BBI - Blue Box Toys Information Q&A (Mike)

[aferguson]

Mike wrote:

" for Steelbonnet

We are always open to recommendations...seems difficult to locate anyone in the UK who has sufficient passion for this category and a reasonable sales distribution.
We always keep looking.

for JohnLumley
we did approach BC and they agreed to accept a quantity...but the production run was completed before we had their agreement so we now need to wait for the next run to include any for the US..the BC quantity alone is far too small to allow a special run.
So I'll keep you updated."

[steelbonnet]

Mike,

Well I know you supply to them are thay not interested in being the distributors of 21sts XD,1/6th,1/32 lines?

I talk of course about http://www.modellersloft.co.uk

They have your stuff for sale & I know they have 2 stores. Also ship to other Euro countries i believe.

So what about them? I don`t BTW work or in any form connected to them,just one place i know that DO cover the 21st lines.

Also long shot,though i do know there the only importers I believe of powerteam ELITE into the UK but what about
http://www.benjamintoys.com

They as said import the PTE range,so maybe they could be interested ?

Ja
Steel Bonnet

[Teamski]

Mike wrote:

" for Steelbonnet

We are always open to recommendations...seems difficult to locate anyone in the UK who has sufficient passion for this category and a reasonable sales distribution.
We always keep looking.

When I was in the UK last year, I found a hobby store on the grounds of the Snetterton race course in Norfolk. It was a big one, too!! I was shocked to see the bbi F-18 and Blackhawk there for really reasonable prices. They also had Corgi XD stocked as well. Give them a call!:

Snetterton Park Model Shop
Snetterton Park, Harling Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2JU, England.
Tel. UK 01953 887878

-Ski

[steelbonnet]

Hey Ski,

Thank`s very much mate I`ll check them out

Thank`s,though still doesn`t hurt if we got MORE selling 1/18th BBI/XD over here I can tell you (even better if it was closer to me too ).

Thank`s again Ski

Ja
Steel Bonnet

[Teamski]

Hey Ski,

Thank`s very much mate I`ll check them out

Thank`s,though still doesn`t hurt if we got MORE selling 1/18th BBI/XD over here I can tell you (even better if it was closer to me too ).

Thank`s again Ski

Ja
Steel Bonnet

Let me know how it goes. You could get a real network set up over there!!

-Ski

[steelbonnet]

All being well I hopeso.

Just wish places that DO have XD &/or 1/18th BBI advertised more openly.

HAHAHA When I phone them tomorrow to ask if they do mail order or not & they ask how I found them,I can say it took an American to point them to me ...HAHAHAHA

Thank`s again Ski

ja
Steel Bonnet

[Teamski]

All being well I hopeso.

Just wish places that DO have XD &/or 1/18th BBI advertised more openly.

HAHAHA When I phone them tomorrow to ask if they do mail order or not & they ask how I found them,I can say it took an American to point them to me ...HAHAHAHA

Thank`s again Ski

ja
Steel Bonnet

I lived in the UK for 7 years and I spent every possible weekend at Snetterton watching BTCC, F3, FF1600, the list goes on. When I went back there when visiting my buddy From Shipdham (Who moved to Cromer with his XD Spitfire, P-51 and P-38) I was stunned to find that new shop on the premises. IIRC, the F-18 was only like 65 quid!!! No lie! Not trying to get your hopes too high, sorry....

-Ski

[USCGSARdog]

Hi Mike! Any word on the possibility of getting a shipment of the RAAF Mustangs for the guys here onthe board? If it would help, I could start a post to gauge interest. Just a thought.

Thanks!

-Rob

[buzzard]

for buzzard
yes there is but I will need to check when it is shipping..are you in the US?

G'day Mike,

Thanx for the update on the 2nd production run Viper. That's terrific news indeed. I'm in S'pore. Many thanks once again for keeping us posted on BBI's new developments. Greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Buzz

[SGT. Saunders]

Hi Guys


Bad luck for me over the week-end. I called up my wifes cousin in Boston to see if she would go down to the Toys R Us and pick me up some of the new WWII BBI figures she went to 2 TRU and zip nada. Im really having bad luck with this new figures can't find them on-line, live in Quebec so I can't get them hear. I spoke to BadCat on the phone last Monday and they didn't know that BBI had new WWII 1/18 figures out besides the Paras with the Shoots.

Hey Mike could you or 1 of your freinds at BBI contact BadCat and send them the catalog with the new figures? It sounded like they where in the dark when I said new figures. If you can please help. Thank you..

SGT. Saunders

[aferguson]

the new BBI figures are NOT exclusive to TRU, as some have speculated. Any retailer can carry them. All BCT has to do is pick up the phone and talk to whoever their BBI contact is and order them..

[digger]

I understand that they will be available and that they are not exclusive, but below is a response I got from a reputable small retailer of 1:18 products:

"If you are referring to the new WW2 ground troops, BBI informs me that these are not available yet for the specialty retailer market (in other words, TRU only right now). "

I don't know who said they were exclusive but at the moment they don't seem to be available to the small retailers.

[holensock]

Hi Guys


Bad luck for me over the week-end. I called up my wifes cousin in Boston to see if she would go down to the Toys R Us and pick me up some of the new WWII BBI figures she went to 2 TRU and zip nada. Im really having bad luck with this new figures can't find them on-line, live in Quebec so I can't get them hear. I spoke to BadCat on the phone last Monday and they didn't know that BBI had new WWII 1/18 figures out besides the Paras with the Shoots.

Hey Mike could you or 1 of your freinds at BBI contact BadCat and send them the catalog with the new figures? It sounded like they where in the dark when I said new figures. If you can please help. Thank you..

SGT. Saunders

Same goes for me and it's gettin FRUSTRATING! I'm getting sick of wasting a day off looking for ANY of this stuff and coming up empty handed! Is it TRU fault? Or bbi's! One TRU said they only got in one case! ONE fricken case!! And one of their employees bought it all. Ya know, Mike, if bbi is only gonna make a very little quantity-for collectors-why bother with TRU? Why not sell 'em to ONLINE stores so that ALL of us get a chance of at least buying ONE set?! EVERY TRU I went to had those stupid new Sigma Six guys-but no bbi WWII. They didn't even have the bbi Paratroopers! Bad for me, but good for bbi and you, Mike! You can tell your higher ups that the ONE cases that the TRU got in the Cleveland, Ohio area SOLD. At least the ONE TRU out of 4 that I went to-the other 3 had no idea of what I was talking about.
And NO I don't want anyone here to email me about getting me a set, thank you, but no! I WANT to be able to walk into MY TRU and see these guys on the shelf! Because to me, if bbi MADE enough of these guys and SOLD enough of them to TRU, they'd be on ALL the shelves! My frustrated editorial for the day..............blahhhhhhhh

[aferguson]

Mike told me they are available to everyone. Perhaps it is the North American distributor for BBI that is holding things up....dunno.

[digger]

I like a rant as much as the next guy but Holensock I don't want you to pull something

There will be enough I am sure.....maybe Amazon got them There can't be only one case per tru.... ...right?
I really can't wait for the distribution to catch up....I have the damn flagship store down the street from where I work and they don't know what I'm talking about....

[aferguson]

Mike doesn't handle TRU distribution. Many are experiencing the same frustrations at WM with 21c product. The problem is the way TRU distributes their product. A lot of it is probably up to the store manager or area manager. If he/she doesn't see a high demand for an item they won't order it or will only order one case etc.

If you want to see BBI stuff at your local TRU then start talking to the store manager.

[holensock]

I like a rant as much as the next guy but Holensock I don't want you to pull something

There will be enough I am sure.....maybe Amazon got them There can't be only one case per tru.... ...right?
I really can't wait for the distribution to catch up....I have the damn flagship store down the street from where I work and they don't know what I'm talking about....

I already pulled something!! I hate to ALWAYS rant on here! I have problems with finding XD in Walmarts and now this!!
And if you're having the same problem, then maybe it is just one case for whatever store is lucky enough to get it!
I should probably skip collecting bbi anyways and start collecting Forces of Valor!! AT LEAST when I walk into a Target or TRU-THOSE are plentiful on the shelves!!!!!!!!! Maybe the people at Forces of Valor know to be successful in the toy business is to produce enough so that the DISTRIBUTOR has no problem getting it to ALL the stores!!

[holensock]

Mike doesn't handle TRU distribution. Many are experiencing the same frustrations at WM with 21c product. The problem is the way TRU distributes their product. A lot of it is probably up to the store manager or area manager. If he/she doesn't see a high demand for an item they won't order it or will only order one case etc.

If you want to see BBI stuff at your local TRU then start talking to the store manager.

These guys have no clue what I'm talking about! It seems that bbi is on their plan-o-grams, but they recieve NO info of this product. I'm not buying into the fact that it's TRU. If they had PLENTY of this product, I'm sure it would end up IN ALL THEIR STORES! I doubt the store mgr has that much power to decide what his or her store will carry-unless they're not a corporate store, which I think all of them are.
Back to the store mgr...try CALLING a TRU and time it!

[digger]

I hate to ALWAYS rant on here!

That's what we're here for

FOV does have some great distribution network...that stuff floods the shelves and small retailers....the occassional MLRS fiasco or whatever, but overall pretty good. As someone said action figures just aren't the $ items for tru....that's ok - it's where SmallJoes, ToyFed, etc...come in

[holensock]

I hate to ALWAYS rant on here!

That's what we're here for

FOV does have some great distribution network...that stuff floods the shelves and small retailers....the occassional MLRS fiasco or whatever, but overall pretty good. As someone said action figures just aren't the $ items for tru....that's ok - it's where SmallJoes, ToyFed, etc...come in

You got that right! I do hope they get these guys soon! And I bet it's more than one case!
Aferguson...one more thing I forgot to add...ALL of the TRU I went to, HAD the bbi tanks, Corsairs, Mustangs, modern soldiers, etc...but only ONE case of the WWII new figs sent to only ONE store....

[aferguson]

well it's also possible that the first production run was smallish....to test the market as it were. These things are distributed all over the world, not to just the US TRU. Given that this scale is still somewhat newish and unproven and that BBI's production capacity has been stretched by other projects, that probably explains the dirth of new figures.

Simiar things happen even when new star wars figures etc come out initially...there is a limited supply at first and a better supply in time.

Patience is a virtue, especially in this hobby....i've been waiting for five years for some things to show up...

[holensock]

well it's also possible that the first production run was smallish....to test the market as it were. These things are distributed all over the world, not to just the US TRU. Given that this scale is still somewhat newish and unproven and that BBI's production capacity has been stretched by other projects, that probably explains the dirth of new figures.

Simiar things happen even when new star wars figures etc come out initially...there is a limited supply at first and a better supply in time.

Patience is a virtue, especially in this hobby....i've been waiting for five years for some things to show up...

But isn't it a bit expensive to come up with the 'molds' for these figures? Isn't this why we don't get more of a variety of figures? So if it is expensive to produce the molds, then why go with a limited run? Why not go all out to at least cover the costs of the molds?
bbi isn't the first to come out with a 1:18 articulated figure. They've had to be watching 21c & PTE, expecially 21c since they've been out for years.
All this comes down to is that I got frustrated wasting time finding nothing! I'm venting because I didn't just make one trip one day-but a few trips over a couple of weeks. And you really can't call TRU cause it doesn't say anything about WWII on the cover of the package so no one would know what to look for.
I'm not a pro on toy collecting, toy manufacturing, selling or distributing. All I am is someone who just wants to be able to BUY IT...and so far, I can't. I'll also get frustrated should bbi say they don't produce more figures cause the sales aren't there

[fredricchio]

Well, this is the flip-side of the internet; yes, we have more access to news and information on our favorite hobbies than ever before, but it also makes us impatient reading about all these sightings when we can't find anything ourselves. Before I ever found forums like this I would know next to nothing about the lines and finding new product on the shelves was a completely different feeling than it is now. It used to be a cool, exciting feeling, and it still is, but now theres also a twinge of "ok, I'm caught up now whats next?"

I also collect Marvel Legends and I'm at about the same breaking point as holensock over the new Sentinel series; I've read area reports where it seems like every region in the country has had them for a month now except mine, with Wal-Marts getting full endcaps and people already building their third Sentinel...meanwhile I've been checking every week and have seen exactly one on the shelves.

[holensock]

Sorry again for all the rants. Frustration took over! That and the wife, who doesn't understand all the 1:18 collecting, especially when it comes to me wasting my time, as she puts it, LOOKING ALL OVER for this stuff.
Trying to justify BUYING it was hard enough!!

[tmanthegreat]

I've got a similar problem, but with my parents - as I still live at home. It would seem that stopping by a couple stores on the way home after a long day to look for the latest "phantom" release or taking a hour or so to putts around with what I already have is an evil waste of my time. There are more productive ways to use your time they would say. Never mind the fact that on a 3 days out of the week I leave home at 6:30am and return around 7:00pm, with the other two returning around 9:00pm (due to work), I'm spending my spare time buying and playing with toys and that is wrong. You should be saving your money is the other excuse.

Well, it is an odd behavior, and perhaps collecting this stuff has become a habit as of lately, but there's many worse things (and many far more expensive habits) I could be into!

Sorry for the OT rant, I just totally get what holensock is saying!