November Hauls

[JediTricks]

Black Friday weekend hauls:

TF:A Megatron - half off thanks to TRU extending doorbusters all day. Decent figure, bigger than most leader Megs and much more cohesive. Totally cheats in simplistic transformation, but a few clever bits. Very nifty and nice to have a Megs as tall as an Autobot Leader for once (I have Ultra Magnus to compare).

Star Wars AT-TE - half off from the TRU thing again. Very keen, lots going on but not in a piecemeal sort of way, it's a singular unit. Came with the "new" legs so no problems there, awesome - I had messed with a buddy's a while back when it came out, that was so frustrating how the legs would pop off so easily, and this one doesn't. Loud electronics, lots of lights and sounds, quite nice.

SW Rishi Moon Outpost Attack battle pack - not bad, 4 figures I wanted, especially Commando Droid commander with vibro-sword and removable helmet.

SW Geonosis Assault battle pack - ok but not blowing me away. Turret is huge, way big for the Gunship, and hinged in the wrong places so it sticks into the cabin a lot. Figures are ok enough, but using the old Clone Wars phase 1 armor with a somewhat "long" helmet face. Luckily, between it and the previous battle pack, I was able to get $5 off with the Target coupon.

A house. Seriously, a real freakin' house! With 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a 2 car garage in a nice neighborhood for 84,000. Just closed escrow this afternoon and should have the keys by the end of the week. Now I can start on all the renovations it's gonna need. Buying a house has gotta win the hauls thread right?

Kick ass, congrats on the get! Nice price, really stuck it to the scalpers on that one.

Also, Star Trek (2009) on DVD. Still awesome in spite of Kirk's deus ex machina promotion from cadet to captain.

Awww, then you went and spoiled your haul.

My haul is ROTF Thrust. I recommend him, it's a much neater mold than I expected it to be. Besides the head issue, there's nothing I have to complain about. Speaking of, does anybody know a good fix for that? Seems like if the purple canopy piece in front of this face could move out of the way it would give him more clearance

The front windshield cannot move because the tabs holding it are angled to the fuselage, so moving them forward would squeeze them.

I ended up doing a variation on Jin's fix for the front windshield: http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.ph ... opic=59047
Thrust doesn't need the back of his head carved, just a curve into the windshield tab. I used a small rotary fingernail grinder, and found that when you get deep enough to let the head fully clear, there's enough friction on the nose that it'll pop the head up. It's REALLY minor but makes a difference.

Word. Though I found this awesome pack of McQuarrie-style SW figures at TRU. So want! Always liked those designs, and it has Deak Starkiller! He's my favourite proto character. (He's named as Luke Skywalker, but whatever.)

Cool, glad you got this one. It was originally an exclusive to the Star Wars Celebration IV convention. The mask can come off, you have to remove his head first. I really like all the McQuarrie figures, but those 2 TRU repack sets are missing the extra heads on Vader and Fett, as well as a few weapons.

If those "Star Wars" packs were cheapers, I would be more enthusiastic about them.

I only found out about the second one while researching online last night, but I'm still only interested in the one with Vader. I love those early Droid designs, but everyone else in the pack is kind of meh. Plus, Christmas is coming up and that's always a decent excuse to go to someone and go "Buy this $45 box set for me."

Vader is a great figure though. I hunted down all 11 packs, including the 3 exclusives, and I don't think there's a bad figure in the bunch. The weakest might be Han Solo, but only because he's not as accurate to the art. Keep in mind, all of these were worked on with Ralph McQ's interaction, and his favorite is Boba Fett. But the other set is definitely the lighter side, they unbalanced the packs by putting Vader and all 3 troopers along with both Starkillers in one set. But Chewie, R2, and especially Fett are definitely worth getting. It's a shared exclusive, so you may be able to find better prices online. EE has them for $70 for the pair.

[Onslaught Six]

Word. Though I found this awesome pack of McQuarrie-style SW figures at TRU. So want! Always liked those designs, and it has Deak Starkiller! He's my favourite proto character. (He's named as Luke Skywalker, but whatever.)

Cool, glad you got this one. It was originally an exclusive to the Star Wars Celebration IV convention. The mask can come off, you have to remove his head first. I really like all the McQuarrie figures, but those 2 TRU repack sets are missing the extra heads on Vader and Fett, as well as a few weapons.

I didn't get the pack, merely found it in the store. It is plentiful, so I'm not in a rush. I am asking someone or other for it for Christmas. Shame about the extra heads, I really liked Vader's, but Fett's was cruddy.

If those "Star Wars" packs were cheapers, I would be more enthusiastic about them.

I only found out about the second one while researching online last night, but I'm still only interested in the one with Vader. I love those early Droid designs, but everyone else in the pack is kind of meh. Plus, Christmas is coming up and that's always a decent excuse to go to someone and go "Buy this $45 box set for me."

Vader is a great figure though. I hunted down all 11 packs, including the 3 exclusives, and I don't think there's a bad figure in the bunch. The weakest might be Han Solo, but only because he's not as accurate to the art. Keep in mind, all of these were worked on with Ralph McQ's interaction, and his favorite is Boba Fett. But the other set is definitely the lighter side, they unbalanced the packs by putting Vader and all 3 troopers along with both Starkillers in one set. But Chewie, R2, and especially Fett are definitely worth getting. It's a shared exclusive, so you may be able to find better prices online. EE has them for $70 for the pair.

Still debating if I do want both or just the one, I'll ask the relatives what they're doing and suchlike.

[JediTricks]

I didn't get the pack, merely found it in the store. It is plentiful, so I'm not in a rush. I am asking someone or other for it for Christmas. Shame about the extra heads, I really liked Vader's, but Fett's was cruddy.

Still debating if I do want both or just the one, I'll ask the relatives what they're doing and suchlike.

Well, hope you get it then. It's a cool set to own, to have tangible versions of McQuarrie's work that he personally had input on no less.

[Shockwave]

Box from Scourge came in today. There was only one thing in it: Walmart MP Skywarp. Seriously, there wasn't even any packing, but there really didn't need to be. He knows I don't buy them for the box, but the toy inside and he picked a box that was exactly perfectly sized for it. Anywho, I had MP Starscream last year, so I already know that I like the mold, and I like the colors on this one much better than it's Japanese counterpart. I saw this at Botcon and have been waiting ever since. Bout the only thing I would change is the feet and the nose in jet mode. Yeah, I'd make 'em purple. I just like the contrast better. The silver detailings on the wings really make the figure for me. I'm also super chuffed to be able to acquire this without actually having to have gotten one at Walmart.

[Dominic]

Yeah, I remember your problem with STarscream.

By the way, I meant to post this earlier:

AWESOME ABOUT THE HOUSE.

Seriously. With all the bad news floating around, it is good to see some people doing well.

Soooooo, does your insurance allow for you to have a dog?


Dom
-serously, with a house that big, you need a dog.

[Onslaught Six]

Speaking of, I forgot to mention here that several months back, a stray dog turned up on our doorstep. So we, uh, kept it.

[Dominic]

Not that I endorse listing animals one picks up as part of a haul....but........


WhatkindofdogisitcanIseehimpleasearetheyanicedoggyandhatdidyounamehim?


Dom
-because dogs are awesome.

[Shockwave]

I can have a dog, but if I were going to have a pet, it would probably be a cat. I like dogs, I just like cats better. My neighbor has a very cute and very friendly little dog named Rusty who looks like a miniature version of a chow. Maybe some version of pommeranian?

[Dominic]

I have 3 cats myself.

I cannot afford a dog, but I really like them. The problem is that some of my favorite types are APBT variants.

Dom
-still wondering about O6's dog.

[Shockwave]

Yeah, I remember your problem with STarscream.

By the way, I meant to post this earlier:

AWESOME ABOUT THE HOUSE.

Seriously. With all the bad news floating around, it is good to see some people doing well.

Soooooo, does your insurance allow for you to have a dog?


Dom
-serously, with a house that big, you need a dog.

Thanks! My parents (who I'm living with now) have 3 cats and now that you mention the 3 cats I think we discussed all this in the AHM thread.