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Post by admin1 aka Ed on Apr 30, 2003 18:35:36 GMT -5
What is your biggest complaint in the toy collecting hobby? -- Vintage -- Modern / current
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Post by ghosstryda on Apr 30, 2003 23:32:58 GMT -5
in regards to Chogokin and godaikin -- Vintage - Too expensive, and SO little to go around.... -- Modern / current - Too expensive for being made in China, poorer quality than late 70's and early to mid 80's toys... made in China.... or did i say that all in the first sentence?
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Post by shaxper on Apr 30, 2003 23:38:11 GMT -5
Not enough commitment to quality. I miss the toys that were literally designed to be your playmate for the year.; not some single gimmick with cost cutting parts. Early Transformers, Diaclone, Chogokin, they all had it. Bandai still does to an extent, but it's become far rarer. And Hasbro's reissues of the early TFs are embarrassing.
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Post by jwm on May 1, 2003 19:19:36 GMT -5
My biggest beef is how hard it is to find this stuff in an actual store. I live in the Los Angeles area. You'd think I could just run down to the corner anime store, and check out the new SOC issues as they roll off the boat. My last three purchases came from Missouri, (a PG Zaku kit) New York, (SOC EVA I), and Wisconsin (1/60 SOC Rick Dom from BBTS). And the EVA, and the Dom are pre-orders that I don't even have yet. Hearing complaints about quality makes me uneasy about buying stuff sight unseen from shops thousands of miles away. But, on the bright side, Yesterday I found a shop here in Whittier that has some cool stuff. The guy said he had the Sazabi DX at another location and he'd bring it up for me next week. You know, now as I think of it, maybe it's a GOOD thing this stuff is hard to find. JWM (I'm swearin' off after the Zabi)
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Post by JB on May 1, 2003 20:29:12 GMT -5
JWM,
I live in Pasadena. There's 6 nice vintage stores in L.A. and Orange County that I go to. If you're interested in their addresses, email me.
Who you kiddin'?
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Post by admin1 aka Ed on May 1, 2003 20:44:11 GMT -5
Vintage- Dishonest and fraud are my biggest complaints. Just a few bad apples can spoil the taste of the hobby. Current-- Price-point. In that I mean that more satisfying, well made robots need to be priced right. It is unfortunate that most of the cool toys won't land in the hands of kids.........prices are too darned high. I think it is completely uncool to tempt the kids with great toys only to give them sticker shock. Things are improving in this area though..............
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Post by jwm on May 11, 2003 12:10:54 GMT -5
Collecting these darn things almost reminds me of buying stuff on the black market- you know someone who heard that they got just what you want over at some place ridiculously far away and all you gott'a do is call Louie at the corner pay phone and he'll hook you up with a mint-in-box chogo from 1978... The Sazabi hasn't materialized yet despite several calls. The "Glorious Series 1/60 Rick-Dom" will be here soon, but only now that it's on the way do I find out that it's going to be a model kit. I was expecting a "Soul of Chogokin" issue. No big deal, really. I was looking for an excuse to start another model. And the SOC EVA won't be released until June. Another month's wait. But on the bright side- Since the Zabi hasn't come through yet, I have an indefinite amount of time to get stuff before I need to worry about swearing off. JWM
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Post by Omni Existence on May 12, 2003 13:01:25 GMT -5
My biggest complaint has to be the prices. The price factor falls for both the Vintage and New toys.
Vintage- old, tattered, missing parts/accessories/boxes, broken limbs, but still costs an arm leg and your right @$$ cheek, very hard to come by. Plus, the nostalgia factor is so high, you end up throwing in your left @$$ cheek in the basket just to get one vintage toy.
New- made in China, costs an arm and a leg, usually produced in limited numbers, too many variants, lesser gimmiks, size is less to be desired.
Although, on a more positive note, I do find the new toys more pleasing to the eye compared to the old school ones.
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Post by www-greattoys-net on May 13, 2003 1:13:42 GMT -5
My biggest complaint has to be the prices. The price factor falls for both the Vintage and New toys. Vintage- old, tattered, missing parts/accessories/boxes, broken limbs, but still costs an arm leg and your right @$$ cheek, very hard to come by. Plus, the nostalgia factor is so high, you end up throwing in your left @$$ cheek in the basket just to get one vintage toy. New- made in China, costs an arm and a leg, usually produced in limited numbers, too many variants, lesser gimmiks, size is less to be desired. Although, on a more positive note, I do find the new toys more pleasing to the eye compared to the old school ones. my vote goes to the old school ones, it just makes you so "wow" seeing how they try to squeeze ever inch of gimik or ability into these blocky handsome (i mean ugly) chogokins! but the GX-13 Dancougar is one masterpiece toy! really looks like he just jumped out of your TV screen!
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Post by shaggyfan on May 15, 2003 0:13:58 GMT -5
--Vintage: Making or selling fake toys. Like Gold-Lightan and Mazinger Z 3rd,4th verion. They are ruinate our confindence to collect them. Darn the people who did this bad thing.
--Modern: Not too much surprise. Regarding to the name of "Soul of Chogokin", the name should be changed as "Soul of plastic". Don't you think so?
Shaggy.
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Post by RMC on May 18, 2003 10:25:33 GMT -5
Biggest complaint is easy, cost. Second biggest, the hobby just doesn't seem to exist in the UK. No specialist stores that stock much in the way of Japanese toys, we don't even get half the toys US stores get through Diamond. I'm pretty new to this so maybe there's more in the UK than I think, but the cost of shipping things here and the wait can be a real drag. Vintage complaints: I'm new to all this and don't really know much about vintage toys. I'm interested, but it seems to be quite hard to get into, so many different things to look at that it's a little overwhelming and hard to know where to begin. Otherwise it's cost again. Modern complaints: Cost . Can't really complain about quality as I don't really have a frame of reference. - Russell
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Post by mechapunk on May 18, 2003 14:56:31 GMT -5
Welcome to the boards Russel! I find it interesting we have someone from UK who shares our enthusiasm for Japanese toys. How is the hobby there?
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Post by RMC on May 18, 2003 16:48:41 GMT -5
Welcome to the boards Russel! I find it interesting we have someone from UK who shares our enthusiasm for Japanese toys. How is the hobby there? There's not too much of a hobby scene here (as far as I know). I guess the closest we get are Transformer conventions, but they're pretty small and most of the fans don't have much interest in toys outside of Transformers. I got into things from anime and more general toy collecting. Anime is a pretty small hobby over here too, last year it was a big thing that one of the two anime conventions that year reached 600 attendees (go back 2 years and there was only 1 anime convention a year). Toy fairs are predominated by Star Wars, you'll find a few Transformers, usually US or UK releases of them. So I guess you could say that the hobby's not that great over here, unless it's getting a release in the west like Power Ranger Megazords or Zoids you'll not see much in shops. When you do the prices can be terrible, worst I've seen was a DX Sazabi for nearly $100. But the Internet means I can find stores for this stuff, news and sites with other who share the interest. So I'm just left pregnant dog ing about how I never see the stuff in shops and always have to pay so much to ship it here.
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Post by mechapunk on May 19, 2003 15:09:42 GMT -5
When you do the prices can be terrible, worst I've seen was a DX Sazabi for nearly $100. But the Internet means I can find stores for this stuff, news and sites with other who share the interest. So I'm just left pregnant dog ing about how I never see the stuff in shops and always have to pay so much to ship it here. That is really mean, a DX Sazabi for nearly three times its original cost. insane. Too bad your place is too far. UK may need more exposure on the Japanese anime scene. Both the old school and new school ones.
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Post by jwm on May 19, 2003 17:56:06 GMT -5
What strikes me here is that most of the stuff we gripe about is exactly the stuff that makes this a very cool hobby. (mania?) I 've mentioned before-I'm the only person I know who is into anime at all, much less robot collecting or model building. If it weren't for the internet I would never have known if anyone else on the planet (outside of Japan) enjoyed these things. It takes effort- it's hard to find these little devils, and they cost a lot . There is an element of risk, buying things sight-unseen. But it's fun owning something that nobody else you know has ever seen before. (unlike say, Star Wars figures) Even better when you know you share a passion with people scattered all over the world: America, Italy, the Phillipines, the UK -It's like belonging to a secret club. The rip-offs are sad, but crooks have always existed. And we've all made mistakes. Still- we're havin' fun, right? JWM
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Post by RMC on May 19, 2003 18:04:38 GMT -5
But the Internet means I can find stores for this stuff, news and sites with other who share the interest. So I'm just left pregnant dog ing about how I never see the stuff in shops and always have to pay so much to ship it here. LOL, you know I don't remember typing "pregnant dog" in. But oddly now it says it... Have I suffered from some bizarre forum filter? Maybe I left my terminal unlocked at work and a colleague decided to have a joke (though I'd expect something worse)? Ah well, in case you're worried I don't normally randomly mention pregnant animals in conversation. - Russell
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Post by admin1 aka Ed on May 19, 2003 21:15:53 GMT -5
Oh YES JWM Indeed I'm having fun! Risk does have a certian rush from it, kind of like X-Games sports. And then along with all the difficulty of finding these toys comes anticipation of "the catch"
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Post by jwm on May 20, 2003 20:41:55 GMT -5
Well- I got a catch today. Back in April I gave in to impulse and pre-ordered a 1/60 Rick Dom. I thought it was going to be a chogokin issue. It turned out to be a model. (what comes of not doing your homework) It arrived today. The actual model looks about as complex as a High-Grade kit with big pieces,and more nuts and bolts. The trick is going to be hooking up 21 led's. I looked at the instructions, and felt a little ill. 21 blankety blankin' led's... aaarrrrgggghhh. But on closer inspection, the task didn't look impossible. Ah-well. And I'm still waiting on EVA. JWM
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Post by jwm on May 22, 2003 21:23:12 GMT -5
...and not to reply to my own post, but if you think it's a bummer getting burned on a robot, try getting your car swiped. I like to try and see the bright side of things, but there are events that are genuinely worth griping about. I wish jail on someone in L.A. JWM
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Post by shaxper on May 22, 2003 22:28:00 GMT -5
incidentally, the board types in "pregnant dog" when you write b*tch. perhaps we mods should discuss whether the censor is worth keeping...
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