A Tale of Toyfairs and recent haul.....

Well, the San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) 2010 is finally over. Many cool toys were previewed and we as the unlucky ones could catch a glimpse by hopping on to several well-known sites such as http://www.cooltoyreview.com/ or http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/ just to name a few. I was particularly fond of the new releases by Hasbro and Mattel, namely their upcoming Star Wars and MOTU Classics figures. Guess we'll see those soon as most were slated for either 'end-of-year' or a 2011 release.

On the other hand, Malaysian collectors were pretty excited over the weekend (24-25 July'10) as we came to brace ourselves for the inaugural toy fair aptly named as....well, The Malaysia International Toys Fair 2010 or MITF '10 for shorts. I can tell you, there were already visitors expressing their dissatisfaction over the event but quickly quirked that it is somewhat acceptable given that it was the first time such an event was held over here in Malaysia. I think we shouldn't be too quick to jump the gun....I mean, there were highs and lows but overall it was an 'okay' event to say the least.


My wife, son and I arrived at the fair slighly before the clock struck 11. As expected, the entrance was already graced by the presence of the 501st Star Wars legion. Here in the picture you can see an AT-ST driver frolicking with a Snowtrooper. Noon was fast approaching hence the crowd was building at a steady rate.


The first view of the convention/fair from the entrance.


Some independent toy manufacturer displaying their stuffs...


Not quite sure what these 'box-heads' are called....they look cool nonetheless!


Animax had a booth too......though I fail to see the relevance of it.  They were neither selling or pushing any products. I guess Animax was there to promote their 'brand'. Their cosplayers didn't make any real impact too....all they did was hang around with each other without any real interactions with the crowd.....well, not that it bothers me anyway.

To the right of the Animax booth was actually an area where a a bunch of computers were arranged for some online gaming tourney. I felt that it wasn't really in tandem with the whole fair......I mean, come on! It's a toy fair, not a gaming fair ain't it?! Certainly was out of place. What the organisers could've done instead was to bring some international participants. Heck, I was half expecting either Hasbro or Mattel to have booths. I remembered how the comic convention in Singapore last year managed to pull quite a substantial number or crowd due to some big international names and personalities like Brian Bolland (from DC Comic - artist for The Killing Joke graphic novel). Speaking of comic books...where were the booths selling comics? Only MPH (a local Malaysian bookstore) displayed comic books and tradepaperbacks over at their booth. At least they got it right!


Yet another indepedent toy maker displaying their stuffs....


A stage was also set up....purportedly for a local indie band (Bunkface) to play....but I never got around to wait for that...


This was the 'Transmy' booth.....a group of local Transformers hardcore collectors!


Some collectors displaying a bunch of mechas...


Shioktoys' booth.....


'Gempak' is a local magazine specializing on cartoons and 'Malaysian-ised' anime....they had a presence too....


Although I've never heard of 'Toy Factor' before, they actually had a good selection of toys for sale!


Another diverse-looking booth....


These dolls creep me out!


Next we get to see Toywiz.....they actually have 2 booths at the fair. They were by far the coolest exhibitor at the fair. They actually have stuffs from SDCC '10! Anyway, a close collector friend of mine told me that the Toywiz guys got their stock through Hasbro themselves. Means that Hasbro had a 'presence' at the fair.....sort of! Now can you tell me what SDCC '10 exclusives were on sale through the pictures below?

This is THE most interesting attraction from Toywiz....the 19" electronic Galactus from the Marvel Universe line! Mere weeks ago, we could only dream to get our hands on him, but thanks to Toywiz, we get Galactus the same time as those who attended SDCC '10 in San Diego! My close friend bought Galactus, so I'll probably wait for his review and get them posted on The Rebel Page faster than you can say 'World Devourer'!


SDCC '10 Marvel Universe exclusives (L-R): WW2 Captain America, Ages of Thunder Thor & (New) Movie Spiderman....


And here they are out of their respective outer sleeves...


New GI Joe stuffs....notice that all-new 'Hiss Tank'...sweet!!


Here is a close up of ol' Galactus. I almost got him, but managed to refrain myself. Why? The reason will be revealed towards the end of this posting! Heheh....


After failing to find the kind of excitement we had came to expect from a 'toy fair', we decided to hop to the TRU located within the same complex and guess what was ALREADY on sale? The new Star Wars VOTC, Legacy & Clone Wars line....what the heck? What was all that 'official release date to be on 6th Aug' all about then?! I now thank my son for insisting us to make a stop at the TRU store! The figures were all freshly stacked...as most of the figures were still there, even those 'hot' ones!

***Later, through an 'intel' job carried out by my wife, she was informed that Hasbro Malaysia has in fact, given a 'special green light' to Toys R Us Malaysia to start selling the new Star Wars toys in July rather than wait for the planned August release. You heard it first here on The Rebel Page!!! LOL!


Can't believe our eyes! Even the highly anticipated vehicles i.e. Snowspeeder and the behemoth AT-AT was already on sale!!! I forgot the snap pictures of the AT-AT in the heat of all the excitement...heheh. There was also the long-awaited Bespin Cloud Car.



It's haulin' time!!!

This represents my one and only haul from MITF '10. Marvel Universe' Ages of Thunder Thor! Absolutely love that sleeve cover! Joe Quesada's art - as usual is wicked! Got this from Toywiz's booth. Can't stress enough that they were by far the coolest exhibitor in the fair with stuffs direct from SDCC!



At least I got something out of this year's SDCC! Hoorah!


And you didn't think I was gonna leave for home empty-handed without any Star Wars goodies did 'ya? Armed with some TRU vouchers courtesy of my lovely wife....got myself some of the new vintage packaging as well as one legacy packaging figure...and not to forget the highly anticipated Snowspeeder! I've also set aside a large amount of my remaining TRU vouchers for the AT-AT.....so hopefully I'll be able to get that behemoth of a vehicle sometime soon in the coming weeks!


Well, that's it from me....this is The Rebel signing off!  =)

Comments

Onigaijan said…
Damn! I can't believe they had that Galactus figure. Price was a little steep but...me want!!! lol. The Thor and Boba Fett toys look nice too. Still...Galactus!!!
byk memborong. hohohoho.
Razmanshah said…
I think I saw you last Saturday bro. Pakai baju coklat kan? kan?
Rafys78 said…
I went to TRU on Sunday to get the S/speeder.
Alas, it was gone on that Saturday.

Guess have to wait for later release.
The Rebel said…
>>>Stephen....Yup, can't believe me eyes either bro! Galactus was here! At least we get to feel what it's like to be in the real SDCC...well, parts of it anyway....heheh....

>>>Asrul....yeah, bought a lot, but STILL much lesser than buying ONE Hot Toys figure ain't it? =p

>>>Razman....*ting, ting, ting* yeah betul! How the heck did u know ni? There goes my cover...LOL!

>>>Rafys....don't worry bro, other retailers i.e Parkson, Isetan still haven't brought their stock in. I'm sure there will be a lot by next week!
OMG...I love the vintage carded Star Wars...did not see them in Singapore...but I only went to 1 shop.