Toyfair 2012 - Chaotix Box Set from Jazwares

Somewhat of a regular update.
Managed to get most things posted monday/tuesday so that's kind of good, at least. As you'll notice, there was a toyfair over the weekend...probably you have seen things from MyLittle Pony FIM (quite popular!) especially because Hasbro seems to be recognizing the fans (uncommon for super huge companies that tend to feel 'my way or the highway' toward customers) , as is evidenced by actually coloring characters properly & releasing fan favorite DJ Pon-3 figure. As well as TMNT & etc...but those are the giant names.

But where's Jazwares?
Well, they were there too, and the first picture has come in for you to see on SonicGear. They're doing a Chaotix Multipack of figures, possibly with accessories. It's just a mock up with cardboard cut outs, but it shows that they're going to add Charmy the Bee (finally) While he's the least-popular of the Chaotix, people sill want him, and he should be included, so this is a good move. Did they show anything else? Unknown.

New Gacha:
Surprisingly, Tomy's new Gacha thing hit the shelves before hitting the internet. This time, it's "Danglers" which are multi -use keychain type deals but you can also use them as phone charms, memory stick identifiers, or just anything that needs a doo-dad on it.

Opinion Zone:
Good idea. They're cheaper, at 2.99 each, and the sculpts are good for the most part. They look just like the stock art they're based on so there's nothing off model. However, not all of the poses translated that well from 2d to 3d figure so...ok.
Also, WHY WHY WHY 2 Sonics! He's already in the packs in a higher amount than the other figures, so now you're dealing with 2 of him? I tried to buy these things and got THREE of the SAME Sonic out of 4 packs picked up. Annoying. (last 1 was a Tails) Causing customer dissatisfaction isn't the goal with products.

Plus, these things aren't a less-well-done version of something else you already own, but in a format that's harder to buy. (ref. the 'mini gacha figures' in balls) Also, the packs (not balls) fit better into that cardboard dispenser thing so there's more of them and 1 person 'raiding' doesn't like run the whole store out of it for everyone else like it did with the balls.

Hopefully they do another set of these, but throw on Super Sonic, Amy, Blaze, Rouge, Chaotix, Silver, Metal Sonic or a Chao or something. Heck, you could do a whole SET with the various chao types (Hero, Dark, Fly, Swim etc) maybe do a rare one that is from that 'shiny egg' you could get. That would be a fun gimmick to go after, maybe.

How to detect a Blindbag Gacha Sonic Key Chain

Do you have the blindbag Tomy Sonic Gacha Keychains in your area?
They can be seen on SonicGear, on the Gacha Items page, but they're popping up in cardboard holders, in places like Target in the USA. The UK has some too, but they're heads with no bodies. However, as long as they're in that pale blue TOMY bag it should work the same. This will be a "Gacha Detection Guide Post"

Why do you want to detect gachas?
These keychain figures are just OK. They're missing paint details, but the 3D of the figure (taken from Sega's art) is good. So they're fair. But you DONT want to be spending like 12 dollars to get 2 of them. Especially when you could have bought some SUPER NICE all-metal & enamel very sturdy ones with nylon logo straps instead. To put it well "It's worth 4 bucks, but no more than that".

The whole 'blindbag' idea is that you don't know what you get till you buy it. This makes for irritating amounts of duplicates & wasting money if you can't trade or sell. To avoid this, you can learn how to detect which figure is in the bag without opening it. There's nothing wrong with being able to buy the item you want.

1. Buy 1 of these new gacha keychains
2. Open it by cutting off JUST the top of the bag & take out the figure to see who you got
3. Put the figure BACK into the bag, (with the paper too) and hold the top shut with 1 hand
4. Practice squeezing the figure around in the bag till you can tell where the 'parts' are (ie, this must be the feet, this must be a head &etc Your goal is to get familiar with how a figure feels while in the bag
5. Squeeze the figure around in there until SOME part of it is under the "white warning / choking hazard" area of the bag on the back.
6. Hold up the bag to an indoor light source (dont do it outside, you'll be in a store when buying new ones anyway) with the white part facing you.
7. You'll see a dim / washed out color where the figure is pressing on the interior of the bag. This works REALLY well with the color of red. So you can easily detect Sonic's shoe stripe, Tails' shoe, etc.

It works because the bag isn't mylar based. It works because the white area isn't see thru, but since it's white, when another color presses against it, you can still sort of see because it's not all clouded over with ink colors like the rest of the bag. The red shoes or LACK of red shoes (ex. Eggman) makes the figures detect-able. Your goal will likely be weeding out all the zillions of Sonics because there's 2 of him on the set.

You should be able to use this tactic to really increase your chances of getting the figures you want and not wasting money on duplicates as you try to complete the set.