Mattel Naruto Action Figures

My brother got these for me from Melbourne. He said there was a store closing down and he got these figures for AUD1-3 bucks each. These figures by Mattel are not found here in KL as far as I know. The Naruto merchandise here are often bootlegs from China and sold in Manga Specialty Stores. I believed Naruto have a strong fan.....As for the figures, they are well sculpted and painted and have very cool play features! What I've got was Shadow Clone Jujutsu Naruto (multiple attack action!), Tree climbing Naruto, Dragon Strength Rock Lee, Tornado Attack Sasuke and Chakra Point Attack Neji and Battle Damaged Neji (looks like from a different series coz packaging different). I guess its my early Christmas presents...Checked eBay these figures are quite pricey...over USD10 each...the tornado sasuke selling for USD18++ with bids..

Another Vintage Acquisition - ROTJ Ewoks Wicket

This Wicket Warrick figure is not really in my radar. However I came across a great deal at eBay - got it for USD20 only! Another reason I got him was because he's the 'main character' among the Ewoks. Its selling here for over RM200++ at flea market. Usual selling price is USD75++ for a minty carded figure. Well for that price, there's lots of creases on the card plus the bubble is kinda crushed and cracked and missing a piece in the center. But its still mint on an unpunched card. Made in Hong Kong. 1983. The figure is kinda cute ..small. One interesting note is that this Wicket staff/spear is placed on his right side but I saw some others which placed on the left.

7-11 Kamen Rider BottleCap Figures with Stage

Today, I found this set of 7-11 Premium - Kamen Rider Bottlecap Figures with Stage / Base. I found this in Kota Kinabalu, in a small video cum toy shop. This set is over 8 years old toy, dated 2002. Some of the figures had become sticky. Hence I got this set for over 50% discount. There are 15 figures in all. It's painted silver. I've seen a full color version offered in Hong Kong. Underneath each bottlecaps are the 7-11 mark, some Japanese inscription and number from 1-15. It comes with a brown box. Display really nice. Have always wanted this...finally found it for a good price..eBay selling for USD39.90

JUMBO SCALE 'GUNDAN' (ORIGINALLY CALLED GUNDAM) REVIEW

I found a Jumbo Scale RX-78-2 'Gundan' recently in Speedy Videos stores. Either 'Gundan' is a long lost brother of Gundam or he's a China knock off of original Bandai's Jumbo Scale Gundam. Take a guess. It's 1/35 scale and 500mm tall! This figure is massive! This is my largest model kit/action figure hybrid todate. The figure is pre-built and painted quite nicely with weathering effects. Unlike other cheap bootlegs, this, in my opinion is a good quality knock off.

The toy comes with 2 pair of hands (open palms and closed+gun holding palm), unassembled shield, unassembled beam rifle and instructions. Unlike the box-art, the figure comes with applied markings and decals. In fact, I did a search on the web and found that this isn't its original box. There's this 'Gundan' decal on the head, shoulder, and shield that kinda de-value this toy because its basically shouting to the world 'I am a knock-off!" But then I may be wrong....vintage Star Wars knock offs are selling like hot cakes on the net! (Star Wars collectors would know which one I am refering to)

Just to show you how big this figure is, I've placed a Star Wars 3" Clone Trooper as perspective. Darn, now I gotto find a place to store this huge figure......

I noticed that the foot is a bit too large. The articulation is at the arms and head. It's very obvious the figure is meant for display only. It's a nice kit to have especially if you are a Gundam fan. The cost is a fraction of the original. (Original @ eBay USD200++) The quality...I can't comment because I don't have the original to compared with. As said earlier, it's nicely built and painted. eBay selling for USD99. The last time I checked Speedy videos stores, this figure is being snapped up...

My Vintage Star Wars Mint On Card Addition

Finally, I've acquired vintage Han Solo on card! As a bonus, I got his sidekick Chewbacca too. Took me a long time hunting for these figures for a good price to appear on eBay. Usually these sell for USD80-100++ but I got these for much lesser than that. I am pretty pleased with the purchase, now that I've got all the 4 Star Wars main characters, Luke, Leia, Han and Vader vintage figures mint on card! I guess I'll stop my vintage collection here.....but then...hmm it would be nice to have a Ben Kenobi .....let's see...

Retro, Reissues & Simply Toys!

I've just got back from work and while on the way for dinner, popped by ToysrUs and found these Retro Action DC Superheroes figures. I picked up two of my favorites - Superman and Batman (with removable cowl). It was smaller than expected. From the ads in Toyfare, I thought these were 12" figures but they are only 7-8". These are Megos lookalike, issued by Mattel.

Reissue Again - Hasbro launched the vintage carded figures - sort of like the VOTC minus the clamshell. I got these few weeks ago before my short break to Singapore. I bought Vader because it has 3 piece removable helmet. Boba as well... kind of a must have figure in vintage packaging. Threepio I got it today. At first, never intended to buy Threepio because it has removable face, chest and legs covering as an action feature which doesn't show in The Empire Strikes Back. However, after reading Rebelscum, I found out that Threepio have removable back panels and removable limbs - I am sold! Only thing missing is the cargo net! Threepio doesn't seem like a short pack figure but I notice it's being snapped up!

I was at Singapore 2 weekends ago for a short holiday. Manage to visit 'Simply Toys' store where many of our toys/collectibles products here are imported from them. In the words of Darth Vader "Impressive...most impressive" - with lots of museum quality collectibles! These pictures speaks more than words....sorry..unable to load photos as its taking too long.....

Malaysia International Toy Fair & McDonalds Brave and Bold Batman Premium

Just completed my collection of McDonalds latest premium - Batman Brave and the Bold set which features 3 figures and a vehicle. I kinda like this set especially the Batmobile. It has good sculpt and play features. The Batman throws 3 cardboard Batarang. Blue Beetle have flipping wings and Aquaman throws a water ball. The Batmobile consist of 2 vehicles and a pull and release feature - The Batmobile breaks apart and release the Bat bike (sorry dunno the actual name of the bike!). Very nice to display and play.

Oh by the way, this weekend at Midvalley there will be Malaysia International Toy Fair. I think it's the first. Search the web and you'll find the link.

Toys Sale at Neo Flea Market Sat-Sun

I'll be having my 'toys room clearance' sale - gotta make room and parting some of my collection offering waaay good price!..do visit Ne0 Flea Market at Damansara Perdana every Sat and Sun from 3.30pm - 9.00pm. Well you'll see Star Wars, Transformers, Anime stuff...if you follow my blog, you'd know the diverse toys I collect. for more info 0172217488. See ya there!

Looking for Vintage Figures and Cool Collectibles?

Chck this out www.altoys.blogspot.com a source for vintage and collectibles toys!

Star Wars Empire Strikes Back 30th Anniversary Toy Carnival

Last weekend at e@Curve, there's a small Star Wars Toys Carnival to celebrate Star Wars Empire Strikes Back 30th anniversary. First, the dissappointing news - Calling the event a 'Toy Carnival' I expected loads of Star Wars toys. But it only showcase some up-coming toys like the huge AT-AT, Twin Cloud Car etc and it occupied only the small showcase area (see pic) - Duh!

Now for some better news - there's a showcase of assembled model kits and diorama toys (only 1 table-long display), a huge cardboard model of Star Destroyer, look very cool and my favorite piece, - a model of Han in Carbonite with Leia Boushh, complete with lighting effect! Looks just like in the movie! There was one Star Wars game offered to shoppers, some lightsaber contest and a few Star Wars cosplayers (manage to get a quick snap shot of Vader and Fett!). Well though is a small showcase event, I must say a job well done to the organizers for keeping the Star Wars spirit alive!

Recent Toy Acquisition - Batman and DragonBall!

Haven't been buying toys for about a month but then suddenly found lots of stuff that I like at a good price! Here they are: Batman Gotham Knight 3 pack - based on the cool Japanese animation and Crisis 3 pack which includes Batman's alliance Batwoman, Nightwing and Robin. Original price RM79.90, I got it for RM49.90. These 3" figures comes with little or no accessories! Pathetic! At least Hasbro make good effort to include accessories and build a droid in their Star Wars 3" figures line to give 'VALUE' to the collectors. Next is the Classic Blue Outfit Batman, also sold at RM79.90 and I got it for RM47. Not many takers because of the ridiculously high price point (guess thats why on sale!) I still remember way back when Mattel first got the licence for Batman toys, figure this size was sold for only RM29.90!

Another collection I got was Bandai's Dragonball Z candy toys figures and a cool Son Gokou and Shen Ron bust. These were originally selling for RM24.90 each and the bust RM39.90. I got the figures at RM9.90 and the bust RM12.90 only! The candy toys came in 5 boxes complete set. Each box have 2 figures - the good guy and bad guy. See the box covers for the pairing. These are about 3" tall with little articulation. As for the bust, it is very nice - excellent sculpt and paint job.

TRU Member Sale!!

TRU is having their member sale...yeah I know it's for some time already..so not the latest news. However I was at Hartamas and they further reduced the price for some of the GI Joes and Star Wars stuff. I got the Lars homestead set for only RM50 bucks! I also know some collectors hated this overpriced ridiculous set when it first came out, but hey, for RM50 bucks - what else can you ask for? Its got 3 figures, 1 womp rat, 1 vaporiser thingy and of course a huge playset house where Luke can have his blue milk.

Godzilla Collection

Most of these are Bandai's Classic Godzilla Release. My favorite of the lot is the Burning Godzilla and the Millenium Godzilla (the head with b/w background). With limited articulation, these figures are more for display rather than play. Then we have the 1998 Hollywood version of Godzilla, a hand puppet made by Resaurus. The skinny Godzilla above is the 1958 version, if not mistaken. I have a couple more Godzillas, not shown here, it's tuck away high up and hard to reach for photographs with all the other toys stacked up. Maybe next time..

KFC's Mr Bean Stationery Set

Available now from KFC - Mr Bean Stationery Set. 4 toys that can combined to form a toy apartment with yard and comes with stationeries! This is similar to the Doraemon Stationery set also issued by KFC years ago. Here's a short description of what they do: The grass yard have the 'Mr Bean' name embossed on it. It comes with notepad and a crayon. Mr Bean's car act as a lock for the notepad holder. Next, the calendar and a ruler, which is hidden behind. The ruler also fucntion as a stand when combining the toys. This toy can also be use as a pen/pencil holder. Then we have the mini photo frame and scissors that is hidden at the side, and a mini drawer also at the side. Lastly, a light projector, which projects some faint image from the cartoon. The cat fuctions as the on/off button. Overall cool and cute to look at. Worth collecting.

1977 Vintage The Amazing Spiderman Web Shooter

I used to have this when I was still a primary school kid. It was only sold for, if not mistaken RM1.90 only those days. Recently I got this from a antique stall in a flea market. Why I remembered this well - because it was a toy I wanted for a long time before I finally manage to get enough money to buy! And what makes it even more memorable was when I bought it, the toy couldn't shoot! Duh! A foreigner offered to buy this from me soon after I got it but I decided not to sell it....yet. On the card was printed '1977 Marvel Comics Group' and 'Made in Hong Kong'. Checked eBay - not available..must be rare...

DC Infinite Heroes Collection

Can you imagine Batman without Batarang? Wonder Woman without her magic lasso? Thats exactly what Mattel's DCU Infinite Heroes offer to collectors! Selling at RM39.90 for a measly 3" figure with no accessories! I didn't want to collect at first. What changed my mind? Well, first these figures are on sale. Second, these are the main DC Universe characters - Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. I got Supes for only RM15!! There's two Batman figure, one is the classic blue grey variation which is supposedly rare according to a toy magazine and the other regular black version.

Transformers Star Wars Collection

My collector friend said this series is ugly. I agreed but only on the mech/robot mode. I find the vehicle mode quite nice, plus it comes with a mini figure that can fit inside each vehicles. Kinda remind me of Micro Machines Action Fleet Collection. So I decided to collect...until last year where I stopped when Hasbro stopped issuing the mini figures in their new wave. I don't understand why Hasbro is reducing the play value of these cool vehicles!! So here's my collection of Star Wars Transformers - all with the mini figures. Except for Anakin and Obi-Wan Jedi Starfighter, I do not collect other repaints, which they have quite a lot in this series.

This series started in 2005..almosts 5 years and I notice the X-wing already yellowed! Cheap plastics!

The only combiner set - Millenium Falcon (Han & Chewie) set. I got this from US, even after shipping, is still cheaper that the retail price here. Whats more the US version have 2 free Gold Titanium Vehicles - Tie Fighter & Falcon!

The last piece I collected in this series was the Darth Vader Death Star set. It's huge, has lights and sounds effect, comes with mini Vader and Stormtroopers plus mini Tie Fighters that can turn to mech mode!! Cool!

Beware of Vintage Transformers Knock Offs

Recently there were many G1 vintage Transformers 'mint-in-box' toys available. Beware when buying these. These are knock offs (KO) from China! I was a victim of this when I bought Optimus Prime, mint in box!! (U can see the pic in my earlier blog - My Optimus Collection). I didn't realize until a collector from US told me to check certain features to confirm if it's a genuine vintage Prime. Very easy to spot - behind the KO Prime box you will see the picture of Ravage being chopped off! The original have the full Ravage. And the 'R' registered trademark is way above the 'Transformers' title. Check out the web for more tell tale signs and also some history of these knock offs, including who's the manufacturer!!
They didn't stop with just Optimus KO - there's also Black Optimus KO, Clear Optimus KO, Constructicons KO etc...Transformers fans beware..

My House Was Burglarized!

I received a call last Monday from the police - saying that my house was burglarized. My neighbor contacted the police after seeing my house's gate and doors damaged. I was in Sibu Island Johor on an assignment. Imagine how I felt....my toys!!!
The bad news is I lost my stickers collection (which I had since I was a kid, you can see this collection in my earlier blog), my badges collection and my vintage coins and notes collection!
The toys, thank God, are still there!
Now I'll split my collection and keep it in a few places..
Also makes me wonder..should I still continue this hobby...which takes up so much space..and risk being stolen...duuuuhhhh...

My Optimus Prime Collection

Transformers toys were not really in my collecting radar until the Optimus Prime re-issue in the late 90's. That was when I started to collect mostly Prime and Megatron..until today which I have over 100 Transformers toys..(up till now and still counting...). Here's are the many phases / faces of Optimus Prime - part of my collection

Optimus Prime Book Re-issue - the figure that mark the start of Prime collection
Vintage Optimus Prime Junior - rare from Japan

Vintage Optimus Prime Knock Off (KO) (missing instruction duh! but decals unapplied). The significant difference compared to the re-issue Prime US version are longer smokestack, the red transparent decoder, accessories like tyres, missiles and fist comes attached to tree frame, on the trailer embossed some Japanese words and '1980, 1982 Takara Made in Japan'. I was surprised to see bootleggers going the extend of recreating a high quality almost identical Prime with styrofoam and paperwork etc. I thought this was original until a collector from US alerted me (but was too late as I've already bought.) The tell-tale sign of KO Prime - at the back Ravages pic is chop off!

World Smallest Transformers (WST) Prime and Megatron VSX set. This was a free gift when you buy a Hobby magazine. There were no instructions, the instructions were printed on the magazine it came with. I bought this for RM40, now the price increased to RM100++. THS style Optimus Prime or Convoy as it's known in Japan - small scale Prime with fantastic details,

articulation and loads of accessories!

Star Convoy Re-issue - comes with mini Rodimus and Pepsi Convoy Re-issue.

Masterpiece Optimus Prime (1st issue) - got for quite expensive. Shortly after I got this, then came it's re-issue! Duh! The Takara version is different from the Hasbro version as it has a longer smoke stack! Masterpiece Optimus Prime with trailer - got it as a gift. Yaay!

Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime (fire truck) twin pack. Both can combine. Cool!

Optimus Prime & Megatron twin pack with DVD.

Hasbro Alternators Prime. Takara KISS Convoy which is the same as the alternators Prime except it comes with a girl figure and extra weapon - a transforming surf board.

Optimus Prime Animated & Titanium Optimus Prime - a diecast transformable Prime.

Beast War Optimus Primal (Bat) and Megatron (Croc) set. Comes with mini comic. I got it cheap those days but the bubble had detached due to age. One of my favorites!

Beast War Optimus Primal - got this for only RM15 during warehouse sale back in the late 90s.

There were no ..err not so many scalpels back then.

Air Attack Optimus Primal, the one I have had a crappy box and damaged pvc window. Huge Primal with electronics lights and sounds from Beast Machines. Blast Punch Primal also from Beast Machines series.

Optimus Primal - Transmetal, mine comes with Megatron Transmetal with free video from Japan. 10th Anniversary Optimus Primal, comes with mini ship.

Big Convoy from Transformers Neo, I got this from Hong Kong many years ago. Leo Convoy also from Japanese cartoon Transformers series.

Mickey Optimus with Mickey figure, Mr Potato Optimash Prime comes with mini Prime and Choro-Q Optimus with blaster and pull back action.

G2 Laser Optimus Prime re-issue. Back in the early 90s, I saw this selling for only RM60! Unfortunatley I was still into model kits back then, so I didn't get it. Duh! Gen 2 Hero Optimus Prime which I got from Singapore last year.

God Ginrai Re-issue, there's actually another robot beside Prime in this set. The small figure can transform into an engine and fit to Optimus to activate some cool transformations. Cool features! Encore Optimus Prime is a re-issue of the 1st Prime. It comes with silver Roller.

Galaxy Force Optimus, quite a good CGI Transformers series, can transform into super mode! Energon Optimus - a trailer with 4 vehicles inside. The vehicles combine with the truck to form Megazo-er no..Optimus Prime!Armada Optimus features auto-change gimmick.

Alternity Optimus - smaller, detailed diecast Prime. Just like Alternators, only smaller. But price is higher, not smaller. TFU Optimus Prime, TFU Nemesis Prime (SDCC Exclusive) - this was a peg warmer here, I got this at a 50% discount. Optimus vs Megatron Animated twin pack features a battle damage Prime. Well I have more...Prime from the movies, spychanger, legend class etc..but I am too lazy to get the pics. Thats all for now, maybe next time I'll list the remaining Prime...