Circus World, a circus theme KB-like store that was literally on the opposite side of the mall from KB.
Transformers: Age of the Primes Thread: ll First Post All Listings II Update : April 12th, 2027 Bonus Wave: Repaint fun, Beast Wars, G2, Machine Wars
- Thread starter TriBlurr
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It's also the name of the long running barbeque chicken franchise in quebec. Damn fine poutine, but the fries used to be better.
My main KB memory is finding all of the first wave of Armada there. It was the summer of '02. I had just moved to San Diego for my first real job after college. Was also just before I got married. It was an eventful time.
I'm sure I got stuff from KB stores before that, but don't remember anything in particular. I certainly remember having gone in them before. However, I also remember their being overpriced as far back as I can remember knowing about them. We had a Toys R Us nearby, right across the road from the mall with the KB, so that was always the preferred destination for toys or games.
I'm sure I got stuff from KB stores before that, but don't remember anything in particular. I certainly remember having gone in them before. However, I also remember their being overpriced as far back as I can remember knowing about them. We had a Toys R Us nearby, right across the road from the mall with the KB, so that was always the preferred destination for toys or games.
Funny enough mine was roughly around the same time. I was waiting to catch a bus to work and saw they had a huge sign up that said everything in the store was buy one get one half price. I went in, and it turned out Alternators had debuted at last. I went home with Smokescreen and Sideswipe, and a few weeks later bought one of the many half price Armada Unicrons they had on shelves. And from those three, things just kind of got out of control...
i can confirm it wasn't rhode island only, there was one where i have my summer home in massachusetts.
apparently the roof collapsed after it closed lol
I remember seeing RiD 2001 toys at Electronics Boutique (what EB Games used to be called) and at Zany Brainy.
Oh, and of course the godfather of toy store chains, FAO Schwarz.
(Yes, I know there's a tiny number of FAOs still around, but they're a shell of the once great toy retail chain of yesteryears. I visited the one in New York back during BotCon 2023 and, despite being five floors of toys, it was mainly just stuffed animals, puzzles, and board games. No name brands besides Barbie, Brio, and smidgen of Disney-branded items. Not a single action figure to be found.)
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I remember FAO Schwarz. I always found it boring.
Always wanted to go, after hearing the stories of it.
Machine Wars was out right around that time I was at odds with myself about my love of Transformers and toys and actually buying them. I especially wanted Optimus, but missed out on that. Well, and all the rest.
I think it wasn't until the end of Beast Wars that I finally relented and started to buy Transformers again. Even then, with the exception of a TM Rattrap I kept at my desk, I kept them sealed. As an "investment," if anyone ever asked.
Sigh. The stuff I missed out on. I was able to get some stuff, like Power Rangers, later on, but to this day I still only have a bare-bones Mega Man figure from Bandai's line based on the Ruby Spears cartoon, thanks to a friend. Starting to wonder if those were even sold in Canada...
I did hang on to my TMNT collection, though I stopped collecting. Hope that's doing okay...
Machine Wars was out right around that time I was at odds with myself about my love of Transformers and toys and actually buying them. I especially wanted Optimus, but missed out on that. Well, and all the rest.
I think it wasn't until the end of Beast Wars that I finally relented and started to buy Transformers again. Even then, with the exception of a TM Rattrap I kept at my desk, I kept them sealed. As an "investment," if anyone ever asked.
Sigh. The stuff I missed out on. I was able to get some stuff, like Power Rangers, later on, but to this day I still only have a bare-bones Mega Man figure from Bandai's line based on the Ruby Spears cartoon, thanks to a friend. Starting to wonder if those were even sold in Canada...
I did hang on to my TMNT collection, though I stopped collecting. Hope that's doing okay...
I never saw a service Merchandise store before, but the people around work like talking about it a lot, as we tend to go to the buffet where it used to be at 25 years ago.
Hills. My brother recently reminded me of that place. He loved that store.
"Man they were great, think Kmart for men/boys. We got a ton of or Star Wars toys there and Dad's RC car cricket."
Lol, Service Merchandise was always kind of out of the way in my area; one really had to want to go there! It was a stop of mine in the early days of hunting for Transformers, but I would most often go there out of sheer desperation. KB and Toys R Us were always far more accessible.
Later on, as an adult collector, I used to get the occasional BW toy from our local KB outlet (that's where I got the gator/bat Megs/Optimus 2-pack). They were a great resource for my then-burgeoning customs skills.
I don't remember Hills. However, I do recall buying the Gobot, Screwhead, from a store called Gaylord's in New Orleans, LA. So yeah, that happened.
Later on, as an adult collector, I used to get the occasional BW toy from our local KB outlet (that's where I got the gator/bat Megs/Optimus 2-pack). They were a great resource for my then-burgeoning customs skills.
I don't remember Hills. However, I do recall buying the Gobot, Screwhead, from a store called Gaylord's in New Orleans, LA. So yeah, that happened.
Our Service Merchandise was also right across the road from the mall with the KB, just on the opposite side of the mall from TRU. I remember that we went there at times when I was a kid. I remember that we would place orders at the counter in the middle of the store, and I remember waiting for items we'd bought to be brought out from the back of the store, often on subsequent trips after they arrived. However, I really don't remember what we actually bought there.
I don't remember ever seeing a Service Merchandise.
My memories of Service Merchandise go back to the early 90s before Beast Wars, but the only toys I can remember getting from there were the playsets and mini-sets from the knight and pirate sublines of the Great Adventures toyline from Fisher Price, as that was one of my main toylines of interest before Beast Wars came along. Other memories about the store itself were seeing the ceiling fan section off in the far back corner of the store and the bicycle and Power Wheels section over by the registers near the exit. I think there might have been a furniture section near the entrance of the store, but I was at that age where the toy section was the only area that mattered to me. I vaguely remember that the store was also pretty darkly-lit in some areas, such as the aforementioned ceiling fan section that was always the darkest part of the store lit only by some golden-hued lamps.
Sounds like my memories of Home Depot. The ceiling fan section was always dark for some reason. My parents always dragged me through that section at a blazing speed of nearly a whole foot per hour yet only ever bought a ceiling fan once.
*Bradleigh's
Dude... my mother has been looking for a new light in the dining room for FIFTEEN YEARS!
Granted, it's my fault: but for ***** sake, pick something already.
Well, you could have just saved both her and yourself the trouble by just gifting her a new dining room light for Christmas.
So I've been thinking some more about the upcoming Monstructor. He's never going to be the Monstructor I really want, but I do appreciate some of what they've done with these toys. In particular, they've done a nice job integrating features from their shells into their monster modes in ways that fit really well. I find that surprising given how wildly different their shells are from their monster modes in a lot of cases. That said, I do have some thoughts about what I'd like to see DNA do in their inevitable kit to try to improve it.
First up, an alternate head. The stock head is fine for IDW Monstructor, and really is a good fit for the character. I'd like to see a G1 head as an alternate option, even if I never end up using it. Options are good.
Likewise, I'd like to see the option to swap his limbs from the stock IDW arrangement to the G1 arrangement. If their hands are on ball joints and are swappable, the arms are set. I'm just not sure if this is feasible for the legs. It's been a while since I've handled Volcanicus. I remember that the leg connections differed by side somehow, but I can't remember how. If possible, I'd really like to be able to arrange them the way I have been for the last 37 years.
Speaking of his arms, he needs to be able to hold his gun securely. A bit random, but I'm aware that DNA Dinoking doesn't hold his stock axe/scythe well, and I've never seen any pics of him holding his rifle. That's really the only weapon we've seen Monstructor wield anywhere, so I want him to be able to hold it! So either DNA's hands need to be able to hold the gun that Hasbro includes, or they need to include their own that works with their hands.
Wings for Bristleback. This one might be tricky, but would really help him look like Bristleback instead of just a Bristleback-colored Skar.
Slog... Honestly, I'm not sure he's salvageable. He's ok in robot and combined modes, but that alt mode is just... I love how he's always been this squat, stocky chunk of robot, in both modes. This Slog is nothing like that, and doesn't offer a compelling alternative. I'd love to just see a whole new Slog, but I don't see that happening.
First up, an alternate head. The stock head is fine for IDW Monstructor, and really is a good fit for the character. I'd like to see a G1 head as an alternate option, even if I never end up using it. Options are good.
Likewise, I'd like to see the option to swap his limbs from the stock IDW arrangement to the G1 arrangement. If their hands are on ball joints and are swappable, the arms are set. I'm just not sure if this is feasible for the legs. It's been a while since I've handled Volcanicus. I remember that the leg connections differed by side somehow, but I can't remember how. If possible, I'd really like to be able to arrange them the way I have been for the last 37 years.
Speaking of his arms, he needs to be able to hold his gun securely. A bit random, but I'm aware that DNA Dinoking doesn't hold his stock axe/scythe well, and I've never seen any pics of him holding his rifle. That's really the only weapon we've seen Monstructor wield anywhere, so I want him to be able to hold it! So either DNA's hands need to be able to hold the gun that Hasbro includes, or they need to include their own that works with their hands.
Wings for Bristleback. This one might be tricky, but would really help him look like Bristleback instead of just a Bristleback-colored Skar.
Slog... Honestly, I'm not sure he's salvageable. He's ok in robot and combined modes, but that alt mode is just... I love how he's always been this squat, stocky chunk of robot, in both modes. This Slog is nothing like that, and doesn't offer a compelling alternative. I'd love to just see a whole new Slog, but I don't see that happening.