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My preferred setup for SHIELD agents would be to have them packed with Fury who has a variant of Dum Dum Dugan, then have them packed in another wave with Sharon Carter with a variant of Maria Hill.

I'll be disappointed if I don't have have minimates of Agent Caulson, Baron Zemo, Thunderstrike, and Beta Ray Bill a year from now.

If you have a first appearance Spidey available you can swap arms:

The forearms don't quite match but it's pretty close.

Can I make a request to see Hulkbuster's head on BE Iron Man please.

A box from TRU showed up today and, shockingly, instead of damaged Dark Avengers it was Captain America:

World War II Cap:

Alternate Mask:

Suspended Animation Cap:

Back View with Mask:

Armored Cap:

Cap Reborn:

Other observations on the set:

-The only quality problem I can see is that Cap Reborn's mail pattern extends down slightly into the red/white portion of the chest block.

-The tape that holds the shields down touches nearly all of each shield, so there's lots of residue when you remove them, but no damage.

-There's no alternate cuff pieces for the left arms, so if you don't want Cap to hold his shield the peg and straps will be showing.

have we ever not had the webbing wrap all the way around the arms before? That's just plain lazy.

I just checked through the Minimate Database and it looks like every Spider-Man in that costume previously has had the webbing wrap all the way around.

Last time this happened, it did not end well if memory serves.

That was my recollection as well. I guess I'll either get them early or have a wonderful experience with TRU customer service.

I've picked up two jets so far, and while they're pretty cool, I'm more interested in the pilot. He's one of my favorite 'mates this year, and great for parts swapping:

I never received a back order notice and today I received a shipping confirmation, so TRU is shipping me something. I just hope it's Cap and not Wolverine.

Prices are up everywhere...

Individual SW and Marvel Universe figures are about $7.99/ea at the major retailers now - if you catch a sale you might get 2 for $10. In fact, I paid $8.99 at Walmart for a marvel Universe 3.75" figure last week. 2 figures for $9 is still a pretty good deal - especially when you look at Kubrick's @ $10/ea or $20/pr. Other figure multipacks are $12/pr or $20+ for 3-4. Don't get me started on the vehicle price comparison - $12/ea isn't too bad

I walked away from MU figures I wanted last week because of the $8.99 price tag, so I think this kind of thing definitely has the potential to have an impact even on collectors. I'm curious about the effect on casual buyers and parents. I doubt most of them think of a minimate as "equal" to a 4" figure when they see it in the stores. If minimates cost the same or less for two figures they might seem like a good deal. If they cost more is a casual fan going to go look at MU instead?

I've been surprised at the number of X-Men from a specific era, I never expected to see so many so close together. I suppose with Captain America and Thor coming out next year though we'll be seeing a focus on other parts of the Marvel Universe soon.

One thing I started doing earlier this year was to keep a spreadsheet listing my purchases so I could get an idea of exactly how much I was buying. Unfortunately, I got lazy mid-year and stopped, but I really need to get a better handle on what I buy. Maybe the hike will impact my purchases, but if it does at all, I'll likely stop buying extra packs for possible customizing and trade.

I started doing this last year and continued this year. It's pretty shocking, I found I was spending more than double what I had estimated I was.

I think it's wishful thinking if anyone is expecting improvements to accessories, quality, or character selection with the price hike. Maybe the worst of the quality issues that have popped up lately might be fixed, but I wouldn't expect more than that. And we're still going to see lots of Spider-Man and Wolverine.

The Minimates at my TRU had just went to $7.49 for the Fantastic Four wave, so it's going from $6.99 in June to $8.99 in November/December for me. That's a huge increase in a short time. I was leaning towards picking up both the New Mutants and X-force because they looked like excellent 'mates even though I didn't have much connection to the characters. Doubt that will happen now.

Did anyone else notice TRU Series 9 is marked as $8.99? The increase from $6.99 to $7.49 hasn't slowed me down any, but I'm not sure I can go to $8.99 for X-force and the New Mutants.

I wonder how well Iron Man's red matches up with the Hulkbuster head? I could imagine switching them if I wasn't happy with it in hand.

I'm a fan of the Spider-man too. It won't replace Torment Spidey in my display, but it's close.

I generally like the more detailed hands, even Thanos, but I don't think I'd want them to be standard across all Minimate lines. One improvement I would like to see though is to rotate the hand opening 90 degrees for 'mates with certain accessories, like rifles, so they could be held with both hands.

And where is everyone finding these in the stores? I looked all over one today and had to assume they just didn't have them yet.

I found them around the video game figures, not far from the BSG vipers that were still there. They weren't actually next to any minimates.

If Annihilus and Ronan are going to be made I wouldn't be surprised if DST held them back for a cosmic-themed wave. Throw Gladiator in as well and you'd have a wave that could appeal to cosmic, FF, and X-men fans.

The DeLorean is too squished for me, but the jet looks much better than I expected. I'm fascinated by the connectors, those could make the MAX line a lot of fun.

One thing I would disagree on is that Carnage needs a remake. For me it still stands up as one of the best mates to date even with the detailing now available on current waves.

I'd just as happily settle for a re-release.

Or, you know, you could just buy him instead of demanding DST make one of the most non-necessary re-releases of all time. Just a thought.

Given that Carnage is set to return to the Marvel universe soon it would seem like an ideal time for DST to redo one of the more recognizable Spidey villains. It would also be a lot cheaper for those of us who don't have the original.

Just a thought.

I'd like to see Speed Demon. I don't know if he's really considered a Spider-Man villain, but Fearsome Foes was the first place I encountered the character. I've always thought he had one of the best costumes of any minor character, and he'd be a fairly easy minimate to make.

Did anyone else read about the Spider-Man panel? There's a few pictures and this tidbit: "Slott teased to the audience that the black-and-neon-green suit is not the new Spider-Man suit, but one of potentially several new suits." Guess we won't be running out of Spidey variants any time soon.

They really ought to do Morbius now that we're getting a six-armed Spider-Man:

I think Jack O'Lantern would make a really cool minimate, especially if his glider was included.

As much as I hate to admit it, I like the Spider-Man in the Heroic Age set quite a bit.

Good Variants to pair with cannon fodder:

Green Dress Marvel Girl/Green Dress Deadpool

That would be the most disturbing variant ever... I like it.

I'd really like that Shadowland-themed wave, especially if they finally made a new Daredevil mask.