Be sure to send in your questions for the next thrilling update!

--AP

According to Transformers fans online, a lot of (if not all of) the Netflix pre-orders for the first wave may still be unfilled - so if you see these guys in a store on your grocery trips, go ahead and pick them up.

--AP

There's more about it on Vintage Is the New Old, and also Analogue Pocket goes up today for pre-orders if you need a replacement GameBoy.

--AP

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--AP

Available now! The Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Earthrise Battle Masters Soundbarrier Action Figure is a ramp and shield and it's somewhat hard to come by. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

Since pre-sales were also shut down for the dock, cables, screen protectors, and other peripherals, it's a safe bet they're going back to the suppliers to order another run as we speak. Analogue seems to understand the nature of a "collectible" when it comes to how they sell their hardware. Again, there will be more.

While many are crying foul on scalpers or sneakerbots, it's also important to remember that there's a really good chance this market is underserved. While Chinese manufacturers offered the GB Boy and GB Boy Colour, there haven't been any portable GameBoy consoles that accepted cartridges in the US in years. Also there were 16 or so years of GameBoy Pokemon kids around the world who bought millions of copies of old games that want a new system or to play on a big screen. Also notable, many Redditors and Twittizens posted how they were planning to buy 2 units - one for them, one for a spouse.

I have to assume they'll have a few different colorways down the road and multiple runs, mostly because there are GameBoy collectors that have multiple units with different shells, mods, or other feature sets.

--AP

These guys tend to put out great creatures and what seems to be a legit letter announcing Predator figures coming has also been making the rounds, so if these show up near you - presumably at Walmart or Argos - give them a look.

--AP

Newish! Playmobil Scooby-Doo! 70287 Scooby and Shaggy with Ghost Figures is the figure set you wish you had as a kid, with a slightly better but still classic-ish ghost. It's worth your money. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

Packaging shows the class of 2011, much like the previous batch of glow Bluestar guys were the class of 2010. This time around you can expect Commander Comet, Alpha 7, Electron+, and Mystron.

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The band features Charles Moothart, Ty Segall, and Chad Ubovich. Ty Segall has more bands than I do action figures, and has a new release pretty much constantly. You might want to check this out.

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At retail: Skully and Instant Sports: Summer Games.

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A cleared, 8-foot table was used to remove the toy from the box and assemble it. So what hope do you have?

The instruction book is 32 pages. When asked how long it takes to convert, Mark the Graphic Designer says "If I follow the instructions I can convert Unicron in about 50 minutes to an hour." So I'm just going to say maybe plan on taking a day off of work next spring for this one.

--AP

Be sure to send in your questions for the next thrilling update!

--AP

On one hand I appreciate this - Masters of the Universe characters are colorful, fun designs for toys - but on another, more accurate hand... c'mon. Throw us a bone. Skeletor. Scare Glow, anybody as a 3-inch figure. Any of these guys would look stunning as a 3-inch figure packed in with a random castle or blind bag even without any sort of attribution. At least we know they're giving it a shot, but it's a pity it's not the actual thing people were asking to get for the last decade or so.

On the bright side, you've got a year to go through Kohl's and thrift stores to find Imaginext stuff without as many people competing with you. Here's hoping they can fit in some of the more fun playsets and vehicles in this cheaper format - we've already seen that the brand support what is basically the Roton and it was a mere seven bucks.

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Here in Phoenix, Metrocenter Mall bulldozed the Macy's - formerly Broadway Southwest - for a Walmart. The Walmart removed the connection to the mall, so you couldn't get in the mall from the Walmart. It took about two years, but the mall just closed for business a few weeks ago. Walmart did not bring extra traffic to the other stores or food courts - so I don't know if this means Amazon might bring people needing a place to go for lunch to the table. But hey, anything to fight the blight of another abandoned retail mausoleum. When those buildings turn into concrete husks, it can take a while for them to get filled by another tenant - or knocked down.

--AP

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--AP

Available now! The Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Earthrise Deluxe Cliffjumper Action Figure is a smaller toy, but you can see where the money goes with more paint, more articulation, and more accessories. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

If you have an AVS, you probably don't need one - but it does have built-in support for CRT monitors which is why I am looking at this and actually considering it. I assume it will have sold through in ten minutes, but we'll see, won't we?

--AP

"Also a victim of the layoffs: DC Direct, the companyŐs in-house merchandise and collectibles manufacturer. The division has been shuttered after 22 years, another move that was rumored when Warner Bros. Consumer Products began taking a more active role in DC merchandising."

DC and Diamond split earlier this year, and it's unknown what the future is going to look like for... well, anything.

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ReedPop handles a few events and a lot of them are going online-only this year. SDCC is run by a different outfit, but a number of panels were placed online with exclusives largely being sold directly to the consumer - a sensible strategy. The roll-out for New York remains to be seen but one thing is for sure: I won't see you there! (Which is a shame, I had some swell pins made to give away at cons this year and I'm not any of them.)

--AP

Newish! Onell Design Lost Sincrodrone Eta is bright and cheery, and also sold out. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

Is it any good? Not sure. It has 50 games on a 17-inch display, but it's probably not a CRT display. The button layout has 6 buttons with the red stick, but the real NeoGeo cabinets usually have 4 buttons in a line. I love the idea of making a bartop into a full-size cab - much more than a mini-cabinet getting a riser - but there are no details as to what is under the hood. I assume it's not a FPGA set-up in there. I doubt you can expand it. But it's about $500 and due in October.

If anyone wants to make some easy money, here's some free advice: sell a cabinet with hook-ups so I can hook up the HDMI console of my choice with controls that connect via USB. If I could put a Switch or an Analogue Console to a build-in HD monitor (or if you want me to throw down the big bucks, CRT monitor) I'm in. IKEA, get on that.

--AP

The digital is $7 (cheap!) and the vinyl is $17-$20. There was also a recent Damaged Bug release that insta-sold out, but again, my local record shop was somehow able to get me one. So ask your local record hole if you have one, they would appreciate the business!

--AP

At retail: Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon: Familia Myth Infinite Combate and Collar x Malice: Unlimited.

--AP

Be sure to send in your questions for the next thrilling update!

--AP

Someone deconstructed the Sonic game for Sega Genesis and made what appears to be close to pixel-perfect port to Nintendo's machine. The music sounds a little different, the Super NES had slightly lower resolution, but other than that it looks and sounds pretty much the same. You can even download the ROM to try it on an emulator or ROM cart.

Other than the smaller field of view thanks to the lower resolution, it's rather gorgeous.

--AP

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--AP

Available now! The Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Trilogy Selects Greasepit Action Figure is out of stock at a lot of places, but you can put a pre-order in at a much better price if you missed it. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

Lanard has been putting out cheap action toys for years, generally at Walmart and lately also Amazon in the USA (and yes that is an affiliate link which we may get two nickels if you click any buy something.) They've been great at tooling up big new creatures, but fans of collecting women action figures won't find many - or any - in most lines. For example, there's no Ripley in their ALIEN line - but there are a lot of vehicles and creatures for use with these or your other toys. Newly tooled human figures are far and few between, even in the newest sets. I would still recommend checking them out to see if anything pushes your buttons.

--AP

It pays tribute to a number of existing toys, starting the chain off with Go-Bots Bug Bite, and then the eHobby Bugbite (a G1 Bumblebee in white), and later BotCon Bugbite (Classics Bumblebee in white with Decepticon pinstriping.) This is probably your first chance to get a new in package toy named Bug Bite at a reasonable price in decades.

--AP

Newish! Hexbug Junk Bots 2 Bots + 1 Energy Module Trixie and Surge Action Figures may be at a Target near you. It's basically a bunch of 1:12 scale garbage and thrift store fodder you can cobble together into a robot, to varying degrees of believability. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

It would not be hyperbolic to call this a Big Deal, as it's a release over 10 years in the making. I hope I can get one - and that you can get one! But mostly that I can get one.

--AP

At retail: Aokana: Four Rhythms Across the Blue and Street Power Soccer.

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A limited edition of 2,000, the cartridge comes in clear brown or clear green with a new box. But it's also $100 - the going rate of the original loose cartridge is about $20-$30 right now, with complete-in-box samples going for about $100.

Also of interest - arguably more of interest - is a series of Battletoads soundtrack LPs.

--AP

Be sure to send in your questions for the next thrilling update!

--AP

The Delphi made a debut after 10 years of waiting! This is a huge deal - it's rare that an indie line has a long-awaited release, in part because there aren't a lot of long-running indie lines. There's also a new-style Venjorun Armorvor, and some other things were also available.

--AP

There's no Hasbro markings on the concept designs, so we don't know if this is a trademark lag situation, a license, or what. This is particularly notable given how many toy companies backed off promoting its police-related product as of late.

--AP

--AP

The toy comes with 4 different heads and 2 6-inch figures. It's pretty pricey at $349.99, but it's the biggest Marvel Legends thing to date.

--AP

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If you've got a dollar a month to share, please Visit the Galactic Hunter Patreon and help cover our server costs. I'll still put in hours of work, writing, photography, and research for you - I just need some help making sure that the site costs me only time, and hopefully not money. Thanks for your support!

--AP

Available now! The Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Trilogy Selects Exhaust Action Figure is out of stock at a lot of places, but you can put a pre-order in and have him be the evil mercenary Wheeljack if you want. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

I would recommend all of these - Omega Supreme is one of the more fun (simpler to transform) Titans. Jetfire's really impressive and has some fun play features. The tape 4-pack, well, blue Frenzy/Rumble alone is why you have got to get this. Ectotron's no slouch either.

Also new is Black Roritchi, a redeco of Fasttrack. It ain't bad. Also some of those are affiliate links, so we may get a cut of a sale if you bought something after clicking.

--AP

Bluish! Outer Space Men Bluestar Xodiac Action Figure is a fantastic glowing blue figure, and I believe that rounds out our look at the first blue batch. Wave 2 is being previewed and I assume those will be out before the end of the year. So read on, and come back tomorrow for more!

--AP

The unboxing experience requires a lot of prep for a pop-out figure, and the toys aren't as good as the non-blind boxed $8-$10 toy packs - but for some reason these vehicles can accommodate 3 3/4-inch action figures perfectly. For that reason, I'd suggest grabbing one just for fun.

--AP

At retail: Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions and Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions and other things I won't be playing.

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The set is to be one of five packs with "planet cards" - what are the others? Probably other Amazon exclusives, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

The set is due around December 1 and costs $39.99. Buy two, get one for your friend overseas.

--AP

Be sure to send in your questions for the next thrilling update!

--AP

The Factor 5-developed run-and-gun games are a lot of fun, and came from the same developer as the Nintendo 64 and GameCube Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo games, the GameBoy Contra: The Alien Wars port, and some LucasArts PS1 games we'll just not talk about.

--AP

Assuming you'd see the movie, at least you've got some time to make room for your new ninjas.

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The figures are colorful and look amazing - check for availability.

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The red/pink Slitherfang is exclusive to this set. The Earthrise trailer is included. Nemesis himself is the Siege mold - so the Cybertron truck. Also included are Energon cubes plus Amazon's Power of the Primes-era Nemesis Prime's wrist guns and red sword. It's a lot like the Ultra Magnus pack, but there's a heck of a lot more in the box - it's not just a straight-up deco change with a Play-Doh pool of Energon cubes. It's about $60 at fine stores that carry it, and I've since had to update this as the only place that has it seems to be Walmart.com - so order yours.

--AP

Toy Fair Dallas, which is mostly for industry and not a press/reveal event, is supposedly still on for October 2021. I'm not as optimistic as they are, but hey, if I'm wrong then everybody wins.

--AP

IKEA seems like one of those brands that doesn't cross over with anything, although I've often wondered why Playmobil isn't in their stores. You will undoubtedly find Julmust there around that time, which is a deeply unpleasant soda they stock for the holidays. Just don't.

--AP

Become a Patron!

If you've got a dollar a month to share, please Visit the Galactic Hunter Patreon and help cover our server costs. I'll still put in hours of work, writing, photography, and research for you - I just need some help making sure that the site costs me only time, and hopefully not money. Thanks for your support!

--AP