I’m honestly sick of going to every Walmart and Target near my area and only finding SS 22 Dropkick and 40 Shatter scattered across the section, I mean wouldn’t the stores that distribute the figures know by now that those don’t really sell at all, and perhaps not put them out anymore? Peg warmers for sure and it’s a bit infuriating when a new wave sighting is posted, only to go and find those two, with an occasional Cogman and Scrapmetal. Wave 9 should be stocked by this month yet no sightings at all near the LA area, sometimes lucky enough to find either Bonecrusher or an occasional DOTM Megatron at target

edit: Just got out of a Target right now and found Barricade, even though I already have him I figured it’s worth sharing as a beacon of hope for anyone suffering the issue I am with these stores :/

 

My rants for today are

1) the last several pages of EarthRise threads are making me want to ask the admins to change the titles of the threads to "whining and hating against G1 and whining about people that have access to pre-release figures so they MUST be thieves and should be burnt at the stake"  

I understand that until Earthrise start showing up in stores, we're in a drought, but shessss... the vileness of the posts are simply horrible at this point... it's like starving wolves that are starting to try and feed from each other.

2) the endless huge pictures of the same figures over and over, that brings absolutely nothing new, that looks like the other 50 previous pictures that other members have taken. I get it, you love XXX just like all the others that already posted the almost identical images... but dang, some pages are enough to make me want to shove a fork into my eyes.  

Now, I tend to post my pictures with 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) main pictures that are representative of what I'm posting in full size, then the rest in thumbnails... I wish others would do this more... but also, the pictures I post tend to be very different, usually special projects, painted/custom figures, and the likes, or in response to a request.

I'd honestly would hope that at some point this might be implemented as a rule. 1-2 main pictures, the rest in thumbnails.

3) the very repetitive questions that some ask, that have already been answered many times if they could have taken a few minutes to even bother looking at threads first, or even use the search function for the topic/item they are asking about.  

 

What stores in the UK and Ireland? I did pick up Combiner Wars Sky Lynx in TK Maxx and up until recently Mr. Price had Generations Hot Spot and Bludgeon.

Years ago, Tescos occasionally had exclusives like the Mini-con 10 pack and CHUG Nemesis Prime. Now their Transformers sections are tiny.

TK Maxx and Debenhams' toy sections are also a mess making it difficult to see what Transformers they may have.

 

Oh yeah, I found HFTD Highbrow in Mr Price a few times, never bought him because there was no price tag and I was worried I’d bring it to the register and pay €25 for a figure I didn’t really want.

the TK Maxx’s near me are stocked with baby toys, no TF’s whatsoever. I just get the feeling that Scout Class is too small to have ended up in one of these shops, as they sell a lot better than the big voyagers and Titans.

 

I agree with point 1 and somewhat with point 3, as I have been in the situation where the search function was no help and the last ten pages provided no answers. Sometimes it's actually faster to ask and listen to someone rant, then you apologize, and then someone gives you the answer rather than looking back for it, haha. Point 2 is the only one I disagree with as people are just sharing the new toy they got. It shows that people are getting something cool and are excited enough to show it off. I don't want to rain on their parade when they're clearly showing off something they love, and it's easy enough to scroll past them if you're not interested. An old experience for one person may be a completely new one for another after all. Though if someone does post 40 full size images in a single post, it can be hard for my internet to keep up, haha!

 

And I understand that... but they can highlight the "best" pictures (2 or 3 of them), and then keep the rest as thumbnails that people can click and open the slideshow.

If we could extract the posts that are showing near identical pictures of the same figure right now, I wouldn't be surprised that we'd end up with something like over 10 pages of repetitive images of Spinister.

While I enjoy the figure just as much as everyone, I'm starting to hate it too because of this, I'm simply getting over-saturated.

I'm not talking about new something that makes the figure stand out, I'm talking that it looks like someone simply copied someone else's picture and changed the background of another living room or kitchen table. That it's just a duplication of someone else's picture, over and over.

If anything, how about creating a thread that is 100% Spinister (or whichever figure) oriented and people can post there to their heart's content.

 

And as my other post... I completely understand that people are excited and all that, and it's not to "limit", but just to take an approach that wouldn't be so overwhelming... the function to post your images on here is truly great and should be used properly, and I just that it's just curtsy to not post more than a few images and leave the rest as a slideshow so not to overwhelm a page.

But what you're saying as an admin member is a bit of a contradiction, as example, some members that are doing an amazing job with making fun storylines are asked to use the collapsible "spoiler". Their posts are great and entertaining, and being full size is part of the narrative, but here they are, being dictated about it... but yet, others are allowed to post several+ huge images of a very repetitive nature that doesn't add much.

Not cool.

 

Tending to go with the current flow of a particular thread, I try to post pics that are relevant to the current topic. Springer, for example, is hot on the Siege appreciation thread currently. Spinister just happens to be a popular figure right now which many people seem to enjoy (based on my likes count). I try to stay within the limits of forum rules and try to keep it under 10 pics at a time. I’ll mix up each post with different action poses and pic styles to try to keep it interesting. Sorry if showing off some cool stuff is slowing everyone down, I’ll take it down a notch to 5-6 pics if it feels oversaturated. Just doing my best to follow rules while sharing what I’m excited about at the same time which is what these forums are for. And as for the over sharing of one cool figure, kinda hard to focus on anything else when there’s nothing new coming in and you gotta work with what you have and love. But, I wouldn’t want anyone to get overwhelmed and bored with one character in particular, so I’ll mix it up.

 

Actually Hotspot, Bludgeon and Terradive were €14 each when I bought them in TK Maxx.

 

God, do they still have some or is it too late?

 

It's not that member in particular, just overall.. I just think that all members should consider not posting repetitive images, and if they still want to, fine, but limit to a couple full size and the rest in thumbnail... it's not that mean and not asking too much I'd think.

Again, this is the "rant" thread.. so it's just something that I'm just saying is taking some of the fun away to have to re-see the almost same identical poses of the same figures over and over, just do something "new"... I love a lot of pictures that people do, especially those that are fresh, new, fun, are great to see. If this "rant" can motivate people to do such, then I'm happy.

 

I don't know I'm afraid.

 

Gap fillers can improve the appearance of a figure. Many are put off by the presence of hollow gaps. I’m used to them by now but I understand why others don’t.

Fillers and other add-on sets may seem dumb when they cost as-much-as if not more than the figure itself. But fans also spend large amounts on MP figures that are meant to be “perfect” representations. What’s the difference in spending more on fillers/add-ons if it gets a figure closer to one’s “ideal” version?

I like that the choice of fillers and other add-ons exist though I don’t often purchase any myself.

 

This.

I just wish Hasbro would do the decent thing to start with. Plus they'd sell more toys in the first instance if your first impression wasn't 'Urgh, those arms' and/or 'so factor in the cost of fillers, plus postage...'.

Fillers should be for paranoid and/or vain people... Actually, never mind, we've all seen some of the vitriol in the Earthrise threads.

 

I kinda realized the other day that one day my chug collection will be complete, all the gaps will be filled, every character variation I'll have for g1 and god damnit that scared the shit out of me kinda. That the one thing I've been working towards most of my collecting life will be finished someday, sure there's always gonna be new g1 stuff and I may replace one or two figures but that strange feeling of what happens next worries me. sure I'll probably collect other continuities besides g1 chug, but for some reason that idea of my chug collection being complete feels just strange. I dunno I just wanted to ramble my thoughts out and my fears of not ever getting actual good pretenders before I die in the space world of 2090ish

 

That's like saying that you can buy a house and it's fine with walls that are missing. So go to the bathroom while the guest in the living room can see you...

Depending on someone's age, they might not remember the earlier stuff that either had no gaps, or very little and the quality of such toys was vastly superior.

While gaps might not be a concern to some, it actually is to others, and it's not just about perception, but the toy's integrity, it makes them cheaper, it makes them look terrible unless you view them from a single side, usually the front.t

And your own words are self-defeating, as you say it "that person's perceived enjoyment of a figure", so if the person can't enjoy the figure as it is and needs to make corrections, then it is NOT "fine".

That's like saying to accept a half complete toy, because the truth is, that is what is happening.

Take Siege Omega for example.. he's actually gapless, he's freaking amazing for it. Then look at one that does have gap fillers such as Ultra Magnus.

Take G1 Perceptor and the TM update... between the two, it's not even comparable how much more solid and absolutely great the G1 is.. even if the renewal does have amazing articulation, it simply feels like a cheap KO.

So to say that it's not needed, have you handled one that had the gap fillers for a while... ? 'cause if you had, once you go to one that doesn't have them, you'd see how cheaper it feels.

Hasbro is cutting corners, at the price of very little savings and making people turn away. If the plastic is so expensive, etc. then take what's being used in the packaging and sell the toys in a cardboard box with eggcarton holder like they do with the larger figures.

So sure, the toy stand up and such without the fillers, but for the question of "are they needed".. I say yes, they are, I like my toys to look nice, to look solid, a bit of "realism" to them, and not be a cheap empty ridden mimic. If you like half-open, half-empty toys, that's great that you have reached that level of acceptance. but some prefer a proper toy that for the prices that they are sold for, should be complete and not need fillers and kits.

I never did before but now I did with Siege as it's called fixing the failures, the mishaps, and the quality issues, and not "perceived enjoyment". I simply want my toys to look and feel "right" and complete.

 

Saying gaps in forearms are equivalent to relieving yourself in front of house guests because you lack walls is a bit dramatic don’t you think? I mean, I don’t think it’s going to cause the same level of embarrassment. And I say this as someone who once forgot to shut the door while guests were over...