I haven’t seen any wave 2 deluxes at a Walgreens yet. I check the one on 152nd street & 157th ave and the one on 288th street & 137th ave. Thanks to fellow board members, I just received TR Misfire and will soon have Twin Twist. Just letting locals know so that I don’t get more offers.
Looks like Central Florida’s Ollies are deluxe free, specifically the E Colonial and Casselberry stores. If anyone has a Twintwist they’re willing to sell, I am looking for one. Also willing to trade a Slugslinger for it for all interested.
Hi all, I’m going to be in Orlando next week until thursday and wondering if there are any good import/anime shops around and which comic stores are worth going to for toys and collectibles. I appreciate all your input and time!
Go to Acme Superstore in Longwood -- the absolute best place for toys and collectibles in the Orlando area. Home Acme Superstore Not sure where you'll be coming from, but you will probably take I-4 to get there, and you'll get off on exit 94. Right by that exit is a location of 4 Rivers Smokehouse, for some of the best barbecue in Florida (but it's closed on Sundays).
Just be aware if you do go to Acme, 99% of the prices are gouged on their toys and collectibles. They go by the highest listing price on eBay, not the highest sold price. It's gone insanely downhill since their old toy manager left. Definitely check out Gods and Monsters and Coliseum of Comics over by International Drive/Mall at Millennia if you have the time!
Things arent the same there, thats for sure. (And dont get me started on the owner, who is in prison for drunken vehicular homicide)
Gods and Monsters has a pretty great selection and a cool space worth checking out, including a post-apocalyptic-themed speakeasy BAR in the back. Coliseum of Comics is a fantastic chain of comic book stores (the main shops I go to nowadays), but unless you're into superhero stuff, it isn't a required visit for toy shopping. Too bad you aren't going to be in Tampa as well, since Big Redhead Comics and Toys there has a fantastic selection of loose G1s and more modern Transformers, as well as vintage Star Wars figures and other '80s and '90s toys. Only Acme beats them on toy selection... but their comic selection isn't even close yet.
Big Redhead? I think it's only a couple years old, but they just recently expanded, as of a few weeks ago. They definitely have some CHUG stuff there, and it's the only store I've ever seen that sells third-party TFs and bootlegs and KOs. I was visiting friends in Tampa the first week of May, and we dropped by there (shortly before they unveiled the expansion). I'd say it's worth a short detour if you're in the area, over near USF. Big Redhead Vintage Toys
I would avoid Acme. They may have some good stuff occasionally, but I am not sure how much of the shop’s revenue is sill being set aside for the owner, who is currently in prison for killing two women while drunkenly joyriding up the wrong side of 436: Family of victim from fatal drunken driving crash sees suspect being released from jail Man convicted of DUI manslaughter sentenced to 30 years in prison His son is currently “in charge” but Terry still owns the place. Terry said something insane to a mutual acquaintance about using his time in prison and money from the toy shop to write a book or record an album, or... some cockamamie shit. He used to close down the Tiki bar on Semoran every night and drive home blotto. Terry tried to simultaneously claim he did not remember the entire evening, including the crash and getting drunk.. and also blame the crash on the two mothers, who were on their way home after working a double. He also refused to apologize to their families after being convicted, even when the judge implied a lighter sentence if he did so. Your choice, but I won’t give them a dime. I’m not going to be responsible for buying him so much as a bag of commissary chips.
I used to love shopping at Acme, but something has changed over the last few years. It might have been due to Todd leaving to found Gods and Monsters, or Terry killing those women and being imprisoned, but the store isn't the same -- the VIBE isn't the same. Their selection isn't what it used to be either, but I figured an out-of-town tourist wouldn't realize the difference, and it would still be worth a visit for a collector passing through. I shop at Coliseum now, mostly for their loyalty stamp cards, their annual March Madness sales, and their proximity to my job. Plus, they will always order something you want from one of their other locations if they don't have it at your most convenient location, and have it shipped there. They just don't sell any used/loose toys (or any Transformers at all), and they don't do much in the way of trade-ins for store credit, unlike Acme. But I mostly buy trade paperbacks at Coliseum and get the few toys I still collect on Amazon when I can.
Terry also tried to blame the bar by saying they over served him. That guy was a crook. I can share some stories.....
Has anyone ever spotted Sludge in the Sarasota County area? He's my only missing Dinobot at this point, managed to finally nab Snarl at a Walgreens yesterday (though the $19.25 price made me cringe).
I remember going to Acme as far back as 1995, when they were a small store occupying the right side of that building, with 3 or 4 others business there. At that time, they sold primarily comics and sports cards, but some toys could be found, including on occassion g1 mib toys. I was into cards only at that time, and completely ignored any tfs there. That owner used to check out customers back in the day. Today its one of the biggest toy stores in Fl. Whiz bang was king at the time, boy i miss that store. Incidentally, Ollies now sits in the spot to the left of where whiz bang used to be.
Whiz Bang! Wow! That's a flashback. The owner had one of the few SS/Megs Bomber MISB figures from late G2. That one was worth a penny. I still have a lot of figures that I got there from back in the day. As for ACME, I bought Longtooth, Countdown, and Shockwave from him back in 1995 before he really started to realize how much those figures are worth. Figures I still all have, BTW. Then he started to play dirty pool. If you told him that you liked a certain figure and were going to come back and buy it he would raise the price the next day. He told me one time that if I liked it so much I would pay his price, whatever it was.
