2012 ToyCon - Mega Hauls!

Three days of toy hunting.

I was able to attend the convention for two days. The convention opens at 10:00 in the morning and closes at 10:00 in the evening, my work starts at 2:00 in the afternoon and ends at 11:00 in the evening. Basically I have three hours (10:00am-1:00pm) to take photos, visit each and every stalls, dig into piles of toys, eat, drink and rest then rush to the office. After two days of doing that I did not have enough sleep to do it again on the last day of the convention. Nevertheless, it was fun fun fun! The ToyCon that was held last year did not meet the expectation of most of the people who attended, two halls jam packed with cosplayers and display stalls. Not enough toys for a convention dedicated for toys. We were not expecting much for this years ToyCon that is why when we arrived at the con on the first day we were surprised and really happy to see that they occupied three huge halls for this years convention. Not only that, during the opening the MC announced that the first day would be retailers day. Yes no cosplayers for the first day (I don't have anything against cosplayers, my cousin does cosplay and I even help him with his costumes. It's just hard to roam around and look for toys when every now and then you get hit with something spiky or huge. :D), just toy fun. As soon as we entered the hall my brother and I separated (he is into figures) and just like what is expected the hall was filled with toys! It took me two hours to locate the stalls who sells die cast cars and look for the cars that is in my wish list. I was able to purchase several cars that is included in my side collect but none for my main line. No remote controlled cars as well. I did manage to borrow a digital camera from my cousin, I took pictures on the second day and was able to get a couple of cars again. I also meet two collectors from DCPH.info and got several more cars from them. Thank you again to James and Shilo! (you can also visit Shilo's blog here Shilos Garage) I will posting my hauls on a separate post but here are the pictures that I was able to take on the second day of the convention. Sorry for the poor image quality, don't worry I will be getting a DSLR, hopefully! :D

Die cast Pictures

Random Toys

Here is a picture of me with V and a picture of the very busy crowd.

And on my way to work I saw this very beautiful display! I really wanted to sit inside the cockpit.

Thanks for looking! See you in my next post. :D

Online Hauls - Nikko Cosmo Flash & Tamiya QD Clod Buster

For my previous posts my hauls came from conventions and toy stores, like any other avid toy collectors I'm also a member of several forums and I also browse online stores to look for toys. For my post today, I will be sharing two of my Hauls that I got from the Internet. One is from an online store and the other one came from a fellow forum member.

It is very very rare for you to find something really cheap and something that you really like at the same time specially in an online store. But it is possible. I do check online stores but I rarely buy something there. I only purchase toys in online stores if the shipping cost is not that expensive and if the I really really like the toy. During one of my regular visit in an online store I saw a new post for Nikko Remote Control. Whenever I check a post, I first check the pictures and if I like what I see I then check the price and then the location. And that is what I did when I saw the Nikko, I checked the pictures and saw that front wheels are melted but everything else is there and in good condition. I then checked the price and saw that it was just selling for 350.00 Philippine Peso (roughly $9). I got excited because it was really cheap considering the condition of the kit. I then checked the location and was really happy to learn that the seller is willing to do meet ups in Manila. I arranged for a meet up and I had my brother do the meet up because he is much closed to the sellers location.

Later that week my brother arrived with the Nikko RC. It is a Nikko Cosmo Flash, It says in the box that it is 1/15 scale. Everything is there when I opened the box, it does not seem that it has been played with or anything. It does not have any scratches, it is dirty but there are no scratches, this made the price much much cheaper. Now all I need to do is look for a replacement tire, buy some batteries and this baby will be flashing in no time.

My second haul came from a fellow forumer. I recieved a PM from him and he told me that he wants to sell a Tamiya RC that he had since he was a kid. I was really excited when I got this PM, just imagine that, he got the Tamiya RC when he was a kid, 10 years, 15 years back that is vintage no matter what model it is. I sent him an SMS and asked for the model and his asking price, he replied with Tamiya Clod Buster and 1,500 Peso ( roughly $36) and the location where he can do meet ups. I got even more excited when I learned that it is a Clod Buster, Clods are HUGE! I agreed with the price and we agreed on the date and location for the meet up. He did mention the size of the car in inches and that confused me because what he told me is that it's just 12 inches long. A Clod Buster, well the one that I usually see being modified to be a crawler is at least 15 inches long, but I agreed to do meet up anyways.

Meet up.

I saw him approaching and I was like "Is that a Clod Buster?" in my mind. The car in the plastic bag that he brought is small. We greeted each other and went to business. I took the car out of the bag and saw that it is really a Clod Buster, and then I remembered, Tamiya released a QD version of the Clod Buster. I checked the condition of the kit and tried to haggle. The kit is missing its transmitter but the condition of the kit is fair. Good for the price that I got it. I was really happy with how the seller dealt with my haggling, he was really kind and straight forward. He even promised that if ever he finds the TX he will let me know. (I'm still waiting for his SMS though XD) I'm really not sure if I will be restoring this kit or just use the shell for a Wheely King because I'm planning on buying one as well. Anyways here is a pic of the monster Clod Buster.

I know I have been posting RC hauls for the past three posts, don't worry, I'm just taking photos of my die cast hauls and I will be posting them soon.

The Bird Talked To Me - Nikko TransAM

When I go out hunting for toys it is usually not really scheduled. But there is this sort of way point which I follow whenever I decide to go out and look for toys. It is usually like this, Mall>Mall>Flea>Flea>Flea>Mall, this would usually cover my whole day of hunting. But in rare instances, I don't follow this. Usually when I decide to go somewhere I have not gone to for a long time, one of this instances is the one that I am going to post right now.

I woke one morning and decided to go look for toys, I wanted to go to this one particular flea store located in a very busy and well known spot in Manila. I rarely go there because it is far, out of way when I do the regular way point and they don't really sell toys. They sell housewares, office wares, books and stuffed toys and kids toys. Sometimes though, mixed and hidden amongst the dirty and smelly stuffed toys and kids toys are some good toys. I have seen several Transformers, Star Wars, Ben 10, and other good stuffs there. A lot of trashed, broken and incomplete Matchbox and Hotwheels. So I went there hoping that I can score some Hotwheels and Matchbox.

I arrived at the place and saw some familiar toys that are still there, never to be bought, because they are dirty and broken and one more thing, one more reason I do not go to this store often is the price, they don't sell the toys cheap. Halfway inside the store I was already regretting the decision to visit the store, in my mind I was wishing I have gone to a different store instead. I made a quick scan of the scattered toys and decided to dive in, I'm here anyways might as well spend a little more time and look for stuffs that I can use in the future, is what I said to myself. I was holding onto some Hotwheels with good wheels that I can use for modding some Hotwheels that I have. I was about to check out but decided to pass by the kids toys bay that includes toy sets like Lego and other adventure sets that includes most of the time a fold able diorama with caves and holes where you can place your action figures and play. You can also find some Duplo and Tonka toys here scattered. I really did not expect to see something there, but there it was seated beautifully with its gloss black color and gold decals. I immediately dropped the Hotwheels that I have in hand and picked up the car, I was disappointed to find that the side mirrors where missing, but all in all the condition of the car was excellent, some minor scratches but nothing more. No leaks and corrosion in the battery compartment, then I remembered, where is the transmitter. Looked around to check if the transmitter is there, I went to the cashier to check if they have it but unfortunately it was really not included when the car arrived in their store. I asked how much and the attendant answered "1,500 po." without even batting an eyelash. With the cars condition, transmitter missing and no way for me to know if it is still running not to mention it has no box, 1,500.00 (roughly $36) is too much. I tried to haggle but the attendant was firm. I thought for awhile and decided to let it go. I placed it back to where I found it and left the store.

A week later, after reading about the car in the net, I decided to go back and try to haggle some more and buy the car no matter what. I arrived at the store and went straight to the bay where I left the car. It was not there, I panicked and felt disappointed at the same time. I knew for a fact that I am not the only toy collector who goes to the store. I decided to check the other bay hoping that it was placed somewhere else. Surprise surprise! At the bay where the stuffed toys are placed, covered by a medium sized white stuffed bear, the car was hidden. I think someone was trying to hide the car and get it later. I wasted no time and went to the cashier. The attendant to whom I talked is no where to be found, I saw this as an opportunity, instead of asking what the price for the car is, I asked this: "Ate, pwede ba to sa 500?" (Can I buy this for 500?), the new attendant picked up the car and looked at it, she was about to say something, I think a higher price, that is why I decided to cut her off. "Sige na ate." (come on ate) I told her, she looked at the car again. While she was looking at the car I tried some epic-psychological-haggling-method on her, "Wala naman nang box at controller ate, hindi natin alam kung gumagana pa yan." (The box and the controller is missing, we cannot test it if it is still working) I told her. She looked at me again and then said "Ok.". Epic-psychological-haggling-method is epic! I walked out of the store a happy boy with one big bad ash Trans Am.

Here is a picture of the car, I'm still trying to look for replacement parts for the side view mirror. I planning to repaint it gloss black to cover up some of the scratches. I have not tried buffing wax yet, but I will give that a go as well. I have another Nikko transmitter with the same transmitter signal with the car but I have not tried it yet. The battery for the car is a mix of C's and AA's which is a bummer but everything else is good.