John DeLuna went on his first real toy hunt in years, chasing Combiner Wars Titan Class Devastator across six Toys R Us stores in under 24 hours. Brian Kilby joins to compare toy hunting then and now. They talk about how pre-orders and Big Bad Toy Store killed the thrill of discovery, and why Don still hunts. Flea market finds, Transmetal Rattrap trades and the best store exclusives round it out.
The Devastator Hunt
John read on the 4th of July that Devastator had been spotted about an hour away, and that was enough to send him out. He hit at least four Toys R Us stores that night and two more the next day, with no luck. At one store, a restocking employee laughed when shown the price tag: they had sold out that morning, and he wanted one too. Brian checked his nearest Toys R Us, an hour away, and found nothing, not even a price tag. John was surprised to find collectors waiting at the door when the store opened.
Pre-orders Killed the Hunt
Brian says pre-ordering has mostly killed toy hunting for him, and he now hunts only for surprises. He drags his wife along by planning stops around errands she wants to run. His last major hunt was for MP-10, which Don finally found for him. Both admire that Don still knows his stores’ truck days, and suggest he came up before the internet was central to fandom. One host blames Big Bad Toy Store, which he loves, for removing the sense of discovery. Brian says stealth releases are nearly impossible now, since toys hit eBay and YouTube before announcements.
The Old Days of Discovery
The hosts miss the early alt.toys.transformers days, resin prototypes and surprise sightings. One recalls Tomart’s, Lee’s Toy Review and ToyFare’s top-ten lists driving his buying. John notes that even the Tokyo Toy Show exclusives, such as the Combiner Wars Armada Megatron and Black Convoy, are easy to get.
Flea Markets and Yard Sales
Both searched Goodwill, antique shops and yard sales over the years, with little luck. One host stocked up on Walmart Transmetal Rattrap as trade currency and swapped one with Zobovor for a complete Perceptor. A friend who runs a BotCon booth still posts great flea market finds. The hosts also recall M. Cypher finding a Minerva missing only her helmet for about $5 at a Raleigh flea market.
Store Exclusives Then and Now
John has given up and plans to pre-order Devastator. HooperX told him he would never hunt something that expensive. John’s only other in-store Devastator was the Robots in Disguise Walmart Black Friday set, which Brian thinks may have been Landfill. The hosts say there were once more exclusives because more stores sold toys, and today’s are often uninspired. They recall Machine Wars at KB Toys and Big Bad Toy Store’s Dark Energon. John credits Toys R Us for its attention to Transformers exclusives.
Contributors: John DeLuna, Brian Kilby
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