I've always thought that I had an eye for small/fine details. I managed to pull off some CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) / detective work the other night on what else - but toys *winks*
I've recently come across a very excellent version of the Spider-Man action figure online. If you're a comic-collector/Spidey-fan/Todd McFarlane fan, you'd recognize this figure.
We've come a long way - compare the 2 following Spider-Man figures below. The one on top, which I got about 20 years ago, and the newer sculpts. The articulation is so much more advance as well. 20 years ago - my Spider-Man could only move his head, the arms (at the shoulders) and the legs (at the hips). *NOTE: Jargon - parts that move is called 'articulation'. This means my 20-year old Spider-Man only 5 points of articulation*
Secret Wars Spider-Man (1984)
Super-Poseable Spider-Man (2004)
Super-Poseable (that gave it away didn't it?) has I believe 30-points of articulation. If you look closely at the picture on the right, you'll see even his fingers have movement for him to do his "web-shooting" pose. He bends at the wrists, elbows, knees, feet and even toes.
20 years ago - most, if not, all toys only HAD 5 points of articulation.
So why go through all this "detective" work? There happens to be a guy who was selling a set of 5 "Spider-Man Classics" for RM 200. And in that sales thread, he had a picture as well. I actualyl emailed him to see if he was willing to sell the Spider-Man figure by itself. Apparently, he would only sell it in a set. The rest of them are actually rare figures. I asked him to send me a picture of the Spider-Man by itself, to help me decided if I would plonk down the dough for the other figures I didn't really want. But - I guess he wasn't even bothered to.
Imagine, the villains being the rare figures. In toy-collecting jargon, this would be called "shortpacked". As an example, a case of 20 or 30 Spider-Man figures would contain maybe 1 or 2 of these so-called "chase/shortpacked" figures. Hence - these would be rare figures. I've got my own theory for this - I don't know if manufacturers have the same thinking. As a kid - I would always buy the heroes for all of my toys. ALWAYS. I hardly get the villains thought I had a few of them for "battles" between the forces of Good and Evil. Now - if someone thought like me as a kid, only going for the heroes and leaving the baddies on the racks, there would be plenty of villains left about now, wouldn't there? I suppose that's why these days, the villains are "shortpacked". But hey - I could be wrong.
Back to the story - from afar, the one in the set looked like the one I was looking for. Because the seller didn't provide me with a picture, I decided to try search online. And because the seller didn't do a good job in stating the description in his sales thread, it made it even harder.
After the detective work (and 4 hours later), I struck gold! Or Mary Jane Watson would say "You've hit the jackpot, Tiger!". I finally found what I was looking for. How? I actually looked through all 17 series of Spider-Man figures or whatever was available. Each "series" had about 4 or 5 figures and 3 of them were normally different variations of Spider-Man. It wasn't easy but I pulled it off. How? Take note of the white circles in the following pictures.
Now I know that this isn't the Spider-Man figure I was looking for. The site which reviewed the figure I'm looking for states a different kind of accessory. The one that the guy is selling is called "Sneak Attack Spider-Man". I'm glad now I didn't throw that RM 200 on figures I didn't want.
The one that I want is available at www.bigbadtoystore.com
Superposeable Spider-Man with Wall Crawling Action (US $8.99)
So what am I to do? I don't think I've ever seen them in Malaysia before. Its funny how old toys seem to disappear. What happens when people don't buy them? Where do they go? Do they go back to the distributors? Sold in bargain bins? Goes back to the manufacturers to be melted down and used as recycled raw material and plastics again?
I managed to find them both online from stores that ship internationally. The downside? The toy costs US $8.99, shipping - a whopping US $29.99!!!!! Shipping the toy over is going to cost more than the goods itself!
Another store has the following. Shipping would be in the same price range as well depending on value of goods purchased.
I will also settle for the following (based on another favorite Spidey artist of mine, Mark Bagley)
I managed to find them both online from stores that ship internationally. The downside? The toy costs US $8.99, shipping - a whopping US $29.99!!!!! Shipping the toy over is going to cost more than the goods itself!
Another store has the following. Shipping would be in the same price range as well depending on value of goods purchased.
I will also settle for the following (based on another favorite Spidey artist of mine, Mark Bagley)
Spider-Man Classics - Red and Blue version, year 2000 (US $14.99)
Halo 2 Series 1 - Master Chief action figure (US $49.99)So, assuming I really decided to risk it and try my luck getting something off the Internet, I might as well make the shipping price worthwhile. I've done a little "window" shopping as well.
The package says "Spider-Man Classic Clashes - Spider-Man vs. The Abomination". Who the fuck is The Abomination? I've never seen him in my comics before. Is he a new villain? Is he a mutant? What powers does he have? But if Toybiz thinks he deserves an action figure....this caught my eye while I was doing my detective work as the Spider-Man looks like the Superposeable Spider-Man I'm looking for. Again, I've never seen this in Malaysian stores.
The Batman - this is the latest Batman animated series. ASTRO and the local stations are screening it at the moment. I've never seen any of the normal figures in the market. This one's "special" as the costume is all-black instead of the grey-dark blue color scheme on the cartoon. Like some people on the forums complain - its so hard to find a Batman figure that does not have any glow-in-the-dark or neon suits that's flooded the market.
Now - what is wrong with the picture above? Ryu and Sagat on their own costs $59.99 each! Even on this site, the Ryu figure's sold out. These are rare figures - you can no longer find them in the market unless some collectors are selling them off.
But the 2-pack for US $29.99 is a steal! It's also limited to 3000 units and only available exclusively at www.superherotoys.com. Oh, the temptation.....
I saw the Ken action figure for sale a few months back. A collector was selling it through the shop for RM 50.
The price on this site US $29.99 x RM 4 = RM 120. Someone just bought this figure for RM 60 at a place called ToyQuest. There were only 2 left after he got his. I've never been there but its near Toy City in Jalan Bukit Bintang. Opposite Bangkok Jam I was told. Do these places even exist along Jalan Bukit Bintang? Again, extremely hard to find figure. Someone wanna volunteer and go check it out for me when you're in the vicinity?
Ryan wants the one below, Halo Action Figure. I have never, EVER seen any of these around in Malaysian stores before. NEVER. According to the site, most of them have already sold out as well.
The package says "Spider-Man Classic Clashes - Spider-Man vs. The Abomination". Who the fuck is The Abomination? I've never seen him in my comics before. Is he a new villain? Is he a mutant? What powers does he have? But if Toybiz thinks he deserves an action figure....this caught my eye while I was doing my detective work as the Spider-Man looks like the Superposeable Spider-Man I'm looking for. Again, I've never seen this in Malaysian stores.
Spider-Man Classics 2-Pack (US $39.99)
The Batman - this is the latest Batman animated series. ASTRO and the local stations are screening it at the moment. I've never seen any of the normal figures in the market. This one's "special" as the costume is all-black instead of the grey-dark blue color scheme on the cartoon. Like some people on the forums complain - its so hard to find a Batman figure that does not have any glow-in-the-dark or neon suits that's flooded the market.
The Batman Ultimate Defender (US $4.99)
Street Fighter Ryu (US $59.99), Sagat (US $59.99)
Street Fighter Ryu & Sagat 2-pack (US $29.99)
Now - what is wrong with the picture above? Ryu and Sagat on their own costs $59.99 each! Even on this site, the Ryu figure's sold out. These are rare figures - you can no longer find them in the market unless some collectors are selling them off.
But the 2-pack for US $29.99 is a steal! It's also limited to 3000 units and only available exclusively at www.superherotoys.com. Oh, the temptation.....
Street Fighter Ken (PRICE: US $29.99)
I saw the Ken action figure for sale a few months back. A collector was selling it through the shop for RM 50.
The price on this site US $29.99 x RM 4 = RM 120. Someone just bought this figure for RM 60 at a place called ToyQuest. There were only 2 left after he got his. I've never been there but its near Toy City in Jalan Bukit Bintang. Opposite Bangkok Jam I was told. Do these places even exist along Jalan Bukit Bintang? Again, extremely hard to find figure. Someone wanna volunteer and go check it out for me when you're in the vicinity?
Ryan wants the one below, Halo Action Figure. I have never, EVER seen any of these around in Malaysian stores before. NEVER. According to the site, most of them have already sold out as well.
So tempted right now, would be easy too - just keying in a few numbers, punching a few keys and that's it. I'll need to seriously think about it. I know I want it - you know I want it!
Dei decided that we should give mum a treat for Mother's Day. We decided yesterday that we would take everyone to Paddington's House of Pancakes at The Curve.
I've decided to go with the the double sausage, beef salami and fried mozzarella pancakes today. They ran out. Dei and Eddie's initial order for some seafood topped ones had run out as well. The waitress came back to our tables on 2 different occassions to inform us that some of the items we wanted had sold out. There was abit of complaining.
In the end, there was a complimentary serve of 3 pancakes for our "troubles".
I finally settled for the cheesy scrambled eggs, hash brown and mash pancakes. The verdict - next time I'll stick with the chocolate rolls. Remember, its the one with the Belgian chocolate chips, peanut butter and the chocolate sauce with chocolate ice-cream.
Of all the things I did last night, I read an Enid Blyton book "The Secret Island". I have no idea why, it was just lying on the table. Decided to pick it up - less than 200 pages. Pretty short book. I used to read Enid Blyton's books when I was much younger. The school used to had book sales for the Malay-translations as well. I thought I had read this one before but I guess I got it confused with something else.
Reading the book, it was about 4 kids who decided to run away and hide on an island where no one could find them. I don't know when this book was written but I think the characters are meant to be British. I didn't know British kids talked like this.
For example: one kid (the leader, Jack) gives a suggestion of some sort, and one of the girls go "ooh, we must, we must, we must". This kid, Nora, must be one of the most annoying characters ever written. She emphasizes her statements not once, not twice but three times. Just like the one above. It seems all British kids (maybe the grown ups as well) speak funny - pick up any Harry Potter book, even the Lord Of The Rings have these "proper" English dialogues.
Well, that's a few hours of my life I won't be getting back. Maybe I need new books!
If anyone at work asks how my weekend was - I'm just going to say one thing - "SHORT". I don't know where the time went. It did really feel short. I think I need more rest. More 3-day weekends! The next one coming up on 29th May 2006.
I'm currently training someone as my backup now. During my absence, someone will know or will need to know what has to be done, reports etc. Now I don't have to worry too much about taking long days away from work.
Dei decided that we should give mum a treat for Mother's Day. We decided yesterday that we would take everyone to Paddington's House of Pancakes at The Curve.
I've decided to go with the the double sausage, beef salami and fried mozzarella pancakes today. They ran out. Dei and Eddie's initial order for some seafood topped ones had run out as well. The waitress came back to our tables on 2 different occassions to inform us that some of the items we wanted had sold out. There was abit of complaining.
In the end, there was a complimentary serve of 3 pancakes for our "troubles".
I finally settled for the cheesy scrambled eggs, hash brown and mash pancakes. The verdict - next time I'll stick with the chocolate rolls. Remember, its the one with the Belgian chocolate chips, peanut butter and the chocolate sauce with chocolate ice-cream.
Of all the things I did last night, I read an Enid Blyton book "The Secret Island". I have no idea why, it was just lying on the table. Decided to pick it up - less than 200 pages. Pretty short book. I used to read Enid Blyton's books when I was much younger. The school used to had book sales for the Malay-translations as well. I thought I had read this one before but I guess I got it confused with something else.
Reading the book, it was about 4 kids who decided to run away and hide on an island where no one could find them. I don't know when this book was written but I think the characters are meant to be British. I didn't know British kids talked like this.
For example: one kid (the leader, Jack) gives a suggestion of some sort, and one of the girls go "ooh, we must, we must, we must". This kid, Nora, must be one of the most annoying characters ever written. She emphasizes her statements not once, not twice but three times. Just like the one above. It seems all British kids (maybe the grown ups as well) speak funny - pick up any Harry Potter book, even the Lord Of The Rings have these "proper" English dialogues.
Well, that's a few hours of my life I won't be getting back. Maybe I need new books!
If anyone at work asks how my weekend was - I'm just going to say one thing - "SHORT". I don't know where the time went. It did really feel short. I think I need more rest. More 3-day weekends! The next one coming up on 29th May 2006.
I'm currently training someone as my backup now. During my absence, someone will know or will need to know what has to be done, reports etc. Now I don't have to worry too much about taking long days away from work.
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