New and old Transformers make the world go around
Even when there are decent finds at a flea market or toy show or whatever you have attended, it is often hard to get past that one amazing piece that totally made the show for you. My first Botcon was like that. Even though the pre-Beast Wars set (plus add-ons!) were absolutely amazing, even though I got two full sets (with two figures each!) from the customizing class of insect drones to turn into a Rumble or Inferno, even though there were so many other amazing finds like South American transformers and other characters, what I remember about the show are the MIB Clench and Pyro that I bought from the Hartmans for $15 a pop.
A thirty dollar purchase stands out when hundreds do not.
And so it’s the same with last weekends show. Even though it was a really good day for inexpensive Transformers, it’s really hard to focus on anything other than Great Mazinga. Which is a shame because there were some other really good finds that day, and related to my primary collection (Transformers) that really need to be addressed.
There was a miscellaneous box of Transformers that I found during the day for $40 for everything there. It actually caught my eye because Julie is a Dinobot fiend and I thought she’d like the blue G2 Grimlock (that I’ve previously picked up). To facilitate her pick-up, I haggled the box cost down to $30, a price I was willing to spend, figuring that I would recoup half of that back with a fair $15 sale to Julie. Which I did.
But what I got for the other $15 surprised even me. Because I really didn’t look that closely at what was there until I got home, beyond the Grimlock and the G2 Brawl. TM Tarantulas, TM Rattrap, TM Optimus Primal, one of those bird transformers from Energon, a Rocklord, and a few other characters. For $15, they were worth a pick-up on their own. Add in a nice G2 Brawl, and it was a good find. Otherwise a find for the day, but one that pales besides Great Mazinga.
But what makes the story EVEN BETTER is that the seller, after accepting my price, then draws my attention ON HER OWN to six little Micromasters sitting on her table. Including Countdown. Who I love. Who I don’t have. And then she says, she’ll let them go for $15.
Sold.
Later on I also grabbed a small bag of McFormers, that happened to come with the Movie Optimus Prime cake topper that comes with a store-bought cake that I’ve been trying to convince anyone who will listen they should buy me so I can get. And now I have it. For cheap. And without bad cake. Woot!
There was more that day. The Octane I picked up for a few bucks from the Microdealer. The vintage $20 Boba Fett, circa 1980. The odd Mountie that is going off to hopefully join a toy museum in Japan I discovered (and which I’ll get around to discussing one of these days). The $2 Action Masters and the $2 (!) Overdrive from the Pony dealer who lost Julie’s Ponies. The Essoformer (part of a series of mid-1980s toys to be featured in the future). A good day
And then we went to Toys ‘r Us.
TRU was having a 25% off sale. These days, as much as possible, I try and hold out for 25% sales, because I only get upset when I buy for full price and what a sale would have saved me. Yes, it can be risky because it means some figures may disappear. But overall it is working. And so it was that I brought home Highbrow, the Overlord-repaint of the Fallen, Payload, and Banzai-Tron. It also allowed me to return two previously purchase full cost figures - Strafe and Lugnut - so I could get a 25% discount on them as well. Overall, I saved $45 on the six, and would have spent saved more if they had had Grappel or Deep Dive, both of whom I still want.
The rest of the picture is filled with purchases from Sunday. A Constructicon green garbage can for the new toy room in the new house, two water bottles, a new lock, and the first two mini-MLP:FiM figures for Kirilaw. She now has five in total. We continue to search for Fluttershy who seems to be shortpacked.
The day ended with a great threeway lunch at Lone Star (texmex) and a return to TRU to delicately go through all the Lego wave 4 figure assortments so Kellie could catch them all (she got 15 of 16 in the end), and from which collection the geisha figure came into my possession.