Merry Christmas!

A huge Christmas tree at Takashimaya Shopping Centre in Singapore

Here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and an awesome New Year ahead! It's going to be a hot Christmas here... 38 degrees C. expected! HOT HOT HOT! Anyway, have a good one, folks!

Bot-hunting in Singapore (Part 4) - Along Orchard Road

earthx store front

Found more specialty toy shops at a place called Far East Plaza. There are plenty of clothing and accessories stores that kept the missus occupied while I went round my hunts. Most of the toy shops here are located on the top floor. First shop I'd stumbled upon was earthx.

Better view of the little shelves in the store

Some bots on display with other cute stuff

Here they had heaps of little acrylic shelves that were filled with toys from different genres. Been informed that most of these little shelves were rented by collectors trying to sell off bits from their collection so pricing varies from one shelf to another. Found the complete TF Binaltech series of bots here but they were going for thousands. Otherwise, there were heaps of little cute Japanese toys there which the missus bought. Both owners of the store (husband & wife I believe) were busy bidding on Ebay items. Ha.

Next door was Toy Quest which had a wide variety of action figures. Pricing was a little steep if you'd asked me. Lots to see tho.

Action figures aplenty!

Care Bears!

Oh, if anyone in Oz stumbles upon the 2 MISB Care Bears to the right of the pic above (blue & yellow ones), please please email me as I'd like to get em for me wife.

One shop to check out is Movie Replicas aka TFH (The Falcon's Hangar). Prices are competitive (but not entirely the best) and they bring in heaps of new and vintage items. New stuff usually go for less than retail but it still pays to scout around. Here's where I saw the recently released KO Metroplex. Man, the box looked horrid IMO... very poorly done with overly dark colours. Could tell it was a fake in a glance. Wanted to check out the bot itself (triple sealed with tape on each end of the box) but the shop owner was only willing to let me view the toy if I paid for it first (WTH??). There was no display piece to view and not being able to look at what I'm gonna get, I decided against buying the KO bot for anyone (sorry dude!). It was going for SGD150 btw. Too high for any KO IMO.

KO Metroplex

Bot-hunting in Singapore (Part 3) - Along Orchard Road

Cineleisure shopping and movies complex

Orchard Road is the main shopping district in Singapore whereby hotels and shopping malls are situated throughout the long stretch of road (it'll probably take about 2-3 days to visit every single store). Great deals can be found here, especially in the departmental stores like Takashimaya, OG, Metro, etc as they conduct regular toy sales for current items eg. TF Movie items, recent Japan TF releases, etc. Specialty toy shops sometimes get their supply of toys from these sales and re-sell these items to collectors. So grab these bargains before they do!

Shop front

Bots!

There is a specialty toy shop selling bots located in Orchard Road called Rapid Culture. The variety there is considerable considering the small size of the shop. Prices aren't cheap and advertised prices for some items are marked up by at least 20-30% compared to the other specialty toy shops located on the outskirts of the shopping district. Guess the rent there affects pricing considerably. There was nothing there that I needed so I'm not sure if they're open to discounts on big purchases. Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Movie bots

Binaltechs

More Binaltechs!

Bot-hunting in Singapore (Part 2)

The crowd at CSC

When in Singapore, one just has to visit CSC (China Square Central if I'm not mistaken) on SUNDAYS if you're a toy collector and looking for good deals (notice that I don't use the word "bargains" as they're hard to come by these days and prices aren't as good as they were the last time I'd visited... it's probably due to the increasing demand for toys. There are still bargains to be found... you just gotta be very patient and do a thorough search and comparison of prices. I guess good luck counts as well)

Transformers
CSC's normally an ordinary shopping mall cum office building during the weekdays. It's a short 5-10 minute walk from the local train station at Chinatown. On Sundays and only Sundays, it comes alive when both small and big time toy sellers gather to peddle their wares.

Stalls along the aisle

Toys, toys, toys!

Pricing varies as there are small make-shift stalls (basically tables set up along the aisles) and permanent stores competing for customers. Most make-shift stalls are set up by collectors trying to clear their collection or by toy stores not located within the vicinity.

More toys!

Unless you're really desperate for an item, I'd suggest walking around and asking different stalls for their prices... haggling IS accepted (more so for the small stalls). I made the mistake of rushing and jumping on a purchase as the price was way below retail for a particular Kamen Rider figure only to be disappointed to find a cheaper price in a stall located in the lower floor) So always take your time...

You're always welcome to look at and inspect an item but if you purchase it, don't expect to return it or attempt to get a refund if you find a better bargain elsewhere. Once a purchase is made, that's it. So once again, always haggle down prices! It never hurts to try (quote realistic prices, of course! Asking for 50% off anything would only result in rude stares or words. Ha!)

Transformers, Kamen Riders, SIC and more!

Yummy vintage Transformers

Vintage items abound in some stores... always do a double take on MISB bots and be weary of KO's. Most sellers will inform you if an item is an unofficial remake aka KO. When in doubt, ask.

Binaltech Smokescreens to your left! At SGD230 each!!!

I was looking for a MISB KO Mirage for a friend in the US but KO's seem to be very hard to come by. I did come across the recently released KO Metroplex in one of my bot-hunts later on that week, but I'll talk more about that later.

Macross bots stacked up to the ceilings!

Bots and more bots!

There was heaps to see but unfortunately nothing really caught my eye as I was specifically looking for bargains... in the end, my only purchases for the day were a MISB Takara Robot Masters Mirage which I got at a great price and the Kamen Rider action figure. I was happy with that.

Stalls along the CSC bridge

Bot-hunting in Singapore (Part 1)

Vivocity's TRU entrance

Haven't been updating this blog for ages mainly due to a new job but now I'm back with heaps of photos from our much-deserved recent holiday trip to Singapore... and the first stop? Toys R Us in "new" shopping mall Vivocity (new to me that is... it wasn't there the last time I was around the area).

Transformers!

Check out the Movie Optimus Prime convoy display that's stacked with bots! Cool, eh?

Close up of some of the bots available. Starscream's going for SGD149.90 bucks! Waaaaay OVERPRICED I'll say! Australia's TRU are selling em for only 99 bucks.

Pleasantly surprised and so very tempted to get the Japanese Takara-Tomy release of Beast Wars Optimus Primal and Megatron but resisted the urge as it was only our 2nd day in Singapore. They were retailing at SGD59.90 each (thankfully I didn't get em as I found another store selling em as a set for SGD79.90! And that's before any store discount!)

Me and the huge in-store Gundam at TRU! Gotta love it!

KR's

Kamen Riders in abundance and at 30% off retail prices! Bargains galore!

More KR's...

And that wraps up the first lot of photos... next up, toys and more toys at the "flea-mart"!

Toys from Derek!

Caught up Derek and Kristin at CSC in Singapore and was blessed to receive stacks of toys from him that he'd gotten for me before my trip there. Received a MISB K's Factory Kamen Rider Kaixa (which is proudly displayed in my glass shelves now), variant Ironman from Hasbro's Marvel Legends series 1 as well as 4 figures from Toybiz's Marvel Legends Mojo series which completes my ML Mojo series lot. Yeah! Thanks, Derek!

Takara Masterpiece Starscream MP-3

Got me a Masterpiece Starscream through the post today (many thanks Gutsman!). Gotta say that this bot is way lighter than what I was expecting. Considering the many reviews and feedback from collectors that I'd read before about MP SS, I was still very much surprised by the weight (or rather the lack of it).

Generally, when it comes to Masterpieces, one would expect the best of everything to be pumped into the toy so that the name befits the item in question. However, in the case of SS, I'm kinda disappointed... the lack of diecast metal bits actually tarnishes the Masterpiece brand name quite significantly seeing as how MP Optimus Prime has set the high benchmark for the amount of diecast in TF Masterpieces (just love diecast... yesssss). The quality of plastic used for the toy should also be improved upon as there were heaps of unsightly white stress-marks seen at the joints of the toy upon transformation (especially at the wings).

Sculpt-wise, MP SS is a beauty waist-up... waist-down the legs could've been done better. The kibble we get hanging on both sides of the waist are an eyesore... it also limited the range of motion for the hip joints which then limited poseability which is a big thing for me as I love posing me bots.

So what do I like about it? Well, one thing I like about MP SS is the cool gimmick incorporated into the head... the ability to switch faces... one that's kinda serious in appearance with another that pulls a sly grin. That was a thumbs-up IMO. The jet mode for SS is just fantastic and very realistic, much like the Yamato Macross 1/48 scale VF jets. There are heaps of detail and you get multiple panels which can open and close... much like the actual plane. You'll also get a figure of the Professor who gets to sit snugly into the cockpit and the cockpit actually shifts upwards so that it is parallel to ground when SS is in bot mode. Thus sparing anyone (unfortunate enough) who's in the cockpit from being in an uncomfortable position. I thought that that was a cool and thoughtful feature... for the little passenger, that is.

Oh, I didn't quite like the sticker sheet that came with MP SS . It had a dull appearance (in terms of clarity) and when pasted on SS, you could see the borders of the sticker in the background. The choice of clear stickers would've made heaps of difference.

So yeah, unfortunately I'm not very impressed by this bot mainly due to the quality issues... it's not worth the money it's going for. The design is great but the choice of melancholic colours in bot-mode becomes very apparent and SS just seems way too dark even for a Decepticon.

Would I recommend it? Maybe the anime-correct version that Hasbro's gonna come out with (is it out yet?) would be a better option than this Takara version. At least then, even if the same plastic is used, you won't be able to spot the stress-marks due to the lighter shade of plastic of the anime-correct version... plus the cost should be much lower compared to Takara's. Oh, there's also Skywarp to consider and black never goes out of fashion. B+

Trading Post: Iceburn

Just some confirmation pics of the Energon bots Iceburn is looking into. Hope the images help, dude. Pardon the tacky table-cloth!

More Transformers K.O.'s popping up

Well, look what we've got here? A MISB Gen1 Mirage in all its minty goodness. Looks case-fresh, eh? Well, it IS. It's one of those recent "reissues" that have been flooding the market which are basically very very well done knock-offs (that's comparing em to the KO's that were done a decade ago).

Hasbro Commemorative Starscream VS Takara original Starscream

Would I recommend getting one? Well, it depends... these KO's do fill that strong demand from collectors for Gen1 toys in their original Gen1 style boxes. Just take a look at what Takara did with their initial reissues. Gen1 style boxes with minimal changes to their design and the toys were exact replicas of the Gen1 bots. In keeping with the times (and to cut cost/weight and maybe attempt at being "environmentally friendly"), the internal packaging for the bots were done in clear plastic and not the styrofoam of old. Were collectors happy with that? Very much so, judging by how fast those were flying off the shelves and how much they were going for on the secondary market. That was a successful formula.

Takara book reissue Broadblast aka Blaster

Then came Hasbro with their commemorative series of Gen1 bots. Their packaging designs (which were copied after Takara's book reissues) just somehow didn't do it for most collectors.

Hasbro Commemorative series Dirge
Sales weren't as hot as the Takara ones (Takara, being the quicker of the 2 to release their Gen1 reissues, probably ate most of Hasbro's market share). Furthermore, Hasbro's reissues had the extremely irritating child-safety modifications done to the toys (this seriously ruined the bots for me). Optimus Prime now came with chopped off smoke-stacks, most of the Autobot cars and Decepticon jets came with thick elongated missles which were such an eyesore.

Comparison shot of original and Commemorative Optimus Primes' smoke stacks
That was a dismal attempt at trying to cater to both generations of kiddies. Most collectors chose the Takara bots over the Hasbro ones (when they were given a choice) due to the authenticity of the mold and box design. Kids of today don't give much of a thought for the reissues as they're spoilt for choice in the action figures department and their expectations for toys exceed our simple ones of yesteryear.

Hasbro reissue Optimus

Takara's first reissue Optimus

Now these KO dudes have caught wind of the Gen1 starved collectors hunger and have decided to come out with these exact replicas. Heaps of collectors are stumbling... I don't support the KO dudes but I don't blame the buyers. At least now they can purchase their favorite Gen1 Mirage or Swoop in the box and reminisce about the good ole days without having to fork out a fortune.

Honestly speaking, I'm really hoping that Hasbro would reissue the Gen1 bots in their original Gen1 style boxes. That would seriously kick a**. But yeah... enough of my day-dreaming.

KO Wheeljack in the making?

So yeah, get 'em KO's if you truly like 'em... just don't complain about the lack of quality control as they do come with issues.