around the Bay Area, CA?

    I checked Foster City and Redwood City TRUs like repeatedly... no luck.

    Only TRUs I've seen them showing up at are in the Eastbay.Like Pleasant Hill..Pittsburg or Pinole.

    thanks for the heads up.

    but damn, that's one hell of a trip just to buy these suckers...

    I grabbed the Wolvie/Magneto set in pinole and one of the sets of exclusives from the Pleasant Hill TRU a few weeks back - have not seen these in Pittsburg yet except a single spidey/dr. lizard set that looks like it was returned from another store. They are recovering from inventory and haven't really restocked in weeks. They are supposed to get a shipment today.

  12. I think the problem is there's absolutely no reason to buy the TRU sets unless you don't know about the four packs. If you want these and are aware, you're going to want the four packs for the extra character, so the TRU sets are unnecessary, the only new set was the BW set, and personally I think a better TRU exclusive would have been to follow the Marvel approach, add a new character or two. Claude Rains as Larry's father for example, Bela the Gypsy or Maria Ouspenskaya would have been interesting additions to the Wolf-Man sets and would have resulted in a purchase from me, but all the two packs are going to sit there with fans who know, because they already have the four packs or plan to.

    Though the specialty store packs are the way to go - TRU reaches a much wider market for those who don't frequent comic stores, don't have access to a good comic book store and/or don't buy extensively online (like so many of us).

    Without cannibalizing the specialty market (by selling the same products) - this seems like a good way to get products into a market that would otherwise have been missed

  13. Over the weekend, I picked up four of the TRU Special OPS Max packs. I really think this line will get massive when it catches on. It reminds me of a modern day Adventure People (who is old enough to have played with these besides me?).

    If I were to make a strong suggestion on this line, it would be to keep on the military path. I don't mean slow down on other directions like the ones suggested, but there is so much that can be done license free for miliary figures. I want some USMC Forward Recon, some USN SEALs, SAS Paratroopers, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, etc. Plus, with military figures, there could be different eras like WWI, WWII, Falklands, etc.

    Do it... Do it...

    I remember Adventure People. Pretty cool and versatile - what they lacked in articulation, they made up for in accessories and vehicles.

  14. This one leads to thoughts of DC, Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, and Transformers properties. Unfortunately, I do not think any will get the Minimates treatment anytime soon. I pray I'm wrong.

    As we know - He-Man, Thundercats, Transformers & modern GI Joe (1980's on) were properties that were conceived exclusively to sell a (mainly action figure) toy line. I don't see too many other companies being allowed to develop action figures outside of the license owner.

    As for DC... they may come back... but I wouldn't hold my breath, especially since I'm sure they have so many other wonderful concepts (like Blammoids) that they need to fail in the market.

  15. Does anyone know if TRU will ship items from another store if it's in state? I found something I want at a TRU in state but it's about an hour drive from me... I'm just curious, I should have bought it when I was there but I was up in the air until I got home and saw that the suspended animation cap came with an ice block hehe...

    I don't think so -

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