Toy Bender

I don’t know why, but I’ve been fairly lucky when it comes to finding G.I. Joe figures in stores. I recently spotted a few figures from wave 7 that I’ve been wanting for awhile. I swear the Wal-Mart that’s only a few blocks for me his horrendous for Star Wars figures, but has been pretty good to me for getting Joes.

(more…)

This weekend was a bit of a departure for me, because I spent a lot of money. Usually I’m a tight ass, but this weekend was the one where I had to buy the wedding bands for my upcoming wedding… now my future wife and I will be wearing the big fancy HD TV and new computer I want on our fingers. Huzzah!

In addition to that there is a comic book store in my area that was having a big sale. Now this place isn’t just a comic book store, it’s also a toy store of sorts. I don’t go there very often because I have the feeling that the store gets its figures through scalping… I mean how else did he get all the rare Star Wars figures selling at a high price without most of the common ones in stock? Well, because of the sale I finally broke down and bought a concept Boba Fett. I figured that it was better than buying one on eBay since I didn’t have to pay shipping at all. So yeah, I have one of those now.

(more…)

It’s my sad duty to relate on of my biggest toy hunt failures to date. Normally I like to hide my failures here from you dear readers (except for the obvious ones like my poor grasp on grammar and spelling), but this one was interesting enough in my opinion to share.

(more…)

Well, I finally found the mother lode after picking up the single carded 25th Anniversary Snake Eyes the other day. For this mission, I resorted to going to a K-Mart in the ghetto that had 30th Anniversary figures that I wanted. I figured I should try it again in case they had any McQuarrie figures laying around. Last time there was one of the ugly ass Chewbaccas that my roommate reluctantly ended up buying. By the way, when I say ghetto, I don’t mean Boyz in the Hood, but we did see an armed security guard there once and there’s about eight million liquor stores located on the same block so this store isn’t exactly nerd friendly. Still, if there are rare toys there, safety be damned.

(more…)

Oh yeah, we’re going old school Toy Bender… if old school was a couple of months ago. I finally had a toy hunt success in a retail store that I’d like to brag about. After months of anticipation and weeks of fruitless searching (which included major disappointment at the Hasbro Toy Shop booth at San Diego Comic-Con) I finally managed to bag a G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary figure at retail.

(more…)

You might be asking yourself, “Why am I looking at some poorly photographed pictures that some moron took of his stupid toy?” Why you ask? WHY!? This toy is super awesome, that’s why jerk. Now bear down for a face full of awesome, because it’s coming at you double quick.

The top down view.

(more…)

This rarely happens, but I had two successful finds in one week. While not as spectacular as finding the much craved for Boba Fett which I’m still on the prowl for …. I had been looking for this Cylon Raider for some time. Now I’ve got it to match my other Battlestar Galactica finds so I can appear even more geeky than I do now at work.

The Raider is a nifty representation of the classic flying disc/wing look established in the 70s series. The only feature it has is to look bad ass, which it does quite well. With this one down, the hunt is still out for the Battlestar Pegasus. To quote a line from the epic film Wayne’s World, “It will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.”

Crap, now I have that awful version of Ball Room Blitz sung by Tia Carrere stuck in my head.

Toys, toy collecting, Titanium Series, Die-cast, Battlestar Galactica

My hunting continues. This last week I managed to finally snag at least one newer clone figure, the Airborne Clone Trooper.

I’ll admit it, I only bought it after some hesitation. What made the decision tough was that I already have the figure, since a version of the Airborne Trooper came in the Mace Windu Battle Pack, albeit he was a bit more purple. I was a little less than impressed with it back then, because the helmet feels kind of cheap and doesn’t fit the best. Yeah, I realize I’m being Picky Toy Collector Pete on that one, but I can’t help it I’m a geek. However since this was the first 30th Anniversary clone trooper that I’ve managed to see in a store, I picked him up after the hemming and hawing.

Hasbro has done a fantastic job with these cards, they practically qualify as art and it’s even more of a reason for me to keep him unopened. Now if I could only track down… oh… all of the rest of them I’d be happier.

Toy, toy collecting, Star Wars, Action Figure, clone trooper

Way back in the annals of Toy Bender, I geeked out over a classic version of the Transformer Soundwave reissue that I’ve been waiting for years to get made. After several delays, the elusive Transformer from my childhood is finally mine.

(more…)

For those of you who don’t care about my personal toy hunts, please visit your favorite internet pornography site until my next update. For the rest of you, I’m proud to say that my clone-less toy hunt streak has finally ended with the capture of two new troopers.

Lately, I’ve had zero luck finding any of the new clones. Today I just happened to leave work early (as I am sick) and I went to Target to pick up the finest sinus medication that money could buy. When I spotted a lone Padme Amidala as I approached the toy section, I knew that a new assortment had arrived recently. Had I gotten there on time? A quick search revealed the truth. To my amazement, I found two clone troopers that I’d never seen waiting for me on the peg hooks and not in the hands of some other greasy, less deserving Star Wars nerd.

Pictured left is the Elite Corps Clone Trooper, who is most famous for fighting under Yoda and then failing to gun him down. Chumps. The Clone on the right is the Combat Repaint… I mean Combat Engineer. I’m not sure, but I believe that the Engineer has already made an appearance in a Wal-Mart exclusive three pack when Revenge of the Sith came out on DVD. Fellow Star Wars nerds, please correct me if I’m wrong.

While I’m still hunting after a few more troopers, it makes me feel good that I actually was able to find at least two of them without having to resort to paying high prices from either an online retailer or eBay. Shewww. Next on the list: Clone Trooper Sergeant, Commander Appo, and whatever clone related figure Hasbro has up its sleeve.

Toys, toy collecting, action figure, Clone Trooper, Star Wars, Hasbro

These last few weeks have seen some pretty good toy hunts. My latest success came a little earlier this week. While procuring much needed supplies of Ramen noodles, my roommate made mention that he’d seen the G.I. Joe Morey Hydrofoil at Toys R Us on clearance. We headed over to said Toys R Us at top speed, because little did he know I’d wanted one of these for about a year.

The G.I. Joe Hydrofoil was one of the very last G.I. Joe toys (lately at least) to come out in the 3 3/4ths line that was a remake of an 80s Joe toy, and therefore it appeals more to my taste in that era G.I. Joe. I’d wanted to buy this bad boy when it first came out, but the 40 dollar price point held me back. Since I’d never seen one actually sold, I figured I was doing okay by waiting until it either went on clearance or there were only a couple left. Then right after Christmas they were gone. I figured I had either missed the big sale or they’d gone to some toy reseller in the sky. However, I managed to pick one up thanks to my friend’s off hand comment.

I can say I’m satisfied both with my bargain hunting and with the quality of the Hydrofoil. To be honest, the original is better, but this guy is an adaquet substitute. Plus, it comes with Beachhead and one of my favorite Joes of all time, Flint. It only took me twenty years, but it feels good to finally have a Flint. Now to get a Lady Jaye so he has someone to make out with.

toys, toy collecting, toy hunt, G.I. Joe

While I was back home over the holidays, I didn’t have a whole lot to do during the daytime hours as I suffered a two pronged lack of both internet access and videogames. To keep myself entertained in between Sci-Fi channel airings of Airwolf, I did a lot of toy hunting. Trudging through the bleak, wet Wisconsin weather was only rewarded in most cases with the usual post-Christmas toy drought. I did see some neat offerings here and there, most notably some brand spanking new Lego sets and a Jetfire which I’m still kicking myself for not buying. Still, I was a little disappointed in the overall lack of Star Wars goodies. It wasn’t until I went to my favorite Target (where I’ve had a lot of success in the past) that I had my most notable find. I didn’t see anything at first and was a little let down as I thought my luck there had run out. It wasn’t until I went down the 50% off clearance aisle that I was blown away with Toy Hunt awesomeness. There were at least 15 Mace Windu Attack Battalion Battle Packs just waiting for a loving home.

I had given up all hope of ever seeing one of these bad boys in the store and now there were more than I could handle at ten bucks a pop. This is the kind of find I’m always hoping for when cruising around a store, but never end up seeing. Being the idiot I am, I spent what little cash I had for four of them. Anyway, this set is really neat as it features an Airborne Clone Commander and three troopers (only two are pictured above), all of which are super articulated. They wouldn’t be Mace Windu brand troopers without a hint of purple, so these guys come with a purple accented paint scheme. I wonder why Mace is so obsessed with accessorizing to match his lightsaber from his space ship to his clones. I bet anything he’s got a nice hand bag and a pair of purple pumps for when he goes out. Mace Windu: Jedi homo? Anything is possible!

Toys, toy collecting, action figure, Mace Windu, Clone Trooper, Star Wars, Hasbro