captain_cbecker

I was hoping for Rabbi Rocky Balboa with a kosher side of beef to punch on

The number works - but you may need to call a few times to get a person. I talked to them a couple of times about a missing package this week and actually talked to them directly. Remember - though they ship out of Los Angeles, they are in Hawaii, so you can't get them until after 12:00 PM Pacific time. My issue with them isn't so much cost, but that they claimed that they mailed something on the 14th, substituted Priority Mail for UPS (which I prefer because it can be tracked), and then it actually gets to the post office 1 week later than the shipping e-mail stated (on the 21st). They allege that the issue is that with BSG, ST, Defenders and the Spiderman promo that they had 100's of boxes go out in the span of a couple of days and it was too much volume for the postal service. In the past they used that DHL-USPS combo service, which got it from L.A. to Northern CA in about 2-3 days.

I had BSG 3 and ST 2 also shipped on the 14th from AFX... The USPS tracking just updated that they were accepted by the Post office on the night of the 21st.... I'm thinking that they weren't shipped on the 14th like the AFX people insist they did.

Anyone having issues getting stuff from other board members or e-tailers recently? I've shipped things that have taken a while to get there, and am expecting shipments that should have delivered through the USPS a couple of days ago.

I had the same thing happen to mine

The nice thing about the pilot mates - lots of opportunity for quick customs, given that the pilot uniforms are so available. It's just finding the right face/hair combo. Now that there's more 24 mates, there's an opportunity to have some "normal" (as in non-superhero) female parts to choose from.

These are cool.... I can't wait to get them! However, I did notice that they down-played Lorraine's cleavage from the concept/prototype photos. I guess the porn-star look was a little too risque.

You're just buying the 'mate.... albeit for a high price, and they specifically stated that it wasn't for sale. This is no different marketing model than anyone else who offers exclusive merchandise bundled with another item to boost sales. What I can't believe is how many people who want this mate, but don't like the terms, think this is some big conspiracy to rip them off.

Well sportsfans, I conducted a little shipping experiment w/ AFX to settle my own curiosity. There have been some claims that prices and shipping have been inflated as a result of the Web-Armor Spider-man giveaway. I placed a pre-order a couple of months ago for a set each of BSG Wave 3 and St Wave 2 mates from AFX. Cost each was $20.99 (The same as I paid to pre-order BSG wave 2 when they came out). The Shipping was $11.53. This order is in process and that is exactly what was charged to my credit card. The experiment: I added 2 sets of the BSG Wave 2 (same price as it was in June/July) to my shopping cart and started the checkout process. Theoretically, 8 2-pack sets of mates should weigh the same and have the same dimensions of my original order - therefore shipping for the same price. In fact, the shipping charges were the same (well, within $.05) of the first order regardless of the Web Armor Promo. I don't know what to tell you all, but it sounds like all the conspiracy theories and "AFX is using Spiderman as bait to screw us" may be unfounded. I hope this helps put this issue to rest.

Not to pick on you Dino - just using your statement as an example. So, if they said the cost of the products you're choosing from was, say $5 higher - and the shipping was $5 less, that would make the sale for you? You do realize pricing is just a game - whether the retailer chooses to show actual shipping or roll it into the price of the product makes no difference - just how the customer sees the charges. (I have an online retail background and have found customers will pay a higher price for a product to get 'free shipping' - all I did to get to the 'free shipping' was calculate the cost of shipping into the price the customer pays for the item. I'm just curious what others here say about this.) I'd have to agree.... often the incentives like free items or free shipping are typically structured so that higher prices or a certain volume makes the transaction nominally profitable - or at least not a loss. The best way to look at it is as a total net cost (Merchandise + Tax + S & H - discounts/incentives) and choose the best deal. The question: "would you pay $50 for an item with free shipping or $25 for the same item with $15.00 shipping?" makes the point perfectly. Choosing the higher shipping cost is till more economical than opting for the free offer.

Do they have to be mutually exclusive? Can a block figure be a category of action figure? Wikipedia uses this definition: "Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure created by Art Asylum." I would say that minimates are action figures that use a more geometric, block-type body design that favors a stylized representation of persons or characters, as compared to more traditional action figures that try to closely approximate the true look of the person/character. Maybe we're overthinking this thing. Afterall, are they any less appealing because the article's author thinks they're not action figures, but "big legos" instead? I doubt it.

I'm all for GIlligan's Island.... How about this line-up Gilligan & Mary Ann Thurston Howell III & Lovey Howell Professor & Ginger Skipper & Head Hunter

What part of the word "exclusive" don't you understand. It means something that everyone wants but not everyone can have. I don't see why this is always an issue. I was gona order some BSG mates, but I'd rather deal with Corner Store Comics anways, and with the shipping and the orders falling through, I think I'll do like others and wait for ebay. Or knowing AFX, that have literally thousands of these. There's no way they're gona run out and I'll just wait till they dump the rest. In this context, exclusive refers to the fact that it isn't offered by other retailers - it really has nothing to do with a discrepancy between people who want and those who can have. Simply put, it is only available through this outlet and no others. Corner Store Comics has some nice stuff, but I'm disappointed that they don't stock BSG mates -

Is it me or does he universal translator almost looks like it has a peg which would fit into the hand? I was thinking the same thing.... that tab must be some type of grip to fit the mates' hands... It's similar to some of the playmobil accessories that my kids' toys have - they have similar hand design.

Given Cappy's post above... I had to re-read everything to make sure I was clear on which "accessories" the Gorn was "Handling"... I think I figured it out... :tongue:

It's just not right to have Spock's Mom's mugshot at the LA County lock-up.

Oddly enough, I noticed that they still had 8 of the spiderman 3 2-packs in their e-bay store after I read this post. I doubt those qualified for the offer though

IF you look at AFX FAQ's - they actually ship out of centers in the continental US. My orders always ship out of a center near L.A. I've got a full set of BSG3 and ST2 on the way - shipping was less than $12.00 for the lot. Some of the things like the Spiderman box set and Spiderman 3 Preview exclusive are gone from their regular catalog now- I wouldn't be surprised if the mates were the first thing to sell out (given there is a minimate promo figure involved)

The toys section has a lot of mates, including the Spiderman box set, BSG series 2 and the Spiderman 3 preview set and they're all marked down. It wouldn't be hard to hit $25 and get a lot of cool mates, along with the freebie.

These are really cool looking - I can't wait to get mine from AFX Thanks for the pics

My LCS wasn't done unpacking when I got my BSG set, and I couldn't wait around.... I ordered these from AFX too.... so I wasn't compelled to wait them out and see if they arrived

These mega-bloks guys are just knock-offs of the lego mini-figs - unfortunatley the articulation & level of detail doesn't work while trying to keep the scale and compatibility of the Lego brand. As a result, they have the oddly proportioned chest and small legs that is typical of all the rest of the mega-bloks licenses and themes like their "Pyrates", knights and the POTC sets. The detail and faces are also overly complex and end up looking sloppy. I think there may be a couple reasons: The disproportionate shape is a result of trying to force too much detail and articulation into a lego-compatible scale. The disproportionate look and super-detail may be a means of avoiding any type of copyright infringement from our fine Danish friends at Lego Corporate by adopting a totally unique body shape and look that doesn't resemble the Lego Minifigs, except in size..

I was looking at all my BSG Minimates and have a question that one of the hardcore trivia and detail geeks might be able to answer: What does all the different piping on the blue dress uniforms represent? For example, Adama & Tigh have Red piping, as does CAG Apollo. CAG Starbuck is light blue and Adm Cain is white. Any ideas.... it's Star Trek that obsesses with continuity stuff like that

I got my BST CAG set today because I need some dupes for quick customs (using an extra set of the uniform bodies to creat a uniformed Helo and Boomer)).... and saw all the others and wanted to scoop them all up today, but at $10/ea I'm glad I pre-ordered thru AFX - that'll save me a big chunk (about $20). Even with the Shipping fees, I'm still ahead of the game. Here's a quick review - These are the typical bodies like Adama, Tigh and Adm Cain with some differences in the color of the uniform piping - nothing really new to report. CAG Kara Thrace / aka "Starbuck": Starbuck's tankard is a much nicer accessory than is pictured in the promo photos - it's not mono-color, but instead has a pewter colored top with the wing emblem and an ivory body with the skull logo painted or screened on. Starbuck comes with the a cigar-holding hand (like the Toyfair version) and the playing card hand (Like Col. Tigh) as well as 2 regular hands as replacements. Starbuck's face is different than the previous Pilot and Toyfair versions with a little less agressive look and uses a different hair piece that has a short pony-tail, instead of the cropped hair look. CAG Lee Adama / aka "Apollo" Apollo comes with one of those 8-sided picture frames with some Adama family pic in it. He also has the playing card hand (Like Col. Tigh) as well as a regular hand as replacement. Apollo's face and hair look identical the the Wave 1 Pilot version. I noticed that the uniform logos are different from the pictured promo phots and match Adama, Tigh & Cain instaed of the pilot emplem pictured - definitely not a show stopper.

Another conspiracy to deprive me of my money..... if it doesn't rain, it pours. I certainly like these little guys, but I wish they'd get spread apart just a little more.