Lego Ideas Doctor Who Tardis Control Room #21304 Review

Today is my birthday and the only thing I wanted this year was the Lego Ideas Doctor Who set, and fortunately I have a wonderful Mom who got it for me!  This is my second foray into Lego Ideas, I previously purchased the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Set last year.  After that build I knew this one would be fairly complicated and nuanced, using techniques that standard Lego sets don't usually use.  Mostly though I was interested in the comparison between what Lego can do with the license versus what Character Building did with it.

My Character Building Doctor Who Collection.  Over 100 figures.

See I was a huge collector of the Character Building Doctor Who Mini-Figure line.  Sure it wasn't expansive, but there were more than a few good sets.  I amassed a fairly large collection of the figures.  Yes, I was trying to get them all.  No I didn't succeed.  


For some reason I really enjoyed the look of these figures, at least the faces anyway.  Not only did I go for their Doctor Who line, but I tried to get anything they did, figuring that if I ever did want to do dio stories, and that included their Tardis set.  That set was just the box itself with no interior.  Now CB MADE at least one set of the interior, and it was huge and hugely expensive.  I enjoyed what CB did with the line, would I enjoy what Lego is going to do?  Let's find out.

LEGO IDEAS #21304 - Doctor Who

Yes, I suppose that's the official title.  It's not called "Tardis Control Room" on the box.  

Packaging: 5 of 5

It's a beautiful study box.  Unlike most other Lego sets, the Idea boxes are meant to last.  The front shows the entire contents of the set in action, the back has a couple of good close ups and the Mini-Figure lineup.  

I suppose I'd rather they actually photograph the physical item rather than using a computer generated image, but what can you do?

Unboxed Contents

Surprisingly this box isn't all that big.  For 623 pieces you'd think it would be bigger.  The other IDEAS boxes are rather small also.

Instructions 5 of 5

I'm not sure what more you could want.  You get a nice perfect bound book with easy to follow instructions, and background information on not only the show, but the designers of the set as well.  Plus it's in three languages.


 

Construction 4.5 of 5

Sort the pieces, you'll thank me.

No I'm not giving it a perfect score, it's a pretty darn fun build that took two hours to put together, and that was with only minimal help from my munchkin.  There's just something a bit off about this set, not much off, just a bit.  Maybe the lack of walls?  Or the lack of "play features".  On a set this size and this many pieces, for example the Lego Elves Treetop Hideaway (that my daughter also got from my Mom) has over 100 fewer pieces and no less than 3 action gimmicks.  

Decorations 5 of 5 

There's a nice mix of existing printed tiles and brand ew unique tiles to make any AFOL happy.  Did I mention there's no stickers?  That's quite nice.  My only quibble is that the "Police Box" tiles are separated, has to be that way for at least two of the sides due to it's construction.  There's even a couple of tiles with Galifreyan writing.    No stickers is such a key though.

Figures 4 of 5

I know right?  How can you go wrong with Lego Doctor Who figures?  Well, quite simply I'm not overly fond of the brick built Daleks.  Also I think the characters are just a bit too generic.  As in they're not easily identifiable as Doctor Who.  Heck the Clara figure looks just like any other female figure from any of their licensed lines.  I do like the Weeping Angel though.  The two sonic-screwdrivers you get are really nice as well.  Better than the CB versions.

Speaking of which, I thought I'd take comparison pis of each of the figures included in the Lego set and their CB counterparts.  Lego are consistently smaller, except for their Daleks.  Best of both worlds I suppose, since I'll be using my CB Daleks on display instead of the Brick Built ones.

 

Price 3 of 5

Yup, I'm dinging this set for the price.  At an MSRP of $60 this set comes in at 9.6 cents a piece, which is usually a pretty good price, until you realize that a ton of the pieces in this set are single studs.  Lego is expensive, we get it.  I'm just fortunate that I have a loving mother who will still buy her middle-aged son toys.  A couple of years ago she got me a Superman Lego set that I adore as well.  

Overall 5 of 5

And still it's a great set and I'm happy to have it.  I'm overjoyed to have it, and now all I need to complete my Lego Doctor Who collection are the two Dimensions sets.  Of course I don't have a crack machine to play the game on, so oh well. I just want the models.

If you're wondering, the Tardis box itself is much much larger than the old CB version.  

The CB version measured 6x6x9, while the Lego is 7x7x14.  It also feels much heftier.  Unfortunately though the door doesn't open, instead the box splits in the rear in order to connect to the larger model.  

Clara, it's coming, and it's a whopper!

 

Mini-Figure Trading Time

 I'm pretty sure it's no secret that I collect Mini-Figures of all shapes and sizes.  Be they Lego, Kre-O, K'Nex, OYO Toys, Mega Brands or Character Building, I've got a mini-figure or two.  Some lines more than others.  Character Building is my current favorite, they of the awesome Doctor Who line.

To that end - here's my doubles that I have to trade:

Doctor Who Blind Bag Series 3
Handbot
Judoon Trooper

Doctor Who 11 Doctors Blind Bags
3rd Doctor
6th Doctor
7th Doctor
10th Doctor

Scooby-Doo Character Building (no stands)
Clown

Character Building Blind Bags (no stands)
Race Car Driver African American
Red Shield Knight

Simpsons Lego Mini-Figs
Scratchy

And here's what I NEED from the Doctor Who Character Building Line:

Series 1 Blind

Weeping Angel Serene

Silurian

Smiler

Series 2 Blind

Silent Open Mouth 

Series 3 Blind

Rory Eyepatch 

Sontaran

11 Doctors Blind

1st Doctor

5th Doctor

8th Doctor

Brix Wave Blind

Judoon No Helm

Sontaran No Helm

11th Doctor with Fez

Dalek Black

Non Blind Bagged

Dalek Orange

11th Doctor Blue Tie (Newspaper)

Dalek Yellow (Newspaper)

Amy Pond Red Hands (Newspaper)

Space Man (Cyberman Conversion Set)

Cyberman Damaged (Cyberman set)

Cyberman No Logo (Cyberman Set)

Cyber Leader Brain (Cyberman Set)

2nd Doctor Gold (11 Doctors Set 2)

3rd Doctor Maroon (11 Doctors Set 2)

4th Doctor Green (11 Doctors Set 2)

11th Doctor Maroon (11 Doctors Set 2)

If you want to trade please let me know via email or comment (comments are all moderated).

New Doctor Who Toys and Merchandise Announced at UK Toy Fair Today

I love January, it's the month of my birth after all.  The annual UK Toy Fair is also in January whereas the American version is held in February.  For toy enthusiasts the New York version is much more important, but for Doctor Who fans, the UK version has everything we could possibly want.

2014 marks the 51st year for the stalwart BBC Science Fiction Franchise and there's a brand new Doctor for the New Year as Peter Capaldi has taken over the role from Matt Smith.  Journalists overseas got their first look at the first products to feature the 12th Doctor, though not in his new outfit, as that has not been revealed quite yet.  These are very important nuances to Whovians, no doubt when the new costume is revealed it will be fairly big news.

Shown today were the lineup and prototypes for Character Building Dr. Who Series 4 figures, a new version of the new interior of the Tardis playset, and a Judoon scout ship mini-set.  I'll probably not be able to afford the big new Tardis, which looks much much better than the version they showed last year.

Series 4 of the blind-bag series includes:
Clara (Red Dress)
Captain Jack Harkness
Madame Vashtra
Cyberman (New)
The 12th Doctor (11th Outfit)
Zygon
Clara (Victorian outfit?)
The War Doctor
11th Doctor
Dalek (Can't tell exactly which one)


You can check out pics of the entire line here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedoctorwhosite/sets/72157640013370395/



They are also releasing the Looney Tunes line of compatible figures which were announced way back in 2012.  When I say compatible, I mean  you'll be able to put Bugs Bunny side by side with the Doctor or a Dalek.

90 Days until the 50th Anniversary Dr. Who Special Airs!

March is the Cruelest Month

March Madness is in full swing, the Final Four is this weekend, and I could care less. Heck I'm more interested to see if Tiger can win the Masters this weekend. I'm also focusing all my fan vibes on rooting the Kings to a playoff spot. Why don't I care about March Madness? Well, duh, I'm an Alum of UCLA.

The newly minted Pacific 12 division was a huge disappointment this season, garnering only TWO bids to the big dance, and one of them was in one of the four play-in games. And Cal lost that game. Colorado, the winner of the inaugural Pac-12 tournament didn't fare all that well either. Ah well, Baseball starts this week!

Topps Golden Giveaway

Speaking of Baseball, remember I said I would give my take on the Topps Golden Giveaway online gimmick? Here goes:

BLEGH! Digital coins are not vintage cards. The real cards supposedly fall about one in 15 codes, I've put in something like 8 codes so far and I haven't seen one. Whereas last year's edition of the vintage card giveaway was actually pretty cool, and the year before that earned me $100 in eBay money (thanks to pulling a Derek Jeter auto), this year's edition doesn't excite me whatsoever. We'll have to see as the three series of Topps flagship brand are released as to how well the program goes. I would imagine this will be the last year for any online type offering from Topps, as they haven't renewed their ToppsTown promotion this season.

Which reminds me, that's kind of sad. I actually liked the ToppsTown promotion, where you could enter a code found in each pack of cards into the web and were rewarded with a pack of virtual cards. I actually completed the Baseball set for each year of the promotion, and I had a great time trading virtual cards in order to complete the set. I won't get a chance to do that again this season. Oh well.

I think eTopps is practically dead as well.

I think the thing that bothers me is that there should be some sort of digital content tied into a baseball card pack. Upper Deck had a pretty good program where you could enter codes from the back of each card and earn points that you could save up to get free cards. Believe me, I know, I earned two retail boxes of cards that way. Upper Deck was kind of stupid about it though, each card may have had a code, but the code was the same for each copy of the card. They would have been better off just putting the codes on their wrappers, which is what they tried for their horribly executed virtual world a couple of years ago.

See I think redemption programs or rewards programs are a pretty nifty thing. They certainly make me purchase more of a specific item if I know I'm getting rewards points. For example, I've been doing the MyCokeRewards program now since it's inception, and I daresay that I've gotten several hundred dollars worth of merchandise for free simply for inputing some codes. I also redeem Disney Movie Rewards, and have gotten a couple of hundred dollars of exclusive merch from them too, including a really bad-ass Pirates of the Caribbean Watch, and a Jim Shore Tinkerbell figurine.

I think a really well run wrapper code redemption program from Topps would be awesome. Each code could be worth a random amount from 10 to 100 points, and you could redeem points for special singles or packs of exclusive cards. Instead of doing the silly eTopps auctions or contests, they could easily have the same back end computer frameworks reworked.

Doctor Who News

Matt Smiths' third season, the seventh overall of the newly revived Doctor Who begins airing in August. I won't unleash the spoilers here, suffice to say it looks to be an exciting year of episodes!

I FINALLY pulled the trigger on the Character Building 11 Doctors Set.

Should be here in a few days. I'll definitely give it a review when it arrives. Got a great deal too, $33 all together including shipping off of eBay. So that's about $3 per figure, which is actually CHEAPER than I can get the single packs from Series 1 or 2 right now.

Speaking of which, since I last blogged my collection of CB Doctor Who figures has increased to a staggering SIXTEEN figures, including both of the "Rares" from Series 2 (River and Police Girl Amy). I found single packs retailing for $4.99 at Aahs which is a chain of Southern California gift stores. Sure when I include tax I'm looking at $5.50 for a figure that shouldn't cost me more than $3.00, but at least I can get them, and I can "feel" through the packs to find the ones I want.

Series 3 of blind packs and sets are scheduled for release within the next couple of months in the UK and previews have shown that Character Options, the overall master licensor of all things Who has a robust future planned for the ersatz Lego figures. You can check out more at Doctor Who Toys. I'm there on the forums as "Time Lord Will", just FYI.

Once I get my 11 Doctors Set I will work on an all new comic. I think. I'm not really sure to be honest. Sounds like a good idea, but you never know what with the time and everything.

Bargains Galore

If you've been to your local toy store lately you'll notice that there are probably figures left over from last year's hot Summer films, notably Thor, Captain America and Green Lantern. Mattel took a huge bath on the latter film, due to what I believe was a too expansive line with really crappy articulation. Seriously. While the character selection was nice and varied, the figures just sat on the shelf, probably also due to the fact that the Ryan Reynolds feature wasn't very well received. If you're still so inclined though, you can find rock bottom prices on tiny plastic Scarlett Johannsen exes at your local discounter in various shapes, sizes and multi-packs. Seriously Mattel, WTF? We lost the gradually improving DC Infinite whatever 1/18th scale line for this?

And just an aside, WHY can't I get a decent 1/18th scale DC Universe figure line like the Marvel Universe Line? I mean that line is amazing, even though I don't really collect Marvel anymore. Well, with the exception of the below paragraph that is...

The two Marvel films were significant improvements over Iron Man 2 and set the stage for this year's Avengers line. While I haven't personally seen any Cap film figures on clearance, I have found a few of the Asgardian's mates for more than half off. My personal collection now includes a Loki and Volstagg, both of which flank my Thor. While I would have preferred a nice display stand rather than the incredibly dopey kiddie weapons, these aren't bad figures at all. I am going to purchase the best looking Cap figure I can find, but so far I haven't seen one I like, not even in the Avengers line. Which, well, let's face it, two waves in blows huge chunks.

I mean seriously, the Hulk figure from the new Avengers line up is an abomination of plastic that should have never hit the pegs. It looks like a bad bootleg that I would buy down in Santee Alley.

G.I. Joe Retaliation

We're just a couple of months away from the second big screen adventure for the original action figure toy. While it's being billed as a "reboot/sequel" I think the film is going to succeed or fail based on an unfair comparison to Rise of Cobra which I didn't think was all that bad. I don't really understand what people are looking for when they go to a movie that's based on a toy line in the first place. When you go see Battleship this Summer are you expecting to see Shakespeare in CGI?

I am looking forward to the toy line that will accompany Retaliation though the five previews of carded figures so far do not excite me at all. As with the last movie line Hasbro has decided to put in a huge kiddie weapon, which most likely fires a huge missile, instead of the arsenal of accessories included with the wildly popular "Pursuit of Cobra" line that spun out of the last movie line. The one plus that I can see so far is that they are making a Joe Colton figure, only his second appearance in the entire line, and the first, to my knowledge, 1/18th scale figure of the one and only Bruce Willis.

So there you go, now excuse me, but I've got a Hockey game to watch. Go Kings Go.

Doctor Who Review - Story #117 - 5B "Four to Doomsday"

I will admit it, I have the Doctor Who bug again. Doesn't everyone get a bug up their butt about something every now and then? Plus it feels good to write something. Anything.

I recently decided to vary my Classic Doctor Who viewing, mostly because since there's so many stories out there (over 200 so far) and the show has been on for so long, if you decide to view in a certain order the entire thing can get overwhelming. What I've been doing is taking a sampling of all the different Doctors. As you know I already reviewed a whole season's worth of the Fourth Doctor stories, so when I came back to Classic Who I thought I might try someone different and looked at the First Doctor's first serial. The problem with the First Doctor is that not all the episodes are available easily and some are frankly missing (there are missing episodes in each Doctor's run until the Fourth Doctor). So I moved on to the Fifth Doctor.

After enjoying his first serial Castrovalva I wanted to delve right back into another story, one that was a bit more, well, standard fare. The introductory episodes of a new Doctor always feel a bit off, in that since the personality isn't really established anything goes. The interesting thing with the current incarnation of the Doctor, Matt Smith, is that anything goes for the entire run with him.

"Four to Doomsday" starts off with the TARDIS materializing inside of a giant spaceship, complete with the Star Wars-esque long opening shot of the giant cruiser. The Doctor puts on a silly helmet which is supposed to let him breathe and steps out into a room filled with all sorts of scientific devices. He discovers that he's being watched, and our villains are introduced. Appearance wise they are similar to the Vogons of Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, who as we all know or should know was a former script editor for Doctor Who. Oh and when I say Vogons, I mean the ones from the ORIGINAL BBC television version, not the ones from the Hollywood Movie (which I rather like, but I digress). They hail from the planet Urbanka, are aptly named Monarch, Enlightenment, and Persuasion. Shortly after introducing themselves our heroes are given a warm welcome and asked to assist Monarch in his plan to relocate the entire Urbankan population to Earth.

Vogon Prostethic ...err...oops, Monarch


The Doctor then discovers that Monarch has been preparing Earth by snatching up whole tribes or small cities over their previous visits. He enlists an Ancient Greek named Bigon to help them thwart the green pile of goo's plans. There's some further interesting bits involving robots, dragon dances, gladiator combat and aboriginal dancing. It's all rather muddled to be honest, and following the actual plot was more than a hassle. In the end our hero is still The Doctor, the villains are still stupid and good wins the day.

Burt Kwouk and Illarrio Bisi Pedro



Random Thoughts

* I can really see why the character of Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) was so reviled by fans back in the day, because he's rather obnoxious throughout the proceedings.
* Tegan and Nyssa don't get a lot to do either, and are used as hostages for the most-part.
* Former Pink Panther series regular Burt Kwouk has a part as the leader of the Chinese faction of Monarch's slaves.
* Nyssa collapses at the end of the episode for no apparent reason and is simply tired.
* The scenes of the four earth-cultures doing their "entertainment" are rather odd and misplaced. However, they are also the most interesting parts of the episodes.
* There is a really hilarious set of scenes where the Doctor exits an airlock and space walks to The TARDIS. You really have to see it.

The there's the space helmets. This episode is full of them. No one really knows why.


I can't say that this was my favorite serial, nor can I really recommend watching it other than for completist sake. Nothing really exciting happens, though we do get another look at The Fifth Doctor's new personality, and I suppose that's something. Too bad it's not really enough.

Collectibles

There doesn't appear to be anything collectible that would tie into this episode directly, other than the requisite novel adaptations and video releases. All of which are readily available. If you have to have them.


Previous Entries in the "Doctor Who Review" Series:

1st Doctor #1 - An Unearthly Child
4th Doctor #1 - Robot
4th Doctor #2 - Ark in Space
4th Doctor #3 - The Sontaran Experiment
5th Doctor #1 - Castrovalva

Special - 4th Doctor Collectibles
Special - Character Building Tardis Mini Set

Doctor Who Toys - The Pandorica is Open!

Was it a mere two weeks ago that I posted about finding Doctor Who Toys cheap? This afternoon I decided on a whim to go to Yoga class by myself and on the way back, feeling VERY refreshed and relaxed I stopped into the same Comic Book Store DreamWorld Comics, where lo and behold the Pandorica Chair and River Song were now nestled in the $2 toy box. There were, in fact, two complete sets. So not to ruin it for someone else I left the second set in the box, along with several of the side-pieces.

As soon as I got home I put it together and I really like it. The chair is well designed and does hold the Doctor in quite snugly. I haven't tried the Amy figure yet, especially since I don't have QUITE the right one.

To make a really keen display you really only need a couple of the side-pieces, earlier in the day I tried it with the top on, and it looks good, but it's hard to see really. I'll relight it though and see what I can do.

The River Song figure that comes with it is OK, I'm happy to have her, but I'm really thrown off by her hair and her head. All in all though I'm really happy. Remember I got these pieces at outrageously low prices.

The Gang's All Here! I consider the Roman Auton to be Rory. So there.

Doctor Who Toys Galore!

You never know when you're going to find something really cool. Today on the way back from my daughter's Yoga class I decided to stop at Dreamworld Comics where I was immediately drawn to a huge bucket of loose toys. I started digging and soon noticed a mint complete Roman Auton and I got all giddy. Perhaps could there be other Who toys in the bucket? Sure enough I snagged a Fez Wearing 11 and Amy Pond in Kiss Girl outfit. So I took my score up to the front and the gent told me they were only $2 apiece! Naturally I went back and looked for more. Found several more Autons, but nothing of excitement, until I figure out what the flat gray squares were...there seemed to be quite a few of them. Yes, that's right, the Pandorica from "The Pandorica Wave" of figures. Only they weren't the original release, they were the second one without the actual audio CDs (which I think are better anyway). The only problem is that the Doctor is missing his mop. Big whoop. I would like to get a scale sonic screwdriver though.

Of course it would have been great if I had actually purchased the River Song w/Pandorica Chair for $25 as well. I may have to go back and get that, since it's a great price for a crucial piece which I can really use now.

My previously purchased Gold Dalek, 11 With Fez, Amy in Kiss Girl Outfit & Roman Auton plus the Pandorica

However, that's not to say the day was that bad. When I got home waiting for me was my Birthday order from Whonorthamerica - SIX of the Series 1 Blind Character Building blind bagged figures and a set of 1986 FASA Miniatures from the old role-playing game. This is my second order from the fine folks in Indiana, and I'm more than pleased with their service. Ordered on Monday night, it was shipped Tuesday morning and I received it this afternoon (Thursday). Priority Mail was only $5.60.

I greedily tore into the packs carefully cutting each of them open so that in case I got a double I could resell it easily. First pack was the Rare Blue Shirted Doctor which is 1 per 36 figure case, which is a great start for me. The next one was a Weeping Angel, the standard screaming version, (packed 4 in 36). So was the next pack, and the next pack AND the next pack after that. Yup, I got all four of that cases' Weeping Angels. Oh well, at least it's an army builder. My final pack held a Red Dalek (5/36). Complete with shipping the entire order cost me just over $25. I figure that I'll sell at least two of the four Angels, and possibly a third if I get any movement. There's NO single listings for them on eBay right now. If I get $4 - $6 each for them I'll be happy. Oh and if you would like to trade for something, please let me know.

Which brings me to a complaint: these figures are TINY. The packaging is small as well, and yet there are eBay sellers trying to get $6 for shipping these things. One in a bubble envelope shouldn't cost more than a dollar to ship.

My new additions to my mini-figure collection.

My entire "Character Building" collection - 9 Doctor Who Figures, 8 Generic CB Figures (plus one weird MegaBlock guy in the back.

Oh the dio stories I could do now.

Doctor Who Review Will Return

I have viewed the second and third 5th Doctor stories ("Four to Doomsday" and "Kinda") and am about half way through the first episode of the final 2nd Doctor story ("The War Games"). I'm going to put up a poll on the side - you tell me which doctor's stories you want me to review, and I'll do it!

You realize this is my THIRD post this week. Not too bad. See I told you I'd write more.

My FIRST Comic Strip

Created using Comic Life, iPhone 3G & Mac Mini.

Click to embiggen.

Classic Doctor Who Reviews - Introduction

Welcome to my first ongoing series of entries based on a single topic, reviews of Classic Doctor Who episodes from my unique snarky perspective. What makes these reviews different from the myriad of other Doctor Who episodes out on the intraweb tunnels? Well, not much other than I'm the one writing them, oh and also while I've always been AWARE of the classic Who series, I never really watched a whole lot of it, so 99% of these episodes will be entirely new to me. I've been watching the revamped series for quite some time, and when they bring up classic characters (Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, etc) I usually do a bit of research on their back stories. This lead me to come to the conclusion that I really, really needed to beef up my first-hand knowledge of the classic episodes. So that said, I've been acquiring all of the Fourth Doctor stories and my wife and I have just begun to watch them in order.

Now why did we decide to start with the Tom Baker Fourth Doctor episodes? Well, really it was a capricious decision on my part as there are still several "lost" episodes during the tenures of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, the first two Doctors. I dislike intensely not being able to experience a work in it's entirety, so while at some point I'd like to go back and review the first three doctors stories, I don't think that they're essential in understanding the character as he is today. Plus, the Fourth Doctor episodes were aired when I was a wee-lad beginning when I was four in 1975. He's the Doctor that most audiences prior to the 2005 revival were familiar with, having the longest run of any of the Doctors. He's also consistently the most popular Doctor in viewers polls, though the current (and outgoing Doctor David Tennant is also incredibly popular).

We'll be watching the as-broadcast versions of these episodes, NOT the DVD releases, so please keep that in mind. Also as always I'll try to include some sort of collecting aspect for each story, and I'll try to include not only my opinions of the story, but also my wife's thoughts, as she hasn't seen any of this stuff, ever.

New Directions, Obsessions & Updates

When I started this blog it was a blatant attempt to gain popularity in the sports card world. As I realized that I honestly don't collect enough sports cards I started writing about other subjects and removed the "sports card" from the blog title, now we're just "The Budget Collector". We're no longer focusing entirely on sports, but all of collecting, and how to do so on a budget, since let's face it, we're all broker than we'd like to be. Going forward I'm going to feature more collectibles that aren't necessarily sports related, PLUS I'm announcing an entirely new series of entries at the end of the entry, so stay tuned, and no scrolling down eh?

Collections

- or things my wife would prefer I pay less attention to than her.

Some of the things that I've collected over the almost 4 decades I've been on this planet include (listed in order of importance at the moment)

Active Collection Categories

• Disney 3" Vinylmations (www.vinylnation.net)
  
• Angels Baseball Cards
  
• UCLA Bruins Basketball Cards
  
• Books by John Irving, Robert Crais & Jim Butcher
  
• 25th Anniversary/Rise of Cobra GI Joes
  
• Cool Doctor Who items
  
• Anything I can afford related to Joss Whedon's "Firefly/Serenity"
  
• LEGO
  
• Nightmare Before Christmas
  
• Movies & Movie Books
  
• Gundam Books & Toys (Universal Century & 00 stuff)
  
• 3 3/4" Action Figures that I like
  

Inactive Collections

• Non-Sports Sets (Mostly movie/tv oriented)
  
• 6000+ Comic Books & related companion books
  
• Original Comic Book Sketches
  
• Defunct Trading Card Games (FPG's Guardians, WotC's Harry Potter, WotC's WCW Nitro)
  
• Vintage Star Wars Figures
  
• Wrestling Stuff (Magazines, books, toys)
  
• Hockey Cards
  
• Microman & Micronauts Figures
  
• San Diego Chargers Football Cards (Autographed from Practices)
  
• Various mini-collections of things like Starting Lineups, action figures, etc.
  
  

Retired/Sold Collections

• Star Wars Power of the Force 2
  
• Vintage RAH GI Joes
  
• 20,000 Football Cards
  
  

I've honestly NEVER been able to focus my collecting attention for more than a few months at a time. My personality is such that my attention span always wavers and something shiny and new always takes precedence. At the moment I'm obsessed with Disney Vinylmations, Doctor Who and 25th Anniversary GI Joes.

Current Obsession: Vinylmations

Vinylmations are a relatively new addition to the obsession list, as they were first released only a year ago, and are just now gaining momentum in the Disneyana collecting world. I currently own 23 of them at about $10 a pop. They are a cash-grab from Disney based in the relatively recent "urban vinyl" movement, but they are executed so well and definitely have the Disney flavor, plus I was able to get in on the "ground floor" so to speak, as I have a couple vinyls from the very first series, which have now skyrocketed in value.

What is a Vinylmation? Simple, it's a three inch tall Mickey Mouse figurine that is decorated by urban artists and sold in blind boxes (there's also a 9" line, but they're far too expensive for me to collect). They are released in series of 11 standard figures and 1 chaser in a case of 24 figures (2 complete sets, 1 chaser, 1 'triple'). So far they have released 7 different themed series of 12 figures, plus a number of special non-blind boxed one-off pieces in tins. They are very, very cool and look awesome when displayed (I'll post pictures of my collecting when I find my camera).

Each series is produced in limited production runs, and originally they were ONLY available at Disneyland in California and Disneyworld in Florida. They are now seeing released at Disneyland Paris, and have recently been sold online. Of course there is a healthy secondary market and even trading, as these are blind-boxed you have no idea which one you're going to get! The first couple of series, Park Series One and Urban Series One have shot up in value as they have been sold out from Disney for MONTHS. Park Series One sold out particularly quickly, released in late December, 2008, ALL of them were gone by February.

These two are from "Park Series One" and are the only ones from this series that I currently own. Fireworks is a particular favorite of mine.

Last time I checked Monorail Red was going for between $30 and $35, but I expect that to rise as the "Monorail" series is very popular with Disney collectors, AND the second piece "Monorail Blue" was just released in the Park Series 3 collection.



Fireworks sells for between $20 and $30 right now.



And this is Kermit, the one that continues to elude me and gain in price. For a figure that originally retailed for $10 it now sells for between $55 and $70! It was photos of this figure that intrigued me to no end, and forced my hand to start hunting these bad-boys down.




This one figure proved so popular that the Muppets are getting their own series supposedly in February of 2010.

If you'd like to see more Vinylmations featured, please leave me feedback, as I have tons of interest in this line and would love to discuss it with you. I'm also fairly active on Vinylnation.net, the biggest fan-community for the line. Disney's own Vinylmation site has just been nicely updated too, so make sure you check that out too.

TEAM TRADING UPDATE

Here's a shock, I've yet to mail out any of my ends of trades. Excuses excuses. They'll go out before Christmas, that's all I'm promising at this point. I suck I know, but if it makes it any better, I'll probably throw in some nice goodies to make the wait worth while. I did buy a new printer ink cartridge (and got a great deal too, $12.60 including tax for a Lexmark 28 Black ink that is normally around 20 bucks!).

Feature Announcement

My wife and I have just started watching, in order, all of the Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) episodes of the long-running BBC Science-Fiction show "Doctor Who". Seeing is that I've not seen MOST of these episodes for decades, and my wife has NEVER seen them, I thought it might make a cool series if I reviewed each storyline in order with my unique, snarky perspective. The first installment should be posted within a day or so, or as soon as I write the darn thing.

Doctor Who Alien Armies "Trading Card Game"

There I was at the Barnes & Noble, trying to get my daughter to calm down after seeing so many books that she absolutely had to have. After choosing "Max's ABC's" by Rosemary Wells I wandered over to the magazine stands to look at the newest issues of various things. I always tend to look at the toy mags just to see high res pictures of toys I'll never be able to afford, but this time I migrated right back to the film & TV section where Doctor Who Magazine was lurking, waiting for me to spot it, which wasn't easy as it wasn't faced and all I could see of it was the wrapper and the banner heading "Four Free Packs..." peaking above the other mags in the rack. I greedily snatched the magazine and discovered yes, FOUR free packs of the new Doctor Who Alien Armies TCG were included, along with a special foil 10th Doctor Limited Edition. I didn't even hesitate for a moment, knowing our bank account is tiny and that I have about a dozen card packages to send out, because I've been a good boy lately, eschewing all forms of instant gratification that wasn't a lottery scratcher over the last several weeks.

IN fact the ONLY splurge that I've managed to get my wife to agree to lately was the Target deluxe Star Trek DVD that came with a model of the new Enterprise that holds the DVDs in the saucer section. I can't even remember the last pack of Baseball cards that I purchased (oh wait, yes I can, a 99 cent 2009 Topps cello with Torii Hunter on the front, mostly for the gum). We're so strapped for cash at the moment that yes, the budget collector has absolutely no budget. Though my collector genes have been satisfied by receiving so many cool packs of Angels cards in the mail, and even though I've been selling comics on evilBay, those funds have been diverted right back into the household to appease my aforementioned wife.



So now I'm totally hooked on these new Dr. Who cards, and I think you'll see why. While I'm not a "new" Whovian, as I used to watch the old shows during the 70's and 80's, I didn't become a full-on Who junkie until BBC Wales revived the series with Christoper Eccleston as the 9th Doctor, and even then I didn't watch the first season of the revival until it was already in it's third season. As a full-on Sci-Fi junkie I've always been aware of Who and had nominal feelings about the show, but was more hooked by shows like Blake's Seven, the Michael Praed Robin Hood and the comedies Black Adder and Red Dwarf. British television programming has always been better quality than our yankee counterparts, and as many know some of our best Sit-coms had their origins as BBC shows (I'm thinking of Sanford and Son and Three's Company here).

Just this weekend I printed out the Tardis Paper-Craft from Iron Cow Productions (hint, click the link you'll be taken right there), and I actually put the damn thing together this weekend with my meager paper craft skills. (Note to self: Next time print it on matte photo paper or card stock.) While I would LOVE to amass a huge collection of Character Options five inch figures, they aren't the right size for me anymore (I'm exclusively collecting 3 3/4" figures now, so while I COULD techically get a CHristopher Eccleston Doctor figure, I can't afford it as it's a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive GI Joe Destro 2-pack).

All of this is to say that I love Dr. Who and can't afford or find Who universe collectibles out here on the West Coast much anymore. There's so much cool stuff availble in the UK, including several series of Top Trumps cards (a more complicated version of War), Battles in Time cards (an even MORE complicated version of War), and even a collectible miniatures game, NONE of which typically gets imported to the US at a reasonable price. Toys R Us is now selling SOME of the Character Options figures, and even has a US Exclusive of the 6th Doctor in the 5th Doctor's clothing right after regeneration.

Boy this post is rambling. I've been waiting for the computer to install the scanner software as I wiped the hard drive on this baby the other day and had forgotten to reinstall certain key pieces of software.

SO now that is done, and here's what I have to show off:




The set is actually reasonably priced if you're in the UK. Packs of 6 cards are only 50 pence, which is about 85 cents! A starter deck with play mat is 4 pounds 99 pence, or about $8.50. There's also a binder and tins, all of which include limited-edition foil cards available only in certain stores in the UK. Chase cards are inserted at VERY reasonable levels, from 1:2 to 1:8 and boxes have 100 packs in them. Wow.

Here's the breakdown:

180 Standard Cards
20 Foil Embossed (1:8 even though the pack says 1:4)
20 Foil (1:4)
40 Glitter (1:2)
20 "Limited Edition" not in packs.

So I suppose that if i want to really collect this set I'll have to purchase off of eBay, which isn't going to happen, or hope that some mad collector in the UK wants to help out.

The fronts are very clean in design, though the game aspect (which again looks to me like a complicated version of "War") forces designers to clutter up the photo with strange icons and numbers. The backs are generic in scope, with only the card type being different (there's Equipment, Ally, Villain, Doctor and "Children in Time" cards). The old logos are being used for this set, which is fine by me, as I'm not sold on the new DW logo yet.

This first set focuses ALMOST exclusively on the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and his run from the last three or so years. The most recent specials aren't featured at all, but virtually every other episode and character are. The foil-embossed set features cards of ALL of the incarnations of the Doctor himself, and companions/villains.

I have no idea how to play the stinking game though, as no rules were inserted in my magazine (as they usually are for an introduction product like this), and there's NOTHING online that says how to play. Sadly. And believe me, I've looked today. So far I've probably spent a good two hours researching this product from Panini UK.

I seriously doubt this set will ever see release on this side of the pond, but you never know. I'll be calling Panini America in Texas tomorrow to find out for sure.

In the mean time if you want some for yourself, go to a good book store that has a good magazine section, and look for Doctor Who Magazine #414. It's $8.99 for a copy, but it's well worth it, as the foil 10th Doctor card is ONLY found in that mag.

And if you have extras of this and want to trade for something else (as I have NO dupes yet) I'd love to hear from you.