Small Scale Military Headquarters

I must say while walking thru 1 of 3 WM's I hit yesterday after work something donned on me. I am tired of hunting for this stuff. It used to be fun but due to gas prices and WM's distribution system it's just not that fun anymore. The looking for months on end for a particular item that's been showing up on the coasts, then it finally does show up in my AO, I pick out a good one, and usually something I really want, then, eventually, nothing new shows up for months and I get tired of looking at the same old stuff that I once was longing for... Furthermore, TRU distribution ain't so hot either. It was good in the ole days probably due to the shear fact 21st didn't make that many items at the time. Now that they make boatloads of stuff along with Bbi the distribution obviously isn't as good with so many items for them to choose for stock. I have 3 TRU's in my AO. One is 35 miles away, the other 45, and the other 110 (Tulsa). I found that buying online for me is the most economical way to satisfy my habit although you have to take what you get. If it comes with bad paint then oh well I guess. Not a whine or complaint, just an observation that came to me. Ramble secured.

I think everybody gets to that point in their collecting career. I quit on 1:32 for this reason alone. However, I was out on the hunt lickety-split when the Avenger came out. It's one of those things. If the distribution just isn't there, then why bother? Sometimes, it comes back to bite you, when you discover 1 figure left of a shipment! It is nothing to worry about really. If the moons align, and distribution kicks in, then you will know what to do!

-Ski

Have gotten some good deals on ebay, the last 32x 109F I needed I found on ebay for 6.99 + 10 shipping so not so bad occasionally. I can't believe how much 21st stuff Target has in their online catalog, little too high even with free shipping though...

Yeah I figured one time I probably spent $60 in gas just to find 1 measley plane, hit probably 20 WM's in MO, OK, AR, and KS. Silly...

I thought I was crazy huntin' Wally worlds.
About a week or two ago, we left Orlando and drove straight south to Sebring('bout 45 miles) and made our way over to just about Tampa, then turned for home. A long trip leaving just after lunch and getting home about 5 AM the following morning. Hit about 20 some odd wally worlds and 4 TRUs that netted only about 30 troops. Worth it, perhaps not. But I did learn that most wally worlds close out their 21st C stuff in the fall and not reorder until spring. A few of their store DO NOT or WILL NOT carry 21st C again they said because it doesn't sell alot. Now doesn't that just s*ck The General

Yeah but at least WM keeps an ample supply of Homie action figures along with the Homie Hopper cars...

Those are hot sellers indeed...

Sarcasm intended

I think most WM toy dept mgrs are complete morons...IMO

Oh and I forgot to mention the Snoopdog puke green RC Cadillac, now there's a keeper...

If you are finding anything at all in WM's in your AO, especially any new stuff, consider yourselves lucky. 21C products have all but vanished from the shelves in my area, with the exception of a few dusty remnants, mostly Sherman dozer kits and a few old 32X aircraft. TRU and Target are the only places I do intentional recons of anymore, and the only time I even bother to look at the toy department in Wally nowadays is if I'm in the store to buy dogfood or on some mission for the wife and kids.

well first for me i am a figure collector.
dont get me wrong i like armour and aircraft but i simply wont mess with it because of the space it takes and the money.so i just collect figures and playsets when they are made i also dont just collect millitary figures i collect 3 3/4 1:18 as a whole mostly and i personally have never liked the hunt.i dont remember ever having to go through so much trouble when i was a kid to find figures i wanted.
as a figure collector its hard on the millitary stuff to because 21c seems to really just focus on the aircraft more than anything admiral doesnt make figures other than packins at all and bbi pretty much focuses on vehicles and aircraft as well and when they do make figures it seems to usually bee ww2 paras that all look to much the same to me or modern which i dont really like.and half the figures 21c and bbi make that i do like are the pack in figures so i still have to buy the big expensive armour and aircraft just to take out the figure and then get rid of the vehicle.


second i am the toy stocker over nights at a wal mart supercenter.
and i hate to say it but i honestly i cant tell if anyone other than me has ever bought anything by 21c at my store other than clearanced out stuff so im amazed wal mart still carries the stuff at all.

I know what you guys mean. I went by three Walmarts last night, and I found one 1:18th scale model. What a bummer.

vmf214 wrote:Yeah but at least WM keeps an ample supply of Homie action figures along with the Homie Hopper cars...

I spit out my coffee thanks!

I know what you mean, they have tons of that crap. And every die-cast car they sell, even 50's and 60's cars have those ridiculous 24" rims on them. I saw a 86 or so Chevy Camaro IROC there the other day, my favorite 80's car. I pick it up and it has gigantic spinner rims! Who the hell would put spinner rims on an IROC!!! They even sold N scale railroad boxcars with graffiti on them.

Of course I shouldn't be suprised when I see old Saturns and Civics with huge rims around town all the time. They look like the old time Conestoga wagons. Ok, rant off.

I've been getting tired with the hunt as well, and actually welcome the fact that there is aparently less to be found at Wal Marts currently. The only downside, however, is that whereas in a 20 mile radius around my town there are 7 Wal Marts, there are only 2 TRUs with the next closest one being 40 miles away. That makes finding things a bit more difficult in some instances and potentially much more subject to the whims of the manager. Overall I have faith that at least some of the new items will arrive...

Rowsdower wrote:

vmf214 wrote:Yeah but at least WM keeps an ample supply of Homie action figures along with the Homie Hopper cars...

I spit out my coffee thanks!

Orale Homies

I just came back from my Walmart and they had zip for 1/32nd planes and all they had was about 2 Old Crows and 1 BBD in 1/18th. Those have been sitting there for awhile because of the messed up paint schemes. Its getting tireing no doubt and with gas prices on the rise its getting to the point of just buying online. But even that with shipping prices is getting spendy. If one thing is gonna hurt our hobby it will be distribution and shipping prices.

I feel everyones pain! I too have given up long ago, especially now with those re-models Wally has done.

Last year was a bad one after the Christmas season (at least around here) and they had alot of dupilcate versions left on hand. So I'm sure that has alot to do with it too.

Oh well, one less place to go when I'm off on a treasure hunt!


Jeff

I feel the same way. I sometimes wonder what the greeters think when I am in and out in two minutes. Just when I swear I will not bother any more, BAM! New releases.

It doesn't happen very often but when it does I AM ON THE HUNT.

Isn't that what we all live for?

Rgr that Oli, the hunt is part of the fun, for me at least.. Heck, it's in our DNA!

I've sworn that I won't look anymore, especially when things are really slow, like right now. But the idea of finding new releases on the shelves, or scoring clearance planes dirt cheap (the cheapest ever was $2 1:18 FW-190D-9s) keeps me checking out Wal-Marts instead of just driving by.

I can relate to whole being bored with the hunt thing. Pegs of Malibu Ottos and D-Day troops. Not a single piece of new armor since the Pak-40 Hanomag (the U-haul trailer hasn't shown up here yet, and hardly counts as armor anyway) other than repaints of a the Pak-40, Huffs and Canadian F-104s on clearance, but nothing new. I finally did find the Hellcat today at TRU. Of course, both in stock were trashed with broken antennas and one with what looked like half a bottle of crazy glue dribbled down the tail, so I will either skip this plane or hope some decent ones show up. The only bright spot has been the FOV stuff, and even that is tempered by the fact that only the figures are "new"--all the armor is variations on existing vehicles (same reason I can't get excited about the 21st Me-262--I've had my Me-262 for a year, and one is enough).

So bring on the King Tiger and 88. Before I decide to put my 2008 XD budget into squeezing another hundred or so horsies out of my car.

I have given up the hunt dozens of times!!! Then my day off from work comes up...and I'm back on the road, back in the stores...then I don't find ANYTHING and the HUNT IS OVER FOR GOOD!...
...then my next day off comes up and I'm BACK on the road, BACK in the stores...then I DON'T FIND ANYTHING! AND THE HUNT IS OVER!!! THIS TIME FOR GOOD!!...
....then my next day off comes up and I'm BACK ON THE ROAD, BACK IN THE STORES...
I'm an XD addict....

holensock wrote:I have given up the hunt dozens of times!!! Then my day off from work comes up...and I'm back on the road, back in the stores...then I don't find ANYTHING and the HUNT IS OVER FOR GOOD!...
...then my next day off comes up and I'm BACK on the road, BACK in the stores...then I DON'T FIND ANYTHING! AND THE HUNT IS OVER!!! THIS TIME FOR GOOD!!...
....then my next day off comes up and I'm BACK ON THE ROAD, BACK IN THE STORES...
I'm an XD addict....

How true how true! Done that more than I care to count. Whereas I'm not "truly" over hunting, just bored with it. I live down the road from WM HQ and am in the literal heart of WM country. The hunt for me consists of darn near 30 stores in 4 states which is my AO. ! If it were only 3 or 4 and didn't find anything that's one thing, but almost 30!!!!!!! I did however score big at a TRU in Springfield, MO this weekend. Camo Pak-40, new camo Long Tom, set B of the Italians (hard to find here), and finally the EF British para.

Finding XD is a lot like love.

When you aren't look for it, that is when you find it!

How true Mark
But then again, there's also Evil bay and some online stores too
I stopped at a local WM early this morning to buy tape and just had to look. Nope, no Germans other than 2 DAKs, so I bought them just for their belts so I can customize a couple officers into NCO sgt.s Da General

Same here. Im tired of also running around looking for new stuff but at least my Walmarts are not so far from each other. Im just thinking of checking TRU'S more often then wally.

Greetings:

I have for quite some time now decided that the thrill of the hunt does not outweigh the cost of fuel, time and the running around that goes with looking for the new stuff. I just don't have the time and feel it is a real waste of gas to just go driving off to Walmart looking for the new item.

Now days, if I go shopping at a Walmart, and see the item I want, I buy it, but I don't go running to 5 different ones anymore looking for the stuff. I am fortunate enough to live near a TRU and get some of my aircraft there. What I can't get on my own I either pick up at the airshows, online or am able to secure through other board members.

It amazes me in a lot of ways how wasteful we have become as a society. I know someone who insists on making a trip to the local grocery store everyday for fresh fruit and anything they need and they never seem to have anything in their house. I often wondered if they realize just how much gas money they are wasting by doing that everyday. Just a thought.

I really try to condense my trips these days or shop online given the cost of fuel which I spend enough on. And I have a car that gets good mileage.

Corey