The Energon Pub

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:32 am

sol magnus wrote:
leakin' lubricant wrote:
sol magnus wrote:
leakin' lubricant wrote:At those prices, I'd rather wait for Takara one! Why is it the the Hasbro versions demand such high prices? I know the Takara ones get higher in price after the initial run but not to the degree of the Hasbro stuff.

In general, the Hasbro stuff doesn't get re-released. The only straight re-releases from
Hasbro so far are MP-01 and MP-08. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Makes sense, for someone playing catch up like my it's a no brainer, Takara every time.

While everyone collects differently and has different objectives, I think it goes deeper than that.

In my example...when I got into Masterpiece and actually bought something...which is not exactly the same I decided to collect - was when I found by good fortune the very last Masterpiece Optimus Prime in my market. It had been languishing in the office of the TRU nearest my in-laws, and I just happened to ask if they might have had one, not even expecting there to be one. When it was "current", I search high and low for it and could not find one. I was NOT about to pay the absurd mark-up for that figure in the aftermarket, and even the Takara version was at that time out of my price range. It was quite the find.

However, once I got that one MP-13 Soundwave was out and this time, rather than it simply being a matter of price - I preferred to wait for the US release because it was rumored to have the yellow eyes. I wanted the yellow eyes because, like most of us, I'm weirdly attracted to some characters as they were in toy form as opposed to strictly Sunbow - it didn't hurt that you'd be getting all the cassettes for about 130 US. 40-50 bucks cheaper at that time than JUST Soundwave/Condor. I've never regretted that purchase - especially since they included Ratbat with Soundblaster. Should I ever get a Takara Soundwave, it will be that one. I even passed on an MP-13 I found in a local recently - the guy wanted 200 for it. I paid 120 for mine with price matching. These things are expensive and I am still playing catch-up to some degree so I pick and choose based on factors such as expense, whether I prefer the more toy-centric Hasbro deco or the Sunbow deco (which is a 50/50 proposition).

While all this was going on the Hasbro Thundercracker supply was drying up and I stupidly let the last one I saw on the shelf pass because I was being "responsible" and didn't want to drop 80 bucks on a toy - fast forwarding, I ended up paying 110 + shipping when I grabbed one last summer - a very, very painful lesson. I did the same thing with Grimlock and Rodimus TRU releases for different reasons. Rodimus was inferior (clearly) to the Takara one and Grimlock is in this weird phase where they were working out the scale thing - and Grimlock is kind of a blah character for me. I did end up getting the re-release, though.

Anyway, when it comes to the cars the price doesn't seem to move - so that depended on how fast they would be released in the US and who it was. Prowl, being one of the top 5 characters period for me - was a Takara release because I'm just not willing to wait for Prowl. I've ended up getting all Takara cars, but that is mainly due to them not releasing them in a timely fashion here - to date Prowl is the only release. However, if Hasbro was going to bring them out in the next year relative to their release I would have waited for about half of them.

When it came time to buy Bluestreak, I ended up opting for Silverstreak because I just prefer the "one I had as a toy".

Ultra Magnus falls into the exact same category as Prowl, but worse. I got the Takara version...but I'm such a Magnus mark I might still get the US version for the toy deco.

All I'm saying is I work the Takara/Hasbro system as much as it makes sense.

Fair enough, like I said earlier, these guys are expensive, and I'm all for a bargain. Also I wouldn't call myself a Takara snob, the vast majority of my Classics collection was Hasbro, I'm all about the best representation for the best price, it just so happens (so far) that has been Takara over Hasbro.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:39 am

There's another one ticked off.

"I Grimlock think, therefore I am."

Cannot believe within the space of a week I'm almost half way through my "big 8"

Really like this figure, he has so much character in both modes, love the eye swap gimmick, however the other gimmicks I could do without to be honest. Nice transformation too, I love how the tail section folds away.

News Credits: 1350 · by **ZeroWolf** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:20 pm

I know what you mean about the gimmicks, especially the light in his hand, I'd much preferred articulation in the hand over a minor light. I still love grimlock though

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:27 pm

ZeroWolf wrote:I know what you mean about the gimmicks, especially the light in his hand, I'd much preferred articulation in the hand over a minor light. I still love grimlock though

Agreed about the hands, still love him though.

by **donny1975** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:10 pm

leakin' lubricant wrote:"I Grimlock think, therefore I am."

Now you need some Technobots for him to transfers his smarts too

I was totally digging on getting this guy either Has or Tak but I want him to be taller :-(

At any rate I did get one for my lil bro (his favorite autobot) for Christmas and it is a totally awesome figure.

Love the poses!

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 2:22 am

donny1975 wrote:
leakin' lubricant wrote:"I Grimlock think, therefore I am."

Now you need some Technobots for him to transfers his smarts too

I was totally digging on getting this guy either Has or Tak but I want him to be taller

At any rate I did get one for my lil bro (his favorite autobot) for Christmas and it is a totally awesome figure.

Love the poses!

He is a fine figure, I wasn't really put off by his size much, head hight with prime is good enough for me, if somthing better/bigger comes along them so be it. The thing that impresses me most about this figure is his proportions, they are absolutely spot on in both modes, somthing previous figures (Classics and Foc) have failed to achieve) and as I mentioned I love the character that oozes out of this figure again in both modes, his dino mode feels so alive, especially with the blue eyes.

Glad you like the shots, plenty more to come!

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:23 am

Don't now where you usually go for your figures, but if you want to save some money on new MPs try pre-ordering them though
http://www.hlj.com/
http://www.amiami.com/

Both offer early bird prices up to 30% off of the actual price, then if you factor in shipping, it should still be cheaper than getting them at places like BBTS.

I've also heard good things about
http://www.thechosenprime.com/
But seeing their prices, I'm not so sure about them, but apprently it should eaven out by using their reward points. But again, never used them and I likely won't.

Now, if you're interested in having your Seekers be on an even footing, and are kinda ticked off about Takara's Starscream and Skywarp not coming with the stand that HAsbro's Thundercracker comes with, people do sell KOs of the stand online. I found my SS stand on ebay, but chimungmung just got a shipment of the SW stand in.
http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... mmodijpev7
The SS stand I have, was sturdy and of good quality. You can tell that it's not as high a quality as the originals, but it looks the part and doesn't break. It can be though to put together though, the clear plastic piece being slightly too thick for the slot, so shave the female port on the base a little bit, then put it in warm water and it should go in.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:53 am

Dead Metal wrote:Don't now where you usually go for your figures, but if you want to save some money on new MPs try pre-ordering them though
http://www.hlj.com/
http://www.amiami.com/

Both offer early bird prices up to 30% off of the actual price, then if you factor in shipping, it should still be cheaper than getting them at places like BBTS.

I've also heard good things about
http://www.thechosenprime.com/
But seeing their prices, I'm not so sure about them, but apprently it should eaven out by using their reward points. But again, never used them and I likely won't.

Now, if you're interested in having your Seekers be on an even footing, and are kinda ticked off about Takara's Starscream and Skywarp not coming with the stand that HAsbro's Thundercracker comes with, people do sell KOs of the stand online. I found my SS stand on ebay, but chimungmung just got a shipment of the SW stand in.
http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... mmodijpev7
The SS stand I have, was sturdy and of good quality. You can tell that it's not as high a quality as the originals, but it looks the part and doesn't break. It can be though to put together though, the clear plastic piece being slightly too thick for the slot, so shave the female port on the base a little bit, then put it in warm water and it should go in.

Thanks for the advice, I'm UK based so when it comes to pre orders I stick to Kapow and Omegalock, good early bird prices and quickly delivered. I have thought about using chimungmung in the past but have always ended up going elswhere, how are chimungmung to deal with, shipping times, packaging etc?

I've already scored a Starscream stand off eBay along with a crown for Grimlock

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:14 am

Ah OK, Kapow are good guys ^^

Chimungmung are fantastic to deal with, good prices, cheap shipping (for being based in China), delivery times are pretty good, plus best of all, they declare everything so that it doesn't cost any customs.
He combines shipping on items, so it's usually best to order a few things in one go. On top of that he offers pretty cool bundles, like G2 Sideswipe with the Dr Wu accessory kit, for a bit under what they would usually cost on their own.
He also has good communication.

I usually pre-order though hlj, because the early bird price, including shipping and customs means I pay just under what I would from a European store before shipping, plus I don't have to pay upfront for something that won't be out for another 10 months.
But I'm thinking of switching over to chimungmung, who doesn't have the same low early bird prices like hlj, but I don't have to pay customs, which means less hassle, while still being pretty cheap.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:27 am

Dead Metal wrote:Ah OK, Kapow are good guys ^^

Chimungmung are fantastic to deal with, good prices, cheap shipping (for being based in China), delivery times are pretty good, plus best of all, they declare everything so that it doesn't cost any customs.
He combines shipping on items, so it's usually best to order a few things in one go. On top of that he offers pretty cool bundles, like G2 Sideswipe with the Dr Wu accessory kit, for a bit under what they would usually cost on their own.
He also has good communication.

I usually pre-order though hlj, because the early bird price, including shipping and customs means I pay just under what I would from a European store before shipping, plus I don't have to pay upfront for something that won't be out for another 10 months.
But I'm thinking of switching over to chimungmung, who doesn't have the same low early bird prices like hlj, but I don't have to pay customs, which means less hassle, while still being pretty cheap.

Kapow are great, they just run out of stock very quickly, which means I order a lot more through Omegalock, as they seem to retain their stock for longer.

I also use Uncle Billy at Ali Express, I've got Prowl on his way from him.

Good to know about Chimungmung, I'll be checking them out later. Any instances of them selling KO's as the legitimate versions that you know of?

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:43 am

leakin' lubricant wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:Ah OK, Kapow are good guys ^^

Chimungmung are fantastic to deal with, good prices, cheap shipping (for being based in China), delivery times are pretty good, plus best of all, they declare everything so that it doesn't cost any customs.
He combines shipping on items, so it's usually best to order a few things in one go. On top of that he offers pretty cool bundles, like G2 Sideswipe with the Dr Wu accessory kit, for a bit under what they would usually cost on their own.
He also has good communication.

I usually pre-order though hlj, because the early bird price, including shipping and customs means I pay just under what I would from a European store before shipping, plus I don't have to pay upfront for something that won't be out for another 10 months.
But I'm thinking of switching over to chimungmung, who doesn't have the same low early bird prices like hlj, but I don't have to pay customs, which means less hassle, while still being pretty cheap.

Kapow are great, they just run out of stock very quickly, which means I order a lot more through Omegalock, as they seem to retain their stock for longer.

I also use Uncle Billy at Ali Express, I've got Prowl on his way from him.

Good to know about Chimungmung, I'll be checking them out later. Any instances of them selling KO's as the legitimate versions that you know of?

Never.
They used to have KOs for those who wanted them, but they never sold them instead of the real thing. The guy lives off of the way he treats customers. Back when I ordered the Universe Bruticus set from him he ran out, but had the KO set in stock, he contacted me that he ran out but was sure he would get a restock in, so gave me the option of waiting for the restock or cancelling my order so I could go elsewhere. So I kept it, he never even considered sending me the KO as a substitute.
He still has a few select KOs, but those are of 3rd Party items and labeled as such.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:49 am

Dead Metal wrote:
leakin' lubricant wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:Ah OK, Kapow are good guys ^^

Chimungmung are fantastic to deal with, good prices, cheap shipping (for being based in China), delivery times are pretty good, plus best of all, they declare everything so that it doesn't cost any customs.
He combines shipping on items, so it's usually best to order a few things in one go. On top of that he offers pretty cool bundles, like G2 Sideswipe with the Dr Wu accessory kit, for a bit under what they would usually cost on their own.
He also has good communication.

I usually pre-order though hlj, because the early bird price, including shipping and customs means I pay just under what I would from a European store before shipping, plus I don't have to pay upfront for something that won't be out for another 10 months.
But I'm thinking of switching over to chimungmung, who doesn't have the same low early bird prices like hlj, but I don't have to pay customs, which means less hassle, while still being pretty cheap.

Kapow are great, they just run out of stock very quickly, which means I order a lot more through Omegalock, as they seem to retain their stock for longer.

I also use Uncle Billy at Ali Express, I've got Prowl on his way from him.

Good to know about Chimungmung, I'll be checking them out later. Any instances of them selling KO's as the legitimate versions that you know of?

Never.
They used to have KOs for those who wanted them, but they never sold them instead of the real thing. The guy lives off of the way he treats customers. Back when I ordered the Universe Bruticus set from him he ran out, but had the KO set in stock, he contacted me that he ran out but was sure he would get a restock in, so gave me the option of waiting for the restock or cancelling my order so I could go elsewhere. So I kept it, he never even considered sending me the KO as a substitute.
He still has a few select KOs, but those are of 3rd Party items and labeled as such.

Good to know, thanks again for the advice/reccomendation, very valuable.

by **donny1975** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:33 am

Dead Metal wrote:Don't now where you usually go for your figures, but if you want to save some money on new MPs try pre-ordering them though
http://www.hlj.com/
http://www.amiami.com/

Both offer early bird prices up to 30% off of the actual price, then if you factor in shipping, it should still be cheaper than getting them at places like BBTS.

I've also heard good things about
http://www.thechosenprime.com/
But seeing their prices, I'm not so sure about them, but apprently it should eaven out by using their reward points. But again, never used them and I likely won't.

Now, if you're interested in having your Seekers be on an even footing, and are kinda ticked off about Takara's Starscream and Skywarp not coming with the stand that HAsbro's Thundercracker comes with, people do sell KOs of the stand online. I found my SS stand on ebay, but chimungmung just got a shipment of the SW stand in.
http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... mmodijpev7
The SS stand I have, was sturdy and of good quality. You can tell that it's not as high a quality as the originals, but it looks the part and doesn't break. It can be though to put together though, the clear plastic piece being slightly too thick for the slot, so shave the female port on the base a little bit, then put it in warm water and it should go in.

I am not sure why, everyone is so down on BBTS. I have had nothing but good experiences from them. I have done plenty of comparison shopping and they are usually cheaper, for instance Make Toys Quantron, 399.00 everyone else is selling for at least 100.00 more. I got me Hasbro prime from them for 150.00 back in November I thought it was decent price. TFsource is also a good one in the States I got my first order from them a week ago; a restock of green Giant (no he's not MP but such a good figure).

Places that are much more expensive, from what I have seen: ToyArena, TF-direct.

As for hlj or amiami, hlj I have seen and they have decent prices but shipping and time can be a factor as well as shipping packages. I don't care how good the packaging is after 3 or 4 weeks of being jostled around there is a chance things could get damaged.

Now that being said I have ordered from chimungmung. I had read a some others experiences before I decided to do it since I am in the States and super impatient, I don't even like waiting 3 to 5 days for BBTS to ship to me! But I ordered the City upgrade kit for Metroplex. Great communication, they let me know what to expect and what to do in the event I did not receive my product and responded to all my inquiries within 24 hours. It did take it almost 4 weeks to get here but weather here was a factor. I would def consider ordering from them again for something I couldn't find else where or could get much cheaper from them including the wait time.

by **donny1975** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:33 am

Dead Metal wrote:Don't now where you usually go for your figures, but if you want to save some money on new MPs try pre-ordering them though
http://www.hlj.com/
http://www.amiami.com/

Both offer early bird prices up to 30% off of the actual price, then if you factor in shipping, it should still be cheaper than getting them at places like BBTS.

I've also heard good things about
http://www.thechosenprime.com/
But seeing their prices, I'm not so sure about them, but apprently it should eaven out by using their reward points. But again, never used them and I likely won't.

Now, if you're interested in having your Seekers be on an even footing, and are kinda ticked off about Takara's Starscream and Skywarp not coming with the stand that HAsbro's Thundercracker comes with, people do sell KOs of the stand online. I found my SS stand on ebay, but chimungmung just got a shipment of the SW stand in.
http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... mmodijpev7
The SS stand I have, was sturdy and of good quality. You can tell that it's not as high a quality as the originals, but it looks the part and doesn't break. It can be though to put together though, the clear plastic piece being slightly too thick for the slot, so shave the female port on the base a little bit, then put it in warm water and it should go in.

I am not sure why, everyone is so down on BBTS. I have had nothing but good experiences from them. I have done plenty of comparison shopping and they are usually cheaper, for instance Make Toys Quantron, 399.00 everyone else is selling for at least 100.00 more. I got me Hasbro prime from them for 150.00 back in November I thought it was decent price. TFsource is also a good one in the States I got my first order from them a week ago; a restock of green Giant (no he's not MP but such a good figure).

Places that are much more expensive, from what I have seen: ToyArena, TF-direct.

As for hlj or amiami, hlj I have seen and they have decent prices but shipping and time can be a factor as well as shipping packages. I don't care how good the packaging is after 3 or 4 weeks of being jostled around there is a chance things could get damaged.

Now that being said I have ordered from chimungmung. I had read a some others experiences before I decided to do it since I am in the States and super impatient, I don't even like waiting 3 to 5 days for BBTS to ship to me! But I ordered the City upgrade kit for Metroplex. Great communication, they let me know what to expect and what to do in the event I did not receive my product and responded to all my inquiries within 24 hours. It did take it almost 4 weeks to get here but weather here was a factor. I would def consider ordering from them again for something I couldn't find else where or could get much cheaper from them including the wait time.

by **donny1975** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:39 am

[quote="leakin' lubricant
The thing that impresses me most about this figure is his proportions, they are absolutely spot on in both modes, somthing previous figures (Classics and Foc) have failed to achieve) and as I mentioned I love the character that oozes out of this figure again in both modes, his dino mode feels so alive, especially with the blue eyes.
[/quote]

Totally agree on that, I would have to say he is one the MP figures that so captures all that G1 goodness while giving us all the MP sophistication we want. Soon as I held him in my hand I was transported back to 1985. I am still considering him, as a place holder for something else that might come out (larger that is). I have Gigapower's Guttur on pre-order because I am a huge Snarl fan and that guy is the scale I want my Dinobots in.

News Credits: 10 · by **sol magnus** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:47 am

I've learned a lot about some sellers I hadn't deal with yet. Thus far, I've order two figures from Uncle Billy - Silver Streak and Red Alert. They came in about 10 bucks lower even with shipping the to US. I did a good amount of comparison shopping, and as I stated before - I have a budget so I work hard to stay on or under despite my love for these figures. Silver Streak didn't have the coin, so I'm thinking about picking one up for about 8 bucks....adding that to the cost I paid for the figure, that would put it around the same cost as a TF-Source/BBTS order before shipping, so I'm not sweating it.

I got my Ultra Magnus from TF-Source. I wanted to try them for the free shipping over 150. It is good that they have that, but it takes a while to arrive. Like 5-7 days. You obviously get what you pay for. It was here that I decided if I couldn't be patient for whatever reason, I'd just pay shipping with BBTS. There aren't that many characters I'm going to be quite as impatient with, though.

I've ordered most of my cars, Prowl, Sideswipe, Wheeljack and Bumblebee from them. I was dealing with them for 3P Classics and other imported toys for years, so they were my go-to when I started with Masterpiece.

I have Exhaust on pre-order with RobotKingdom - I think he's priced wonderfully, even with shipping from the UK.

I have Tracks on pre-order with TF-Source. I want to get something I have to pay the shipping on to compare to BBTS. I may (finally) get Smokescreen before Tracks shows up, though.

If price is the same, then it boils down to service and perks for me. I've not gotten bad service from any vendor I've dealt with, which means I then discern on perks.

Is there a URl for chimungmung? Is he on aliexpress or something?

News Credits: 10 · by **sol magnus** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:53 am

Reading up, I saw the link to chimungmung. THanks, Dead Metal!

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:01 am

donny1975 wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:Don't now where you usually go for your figures, but if you want to save some money on new MPs try pre-ordering them though
http://www.hlj.com/
http://www.amiami.com/

Both offer early bird prices up to 30% off of the actual price, then if you factor in shipping, it should still be cheaper than getting them at places like BBTS.

I've also heard good things about
http://www.thechosenprime.com/
But seeing their prices, I'm not so sure about them, but apprently it should eaven out by using their reward points. But again, never used them and I likely won't.

Now, if you're interested in having your Seekers be on an even footing, and are kinda ticked off about Takara's Starscream and Skywarp not coming with the stand that HAsbro's Thundercracker comes with, people do sell KOs of the stand online. I found my SS stand on ebay, but chimungmung just got a shipment of the SW stand in.
http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... mmodijpev7
The SS stand I have, was sturdy and of good quality. You can tell that it's not as high a quality as the originals, but it looks the part and doesn't break. It can be though to put together though, the clear plastic piece being slightly too thick for the slot, so shave the female port on the base a little bit, then put it in warm water and it should go in.

I am not sure why, everyone is so down on BBTS. I have had nothing but good experiences from them. I have done plenty of comparison shopping and they are usually cheaper, for instance Make Toys Quantron, 399.00 everyone else is selling for at least 100.00 more. I got me Hasbro prime from them for 150.00 back in November I thought it was decent price. TFsource is also a good one in the States I got my first order from them a week ago; a restock of green Giant (no he's not MP but such a good figure).

Places that are much more expensive, from what I have seen: ToyArena, TF-direct.

As for hlj or amiami, hlj I have seen and they have decent prices but shipping and time can be a factor as well as shipping packages. I don't care how good the packaging is after 3 or 4 weeks of being jostled around there is a chance things could get damaged.

Now that being said I have ordered from chimungmung. I had read a some others experiences before I decided to do it since I am in the States and super impatient, I don't even like waiting 3 to 5 days for BBTS to ship to me! But I ordered the City upgrade kit for Metroplex. Great communication, they let me know what to expect and what to do in the event I did not receive my product and responded to all my inquiries within 24 hours. It did take it almost 4 weeks to get here but weather here was a factor. I would def consider ordering from them again for something I couldn't find else where or could get much cheaper from them including the wait time.

We're not down on BBTS, we simply point out that ordering directly from Japan, or from China is cheaper, especially for people, like me, who are not in the US. To me it wouldn't make any sense to order through BBTS, or even TFSource now, to get merchandise, because they typically charge more (they do have excellent customer service from what I hear, and will replace things without any hassle), then their shipping is more expensive than Japanese or Chinese vendors, and for some odd reason they take longer than anyone else too.
As for packaging, all my stuff from hlj has been delivered in super sturdy reinforced boxes, without any damage to the item. I think I had one dent on one of the boxes something was shipped in, but that only reached half way through the shipping box, without affecting the second layer or the MP boy inside. The few things I did order through BBTS, came in very thin boxes, and if the box to my Egon wasn't so big that the figure practically swam in packaging material, that would have likely been damaged. Seriously, that box was huge, for a moment I thought they had sent me the wrong item, and shipping cost me more than the figure itself ...

Just for those who don't know, hlj was founded and is run by an American living in Japan, with America and other Western customers being his main focus, the idea being to let non Japanese customers buy directly from Japan without having to go through expensive importers. It's so successful that other Japanese businesses followed suite.

Pretty sure BBTS is fantastic for US base customers, but for those who aren't and want to save a bit of cash, Japan is the way to go.
I mean look at Henkei TC and SW, Japanese retail on those was 25$ + 5$ shipping to Japan, I went through fan2fan for those, they cost me including his services 45$ a pop, plus about 30 shipping, which adds up to about 110$ shipped. They took a week to get to me, plus the guy threw in a little extra because I contacted him after being worried due to him falling silent (first purchase of the kind I ever did, plus first paypal). BBTS wanted 140 for the set, and that did not include shipping. Plus they started selling it way after my set arrived at my home.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:14 am

Looks like Chimungmung is the way to go for Soundwave, Thanks DM!

News Credits: 1 · by **SkyWarpt** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:12 am

Call me a noob, but how does one navigate the hassle of paying customs fees??? I have a Leader Meg's paid for :BANG_HEAD:

This thread just got a lot interesting. Personally, I focus on making sure I secure the new MPs. Paying scalper prices on figs is not my cup of tea.

Kudos on securing a Grimlock ...now was probably the best time to grab one. I remember them selling for around $450 at one time. I chose the Takara version also and ended up getting a bonus crown and beer mug (?) with him at a cool $200

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:25 am

SkyWarpt wrote:Call me a noob, but how does one navigate the hassle of paying customs fees??? I have a Leader Meg's paid for This thread just got a lot interesting. Personally, I focus on making sure I secure the new MPs. Paying scalper prices on figs is not my cup of tea.

Kudos on securing a Grimlock though...now was probably the best time to grab one though. I remember them running around $450 at one time. I chose the Takara version also and ended up getting a bonus crown and beer mug (?) with him at a cool $200

Cant speak for everyone, but I live in the UK and have never had to pay additional customs fees on anything I've ordered, be it from the States or from China, maybe I've just been lucky so far, from what DM says Chimungmung negates customs by declaring everything.

Really lucky with Grimlock found him on eBay from a UK seller, got him for a great price.

News Credits: 1 · by **SkyWarpt** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:46 am

I ordered through here http://www.anime-export.com first time through them. Wondering others have had buying exp there.

News Credits: 10 · by **sol magnus** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:07 pm

If "declaring" means they tell you what's inside the package, then Uncle Billy does this, too. I didn't pay any customs fees.

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:26 pm

Declaring means that they tell customs exactly what's inside and how much you payed. Some include the customs fee as part of the shipping, but that's rare.
Most of the time, if you aren't paying customs fees, it's because the seller marks it as gift and pretends that you payed nothing, or less than minimal requirements for fees.

If you have to pay custom fees the delivery perso makes you pay the fee, or customs hold yoir package back and contact you about paying.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:55 am

My latest additions.

image by dannythejedi, on Flickr

image by dannythejedi, on Flickr

Prowl is a lovely figure, ironically he's the first figure I ordered yet some how managed to be one of the last through the door! Love his head sculpt and the alt mode is just perfect, a couple of paint blemishes on mine which is a bit disappointing but overall excellent.

image by dannythejedi, on Flickr

image by dannythejedi, on Flickr

Snagged this guy from Chimungmung for a great price (thanks Dead Metal) and shipped from China to the UK within 4 days! Wow what a figure, so much playability with this guy, love his tape deck gimmick and the addition of the energon cube, he looks amazing in both modes and has a nice intuitive transformation.