$25 - the conclusion

So, while I'd planned on possibly ordering a couple of PCCs with this late b-day cash, I decided to run by the Kmart to see if they still had any of the newer stuff.

I'm glad I did - not only did they have some new stuff, but they've also matched Walmart's current lowered price on deluxes, so they now only cost $9. They had HftD wave 3 deluxes and also PCC 5-pack wave 3, and I settled on getting the former - Tomahawk and Terradive. I was largely drawn in because of their alt-modes - I'm a sucker for nice looking aircraft TFs - but their bot modes are nice and somewhat unique, as well.

$25

So, my grandma sent me a late b-day check for $25. I'm trying to decide which TFs to get with it, since I've spent more than I should have on them lately. I want to still have a healthy list for folks to choose from for Christmas.

I'm leaning toward some of the wave 2 PCC 2-packs. Mostly because they look awesome, but also because I've only seen one of them - Sledge - on shelves once, and that was back in August. So, I'm kind of worried that if I leave them on the list, I might not get them, especially since stores appear to be restocking the 2-packs with wave 3 - which I'm not really interested in; they're all uninspired repaints - instead of wave 2, despite being clogged with wave 1 for months.

Of course, this means I'd have to order them from HTS, which luckily does have them in stock. on the other hand, I can then only get two due to shipping costs. Sledge is a definite, and I'm leaning toward Leadfoot over Icepick, mostly because Leadfoot looks to have a simply awesome torso mode that will go well with the Rallybot drones from DoubleClutch.

Or I could just pick up some more stuff at retail, like a couple more deluxes. We'll see.

Fun with new, if lower-tier, toys

So, I got Hailstorm a couple of weeks ago. He's great.

I mean, the fact that he's a de facto movieverse version of UT Demolishor is great in and of itself, but it's just a fun mold. Neat tread/arm transformation, too.

Get him. Or his upcoming remold, Mindset.

Also, the TF Club has some mock-ups for their Animated Transtech Cheetor exclusive up on their site, including the art of the Wyatt-designed head. Awesome. I'm pretty excited about this year's exclusives - this guy and G2 Ramjet!

Vengeance

Man, I want Crossovers Ghost Rider for Halloween. He's just now hitting stores, too. Whenever I do get him, he'll be another version of the Fallen for me.

The evolution of a repaint...

So, Kmart released another legends multi-pack this fall, this time a much better deal than last year's, at least in terms of dollars and cents - instead of 4 legends toys for 25 bucks, you can get five for 22 dollars! Not bad, particularly for Kmart.

Why did I get it? The movie Starscream legends toy, first put out in 2007 (fall; I got it around this time that year) is not the best legends mold ever, but outside of the intentionally different looking repaints (Stealth Starscream/Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the black/teal Nebular-Starscream mimmick), the normal Starscream versions keep improving. The original was actually pretty terrible, in retrospect; look here to see what I mean. The repaint for RotF was better - it added the interesting tattoos that he gained in that movie, and, while still not the color of an F-22, at least the sandy color he had was shared across his torso and arms, giving the robot a consistent, non-wifebeater-wearing look. Now, flash forward to 2010, and the HftD line gets him repainted in pretty much the best possible way. Basically, in your mind, think of the visual difference there was between 2007 Movie Starscream (Voyager) and his Premium/Deep Space repaint. That's how much better HftD Starscream is compared to the RotF repaint. Lots and lots of silver paint over silvery-grey plastic, and he keeps the neat looking tattoos. Paint isn't skimped on for the robot mode, either, so he looks great in both modes.

Now, I just need to sell the other four repaints I don't need. I thought I would like the legends version of the Burning Fallen deco, but in person it's not as nice as the original metallic look (which is the closest any of his toys have gotten to looking like the movie appearance) and it's a bit redundant after getting the Voyager in those colors last year.

More new stuff!

Went to Orlando again this weekend and found Generations Dirge! I never expected to find wave 4 so soon. No Blurrs around, though.

I also picked up Animated Ironhide from my friend Jason. He's pretty neat. A guy I met at the Toys R Us in Orlando was cool enough to find and pick up an Animated Rodimus for me today, since they didn't have any at the TR we met at. He also offered to hold onto it until we go back early next month, so hopefully he'll do that rather than having me pay the extra for shipping...Thanks again, Nick (and Jason)!

The Hunt for TRU Animated Exclusives, Part II

So, since I didn't get Animated Ironhide or Rodimus for my birthday, I've got to track them down myself. One of my old friends, who my wife and I are visiting this weekend, was nice enough to check out the Toys R Us in his town yesterday afternoon and found Ironhide and picked him up for me. He said he would ask when they would possibly get more in, but I somehow doubt that it'll be before tomorrow or Saturday. However, one of the two TRUs I normally am able to visit is (sort of) on the way to Orlando (our actual destination for Friday night/Saturday), but it's a bit off the interstate and would add at least 20 minutes to the trip. Still, I'm going to call, and if they have Rodimus, I'm going to try and persuade my wife to let us stop by either on the way down or back up Sunday. But, you know, at least I'm only looking for one.

Thanks, J-Man!