Open The Toy

McDonald's Grimace Hello Kitty

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:16:00 +0000

It's the second week of McDonald's Hello Kitty and it is time to get the Grimace Hello Kitty.

Originally in the whole series, Grimace was one of the least Hello Kitty I would go for but after I opened up the toy, it is one of the best of Hello Kitty in the McDonald's series so far.

Now why was she the least in my opinion? Firstly it has to be the character of Grimace. A purple fat creature which I have no idea what he feed on to get that fat...Oh wait maybe too much fast food. But can you imagine Hello Kitty being FAT?

Since I have to collect the whole series, I went for it. There is nothing special about the design for Grimace which is just plain purple. So Hello Kitty had to wear the plain purple suit and they gave her a hoodie. From the back of Grimace Kitty, she is just plain purple.

On top of the hood, was the face of Grimace smiling away. I don't think many even notice it the face as the whole white Hello Kitty face stood out of the plain purple.

Now what changed my mind was you can actually remove the hood and show the full face of Hello Kitty. That was the turning point why I find this Grimace Hello Kitty fun. When you remove it, you thought is just Hello Kitty wearing a purple hoodie suit. No one will know it is Grimace.

So long no one see the Grimace's face at the back.

Since I can remove the hood, I went further to play with the hood and come out with this like a sleeping bag for Hello Kitty. This is not the official way but it sure look cute! LOL

Since I can put on the hood, I pull the hood all the way up and cover the ribbon and now the face of Grimace is so prominent. LOL

You can still restore the look of Hello kitty by showing the ribbon which I thought somehow the ribbon spoil the looks.

See how many looks you can produce for this Hello Kitty? That is why I find it is the most fun Hello Kitty in the series where the kids can play around the looks and be creative.

So that is all for McDonald's Grimace Hello Kitty review. If you have yet to get this design, do it as it is fan removing the hood and put the hood back. LOL

Do you like the removing feature of this Hello Kitty?

Transformers Bot Shots Optimus Prime Launcher

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:24:00 +0000

When you see Optimus Prime and a trailer, a true Transformers fan will be tempted to get it. So how can I resist this set when I saw it on retail?

On the packaging, it stated clearly that the trailer is a Launcher that will launch Optimus Prime in vehicle mode to speed. If that is not enough for you, the battle is done by crashing each other in vehicle mode. Now how cool is that?!

At the back of the packaging are the status of this Optimus Prime which in Hand to Hand melee 920 points, Blaster or Gun mode 450 points and Saber mode 280. Not to mention Optimus Prime hauls his trailer into battle.

Now it is a norm that most toys were produced in China but for these series, it is made in Vietnam. Surprise? Well I am. Not that I am complaining as the quality of these series is quite good.

Time to Open the Toy and first off let's check out Optimus Prime in bot mode.

This Optimus Prime is mainly in G1 design for head and some part of the body.

The standard Red and blue color stand out for Optimus Prime and with a large base, Optimus Prime can balance well as a bot mode.

On the flip side from his back, you basically see the whole vehicle mode.

Now there is a filp-able chest piece that consist of the 3 different status of Optimus Prime power for the game.

Optimus Prime cuteness is to max in vehicle mode. You can see it has became a SD Truck.The triggering point for the transformation is the front bummer.

Just press that front bummer, the whole vehicle will change to robot mode instantly. Personally, I love the Autobots logo that is on it.

As a truck, this Optimus Prime had already carry a mini trailer.

Here is how Optimus Prime looks with it back fliping in vehicle mode.

But that will be in pale comparing to the ultimate trailer for Optimus Prime. The big red logo of the Autobots so proudly wear that on!

To engage Optimus Prime with the trailer, all you got to do is to match nicely.

Once it had link up with the trailer, the full glory of Optimus Prime is up!!

Here is how the bottom of this mode look like. All in all, in this mode, there are only 6 moveable wheels while they had total of 10 wheels.

Now on the Trailer itself, we know that it is a launcher. To open up the trailer there are two ways. One is to press the canon looking point on top. The whole trailer will just spring open.

Another way is to press the bummer at the back of the trailer.

The trailer will opened up and you can see two blaster canons that allow you to pull it out

Now all cannons are equipped.

To set the launcher, you just need to pull the stand back and if it further enough, it will locked into position for you to load Optimus Prime.

With that, you are ready to Roll out into battle!

With the click on the button, off it goes!

Finally here is a short view of Optimus Prime Launcher in action!

Well I will certainly get some more Bot Shots as my son love this series already as he is now playing with it.

Do this review make you fall in love with this series too?

K'NEX Mario Kart Wii

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:31:00 +0000

In recent years, one of the iconic game in Nintendo Wii would be Mario Kart. It was successfully because of the characters and game play of the vehicles. So it wouldn't take long for Toy manufacture like K'NEX to product these toys.

Combine with brick construction to made your own vehicle attracts fans of the game. Just look at the variety of the vehicles in various CC. LOL

How can we forget about the characters which was another iconic characters all in one package. They allow the figures to come in blind packs. It's pretty cool.

You can use the feeling of your finger tips to feel and buy these toys.

Looking at the figures already a good reason to collect the series.

Writing this post make me feel like playing Mario Kart again. Do you have that feeling too?

NECA Assassin Creed Brotherhood Hidden Blade

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Silent! I'll KILL YOU!

I am so going to get this if I can laid my hands on this.

Yes Assassin Creed fans, this is the first official hidden blade produced by NECA from Assassin Creed Brotherhood which schedule to be release in June 2012!

I love the metal feel of this gantlet. As a toy, it is just a soft plastic painted metallic silver. At least NECA do the weathering effect that look great!

There will be a button that spring the blade to full length. How cool is that?

Here is a video of the hidden blade in action at a Toy fair.

I am so going to get one of this to play! The pricing is around USD $30.

Will you be getting one too?

Transformers Bot Shots Released in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:27:00 +0000

As I was going for Toy Hunt last week, I discovered that the new Transformers series toys named BOT SHOTS just released in Singapore retail. The design look so SD and cute! What's more they are fun to play and collect too!

The Bot Shots series was a toy series in support of Hasbro online game (Bot-Shot.com)

Beside having Autobots and Decepticons team, these figures comes with regular packaging and some special ones which comes with the Launcher or to many we known as Trailers. The first two of the series is no other than Optimus Prime...

And Megatron which vehicle mode is Transformers movie, Dark of the moon series design, the trailer was quite different. A good thing is that they gave Megatron the G1 head. Super cool!

At the back of the packaging it has the summary of how to play the game from these toys.

Here is an official advertisement of what is this Botshots series about.

For single pack Decepticon is Thundercracker in G1 design totally!

Lockdown in Transformers Animated design

Barrage with Transformers Movie design...

And finally Starscream in his G1 design

For Autobots, there is Sentinel Prime in Transformers movie design with a special version as he is in translucent red! I guess he is special in this case.

Megatron in single pack is also in translucent. I guess they wanted to get collectors to collect different variant.

Bubblebee was given the G1 head which I really love while the vehicle was more of Transformers Movie Dark of the Moon vehicle design.

There are much more characters in retails which I had not cover and more to come in the future release.

This line certainly get me interested for it's design and most of all the price point for kids.

That being said, I will be doing a review of these guys this week. So come back and check it out later!

Guess which one will I start the review on?

Hamburglar McDonald's Hello Kitty

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:51:00 +0000

The first of four in the series is Hello Kitty in Hamburglar outfit.

The toy comes with a simple packaging in McDonald's and on the plastic packaging was this concept drawing of Hamburglar Hello Kitty.

The normal red ribbon of Hello Kitty was replaced with Hamburglar theme of Black for the ribbon. Personally I find if the design throw in the Hamburglar hat will be complete but that would have cover very much of her head and spot the trademark of Hello Kitty.

The back of Hamburglar Hello Kitty was the cape which is iconic to Hamburglar and not to mention the red gloves and red boots. Hm... a Puss in boots. LOL

Drilling down to details, the Hamburglar's tie had an icon of Hamburger and they did a good layer job between the collar, tie and the shirts.

Even between the shirt and the pants, it was actually layers sewed in neatly. No loose thread and the trademark label of McDonalds on the back of left feet.

The eye and the nose was a sew on and not buttons like the old McDonalds Hello Kitty.

Talking about the old McDonalds Hello Kitty, here is a comparsion between the latest Hello Kitty and the old ones.

Can you see the differences in height? The old Hello Kitty come with round flat feet that can stand well on it's own unlike the current model which is just a plush feet.

Now coming to the subject of this series of McDonalds Hello Kitty, do you know how it was originated?

It all originate in Hong Kong last year 2011where McDonalds had a crossover with Hello Kitty. Below was an advertisement in Cantonese from Hongkong during that time of promotion.

There were more items offer during the promotion in HongKong such as bag and cards and even the Hello Kitty comes in boxes with McDonald's characters and Hello Kitty drawing on each side. Those could be for collector's who want to keep them Mint in Box.

Over all the opened Hamburglar Hello Kitty is still as cute as she can be. ")

Attended Gundam Unicorn Episode 5 Screening

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Just came back from the awesome Gundam Unicorn episode 5 screening at Shaw Lido Singapore today. Indeed it was a great experience once again to join with Gundam fans to catch this on big screen.

It was just 930am in the morning at when I was there, I saw a long queue of Gundam fans redeeming their tickets. I was early, there were much earlier than me!!

But the earliest goes to the organizers of Bandai Singapore and Sheng Tai Toys as their workers arrived early to pack the gift pack which consist of the Gundam Unicorn 5 booklet original from Japan, the movie poster and SD Gundam game.

As the fan redeeming the tickets, they were each given a lucky draw coupon to fill in their particular for after the show, there will be bonus lucky draw in appreciation for their support and added fun.

The screening was very organized as the fans orderly enter the cinema even thought it was free seating. Everyone chit chat about Gundam as we are waiting for show to start. The crowd was a mixed age group from children, teens to mature adults.

Warning spoiler ahead...

Regarding episode 5, it is more exciting than the previous episode as the Banagher Links is certain of his purpose to save and protect Audrey Burne. At the other end, Riddhe Marcenas got reject by Audrey as he was trying to protect her and that turned him against Banagher. As expected Riddhe would be turning to the dark side by piloting Banshee Unicorn.

As Audrey was escaping, Banagher triggered the next level of Gundam Unicorn mode turning red to green. As they were over powered, Neo Zeon came into the scene with Sinanju gracing the ending screen with his bazooka shot! The episode ended in a high note.

After the movie as the credit roll the lucky draw was conducted. There were 4 HG and 3 grand prizes to giveaway and everyone was so excited. All prizes were given away and the bonus was those who attended the screening can get 30% off all regular items Gunpla at Isetan toy departments.

Speedily fans hurried to the toy department and crowd around the Gunpla area to get the limited edition HGUC Banshee Unicorn and other limited items.

Even it was crowded, there was no conflict as fans got what they wanted and orderly queue up for payment.

The 30% discount was a big encouragement to get the Gunpla which they missed previously and everyone was happy.

I guess the big selling kit for this episode should be Banshee Unicorn and I have to admit that Banshee is cool!

The next episode will be in first quarter of 2013 and it will be a long time but till then, I know Gundam fans will wait.

Do you agree?

Gundam Unicorn 5 Offers

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:02:00 +0000

We are just a 3 more days away from the screening of Gundam Unicorn episode 5.

So around this time, many Gundam fans would like to know what are the special offers or exclusive for model kit. So here are what is on offer during this period of time.

Let's talk about exclusive and this offers only available on that day while stock last at Isetan at Shaw Lido building, Toy Department (fourth floor). While stock last.

This time round is a Clear version for Banshee in Destroy mode in HG scale.

If you would like to get the Blu-ray for episode 5, it is only on sale there on that day while stock last.

There will be two pre-order like HGUC RAAS-96 Anksha which will be releasing this month. This is a duel mode mecha.

In June will be ReZEL as Defensor B-Unit. Duel mode as well.

As we all know by now, there will be 2 more episodes to go for this series. Don't miss it and catch up if you can!

Smoothies from McDonald's

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Advertorial

This advertorial from McDonald and wrote by Michelle

It's summer all year round in Singapore and real fruit smoothies are a great way to go!

Introducing the new Strawberry and Banana and Mango and Pineapple Real Fruit Smoothies from McDonald's!

Both blended with ice and low-fat yoghurt to put you on the fast lane to refreshment.

I love the Strawberry and Banana Real Fruit Smoothie!

It was pleasantly sweet, unlike most fruit smoothies which are loaded with sugar causing me to crash afterwards. Surprisingly refreshing summer in a cup!

The blend was so smooth!

Sip yourself some happiness! S$3.45 for regular and S$3.95 for medium at McDonald's.

Say Hello to McDonaldland Hello Kitty Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Say Hello Kitty again!

Remember the Hello Kitty frenzy at McDonald's 12 years ago to celebrate the crossing of the Millennium with Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel dressed in wedding attires of different cultures?

Well, there's good news for Hello Kitty fans! McDonald's is partnering with Sanrio to introduce its first ever Limited Edition McDonaldland Hello Kitty plush toys!

Each McDonaldland Hello Kitty plush toy is available at S$3.60 each with every purchase of an Extra Value Meal (EVM) and customers are entitled to purchase one toy with every EVM purchased. So remember to order UP-size to be able to get this kitty.
Alternatively, customers can also purchase the toys separately at S$9 each.

Please take note of the date of release respectively.

Hamburglar Hello Kitty - 17 May to 23 May

Grimace Hello Kitty - 24 May to 30 May

Birdie Hello Kitty - 31 May to 6 June

Ronald Hello Kitty - 7 June to 13 June

This blog post is brought to you by our guest blogger Michelle. :)

What are you waiting for? Start queuing at McDonald's already! Whilst stocks last!

Are you getting them all? Meow~~

PSOne

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:05:00 +0000

When Sony rolled out their first Playstation in the mid 1990s and I was proud to own one of them and spend many hours on some instant classic games like Tombraider, Final Fantasy VII and much more. When Sony rolled out PS2, the original Playstation was given a name as PSOne.

Recently PSOne was been produced in a series of capusle toys and I managed to got hold on one of it.

The capsule consist of the main set, one controller and 1 CD of Playstation game.

The game CD I got was Arc the Lad. I never got a chance to play this game in my old PSone. The cover of the CD is the exact replicate of the actual game box artworks.

Back then most of the RPG were in Japanese and it took a long while to see English version producing.

Let's continue with the accessory before moving to the main set. Next would be the controller.

This controller design basically set a guideline to the future controller design.

The L1 and L2, R1 and R2 came in handy on much action game.

Next would be the memory card. This is where you saved your game.

Back then one memory card is around 8MB capacity and we have to pay like $50 for one.

The front panel has 4 opening which 2 are for the memory card reader and the other 2 for controllers.

The top is for insert of memory card for Player 1 (left) and Player 2 (right)

The bottom are for the controllers for Player 1 and 2.

The power and reset buttons are on the left and when the power is On, the green LED will light up on the actual station but on this capsule toy, it is always painted green.

On the right is the Open button and if you press on it, the cover of PSOne will open up. This toy do not have that function but the button is there for cosmic purposes.

When the cover is opened up, you will see the len of PSone.

Insert the CD in and start the game if you like.

At the back panel are the connectors to the TV. The connection is S-Video.

Not forgetting there on the right is the power plug.

I don't remember seeing much on the bottom of PSOne.

Finally a size comparison on this capsule toy for PSOne with my hand.

Looking at this PSOne brought me back to the years I owned this console. I had many happy times with this Playstation.

Bandai Pikachu Pokemon Model Kit

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:20:00 +0000

I wanna be the very best Like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause...

If you have read the above by singing, you are one Pokemon fan like I am. LOL

As many Pokemon that was introduce, I always having a deep liking on Pikachu. So when I read it has a model kit by it's own, I jumped on it to catch him with a Pokeball....

This is one palm size Pikachu with some features like ears movement as your twist his head.

I have put up a couple of Bandai model kit but I notice there are some differences on Pokemon model kit than the Gundam or Gunpla series. First of all, the whole instruction sheet was in full color front and back. I hardly seen both side in colors even in One Pieces Grandship series.

Secondly, I notice the customization of the runner using outline of Pikachu with the number inside. A nice touch and I appreciate that.

This model kit should be for younger kits as there are just 2 runners and the parts are pretty big and easy to break them into parts and assemble.

The model kit provide some stickers to complete the look of Pikachu but truthfully, it is necessary to do a bit of paneling to give Pikachu some depth. See how a white stickers as a spot bring Pikachu into life?

Within 20 minutes or less, Pikachu is completed! Hello Pikachu!

Just like it was stated in the packaging, by twisting the head, Pikachu's ears will flip up and down from side to side.

All I do was use a Gundam marker pen to do the paneling without coloring Pikachu already look good.

Here is the back view of Pikachu.Somehow looking from Pikachu's back makes me thing he is eating something...

Okay a closed up for Pikachu! He is so cute!

Have you ever look down from Pikachu before? Well here is how he would look like on the plan view.

Overall this Pikachu model kit met my expectation on easy build and great likeness of Pikachu in the Anime and Manga.

The downside this is not a 1:1 scale but I highly recommend Pokemon fan to get this Model kit as it is the best I know so far. Well done Bandai!

Is Pikachu your favorite Pokemon? If not which Pokemon is your favorite?

The Nemo in Gundam Unicorn

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Do you know there is a Nemo in Gundam Unicorn?

For hardcore Gundam fans, this may not be something new but for most other who are not, you may think of that too. LOL

Okay just for laughs. :P

Jailbird Jack Playmobil

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:05:00 +0000

Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more no more!

Don't ask me why I sung this song as I review this Playmobil but somehow that song just popped up.

Meet the Mr. Jailbird that I called him Jack and this is a review about him.

I tired my luck on a blind packed Playmobil fi?ures and this was what I got. A man in full jailbird black stripes clothing. As a prisoner, I have to do a Mug shot of him. Nothing personal as this is the procedure for all law offenders. :P

Beside having a hat with white base and black stripes, this figure only come with one accessory who is the chain iron ball. This was designed to slow down the prisoner in case he wanted to escape.

The only thing unique about this figure is to have double expression on one head back to back. Rather innovative. )

If you must know, according to the history, one such uniform is considered as a dress code of shame.

With the iron weight ball, generally restrict the movement of the prisoners and thus they like to sit around and wait for something else happening.

In the end of the day, you need not have to ask to know what Jack really want.

Now I wonder what offense had he made that landed him in Prison?

Kamen Rider DEN-O DX Dengasher Weapon Set

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sun, 06 May 2012 01:10:00 +0000

Due to the recent great offer on Kamen Rider gadgets beside getting a Den-O Zeronos belt, I got this Kamen Rider DEN-O Dengasher weapon that was on great discount too!

The thing I love this set was it can turn into 4 different weapons! From a Sword, Rod, Axe and finally a Gun! Now how cool is that?

The toy comes with sound and LED to enhance the playing experience.

Out of the box, there are four parts to play around.

One part of the instruction broke me to laughter warning the user not to pull up vertically toward the eye but rather horizontally. If someone will to do that, it will be rather stupid.

There is a hidden compartment for the 2xAAA batteries.

Not forgetting the LED lights and the ON/OFF switch for this toy.

First form I did was the Dengasher Gun Mode. I love this mode the best as it give a realistic feel and the structure is firm and good to hold.

In all mode, there is a trigger button for you to press and somehow it has the intelligence to detect which mode you are at and play the special effect sound. Pretty Neat.

Next I tried on the Dengasher Axe mode and for that you have to pull the axe blade out like below.

Combine with another part to give the Axe head more weight and substance.

Joint the rest of the parts to be the handle and the Axe mode is done. Although with long handle, the Axe on the hold still remain solid. Although it is not advisable to really go to the extend to hit anything with it. You may damaged the toy but worst casing injury to others not knowingly.

The Dengasher Rod mode is the simplest as all you need to do is to combine all the part horizontally and the Rod mode is done.

At the end of the handle there is this wheel like pulley which is similar to fishing pulley. Go fish!

Last mode is none other than the Dengasher Sword mode. For that I followed instruction to flip the end of the tip...I had no idea what was that in the beginning. What is that red tip?

Even after I completed the sword mode, I was asking myself, where is the blade?

I checked with the photo of the box and true enough that is the handle of Sword mode but the Full blade was not found. Only then it come to mind that the small red tip is the blade....

What happen to the rest of the blade? It was never there. It is for the imagination of the children to fantasies it. The small red rubber tip is just a representative of the blade. All this is done because of safety.

Although I understand the intention, I couldn't help but felt disappointed.

Nonetheless I enjoyed the mode change and I played with it a couple of time in various mode to familiarize the transformation. Among the four mode, my favorite is the Gun mode but my son love the rob mode as he thought it was a Train! So the way he play with it was to glide the rob as a train across the floor.

Since he was having fun with it, I do not want to correct him as he is entitle as a child for his own imagination. Most importantly for him is to have fun. :)

Kamen Rider DX Den-O Zeronos Belt

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Since young, I always wanted a Kamen Rider belt but never had the opportunity nor the finance to get one. I was browsing around at a toy department and notice a Kamen Rider belt is on great discount and since it is less than SGD$20.00, I decided to pick it!

It was DX Den-O Zeronos Belt!

The packaging is really colorful showing both form of Kamen Rider Zeronos.

On the packaging it stated that this belt will allow you to demo the Henshin pose if you wear it, LED light up, Sound and last of all card detection depending on which side of the card you inserted in.

Out of the box, the belt look amazing with great details and coloring.

As the belt will have sound and light, it need to run on batteries and in this case, 2 AAA batteries in the compartment behind the belt.

As for the ON OFF switch, it is located on top of the belt...

To transform, you need to have the card to do the simulation. It comes with a card holder which you can clip it on the belt.

The card has two sides and there is a red arrow on each side to tell you which side to head in.

You need to activate the trigger on top of the belt and a music melody will play. While it was playing, insert the card in.

Once the card is inserted to certain distance, it will pull the card in and the speaker will say out which form it is. As the card went in and the belt will said "Vega Form". The color in the center of the belt will rotate and form a path. Just look at the yellow stripes.

If you insert the other side of the card, it will be Altair Form.

You can catch a video of Kamen Rider Zeronos Henshin at the video below on youtube.

On the whole, the quality of the belt is quite good. Not too plastic and not so soft.It is ideal for kids to play with it.

The sad part is, I couldn't get the belt on as my waist line is too big... If not I will truly enjoy it thinking that I will be a Kamen Rider. LOL

I let my child to try it on and although he like what it does, the belt is too big to fit into. So I guess he have to wait. LOL

More Kamen Rider Haul since there are others on offers for me to grab!

Halo toys in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Another Halo line has reached Singapore in retail and this is for the 10 years of Halo that begin as a game.

This line comes with various version of characters in the series of Halo game history. There are single pack figures such as the famous Master Chief.

If you are want to build a team, there are packed in team with various accessories.

If you are a fan of the vehicles, there are various vehicles that comes with the figures too!

If you want your figure to be more accessories such as Armor, there are Armor Pack for you add on.

To complete your gaming experiences in the game, there are also a Team Objective packed with various flags and trophies.

These Halo toys are currently on sale in Singapore toy outlet as one of those in ToyRus. If you are a big Halo fan, go and get it!!

Bandai Thundercats finally in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:29:00 +0000

Bandai Thundercats finally reached Singapore and currently on sales in various retail outlet. With teh new and old goodies! Ho!!!

Firstly let us talk about the New Thundercats that is by Bandai.

There are various version in this toy line, starting from the 4" figures which comes in individual card package such as Lion-O and Tygra...

Wilykat and the big size Panthro

Cheetara, Mumm-Ra (untransformed form) and Wilykit.

There are a more deluxe with light up bases for display purposes for collectors which cost a bit more.

The 4" line comes with vehicle version too such as the Lizards

For Thundercats, there are the Thunder Tank with interactive features with the figures!

There are also Tower of Omen for kids to play out a face off between Mumm-Ra and Thundercats.

Bandai also offers a 6" figures with better details.

How can we forget the sword of Omen? Well Bandai did a children version of both sword and Claw.

If you are more serious about getting a more realistic sword, there is a fully extendable sword. I can imagine it is pretty fun.

If you are into the generation one Thundercats, There are currently vintage Lion-O and Tygra. I reviewed this version of Lion-O not too long ago and he is pretty worth it.

Thundercats are now out in retails in Singapore. Do check out and grab some if you are a Thundercats fan!

Each Sold Separately?

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:24:00 +0000

About a week ago, I got an email from a reader who wanted to share with me his shopping for toy experiences which totally put him off. Below was his sharing to me in an email.

*****************
Hi,

I would like share my experience I had while shopping for Lego sets for my child. We went to this particular outlet at Novena area and my child was attracted by their display in its shop front's showcase. They have some rare Lego set but I have noticed much of it has handwritten notes pasted on them.

In closer examination, those notes spelled out what was in the box and what was taken out of the box too. They actually tampered with the set by removing some figures and sell it at the other section as loose for a certain amount of price. Make sense as that earned them much more.

I was so closed to get a set for my kid but I stopped because the set was not complete and if I should get the complete set, I have to pay more to get those loose pieces to form a set.

As I peered into their display case to look at the figurines, there those loose figures were selling at different pricing. On top of that display was another handwritten sign informing the shoppers not to ask the sales staff to take out the figurines from the display counter unless they are certain of purchasing the item of interest.

First, they messed with the Lego sets and second, their audacity in telling customers not to bother the sales staff unless you are very sure of buying is an affront to my rights as a consumer to examine my purchase before I part with my money. They certainly not going to get my money even if they have what I wanted "separately".

I hope you can share my experience through your blog. As a consumer, we should have the enjoyment of browsing and looking at the wares within reasonable means. Most importantly, we should have the guarantee that what we purchased have had not been tampered with.

*****************

I can fully understand this reader point of view as a seller, they have the right to determine their pricing and the terms they want to sell it but for the customer, the service attitude in communication said more about the product they are selling and not to mention share their dissatisfaction. It is a open economy end of the day.

If a seller attitude already chase away normal consumers, how much more will it to the collectors who know what they want, the value of the products and where to sources it?

It sound so much like the following:

Really do you actually have to ask why?

Transformers Prime Ratchet Review

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Ratchet, one of the Autobots medical officer and in both Transformers Animated and Transformers Prime, the character and temperament have been consistent. Always serious, Always grumpy.

It took me sometime to get hold of this Transformers Prime Ratchet as he is pretty hot when he first release and patience pay off for this instant and I still got him for 15% off retail!!

Before I open the toy, I noticed there was a stats data on Ratchet and I wonder what is the use of this information? It is not like knowing this status can change the course of the game. Although I couldn't see the usefulness of it.

Out of the box, the Ambulance form of Ratchet look good as the shape and the color stand out. Nice and clean.

I love the clear blue window screen but I notice something is missing.

I look from the front to the back and the top but I notice there is no Autobot sign at all! Maybe that should be visible in robot mode as it make sense as the logo will giveaway much of the information if it is found on the vehicle mode.

The only weapon or accessories were two short blade which look more like a dagger.

The official recommendation propose to insert both weapons in the front bumper.

I tried it on and find it look interesting no doubt...

However I noticed there are two more such holes on top of the vehicle and it seems the right size for the weapon to be inserted as well.

And behold, this is the none official way of another used of the weapons. Act like an antenna if you asked me.

Before I transformed it to Robot mode, I want to touch on the scale which kinda bother me. Compare to Tranformers Animated Ratchet, the Transformers prime version look a bit smaller. That can be overlook as they are not from the same series.

Tranformers Animate Ratchet made a good point. Where your logo Ratchet?

But when comparing with Tranformers Prime Acree who bike form should felt intimidate with Ratchet but it was the other way around. Acree bike is bigger than Ratchet!

The show must go on...time to transform it to Robot mode

So here it is, Ratchet and he look much like the series.

He do look as stout as he is in Transformers Prime. After the transformation, I looked for the Autobot logo and true enough even in Robot mode there is no Autobots logo!

Instead I found this item code printed in red at one part of his leg...

If they can print this numbers, why can't they print a red color Autobot logo Hasbro?!

The face of Ratchet do like the animation.

As for the 2 blade weapons, it can be inserted onto his arms or the knee which is suppose to be the Ambulance front bumper.

I don't remember seeing much Ratchet uses these two blades in the show but these blade do look like a surgical knifes and some instant as cutlery. LOL

Can you smell what Ratchet is cooking? LOL

Overall this could be a better Ratchet by making it bigger and putting the Autobot logo on him like all Transformers toys should be.

Updates: Ratchet in Transformers Prime do have a Autobots logo on his left chest.

So that should be included in the toy. So far only TakaraTomy version comes with the sticker for that and not Hasbro.

Man in Black 3 Jakks Pacific Figures

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Man in Black aka MIB movie has been out for quite a number of years and there have not been much toys on it until now.

In line with the third movie release, Jakks Pacific design and produced the new MIB 3 figures in 4 inches scale.

In one of the series the figure comes with large accessories which are some of the iconic gadget from MIB. For Agent J (Will smith), a Neuralyzer (since MIB 1) that turned into a transport. For Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) the Noisy Cricket and another new character which is the Alien Orb.

If you are a MIB fan, this toy would be one for your collect.

Hottoys Captain America in Novemeber

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:17:00 +0000

News of the next release of the Avenger from Hot toys was out last week and it is none other than Captain America.

When I saw the figure preview I was really impressed as it capture the likeness of Captain America in the movie. It is something refreshing since for years Hot toys kept releasing Ironman in various suit. Now come one an Avenger who only wear a costume and fight head on with his shield. Respect!

The masked Capetian America look amazing.

You don't have to ask if this figure comes with the Mask off because it look more awesome without the mask.

With the action pose, Captain America look alive!

The figure comes with 2 head (mask on and off), 2 shields (one new and another weathered), a Alien weapon and 3 pairs of hands.

This Hot toys MMS174 The Avengers: Captain America Limited edition collectible figurine is marked around SGD$270.00 releasing in November 2012.

Personally I find this is one of the best looking Avenger so far. What do you think?

Playmobil Ballerina F?gures Series 2

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:31:00 +0000

I don't really get Female Playmobil but there are some in this series I wanted to get. Just to name a few would be the Female Vampire and Lara croft. I just try my luck and roll the dice to see what I will get.

IT was not my day as I got myself the Ballerina.Since she is a Ballerina, let's call her Angelina. :)

I am sure some girls would love it but for me, she is just too simple and lack of accessories. However she do have big brown eyes with thick eye lashes and a red cheek.

What mark a Ballerina?

First, her ballerina shoes. Normally it is white or silky pink.

Then it would be the Ballerina skirt that goes well when she dance especially spinning around.

Since she has long hair, she is required to tie her hair up with a ribbon.

For Playmobil deisgn, there are limited pose to pose the Ballerina and this is the best I can do for dancing.

My Ballerina is ready to dance and take the stage. I cannot imagine Playmobil made a male version of a ballerina to match her.

If you are into Ballet, this would be a good figure to collect and girls would not mind to get her as she is sweet.

Macross: Do you remember Why?

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I will share something today instead of review for the love of Macross...so to say...

Since my childhood days, Macross was one of the rare Japanese anime that screen on local television channel and I had followed the whole series after school daily. As the animation was a hit so were the toys. Toys ranges from original to bootleg, it was quite easy for much kids to get such toys. For kids, it really didn't matter it was original or bootleg.

I still remember original was heavy as the parts were diecast while the bootleg were much smaller in size that was made of plastic. However both bootleg and original can transform in all 3 modes.

After the original first generation series, I didn't follow up as first the local channel no longer aired the Chinese dubbed show and I do not have much access to rent VHS on the new series.

When I become a working adult, I decided to look for the good old generation VF-1J or VF-1S toys. By then, it is no longer diecast but it has moved to plastic produced by Bandai and Yamato. As I enter late, some of the new release cost closed to $100 and recently the prices went higher and higher till today around SGD $170 a piece.

Macross has moved from a mass toy to collectors market. Although they can earn a lot more from collectors market, the lifespan will be short. Can you imagine the generation which was the loyal fan is getting older and how many of them are falling out of this series for toy collecting?

I don't really blame them for making such decision to target the older fans who are financially sound but remember in the series of Macross, the only hot selling mecha is the first generation only. As the newer generation, it is pale in comparison in term of the Mecha. Thanks to the cosplayers scene, the female characters such as Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee created a brand for themselves and gave more exposure to the series which still the Mecha does not pick up.

In a few years time, the collectors will be getting old and how many more years do you think collectors will get your toys especially they were kept re-releasing and re-issued? If the generation one is the only selling product and they do not capture the newer generation of fans, it is certain that they will disappear from the market in time to come and even the older collector products will dropped in it value without the younger generation loving the series. Some of the hardcore Macross collectors I know is also cutting down in collecting due to the pricing.

I can do without a Macross in my collection although I still have a certain love for it. Maybe one fine day, I will get one myself when the price is right but till then, my money will be spend on something else which is more affordable and getting something more out of it.

End of the day, everyone has a budget.

Trafalgar-Law's Submarine Model Kit

noreply@blogger.com (LEon) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:02:00 +0000

The second Grandship from Bandai model kit is Trafalgar-law's submarine. Many would expect it to be Go Merry but that come after this model kit release in the Grand Ship series.

I felt Bandai made this Submarine instead of another ship is a good move as Submarine is rare in most model kit! Like the previous Thousand Sunny, this model kit need not apply any paint but just apply the stickers is decent in presentation already.

The model was well design and easy to assemble. They purposely design it to have 2 separate parts to simulate the submarine submerge into the water.You can joined them together when you want to display that as a ship instead.

The funny design was this submarine comes with a sail and it is not just any sail but a black sail. Deadly.

The main black sail has the lego of Trafalgar-Law. DEATH.

It fly it's own pirate flag.

Another odd thing was the second sail was white instead of black. I wonder why?

The DEATH logo were printed on both side of the submarine ship.

The deck looked wooden with neat circles windows and doors.

Since it is a submarine, it need a bright light in the front to light the way. For that, it is at the belly of the submarine.

Now it is time to place it together with Thousand Sunny for comparison.

Oh no! Thousand Sunny is getting near! What will Trafalgar do?

Well if you can't out run them, you can become a submarine and go under water which a ship cannot.

To be honest, I love the submarine mode with the water effect.

Once it go under water, no ship can match it or detect it.

I really have fun putting this model kit together as it doesn't need any painting as the stickers are good enough for me. Fixing these model kit kinda remind me of those olden days where some skillful craft man putting a model ship in the bottle.

Now don't asked me why I have such feeling but somehow it just come to me. :)