Better start blogging again

...before I stop entirely heh. It's been a solid month since the last entry, and quite a few things have happened between then and now.

Firstly, Bangkok!

Left for BKK the next morning after my last paper, spent a grand total of 4 full days there with the gf. We had a ball of a time shopping and shopping and shopping! Stuff there was really cheap (except the imported stuff), which made it that more satisfying to buy stuff :) We walked essentially the entire morning to evening, went back to the hotel to rest our aching feet, and went out in the evening again to the night market (on two of the four nights anyway). We eventually amassed quite a mountain of stuff between us, and actually managed to lug everything back. Our luggage was severely UNDER the weight limit, which was a real waste, cos I would've liked to bring back more food!! Oh well, next time!

Toys-wise, they're generally more expensive than anything we get here, which I guess is expected. Despite all the news I hear about Thais being huge Toku fans, I only found three or four shops selling toku and stuff on the third day, and more expensive than what I could get back home. Did manage to pick up SH Zanki for cheap tho, which was great since I was looking for it for awhile.

Second, We Will Rock You!

Well, it rocked! We got seats three rows from the front, off to the side, which gave us wondrous views of gyrating, taut bodies singing the best from Queen. The downside was that we almost went deaf, cos the speakers were more or less in front of us : But it was entirely worth it when it got to the last 20 minutes of the show, cos it became a real rock concert! Excellent experience and musical that I recommend to anyone who's familiar with Queen's music, and even if you're not, you will be shaking to the tunes anyway!

Thirdly, the TRU sale :)

Decided to go early to the TRU sale on the member's preview. Ended up as the tenth or so person, not too bad. Saw some huge boxes of Zoids, so I was crossing my fingers to get those, butttt the first guy swooped those up :\ No worries! I immediately went for the KR stuff, grabbing the lone Kaixa belt, Denliner Ikajichi (Gun form) and SIC Doras and ZO, before making another round to and realising there was a Faiz belt as well! And as I picked THAT up, a whole pile of treasure was below that: Kaixa Blaygun and DX DenLiner (!!!). Eventually picked up a Kaixa Pointer and Shot, as well as the last Faiz Shot. All the above for only $85! The prices were seriously amazing, especially for the Denliners, really surprised to find them there :)

To log down my other purchases for the last month:

KR
SH Figuarts Rider No.1
SH Figuarts Rider No.2
SH Figuarts Rider V3
SH Kiva

TFs
Stealth Bumblebee (my like, seventh '08 : )
BWX Tigatron (Cheap!)
Henkei Astrotrain

SS
Baenetnasch Eta Mime

Others
Mugenbine Powerful Tyranno Clear Red Version
Guitar Hero guitar (fun as heck!)

Whew, I'm about caught up for the month, til the next post!

Almost near the end~

Yup, finally got done with the project I was really anxious about, don't think it went too well, but I'm just glad it's over. The week's been pretty crazy with all the preparation, late nights and early mornings.

Anyway, the Falcon's brought in the limited Chevy Aveo Swerve figure! And bundled it with some sweet packages to boot! Got myself the Screenbattles (Final Stand & Capture of BB) sets with Swerve for $100, a really good deal! It means that I now have SIX versions of the Camaro 08' mold, count them:

Hasbro (Opened)
TakTomy (Carded)
TakTomy (Loose)
Battle Damaged (Loose)
Cliffjumper
Screen Battles

And there's TWO MORE coming out!!! Argghhhhh. Whoever said the Camaro mold was hard to get obviously wasn't looking hard enough :

Also picked up Microman RyuJinO ($14.90) finally completing the three of them, and picked up Myth Cloth Thanatos ($80) today as well. Thanatos' box is HUGE. Seriously! Spotted some slightly paint problems here and there but I guess no set's perfect. Wonder if I'll ever open him :[

Can't wait for it all to end

Been heck busy the past two weeks, with everything coming to a head in the last few weeks of school. It's getting more and more tiring as the weeks go by to work on project after project, and to keep thinking how it's all gonna affect the ol' jee-pee-ehh. Sigh.

Anyway, I somehow found time to pick up some stuff over the past 1+ week:

Microman Ryugano - $14.90
SIC 40. Agito and Machine Tornader - $100
Movie Deluxe Black Arcee - $30

Andddd I actually broke down and got the DX Den-O Belt ($50)! Really good price, and I had been tempted to pick it up for so long, plus I felt kinda shitty after a meeting on a Sunday, so buying it made me feel somewhat better.

Oh well.

Three more weeks, and then Bangkok. Can't wait for it all to end.

Ruinous

Got a whole lot of stuff on Saturday! Had arranged to go down to Falcon's with G, with the intention of picking up the Henkei Leaders, but totally didn't expect the new Revoltechs to be in as well! So I ended up collecting Henkei C-01 Convoy ($43) and Revoltechs Hot Rodimus and Starscream ($25 each). I went down to Suntec to kill time before the trip to Falcon's, and saw to my surprise (and slight horror), that the Mars Mission MT-101 Armoured Drilling Unit had a further 20% off at Carrefour!!! Just as I was really tempted to pick it up too, but even then, at $70 it was still a big buy, so I resisted and didn't pick it up.

Butttt I went back after the Falcon trip and got it anyway (Mars Mission MT-101 Armoured Drilling Unit, $71.90) : So much for self-control heh. Anyway, the set is REALLY good, the build was fun, and the final product, quite amazing! The beast is huge, and I really like the way the other components hook up to the main body.

I also picked up the two tiny MM sets today, the Mini robot and Alien Jet sets ($5.50 each), very cute, but without any of the bigger sets, don't really serve a purpose. Will see if I can do anything else with the pieces :)

In other news, going to Bangkok for a much needed break after the exams! Everything's booked, just need to research on good shopping places and all : ) Can't wait for the term to end!

Updates for the last week of Feb

Well, didn't really get that much stuff over the last week of Feb. Carrefour had a 20% off on all Hasbro stuff, which was a nice surprise, so I picked up the probably-last new mold for the Movie line, Deluxe Stockade ($26.90 before discount). His transformation IS amazingly simple. Nifty figure none the less :) Also picked up 3 more Galactic Heroes sets, Anakin (Clone Wars) & Clone Trooper, Dark Side Anakin & Clone Trooper, and Emperor & Clone Trooper ($8 after discount). Eh yeah, all Clone Trooper sets heh. I have like, hmm, quite a few Clone Troopers already :)

The gf also came back over the weekend! She got me the two smaller Exo-Force sets from the last line, River Dragon and Battle Arachnoid, as well as a spare Shadow Crawler which was sale-ing off for AU$14. It's so sad that this is the last installment of Exo-Force, cos if the two small sets are anything to go by, this could be the best of the line yet! Alas, they're cutting the line, sadness is me :(

Oh yes, almost forgot, I picked up Movie Realisation Eva 1 from Mike as well, looks VERY nice! Haven't had the time nor space to open it yet tho, will do so soon!

Pata pata pata pon~!

The english version of Patapon finally came out over the weekend, it makes SO much more sense now I actually understand what the little eyeballs are saying. It's a bit of a drag replaying the front, since I went through them on the JP version already, but it's interesting to see what they're actually saying.

I went back to CC to pick up the Legends Bumblebee vs. Scorponok two pack ($17.90) on Sunday, after visiting the Madhouse sale AGAIN, and finding another Lightsaber ($8)! The two little figures aren't bad, Bbee is a little boring, pretty much a Micromaster, but Scorponok's really quite articulated and detailed for a two inch tall toy. I have placed him on Megatron's shoulder as his loyal pet, muahaha.

Yesterday, I picked up the latest KR Kids (Kiva arrives!) ($19.80) as well as the Leia Boussh and Han Carbonite Galactic Heroes ($10) set from another CC branch which had a better paint job. I really like the little buggers (both the KR Kids and GH), pity I don't have the space to display them.

Also finally watched Sweeney Todd today after a meeting, it should have won an Oscar for most gratuitous use of Fake Blood in a musical, SERIOUSLY. Not a bad watch, the visuals were beautiful (somehow London during the 18th century is always dark and gloomy), the music wasn't bad (Depp's voice is a bit low, Helena Bonham Carter's a bit flat) and the story was really pretty interesting. Surprise twist at the end, and ultimately, the musical is meant to be a tragedy. Would be interesting to see a staged version of this : )

Hasbro Warehouse Sale. More like MADhouse sale.

So Hasbro held a warehouse sale from the 22nd to the 24th of February, at the usual warehouse place, Toa Payoh SAFRA (for some reason all warehouse sales are there :)

I wen down after class on the first day, reaching slightly before 12. Now, they advertised Transformers in their ad, so I was expecting EVERYONE to be there for TFs. And boyyyy was I right.

Everyone there was basically scouting for TFs. By the time I reached, most of the good stuff was gone. There were DVD MP Primes, Cybertron Primus and Supreme Starscream, some old Alts, old Cybertron and Energon basics, deluxes and ultras, and some movie stuff too! (Leader Megs and Brawl apparently, spotted a bashed up Swindle and accessory-less 74' BBee) Oh, also some Beast Wars 10th Anniversary stuff and Universe as well. I managed to pick up Cybertron Mudflap (GF Demolisher) for $18 which I kinda forgot I didn't have, as well as loose in card Cybertron deluxe Optimus Prime (repainted Armada STD Convoy) for $2, loose in card cos the figure was definitely played with, put back in the card, and resealed with tape. In fact a good lot of the stuff there were returned goods. Other stuff I managed to pick up:

Xevoz (All $2 each)
Sky Grinder
Sledge Trooper
Moon Stalker Vs Hemo Goblin (Opened before, HG has two of the same thighs)
Shadow Blade Vs Bone Cutter (Opened before, not sure if anything's missing)

Galactic Heroes ($3 each)
Obiwan and Sandtrooper
Super Battle Droid and R2-D2
Hoth Luke and Han
Mace Windu and Kit Fisto
Lando and Skiff Guard
Chewbacca and Clone Trooper

One of the hot items at the sale was the Electronic Lighsaber (only $8 from $69.90!), which I managed to get a Anakin/Darth Vader colour changing one! Thing was the box was opened, so it was a risk that it might not work, but thankfully it did! Someone actually came up to me and offer me two others as well, a misb Mace Windu one and a Count Dooku one, both of which I eventually didn't get, although I sorta regret giving the Mace Windu one up to someone. Hope the guy enjoys it!

I was really disgusted by the "familiar" faces (read: CSC, ST, other scum from dunno where) hoarding the good toys there. They had multiple TF figures, and SW stuff and everything! When I went down again today (23rd), it was really sad to see little kids wanting TFs ("Mommy, I wan Transformerrr") but being sorely disappointed as they sifted through the remainders, while two guys stood at one side with their TF haul, talking about how they're gonna bring it back to their shop.

I hate scalpers.

In any case, I picked up a 70th Anniversary Monopoly set for only $15!! Great find, gonna head back there to get one more set for the niece tmrw : )

I went over to the sis' place today as well, so I dropped by CC, and found the latest wave of Galactic Heroes! Couldn't resist the little buggers, and got the following ($10 each):

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul
Aayla Secura and Commander Bly
Ki-Adi-Mundi and Commander Bacara
Commander Gree and Tarfful

I basically picked up all the clone trooper ones, and couldn't resist the Maul vs Obi-wan set either. Was really tempted to get Leia Boush and Han Carbonite set too! Very cool, hopefully they still have it next time I go by. Oh, and I FINALLY got my Vader/ Hologram Emperor and second set of Vader/Obi-wan from the idiot on Yahoo! who kept pushing off the meet up time. Bloody idiot.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Yup, CNY is finally here! And kinda into the fourth day already : How fast time passes.

Was pleasently surprised to know that RC had a CNY offer for the TakTomy version of MP G1 Starscream ($108), so I decided to head down to pick up a piece before resuming visiting on the 2nd day. I'm still wondering if TakTomy's gonna pull a stunner on all of us and release a MP SS with cape and crown. Highly possible, considering the MP SS has joints on the shoulder to accomodate.... something. That'll surely be a bitch if it really happens :

Got a pretty good haul for New Year this year, ang pow wise, gonna ration it and spend it as wisely as I can.

In other news, Exo-Force is slated to end after this year. Depressing! I really enjoy the series too! Now I'm just tempted to get every set ever released, sigh. I'm pretty close to completing the 2007 line, got almost all the sets below $65, the larger ones I'll have to wait for a sale or never pick up, cos seriously, $200 for a LEGO set is too much for me at this point. Someday perhaps, but not now.

I'm gonna miss you Exo-Force <:(

First TF Movie Figure on Sale!

As the title reads, Leader Brawl has officially become the first TF Movie figure to go on clearance! Happened to chance upon it in TRU Tampines, was there at the right time I suppose! He was going for HALF the price at $49.90! My patience in holding out on the figure finally paid off heh : )

Leader Brawl is a much better figure than the deluxe one, they should have done this one in the first place. The mold fleshes out a lot better at this scale, and looks a lot more menacing, a huge mechanical monster ala the movie. He's big, ratchety, and NOISY. Pressing the main gun cannon gives off a firing sound and lights, while rotating the secondary turret left or right produces chain gun firing sounds and lights until you straighten it again. Transformation's complex enough, but the sides of the tank are a bitch to fit together cos the arms have to be JUST right :

Still, recommended! Especially at that price =D

Also picked up one component of the Mugenbine repaint ($6) I've been hunting down recently, it seems like all the Comic Connections have cleared out of them. I should've just gotten them when they first came out last year : \

20% Storewide Sales: Gotta Love 'Em.

Metro had a storewide 20% off today, which I saw them putting up signs for LAST NIGHT, meaning I had to come back today : \

But it was worth it I must say! The sale extended to yellow tag items too, meaning they had a further discount of the already discounted price! So I picked up Exo Force Blade Titan ($30.50 less 20%) which I have been meaning to get for awhile, and Bionicle Gadunka ($29.90 less 20%). Also picked up a Robot Heroes Decepticon Sneak Atack 5 set for FW, I just love converting pple to TFs =D

I also went down to JL Marina yesterday to check out the sale, and picked up a spare SH Blade King Form ($14.95 with a further 20%: ), it's a cool set, and since it was $12, I thought what the heck. Heh.

And yes, my post about Incinerator and the Allspark cube on TFWorld 2005 was front paged, whoot! Only my fifth post there too! Glad the folks there appreciated the pics : )

A trip to the Hangar

Made my way down to Falcon's today after a really long time! Roy gave me some tips on studying for accounting mods after I told him how I was screwed by them (as usual) last term, which were really helpful! Reminds me why I feel so at home there : )

Anyway, picked up my SIC Kuuga Rising Form ($55) which has been sitting there for a long time, Galactic Heroes Luke and R2 ($5) (which I missed during the Falcon's sale) as well as Incinerator ($50)! Didn't know it'd be out so soon, and surprise surpsrise, the TakTomy Allspark figures come with a small Allspark cube! (Seen below in the hands of Landmine)

Fits into the palm of your hand!

Really cute little addition to the series, and a welcome one at that. Now to find a minature figure to feed the cube to Megatron's chest >: )

Pic of Incinerator

Apparently Allspark Stockade is out at TRU, shall have a look soon.

Robot Heroes Wave 2 complete!

BHG Bishan had a huge restock (relative to what most toy sections get in terms of TFs these days), which included the Allspark Wave 2 Deluxes, and both waves of the Movie Series Robot Heroes. SO, I picked up the last RH I was missing from Wave 2: Ironhide Vs Bonecrusher.

I must admit that the RH interpretation of the robots IS kinda wierd, and none more so represented than by IH and BC. Ironhide's head is alright I suppose, although they made a wierd sculpting choice to simply place flat plates for the side of his head. Bonecrusher on the other hand: WAY off from the movie design. His head's sculpted with a sort of bull look going for it, which can be seen by the card drawing of him. Really strange design decision, but hey, they're cute as hell, so what the heck.

All caught up with the Robot Heroes now, now to wait for the next wave of G1 and BW figures to arrive. In maybe June.