little*bamf* Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hi everyone, firstly thanks to everyone for their time and effort in making such a great, friendly resource available to collectors, it's massively appreciated. I've been collecting the direct market marvel stuff for a few years, and am reasonably close to a full set, with a few of the convention exclusives and box sets picked up along the way. The Toys R Us in the UK doesn't stock the TRU exclusives, and it's been an itch that's just never gone away, so at this late stage (madness, I know) I'm thinking about starting to make a run at the TRU waves too. The only thing is, I don't really want to repeat figures, so I would be limiting myself to TRU sets that only contain unique figures, that is they haven't been repeated in either direct market, box sets, or convention / store exclusives. That being said, before I head off to make use of the resources, I know there must be some dedicated fans who've broken this down already, so does anyone have a list of which TRU 2 packs would contain 1 or both unique figures? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help, and happy collecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 (edited) Go to Ivan's Minimate Database, and click on the TRU section, find each of those packs, and click on each figure. Those that were released in multiple outlets will have all those releases listed in the bottom left hand corner of the screen under "Availability." So, this Hulk had 2 releases: http://minimatedatabase.com/figure.php?i=566&n=Hulk this Iron Man only had one: http://minimatedatabase.com/figure.php?i=713&n=Stealth+Iron+Man even though this Spidey had 2 releases (direct market and TRU) with the same companion figure, both are listed here: http://minimatedatabase.com/figure.php?i=1180&n=Unmasked+Spider-Man Edited June 26, 2012 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heroic Slacker Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 (edited) Toys R Us Exclusive Minimates Wave 1 Gauntlet Tony Stark and Stealth Iron Man Wave 2 Wonder Man and Union Jack Wave 3 Bullseye and Moonstone Wave 4 X-Factor Angel and Warpath Molecule Man and Spider-Woman Wave 5 Logan and Hawkeye Cosmic Silver Surfer and Swordsman Wave 6 Stretch Attack Mr. Fantastic and World War Hulk Klaw and Secret Wars Storm Wave 7 Hulkbuster Iron Man and Gamma Hulk Lockjaw and Betsy Braddock Wave 8 Entire Wave was exclusive Wave 9 Brown Wolverine and Dark Magento X-Force Cannonball and X-Force Shatterstar New Mutants Magik and Warlock Wave 10 Danger Room Wolverine and Omega Red Age of Apocalypse Sabretooth and Age of Apocalypse Blink Age of Apocalypse Nemesis and Age of Apocalypse Morph Wave 11 Betsy Braddock Fantomex and Mr. Negative Wave 12 Secret Wars Captain America and Crossbones First Appearance Thor and Balder the Brave Wave 13 Spider-Sense Spider-Man and The Punisher Kingpin Mirage and Magma Boomer and Rictor Toys R Us Exclusive Movie Mates Wolverine Origins Wolverine and Agent Zero Weapon X Wolverine and Silver Fox Battle Damaged Wolverine and Gambit WW2 Wolverine and Final Battle Deadpool Iron Man 2 James Rhodes in Mark 2 Armor and Black Widow Senate Hearing Tony Stark and Mark 1 Iron Man Lt. Colonel James Rhodes Mark VI Iron man Thor Lady Sif and Volstagg Civilian Thor Captain America Golden Age Captain America and Dum Dum Dugan Gabe Jones X-Men First Class Entire Wave was exclusive Avengers Hawkeye and Black Widow Loki and Nick Fury Amazing Spider-Man Vigilante Spider-Man and Captain Stacy Gwen Stacy and Dr. Curt Connors. Edited June 26, 2012 by Heroic Slacker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youbastards Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 TRU Wave 1 - Gauntlet Stark & Stealth Iron Man TRU Wave 2 - Wonder Man & Union Jack TRU Wolverine Origins - Origins Wolverine and Agent Zero TRU Wolverine Origins - Weapon X Wolverine & Silver Fox TRU Wave 3 - Bullseye & Moonstone TRU Wolverine Origins - Battle Damaged Wolverine & Gambit TRU Wolverine Origins - WWII Wolverine & Final Battle Deadpool TRU Wave 4 - X-Factor Angel & Warpath TRU Wave 4 - Molecule Man & Spider-Woman TRU Wave 5 - Logan & Hawkeye TRU Wave 5 - Cosmic Silver Surfer & Swordsman TRU Wave 6 - Battle Damaged Wolverine & Captain America TRU Wave 6 - Stretch Attack Mr. Fantastic & World War Hulk TRU Wave 6 - Klaw & Secret Wars Storm TRU Iron Man 2 - James Rhodes in Mark II Armor & Black Widow TRU Iron Man 2 - Senate Hearing Tony Stark & Mark I Iron Man TRU Iron Man 2 - Lt. Colonel James Rhodes & Air Attack Drone TRU Iron Man 2 - Mark VI Iron Man & Ground Assault Drone TRU Wave 7 - Hulkbuster Iron Man & Gamma Hulk TRU Wave 7 - Lockjaw & Betsy Braddock TRU Wave 8 - Fantastic Four (All 4 packs) TRU Wave 9 - Brown Wolverine & Dark Magneto TRU Wave 9 - X-Force Cannonball & X-Force Shatterstar TRU Wave 9 - New Mutants Magik & Warlock TRU Thor Movie - Lady Sif & Volstagg TRU Thor Movie - Civilian Thor & Asgardian Guard TRU Wave 10 - Danger Room Wolverine & Omega Red TRU Wave 10 - Age of Apocalypse Sabretooth & Age of Apocalypse Blink TRU Wave 10 - Age of Apocalypse Nemesis & Age of Apocalypse Morph TRU Captain America Movie - Golden Age Captain America & Dum Dum Dugan TRU Captain America Movie - Gabe Jones & Hydra Flame Trooper TRU X-Men First Class Movie (All 4 packs) TRU Wave 11 - Fantomex & Mr. Negative TRU Wave 11 - Betsy Braddock & Nightcrawler TRU Wave 12 - Secret War Captain America & Crossbones TRU Wave 12 - First Appearance Thor & Balder the Brave TRU Avengers Movie - Hawkeye & Black Widow TRU Avengers Movie - Loki & Nick Fury TRU Amazing Spider-Man Movie - Vigilante Spider-Man & Capt. Stacy TRU Amazing Spider-Man Movie - Gwen Stacy & Dr. Curt Connors TRU Wave 13 - All 4 packs There are a few other Minimates in TRU releases that differed slightly from their release elsewhere, but the ones above are the exclusive figures that weren't available anywhere else. LOL, looks like we doubled our efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMateVigilante Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 That's gonna be some expensive collecting! I feel your pain, as I'm in the UK too and I've mostly pieced together my TRU exclusives from ebay, and more recently have had some help from a few most excellent board members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaIceman Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Be warned, some of the TRU exclusives are very expensive. You can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $50 for Bullseye/Moonstone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heroic Slacker Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 X-Factor Angel and Warpath is one of the most expensive sets when it hits eBay, I've been looking for one for a while now, also Hulkbuster is a bit more common but still goes for a lot based on how awesome the mate is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little*bamf* Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Whoa, this....this is above and beyond. Sincerest thanks for everyone's help. It's wonderful to have a definitive list going forward. I must admit, a little of the charm to consider collecting these, is the fact they're a bit hard to find here and there, and especially at the price you might set yourself. It's part of the joy I get over the years from collecting comics, picking certain runs or issues up can be relatively easy, but getting that one that's really thin on the ground, or getting one for a little bit of a bargain ? That's the sweet spot. Just drawing a cross section through the remainders in the waves against that impeccable resource at the minimate database, I'm guessing the following are the figures in waves that are only "slight" variants rather than completely unique? Wave 3 Wolverine and Sabretooth - Variant Wolverine? Wave 3 Classic Iron Man and Mark 1 War Machine - Variant War Machine? Wave 9 Six Armed Spider-Man and Silver Age Lizard - confirmed variant (saw the note 8¬)). Thanks again for all your help, you folks are absolute schlars, is there a particular ebay seller / store who specializes in TRU packs that you might recommend? Most guys are kind enough to ship internationally (except TRU themselves dammit *lol*)I just wondered if some rise head and shoulders above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stegron01 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I would highly recommend Luke's Toy Store. He will even ship them unpackaged which can make a big difference on shipping costs to those of us in the uk, plus he is a very helpful guy in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The majority of TRU Minimates that are recognised as being unique are included in Ivan's Database but the more you delve the more you find & I KNOW that there are a fair few items that distinctly differ from their LCB counterparts. I really wish I didn't know because it drives me cray-f**king -zy. So you're in the UK worrying about TRU exclusive Minimates? Best O'Luck with that one Is that TRU Abomination a different colour ? Is that TRU Wave 2 Punisher a bit more shiny ? -bagowormsmate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to Ivan. When I started my crude "Definitive Lists" back on Ye Olde Art Asylum board, Ivan's elaborate database was my wet dream. I was happy to pass the baton to Lurch77 who kept the lists going here (thank YOU, Lurch!) but Ivan's site is one of the most valuable collector's resources on the 'net, period. I know this can be a thankless task at times (and Ivan's doing it to keep track of his own collection as well) but I just wanted to make sure I gave him a public "Thank You Very Much" for sharing the Minimate Database with us all. Cheers, Ivan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Whoa, this....this is above and beyond. Sincerest thanks for everyone's help. It's wonderful to have a definitive list going forward. I must admit, a little of the charm to consider collecting these, is the fact they're a bit hard to find here and there, and especially at the price you might set yourself. It's part of the joy I get over the years from collecting comics, picking certain runs or issues up can be relatively easy, but getting that one that's really thin on the ground, or getting one for a little bit of a bargain ? That's the sweet spot. Just drawing a cross section through the remainders in the waves against that impeccable resource at the minimate database, I'm guessing the following are the figures in waves that are only "slight" variants rather than completely unique? Wave 3 Wolverine and Sabretooth - Variant Wolverine? Wave 3 Classic Iron Man and Mark 1 War Machine - Variant War Machine? Wave 9 Six Armed Spider-Man and Silver Age Lizard - confirmed variant (saw the note 8¬)). Thanks again for all your help, you folks are absolute schlars, is there a particular ebay seller / store who specializes in TRU packs that you might recommend? Most guys are kind enough to ship internationally (except TRU themselves dammit *lol*)I just wondered if some rise head and shoulders above. Yes, that Wolverine is different. If you take off his belt, he has a blue belt painted on underneath (check the alt. front look). The other one has a red belt. Also, the mask tampo was better applied for the comic shop release in my opinion. Those War Machine figures also have some slightly different paint apps around the crotch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little*bamf* Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks for the help guys, from the sound of it, heading down the variation road, is a bit like staring into the abyss, so I'll keep it simple initially, and try to stick to unique characters. Leave that stuff to the really hardcore collectors. *lol* Contacted a couple of guys on ebay, and if I really try to pick up a few pieces at once, I can have them all shipped by international priority, (which must have an excellent weight limit)for about $59, but you guys are completely right, a few of those early pieces will be tough, and fun to try and run down. :biggrin: So ,it'll take a while, but if I play a reservation game, or buy and ask sellers to set things aside while I pick up a few more over the months till I get a big box together, the postage could be really quite painless. Either way it's great to have a roadmap for this stuff, and I'm buoyed by the community and the sellers both, this should be fun. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 How many are you getting shipped for $59 ? $59 will get you one helluvaload of loose Minimates shipped . Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little*bamf* Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 How many are you getting shipped for $59 ? $59 will get you one helluvaload of loose Minimates shipped . Just saying. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm one of those cursed souls, who can't get over their MIB fixation. Collecting vintage Star Wars as a kid pretty much ruined me, 2 paper rounds to buy 1 fig to play with, and one to keep packaged. Granted those did mostly pay for my wife and I's first place years later, but I am still doomed to buy boxed. :biggrin: The postage'll cover maybe 6-10 box sets, and maybe 30 2 packs. Though I'm not sure if that's the upper limit. Seems like there's a 20lb weight limit, and the dimensions on a prepaid box are really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Nothing wrong with MIB fixation I'm not saying that it is a major problem but TRU stuff has a tendency to be near-MIB at best..... & F*?king beat2f&*k too often . When you open a brand new case of Minimates & see the efforts that are made at the factory to fill them ....it just breaks my heart thinking about some of the stuff that I've seen & heard that's arrived from TRU.com I've just learned to live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yeah, TRU frequently ships these things in a padded envelope, that gets smashed to hell along the way to its destination somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little*bamf* Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yeesh, that's terrible. I know the reality is a nice crisp, crease free, unworn box is about as easy to find as grade 10 comics, once it goes out into the world, near mint is an acceptable trade off, but I'm surprised TRU aren't using nice, double walled folding mailer boxes for their product,I hope they look after you guys customer service wise when you do get broken ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Oh, definitely! You get the old "send them back for a refund. We'll give you a $5 coupon" response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcastick Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Maybe TRU's position is this: The more you buy, the better protected we will make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to Ivan. When I started my crude "Definitive Lists" back on Ye Olde Art Asylum board, Ivan's elaborate database was my wet dream. I was happy to pass the baton to Lurch77 who kept the lists going here (thank YOU, Lurch!) but Ivan's site is one of the most valuable collector's resources on the 'net, period. I know this can be a thankless task at times (and Ivan's doing it to keep track of his own collection as well) but I just wanted to make sure I gave him a public "Thank You Very Much" for sharing the Minimate Database with us all. Cheers, Ivan! Thank you MisterPL, that means a lot to me. You're right, there are times when it seems thankless, but it's the words of appreciation that keep me plugging away. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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