The Simpsons

[jjwr]

Went to TRU last night in search of the new Joes but there weren't around so I bought 3 of the new wave of Simpsons figures. Flanders, Barney and Smithers. They had a differnt Homer and Bart, but I have one already and the voice chips are the same so there was no point. They didn't have Wiggum, but a local KB does, I guess I can live with $8 for one figure.

[Jedieb]

These figures are some of the coolest I've ever seen and the only other line besides Star Wars that I collect. I was lucky enough to pick up those same figures at Target last month during the 12" Sppederbike and Y-Wing craze. I also passed on Sunday Bart and Bowling Homer. I guess great minds think alike. huh jjwr?
BTW, the Simpsons Tree House of Terror is out now as well. I haven't seen it yet but it's suppose to be great. At $29.99 it's pretty steep and sure to stay on the shelves eventually. I think I may wait for the clearance aisle on that one. As of now the only playset I've bought is the Nuclear Power Plant. You need to have at least one to hear the figures and that's been my favorite. If I ever see the others for under $10 I might pick them up as well.

[Jedieb]

I dropped by TRU on the way home from work and saw the aforementioned Treehouse of Horror set. It was awesome! The set includes 4 fiugres and an interactive stand. You're basically paying the usual $5 bucks per figure and just $10 dollars for the stand. (Why can't Hasbro price SW toys in a similiar manner! >( ) The figures are as follows:
King Homer
The Black & White King Kong Homer from the very first Halloween Special. One of my all time favorite Simpsons cartoon, and like the episode, the figure is actually painted in black and gray! It rocks!
Dracula Burns
Another winner. And unlike the POTF2 Royal Guard, the figure is not a uni-leg. Nice job Playmates.
Bart as the Fly
Looks good and the fly sucking and slurping sounds are included.
Flanders as the Devil
2nd best figure after King Homer. It looks great from head to hooves.
The sounds:
They all rock! This is what the COMMTech chips should have sounded like. Not only did they pull sounds straight from the movie, the actors themselves did phrases for the toys. I'm not sure if they did any for this playset because all of the lines I've heard so far have been ones straight from the Halloween episodes. And they sound great!!!!
The Stand
It's the entrance to the cemetary you see in every Halloween Special with the gate to boot. There are 3 headstones. One for Itchy, one for Scatchy, and one that reads Eat My Dust. And they even threw in a small Krusty that looks like he's jumping from behind one of the tombstones to wreak some havoc. And why a small Krusty? Because of the classic Halloween episode in which a Krusty doll comes to life and tries to kill Homer. I'm telling you, this thing is damn impressive and the best playset so far. If you're collecting this line you can't pass this up.

I was going to pass on this and wait for a sale until a stock guy I know at TRU told me it was a TRU exclusive. With Halloween coming up and it being an exclusive, I don't see how this set is going to last the holiday season. If you're heart is set on this, pick it up as soon as you see it. Good luck.

BTW, I spotted a GI Joe set of figs at TRU jjwr. Which ones have you gotten so far?

[jjwr]

GRRRRR!!!!!!

So far I haven't seen the Treehouse of Horror set or the new G.I.Joes at my local TRU. After not calling them for a week and a half I went up figuring I'd find the new Joes, but still nothing.

So I went on etoys.com and ordered them from there, sick of waiting on my TRU...living in Vermont does have its drawbacks.

I'd love to get that Treehouse of horror set but I doubt I'll find one around here before it gets sold out. How many did your local TRU have? If I sent you the money and shipping(and assuming they still have one) you could grab one for me? They're in the $45 range on ebay now and I'd rather not pay that much for them.

Though I do need to hit ebay and get a Lisa, Grampa and Krusty, those sold out before I could get them around here.

[Jedieb]

I wish I'd read your post before I went out this morning jjwr. I went by TRU this morning to buy some PJs for my son and they had only 1 Treehouse of Horror left! Sorry! Yesterday, the stock guy told me they'd gotten in 3 cases and had 1 more on the way. (I don't know how many were in each case, I'm assuming 3-4) I'm sure it's sold out by now and I won't be going by TRU until probably Monday. If I find one I'll pick it up. If they're sold out I'll post something here Monday afternoon and let you know. If I do buy one I'll sell it to you for cost plus shipping. There's no scalping in Jedieb's universe!!!

Sorry about your TRU woes. If I were you I'd strike up a conversation with one of the stock guys and find out when their trucks come in. My local TRU usually has 2 trucks come in a week. (Tues. & Fri.) With X-Mas coming up they're starting to get tons of stuff in. If I were you I'd make a run this Tues. or Wed. and see if they got a mid week delivery. Good luck!

[jjwr]

Thanks Jedieb! No biggie if you can't find one though, don't want you to have to go out of your way in looking for one.

Sadly its about a hour drive, though I was calling every few days and asking about stuff, everytime I'd ask if they know when the trucks come in and everytime(different people) would say at different times, not on any set schedule.

I'm ordering a set of the new Joes from Etoys.com anyways, figure this way I'll get them. In another month or so I'll probably head up every few weeks to do various christmas shopping and Wal-Marts are supposed to get the Joes around November so I shouldn't have any trouble getting some extras for myself and presents. I'm debating how many of the new Joes I want to buy to keep carded, probably at least a couple of them, I do like carded figures.

Oh, I was at Ames yesterday and found Grampa! Now I'm down to Lisa and Krusty that I don't have.

[Bromine]

I can sympathise, jjwr. For me the nearest TRU is a 45min - 1hr bus ride away. They also have this dumb computerised phone system so when you call, you have to enter the first three letters of the employee you want to speak to: No option list, no waiting on the line for help. If you don't know anyone's name, you're out of luck. Add to this that their shifts are erratic, so I have to try all the names I know looking for anyone that's working at the time. I'm definitely leaning toward shopping on-line.

[jjwr]

Don't know about you Bromine but for me thats the bane of living in a small area. We've got a Wal-Mart but its pretty damn small, they do get new stuff but it can take a while. I'm definetly leaning towards more online stuff as things go on.

[Jedieb]

Damn, both of you are making me feel guilty. My TRU is only 10 minutes away and it's just an exit away from my home. I can even take a back way from the mall and head home.

As I feared, TRU was completely sold out of the TOTerro. In fact, the whole Simpson display looked as if it had been ransacked. I'll keep an eye out this month and let you know if I spot one. With the distances and times you both have to deal with, shopping on-line is probably a good idea. The extra price you pay on-line will offset the gas money and time you'd spend by driving down to your respective stores. Sorry I couldn't help jjwr. :(

[jjwr]

Don't worry about it Jedieb, its the thought that counts :)

I much rather go to the store and as the holidays get closer I'll probably go up more frequently, but in the offseason it doesn't seem like the local TRU is getting much new stuff.

Course too bad that is a TRU exclusive, otherwise it would be easy to get somewhere else.

I brought all my Simpsons toys into work today, have my two playsets and 11 figures on display on top of my monitor(though Homer and Burns are on a shelf to the side). Have managed to amuse a few people with Barney's burping :)

What about the Skinner Playset? Has that one showed up yet? I saw one at a Ames when I was on my Honeymoon and I should have bought it, but figured I'd buy the new Joe toys when I got out so I didn't, have too many figures for my 2 playsets so I'm gonna need another soon!

[Jedieb]

Skinner's Office was out in full force this past weekend. The playsets are usually pretty easy to find. I hope to snag most of these when they get a bit cheaper. Your desk sounds like the envy of every one in your office!

[jjwr]

Do you have any of the playsets yet? I'll probably grab the skinner's next time I see it. I'm also waiting for more Lisa's and Krusty's to hit the stores. Seems all they get is the newer assortment and a few of the first wave(Burns, Homer, Grampa).

I had quite a few people coming into my office and playing with them, one person in particular found Barney's burps really funny :)

[Jedieb]

The only playset I have is the Nuclear Power Plant. It's really neat. I've got the glow in the dark Homer from Toyfare on order. He'll replace the the non-radiation-poisoned Homer as soon as I get him. Did you get a chance to order one of those?

[jjwr]

I was going to order one but I didn't wanna dish out the $15 or so dollars, its cool but rather buy 3 other figures then that one.

I've got the Power Plant which is the first one I bought and then got the living room for my B-Day. Considering they've got all the voice stuff in them and come with a figure $20 isn't a bad price. I'd like to get the other two but only ones around are the two I have already.

Is it just me or we the only ones posting in here on a regular basis?

[mez7]

ive seen glow in the dark paint in a local craft store,
just get the regular homer and repaint, and save some cash :)

[Jedieb]

Like the subject says, I spotted about 30 of these at my TRU today jjwr. Let me know if you still need one. I'll try to check in some time tomorrow afternoon. If I were you I'd call your TRU. Maybe they've received a big Halloween shipment as well.

[Bromine]

Speaking of action figures, I was checking out some on-line retailers and decided to see if The Simpsons had an official merchandise site. Turns out they do, and the figures are a reasonable $5.99! Go to: thesimpsons.com , then go to "Merchandise", then "Novelties"(Yes, the action figures are listed under Novelties. Nearly missed seeing them). They just added thumbnails of every figure, too.
Sorry, no Treehouse of Terror.:(