Pre-Ordered Candy Key Series 05

Pre-Ordered Candy Key Series 05 Box @ AmiAmi since Yamakawa couldn't keep up with the game, and the shop at CSC selling Candy Toy stopped at Series 03.

Interestingly, this set consists of 3 new keys with 2 of them having Gashapon versions. So in fact, all 5 keys are very relevant to the Ranger Key collection since Gashapon versions are not prime choices for collection purposes.

Releasing in Mid-Dec.

Disappointing...

Went to CSC to take a look at the paint quality of the Ranger Key Set SP stocks and they turned out to be as shitty as the ones at La Tendo. So it's not an isolated issue... Yes, rebuying the set did cross my mind if I ever saw a decent one. The perfectionist mindset of a collector is scary right?

Quite a disappointment today since I didn't managed to get the stuff that I wanted.

At first, I wanted to make use of the OG 20% store-wide discount to get the DX Gokai Saber so I tried my luck by going to OG Albert @ Bugis. I have already checked out OG People's Park and they were sold out. When I reached, I didn't expect to see ZERO Gokaiger items there so I ended up empty handed.

Was lazy to reroute to OG Orchard, so I'll probably check it out at the next 20% store-wide discount.

Ng's Collections VS La Tendo

Just feel like doing a short writeup on this topic. Hahah.

It's funny to see how things have taken a turn somehow. I think I can be considered a long-time customer of Ng's Collections (since 2005). Year after year, Uncle Ng was the only main reliable source of Super Sentai toys in CSC itself, so it's very clear-cut for the small market of collectors.

This year was rather exceptional because of the celebration for 35 years of Super Sentai in the anniversary series, "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger". All of a sudden, you find that almost everyone starts to sell Super Sentai toys as well. The very same reason and increase in market demand led to a shortage of stock levels which also affected Ng's Collections. So for most parts during the beginning of the year, Uncle Ng either got in very limited stocks or very late stocks. Not to mention that the prices somewhat inflated, making them "collector-unfriendly"...

At the very same moment, I first became a member of La Tendo because of the S.H. Figuarts ShinkenBlue. During the times when Ng's Collections was having issues with shipment and less competitive pricing, securing via pre-orders instantly became very appealing. The problem compounded when Ng's Collections had to face issues relating to moving out of CSC or possible semi-retirement. Therefore, this was the time I started spamming pre-orders with La Tendo.

It was nice at first because of the convenience brought about by the service. Basically, one can just pay a deposit to pre-order an item and fork out the remaining when the item arrives which was informed via SMS. Members also get 10% discount for pre-orders and rebate points.

Coincidentally after an unexpected turn of events, Ng's Collections not only managed to remain at CSC but also managed to get in stocks on time and plentiful to go by. And this was where the tables started to turn... La Tendo for some weird reason recently kept receiving QC-failed shipment which pissed me to no end. Under such circumstances, I can only complete the transactions by choosing the "best" out of the available stocks. On the other hand, Ng's Collections more or less resumed its usual capacity which at times made me want to kick myself. Hahah.

At the end of the day, I just wanted to talk about the somewhat amusing switch of dynamics between Ng's Collections and La Tendo. It's not about comparing which is better; that being said - Ng's Collections would still be my main source of Super Sentai toys (at least mecha-wise) and La Tendo can offers more variety and alternatives whenever Ng's Collections is lacking.

Hopefully, the QC-failed cases would stop at just S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed and Ranger Key Set SP.

DX Ranger Key Set SP

Collected the Ranger Key Set SP from La Tendo. They didn't have enough of Ranger Key Set DX so I have to wait for the next shipment.



This time round, I also made sure to select the one with the best paint out of all the available stock. Unfortunately, there were only 2 sets so I could only pick the best out of the two. S$55.80 to complete the line of the remaining of the 34 Red Ranger Keys.

Again, I cannot express how disappointed I am in Bandai Japan's quality control!



As pictured, the paint for the black circuit design was a mess and Bandai was fine with the result and passed the quality assurance. Excellent!

I will have to check on the stocks at CSC next week to see if it's only La Tendo's shipment which is affected.

Complete Shinkenger Figuarts Team!

With the addition of ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow, the Shinkenger Figuarts team is now complete!



The full glory at a total expense of S$542.75. Oh my god! Even I'm shocked when I calculated the final figure.

S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow

Collected both S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow from Fujiya at CSC this afternoon. Dvillangelo (the owner) was a pretty nice guy, he even made sure that the buyer is satisfied with the conditions of the toys before completing the transaction.



By the way, they were S$85.00 each, the cheapest pre-orders offered locally.

I think I should also take the chance to talk about Bandai Japan's quality control which became kinda problematic recently. It is an issue because we are talking about toys of collector's grade.

A couple of people reported that the leg joints of their ShinkenPink were too tight and they simply snapped while trying to pose the figures. Scary! I took out my ShinkenPink and tried rotating the leg joint as well. Turns out that it was indeed very tight so I put it back into the box fearing that I would break it too.

The case for ShinkenYellow was a bit rarer but it still didn't make up for the fact that Bandai Japan did screw up. One guy on RB ended up received a ShinkenYellow with two left arms, so it's pretty much the WTF feeling after spending so much on an action figure and chances of replacement seem pretty low.

Luckily, I didn't experience any problems with ShinkenYellow and I just have to be very careful with ShinkenPink so it should be fine. Please buck up, Bandai Japan!

The Chronicles of Auntie!

I went to CSC today to get another set of Ranger Key Set 08 because my perfectionist devil kicked in. And I also wanted to take a look at the quality control (see previous post) of the other S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed stocks.

Turned out that the the stocks for S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed at CSC did not have any quality control issues (like La Tendo and Fujiya did) after walking around today, so the gold paint is all fine! Hmm, I felt kinda unlucky to pre-order at La Tendo, so I hope the same problem will not happen again for GokaiBlue and GokaiGreen...

Back to the RKS 08, I wanted to get another set because I wasn't satisfied with the paint quality of the GoseiRed I got from La Tendo (there was no choosing). At the end of the day, I can just give the extra set to my cousin. Hahah.

The Uncle was quite restless today because I could tell that his business wasn't doing too well recently (probably due to the increase in competitors). So I went to the counter to pay for the item, and the Auntie wanted to charge me S$22.00?! How ridiculous of the Auntie to blindly quote me any price when the price tag was S$20.00! And I wasn't even trying to push down the price at all...

Best of all, the Auntie continued to pester me by reminding me that if I want any items from Japan, please go back to them because they can help to source. She specifically mentioned the S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow (both Tamashii Web-Exclusives) which I told her that I pre-ordered from somewhere else. Since she probed further to ask where, I just bluntly told her "Fujiya" the online store.

Gosh, I wonder how much more the Auntie wanted to make this more uncomfortable than ever. If something similar happens to other customers as well, I bet that it would potentially cause Uncle to lose more customers.

S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed with GokaiDarin

Good Job, Bandai Asia!

You just showed us upfront that you wanted money so badly that you are willing to compromise on the quality control of your own products.



Went down to collect the S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed with GokaiDarin (First-Press Bonus) at La Tendo today because I read about the online comments on the poor quality control for the gold paint. Honestly, I never had such a hard time trying to find a decent piece from the stock pile... *All the more reason to collect early so that there are more choices.*

It is common knowledge that the Bandai Asia's quality control isn't as good as its Japanese counterpart, but this time round is simply outrageous. All the 7 Figuarts were either not properly painted or had paint spills (particularly the gold paint applications). From the looks of it, I don't think there's any QC this time at all. I suspect Bandai Asia is just trying to fulfill the massive orders due to the popularity of Gokaiger.

Back to the story... At first, I managed to find one that was barely acceptable but then realized the box condition was the worst. Therefore, I had to choose another one with moderately less paint damage and a decent box... It's not like I can go to other places to look for better ones since I pre-ordered it.

Oh well, this one's S$50.40 and luckily the GokaiDarin was fine. In case you are wondering, the Japanese ones are not affected.

*Update: 16 Oct 2011*

I take back my words. Apparently the stocks for S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed at CSC do not have any quality control issues (like La Tendo and Fujiya did) after walking around today, so the gold paint is all good to go! Now, I feel unlucky to pre-order at La Tendo, I hope the same problem will not happen again for GokaiBlue and GokaiGreen.

The Go-On Wings Ranger Key

Bandai Japan once again triumphs!



In order to push the sales of the final DX Weapon - the GokaiGalleon Buster, consumers will receive the exclusive Go-On Wings Ranger Key as a First-Press Bonus. This is an extremely smart move to mitigate the lack of interest by the Metallic GokaiRed Ranger Key included which is also repeated in the Ranger Key Set DX.

I'm not interested in the weapon at all, so the only way to get the exclusive key would be to wait for it to pop up on eBay or Yahoo Auctions Japan. It's not going to cheap though...

Takashimaya 15th Craziest Toy Sale (Day 17)

Is it easier to interpret it as the second last day? Hahah.

Went over to take a look since I was in the area. As expected, there were nothing worth buying. Essentially the most disappointing clearance sale, except that it is worthy to mention that all of the Deluxe Jungle Pride Megazord (@ S$23.00) were sold out. Frankly, it's really a good bargain for casual collectors, parents and kids alike.

Sigh, now I still have to carry on the lookout for RPM Megazords clearance.