Tuesday, September 21, 2010

2nd update thinking

Once again a successful and timely 2nd update.

If figures weren't your thing, you'd of been dissapointed with the week if this hadn't happened. Most people can't get enough of everything Jazwares has been doing, but there are exceptions.

The 1st update is really what Gear is all about...drilling down with in-depth reviews of items, and providing plenty of pictures of complicated things. No store site or anywhere like that will really get as 'into' the product, so I feel it was a fantastic update--one the site could use more of.

Sonic Overload?
IS there a Sonic Overload going on now? With tons of figures, new shirts appearing, AND all of the electronics now in Toys R Us...if you tried to collect it all it would be massivly expensive. Just getting the Super Pack, mini racer pack & espio Vector 2 pack was like 50 bucks. If fans want to get it all, they better really be 'in the money' with the CD player at 40, the mp3 at 35, camera at 20 and walkie-talkies around 20 as well. Not to mention the RC cars!

Is it a problem?
Yes, if you want to have it ALL. Flooding a market can be not-good for it, and can frusterate the fans as too many things pile on, then leave shelves before anyone can save up enough to buy them. Long-term availability helps this situation immensely...but Sonic stuff has often proven to NOT have that as a feature.

Tried to clear through more mail with the 2nd half...posted some videos that were a long time in coming. Why was only 1 linked? The 2nd is an AVGN video (of course there's loads of swearing!) so it needed to start off a bit buried because the site is supposed to be pg-13 rated and the video has like 5 swears per minute, and then instantly piles on toilet-humor. However, it comes across as a bit of a 'system profile' with slight documentary elements to it...so it was worth-while to add.
AND if anyone is actually still offended by swears, then I MUST ask what are they even doing on the internet AT ALL? Everyone knows it's 2 biggest exports are swears and pr0n!

Next week:
You will be seeing WISPS!
So if you see any action figure & wisp combo...it's already been sent in, save your time.
More update variety style with anything I can grab out of the mail to try and clear some of it. Expect some new shirt photos too, the fall lines are starting to really saturate stores by now, and should have some exciting stuff.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Jazwares Wrap Up Update

I would imagine...
That this week wraps up Jazwares for a while. After several weeks worth of intense toy-releasing, they probably won't have anything else fresh for a while. That doesn't rule out early photos & prototype-teasers, but as for actually getting hands-on items, they've got to actually make more first. Gear now has completed photos for everyone they've done recently, except the 10 inch.

What has come out?
Radio, Walkie Talkies, Mp3 Player, Super 3 Pack, Espio/Vector Pack, Mini Racer 4-Pack, RC Racers, Digital Camera, Eggman/MS 2 Pack diorama, 10 inch Sonic big figure. If you count the Sonic / Amy pack in with this round, it's even more. There's def. a surge in stuff.

Chaos Emerald Chaos!
What's wrong with the emeralds in the super pack? Isn't that super strange? They got it right everywhere EXCEPT in the final product. Ever since the wide-release of the set everyone's been complaining. What happened in the 11th hour that made it go wrong? Did they think that the nit-picky-est fans on earth would fail to notice? You can't put anything past Sonic fans. The emeralds & their colors are so vital to the story.
Espio Horn:
IS Espio's horn too long? I've heard it compared to "A Banana is on his face" It seems to stack up ok to the stock art, maybe a little longer but maybe that's down to opinion.

Jazwares Jinx
AGAIN SonicGear ends up with nasty failing figures. Not only did Shadow have 2 of the same hand, but Super Sonic's head wasn't even attached. It was merely held in place inside the box, yeilding a nasty surprise upon de-boxing. Then, Espio's arms have NO STOPS at all on them...and this, of course, also got into the photos. I was too busy looking for paint flaws that I didn't catch SuperShadow's hand defect. Espio...well, you've got no way to tell. Jazwares can't be too happy that this keeps happening so publicly.

Floppy Sonic Attack:
Most people's super Sonic is super floppy. He SERIOUSLY suffers from loose joints. This isn't just a case of 'oh his head is so heavy'. Nobody else in the pack suffers from it, and mine is so bad that if you turn him upside-down (holding by the head) his legs swing freely flopping. This shouldn't be happening! He won't even stand up, and he's fresh out of the box!
Taaron theory:
They have churned out too many Sonics with the same mold, and the mold has gotten too old. Further issues will only make it worse. The only solution would be a new mold. But will they make one, or will Sonic be defective from now on?

Personally, I think the theory is right. It's been proven to happen on other (non-Sonic related) lines. Why shouldn't it apply here too? Only recognition and smart managment will solve it.

Update part 2?
Probably. This is another one of those updates that was A WHOLE LOT OF WORK but then only produced like 3 links. Tons of text, zillions of images and careful review all went into the update. Don't be foold into thinking it was skimping out on stuff.

Never-the-less, there should be a 2nd update for the week, with non-jazwares items, or at least non-action figures. Not everyone is a big figure fan, and really variety is important too. What will be on it? Likely a jumble of everything. No real theme has emerged.

Good news:
The chinese/japanese spammer bot thing has apparently given up trying to hassle the blog with its pr0nny comments. This makes things easier. It's wonderful to see they got the message that no one's interested in their spammy garbage.