Most Singaporeans are aware from watching the news and reading the newspapers that one of our Integrated Resorts has partially started business this week.  Well, only 4 of the 6 hotels at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) opened their doors to visitors.  The other 2 hotels and the rest of the resort, including the casino and its Universal Studios Singapore theme park are not ready for the public yet.

I visited the Universal Studios theme park at Hollywood in USA just last month and I had an awesome time there!  I also noted that there are many stores that sell the toys and merchandise of various famous and popular Hollywood movies, like those of Madagascar, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Shrek, Terminator and Avatar (of which the last 2 toylines haven’t been seen at mass retail in Singapore yet).  Merchandise based on much older Hollywood classics like “I Love Lucy” and Betty Boop were also widely seen at the souvenir stores there.

Looking at the list of retail stores at Universal Studios Singapore, a similar range of movie toylines and merchandise have been prepared for its stores here as well.  However, the website does not state further details on what are the specific Sci-Fi toys and merchandise at its stores here.  I’m sure the ever growing local community of movie fans and toy collectors are very eager to know.

I’ve heard (from a reliable source) that Terminator and Avatar toys are not available at its stores here, yet.  (Tough luck Terminator and Avatar fans!)  There are no confirmed plans to bring them in for now. Hopefully their retail management would consider making its Universal Studios Singapore stores a hub for collectible movie toys in Singapore.  I’m sure most people who visit the theme park would also be in the shopping mood for such popular movie souvenirs!

I don’t have the opening date for Universal Studios Singapore yet.  It’s supposed to be scheduled to open sometime in the first quarter of this year.  The ticket price is around SGD 60.00+.  Most people would go there for the movie themed rides.  One of the most thrilling rides is the roller coaster that goes upside down, which I believe is a first in Singapore (I’m not game enough for such high adrenalin rush rides).  That should be exciting for the braver visitors!

Till we have more news of the retail toy attractions at Universal Studios Singapore, we can only wait to visit the place some day soon to immerse ourselves in the Hollywood experience and do some movie toys shopping there!  Happy waiting everyone!

As a follow up to yesterday’s blog post on how to quit your toy hobby, here are some tips on managing your toys population and keeping you happy with your toy hobby:

Toy population control tips

Most toy collectors I know, do not collect just one toyline.  They tend to ‘jump’ from toyline to toyline due to fads and effective marketing gimmicks by the media, especially for movie toys.  Hence they end up with lots of toys over the years.  ideally, older and “out of season” fad toys should give way to “new fads”.

So it’s best to periodically cull your older toylines that you no longer like.  You’ve got to treat them something like old clothes.  They’ve served their purpose in your life and they should be passed on to others who appreciate them.  This will free up some space for new toylines into your life.  

Toy storage tips

If proper toy storage is a big issue for you and you don’t wish to cull so many toys, and that you are very sure you still want to keep on collecting toys, then you can consider investing in some creative and fun ways to display and store them.

Some toy collectors have literally customised their homes to suit their toy hobbies.  Here is an example from Singapore:

@lex Gen X 1:6 Hardcore and his Toy Haven!

You don’t have to revamp the entire interior deco of your home for your toy hobby, but just dedicate a section of it to store and display your toys aesthetically would be good enough!

Do let me know if these tips have been useful to you.  If you have more to share, feel free to add them here.  I’d love see your contributions!

This blog post is a modified version of an email reply to one of my blog readers.

My Toy Story

For me, I’ve been collecting toys for over 10 years.  At several points, I wanted to quit due to lack of proper storage space, and declining interest in some toylines that I used to like.  Sometimes it was due to stress at some points in my life.

I started in the mid-90s with Toy Biz X-Men action figures, which I still have (I think no one collects them anymore).  Then I went on to collect vintage 80’s My Little Pony (MLP) and all to the current MLPs.  The MLP global online collecting community is very active, so I can clear some of my unwanted pony herds quite conveniently, though sometimes at below cost, since I open most of my toys.

Toy quitting tips

If you really want to quit this hobby completely, it’s better to let it ‘die off’ gradually than do a sudden drastic ‘kill’.  After all, you probably have collected them for many years by now, which means they are a huge part of your life.

Before you quit your toy hobby, you’ve got to find another fulfilling hobby to replace it.  A new hobby that fits in with the current stage of your life, and one that would take up so much of your time that your toy hobby will not such an obsession as before.

The learning of your new hobby and the toy selling tips above should ideally run concurrently.  If you have a new hobby to occupy the newly freed up “toy void” in your life, the chances of really moving on are greater.  In other words, if you have no new hobby to replace your 20 year old toy hobby, you are likely to revert to the toy collecting cycle over and over again.

Last but not least, stay away from places that sell them, or places where you know toy collectors tend to gather (both online and physical venues).  Do not tell yourself that you are only looking and would not buy.  Chances are that you will eventually end up buying something if you keep looking at it and that will likely kick start your toy collecting hobby all over again. 

Toy selling tips

- Forums

If the toys you collect are still popular with collectors today, your best shot is to find the leading online forums for those toylines and join them.  Introduce yourself first and contribute meaningfully & regularly in their discussions.  Share your toy collecting knowledge and experiences with the others when they post queries. 

Then after a few months (you use this time to take photos and compile toy descriptions etc.), you may post your toy sale list for others to see.  You can also include a link to a webpage of toys you have for sale in your signature.  Don’t post your sale list too soon after you join.  People may get put off.

- ebay

Read and follow ebay rules, terms and conditions for selling there. 

- Consignment

Find out if your local collector’s toy shops have this service.  Some of them do, provided if they think your toys can sell and they have the shop space to spare.  Terms and conditions at their discretion would apply.

In Singapore, I do sell my toys on consignment at Toy Outpost.

Tomorrow, I shall post some tips on managing your toys population!  Be back to read them!

Stickers upgrade for Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF) Deluxe Ice Cream Truck toy.

If you are the kind of toy collector who wants your movie toys to look as screen accurate as they can, then custom stickers like the set featured in the above video might appeal to you! 

I’ve not used such stickers from ReproLabels before and I do not belong to that category of toy collectors.  The additional stickers on the ROTF Deluxe Ice Cream Truck toy look quite interesting, although they also make the vehicle surface look a bit cluttered with decals. 

Besides for Transformers toys, ReproLabels also has stickers upgrade for Zoids, Macrospeada and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (MMPR) toys of the 90s!  If you’re keen, you may wish to check them out to see if their custom stickers appeal to you and your toys!

As mentioned in my blog post yesterday, here are more photos that I took of the San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) 2009 exclusive G.I.Joe The Rise Of Cobra (ROC) McCullen-Destro 3.75-inch action figures 2-pack box set.

This is the front view of the exterior box that is sealed.  You can’t examine the figures contained inside while you’re at the store, unless the store personnel slice open the clear tape for you.

Once you open the exterior box, you’ll find another box packaging inside that resembles a very thick ancient book.  This the “front cover” of the “book box” packaging.  

Another view of the “front cover” of the “book box” packaging. 

The back view of the ”book box” packaging. 

Another back view of the ”book box” packaging. 

The “book box” can be opened (like a real book) to reveal the 2 MOC 3.75-inch figures inside.  The medieval ancestor of modern day Destro is on the left, while the latter is on the right. 

A close up view of ROC 3.75-inch James McCullen IX (the 9th) action figure MOC.

A close up view of ROC 3.75-inch James McCullen XXIV (the 24th) action figure MOC.

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Overall, this is a very nice pair of ROC 3.75-inch figures.  The original retail price tag was SGD 59.90 during the Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention (STGCC) last year.  It used to be a Toys “R” Us (TRU) exclusive here, but not anymore.  It has since showed up in other local departmental stores on clearance sale (@ SGD 15.00). 

I prefer the corporate attire version of ROC Destro figure to the single pack version in some classic dictator uniform.  If you see this SDCC exclusive on sale, it’s worth picking up for your ROC toy collection!  It’s still available at OG Orchard where I got this piece from.  Happy ROC toy sale shopping!

As a follow up to my blog post yesterday about my G.I.Joe the Rise of Cobra (ROC) vehicle toys sale hauls, here some more of the heavily discounted ROC toys I’ve picked up this week from OG for a collector who is overseas. 

I didn’t buy all these ROC toys and those I posted about yesterday in one trip.  Most of my ROC toy hauls were “surprise catches”, meaning I went to the store to pick up other common ROC toys, but was lucky enough to meet the new discounted stocks being put out for sale! 

This is supposed to be an overseas Toy “R” Us (TRU) exclusive, but the Hasbro delivery guy removed every TRU sticker off each box before displaying them in OG, LOL!  There are 5 pcs of 3.75-inch figures and a black Mole Pod vehicle in this box set, all for SGD 24.90 only!  Of course every piece of toy in there are repainted versions in some way or another.

Nevertheless, the main characters like Duke and Ripcord are included, plus you get a Neo Viper Officer, a black repaint of normal Neo Viper and a G.I.Joe Pit Trooper!  All for about SGD 5.00 per figure, while you get the Mole Pod for free!  I find the glossy black Mole Pod here nicer looking than the single pack version.

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@ SGD 14.90 each.

Hmmm, what can I say for this ROC Senior Ranking Officers 3-pack?  Suitable for troop building?  They are all repaints (as usual).  The bronze colored Delta 6 Accelerator Suit looks rather interesting.  Perhaps it can serve as a prototype upgraded suit or something similar.  Sgt. Stone is great, if you don’t have him yet.

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@ SGD 14.90 each.

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This is a very cool looking ROC Deluxe 2-pack.  I would give the bike to Scarlett so that she can join in the Paris Pursuit street chase with her team to save the Effel Tower.  The Snake Eyes figure can go train with the other Joe figures who are dressed in similar blue camou uniforms.  There were still 2 more pieces of this ROC Snake Eyes with Bike when I left the store that day.

There was also a rather nice looking ROC Storm Shadow repaint (white w/some red stripes) on a similar white bike.  However the last piece I saw there had some paint job defects on Storm Shadow.  The rest were grabbed by a local ”Alpha Pack” G.I.Joe collectors clique I encountered that day.  They “swooped in” for the “kills” as soon as these ROC Deluxe 2-packs were unboxed by the Hasbro delivery guy…

@ SGD 15.00 each.

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Okay, this is one ROC toy that no one competed for.  Incidentally, it also happens to be one of the discounted ROC toys most worth picking up, and it’s quite numerous in number too (nearly 50 pcs there).  All the boxes were sealed.  The Hasbro delivery guy was helpful enough to slice open a box to let me view the 2 exclusive figures contained inside.  His kind gesture was much appreciated, thanks!

The San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) 2009 Exclusive ROC McCullen-Destro box set is very interesting.  I saw this set being sold during Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention (STGCC) last year.  The retail price back then was a hefty SGD 59.90, and it was a TRU exclusive here.  Now the same set is on clearance sale for only SGD 15.00!  Since I have the chance to examine it up close, I shall take more photos of it and post them here tomorrow!

Update: The above toys were indeed there on sale as of 15 January 2010.  On any date after that, I cannot guarantee.  You’ve got to go there and find out yourself. 

This has been a rather hectic week of G.I.Joe the Rise of Cobra (ROC) toys sale shopping for me.  I’ve been asked to buy some heavily discounted ROC toys from our local departmental stores for an overseas collector.  In a way, I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, but not so much the lugging of the bulky toy boxes home, LOL!  Here are some of my ROC toy hauls that I “netted” for him from OG. 

ROC Cobra Gunship @ SGD 29.90 each.

I wonder why they call this vehicle a “gunship”?  If you didn’t watch the movie and look at this toy alone, you would have thought that this is a kind of submarine.  Instead, it’s some sort of futuristic helicopter that flies without using rotors.

This is easily one of the coolest vehicles seen in the ROC movie, and it’s also a personal favourite of mine, together with the Night Raven and Steel Crusher APV.  I bought the APV too, but the photo turned out blurred.  I’ll take another photo and post it here when the natural lighting at my “toy photo studio” is good!

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ROC Rockslide ATAV @ SGD 17.90 each.

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I could barely remember this vehicle until I rewatched the ROC movie on DVD recently.  For a long while, I thought that the larger ROC Ice Dagger vehicle was the one portrayed in the movie.  Anyway, the Rockslide toy (I think “Snowslide” sounds like a more appropriate name for it) sits only 1 figure, unlike what you see in the movie where 2 people could fit into one such vehicle.

By the way, my friend asked me if the ROC Arctic Snake Eyes figure can fit into this Rockslide vehicle.  I’ve seen a video review of this toy on YouTube and it shows that the accompanying “Snow Job” figure (above) is quite a tight fit in the cockpit of the toy.  I think Arctic Snakes Eyes (who looks bulkier due to his eskimo outfit) may not fit in.  Can anyone who has these 2 toys loose, confirm this?  Thanks!

ROC Mantis Attack Craft @ SGD 17.90 each.

This ROC vehicle was a surprise catch.  I think the most suitable place I have for it is the BBQ pit!  Well you see, BBQ stingray happens to be one of my favourite local food.  The Joes can grill this “Manta Ray” during their camping trips by the sea, and down it with beer, LOL!

Then the Cobra forces would de-fin the Joes’ ROC Sharc submarines (named after and shaped like sharks) and sell the fins on the black market for exorbitant profits in revenge!  Tell me who’s smarter?  Haha!  So far I haven’t seen any ROC Sharc toys here yet.  I think they are a “highly endangered species”!

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ROC Night Raven @ SGD 29.90 each.

The Night Raven is another impressive vehicle in the ROC movie.  Too bad the jet in the movie had to be sacrificed in the end to save humanity.  Anyway this large toy comes with electronic features (batteries not included) that gives out lights and sound effects, unlike the smaller ROC vehicle toys.  In a way, it reminds me of the Blackbird Jet from the X-Men movies, but much slimmer in built!

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The above is just “part 1″.  Part 2 is coming up in my next post!  Come back again tomorrow to see what other interesting ROC toys I managed to haul in with my “nets”!

Update: The above toys were indeed there on sale as of 12 January 2010.  On any date after that, I cannot guarantee.  You’ve got to go there and find out yourself.

ROTF Voyager Defender Optimus Prime & Mindwipe action figures (SGD 51.90)

These 2 Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF) toys have been spotted at local departmental stores this week.  However, the various storewide sales have mostly ended, and so have the overall interest in ROTF toys by fans and collectors.  These 2 figures are not the movie version characters.  This Optimus Prime is yet another repaint, while Mindwipe did not appear in the ROTF movie.   

The video review of Mindwipe is available at my previous blog post about this toy.  The ROTF toys fad is over already.  The departmental stores still have plenty of ROTF toys sitting on their shelves and hanging on their pegs.  Very few people are buying them now.  Almost all the ”used to be highly sought after” figures (e.g. Voyager The Fallen & Deluxe Ice Cream Truck) are all widely available now, and collecting dust. 

If you are keen on getting some ROTF toys, you can wait for the upcoming Chinese New (CNY) sales and the post CNY sales to get them.  There is no hurry.  No one is buying these toys now, really.  Happy waiting to get your ROTF toys at storewide discounts!

I was at OG Orchard yesterday to pick up some of the heavily discounted G.I.Joe movie toys for an overseas collector.  I thought that it was going to be a quick toy shopping trip (I wanted to leave before the impending rain outside) until I encountered the Hasbro delivery guy busy unboxing all the newly supplied G.I.Joe movie toys there.  

There were some other adult male collectors ‘hovering’ around the delivery guy.  Some were in a clique, while the others were “lone rangers”.  It was interesting to observe how some of the very eager collectors ’swooped’ in for their ‘kills’ as soon as the G.I.Joe movie toys were unboxed and placed on a surface (e.g. on top of other merchandise, on the floor etc.) by the delivery guy.

For me, I was more like a ‘jackal’ who lingered along the fringes until the main ‘hyena pack’ had dispersed, before I could go in to pick at the ’scraps’, LOL!  For the G.I.Joe movie toy collectors who weren’t there yesterday, there are indeed new stocks, and not re-stocks! 

1) G.I.Joe movie 3.75-inch figures - Bench Press & Snow Serpent @ SGD 10.00 each.

2) SDCC 2009 G.I.Joe movie Destro-McCullen 2-pack (above) @ SGD 15.00 each.

3) G.I.Joe movie Senior Ranking Officers 3-pack - Cobra & G.I.Joe Teams @ SGD 14.90 each.

4) G.I.Joe movie Attack on the G.I.Joe Pit HQ boxset - containing 5 x figures & a repainted Mole Pod @ SGD 24.90 each.

5) G.I.Joe movie assorted Accessories Packs - the most notable are Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow on Bikes @ SGD 14.90 each.

Updates on previously reported G.I.Joe movie toy stocks there:

a) Night Raven, Steel Crusher APV & Cobra Gunship @ SGD 29.90 each, are still available, even after a customer called in to reserve 10 pcs of Night Ravens.

b) Smaller vehicles like Mole Pods @ SGD 17.90 each, have diminished to less than 10pcs.  But with the new availability of the glossier repainted and cheaper Mole Pod in the Attack on the G.I.Joe Pit HQ boxset, the single pack Mole Pods may not be as popular for now.

c) One of my blog readers asked me to name all the 3.75-inch figures (@ SGD 10.00 each) I saw there.  (Wow, he wants to test my memory skills is it, LOL?).  I’m new to this toyline, and I am still dazzled by the new stocks that came in yesterday.  Still, I do my best in what my memory could afford me:

- Neo Viper (Attack on the Pit)

- Cobra Viper (Desert Ambush)

- Duke (in brown army uniform)

- Heavy Duty (in army uniform)

- Zartan

- Cobra Commander

- Destro

- Bench Press (arrived yesterday) 

- Snow Serpent (arrived yesterday)

- Storm Shadow (Ninja Mercenary, just 1 pc but with bad face paint job) 

- Abel ‘Breaker’ Shaz (the techie guy)

- Duke (Reactive Armor Suit)

- The Baroness (Attack on the Pit)

- Ice Viper

For collectors looking for Storm Shadow (Paris Pursuit) and Snake Eyes (Ninja Commando), there are a few pieces left at OG Chinatown.  But their backcards are all badly folded.  Most of the stocks there are like that.

That’s all folks, happy toy shopping!

Update: The above toys are indeed there on sale as of 12 January 2010.  On any date after that, I cannot guarantee.  You’ve got to go there and find out yourself.

Wow, take a look at the upcoming wave 7 of the 3.75-inch Marvel Universe action figures!  These are scheduled for retail release by the first quarter of 2010.  In some countries, they might just reach their retail stores earlier than expected. 

Top row: Original Captain America, Classic Bucky & Luke Cage.

Middle row: Green Globin, Modern Thor & Iron Man.

Bottom row: Sub-Mariner, Black Widow & House of M Spiderman.

Nearly all the figures in this wave are new or revamped characters, and they all come with figure stands that are printed with their names.  At last, Hasbro has listened to the Marvel fans!  I hope the previous characters from the past waves (e.g. Green Goblin & Sub-Mariner above) will also be re-released with figure stands! 

Each of these figures are still retailing for SGD 18.90 here in Singapore.  (In the US, their retail price is around USD 7.99 or approx SGD 11.20 each).  Recently, many action figure toylines are going on clearance sales at our local departmental stores.  So far, the Marvel Universe figures have not followed suit yet. 

With the same characters being re-released over and over again in the recent revision waves, many local fans and collectors have already gotten the characters they want.  The rest of the repeated figures are currently languishing on the store pegs, and collecting dust too.

I won’t be surprised to see them going on clearance sale eventually in the coming months.  Of course by then, the highly sought after characters would be sold out.  The ones left on sale would be the common ones that everyone else has already, or doesn’t want.

I still have some of my remaining MOC Marvel Universe collection for sale in my toy locker 12G at Toy Outpost (Plaza Singapura, 7th floor, diagonally opposite cinema box office).   Just seek the help of the friendly store personnel at Toy Outpost if you need to examine the items up close or purchase them.  You can view the remaining figures of my sale list in here at this blog post! 

Happy toy shopping!