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Some of the prices shown are actually quite reasonable compared to ebay prices. Might have to consider changing my holiday later this year to include a stopover in Tokyo..... By the way HD, which place would you say is better stocked and priced, TF-wise, out of Singapore and Japan?
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You found Transformers in Shibuya?!?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!! I searched everywhere for Transformers (just finding Beast Wars figures at the time would've made me happy) but I found _zip_. At the end of that day I really felt deflated and frustrated like this:
...although my friend who accompanied me was delighted as she bought bag loads of clothes and shoes, which I helped carry (might as well since I had NO shopping of my own to carry!) ... and this was just after completing a major exam at Tokyo Uni; my friend and I decided to do some retail therapy. I was thoroughly untherapised dammmmnnnnit!
(T_T) Either these stores weren't stocking Transformers in the 90s or I was just unlucky and didn't notice them despite the fact that Transformers was the _only_ thing I was looking for. <insert.swear.words>
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Very jealous of the finds you had.
Makes my trip to Singapore and what I saw there look pathetic..
Any larger pictures of the items in the stores - trying to look at the price tags.
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Originally Posted by 5FDP
Thanks guys!
Yup. Like I mentioned, the prices are actually pretty reasonable. The C9 boxed Overlord with unused accessories and paperworks works out to be around AU$620. That's way more reasonable than some of the junk eBay sellers are peddling, not to mention their exorbitant asking prices.
I'd say that Robo-Robo in Singapore could match each Mandarake in terms of G1 TFs (but not the collective number of TFs available in all the Mandarakes combined). Today, other than Robo-Robo, I'd be hard pressed to find another shop in Singapore with such a concentration of G1 TFs.
So because it is relatively easier to access and with such a concentration of figures, I'd say, at this moment, that Japan is better stocked.
I think that you can write off Hong Kong. Jgon recently went to most of my recommended shops in HK and came up zlich on G1 TFs.
hey dude, don't be so pissed off. To be fair, maybe there really weren't any shops stocking TFs in the early 90s. After all, G1 just ended and TFs are not considered worth much back then, and therefore not worth their effort to resell on the second-hand market (in fact, up till around 2000, TFs in Japan were going for relatively cheaper prices compared to the rest of the world).
It's been 20 years since your 1990 trip. I don't think its unreasonable to suggest to your wife that its time for a re-visit! And this time, you will be armed with the knowledge of where to go.
The larger pictures are too ungainly for web-viewing purposes. Let me know which photo you are interested in and I can email you a larger pic.
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erm, I was in Japan in '97 (hence why I lot of my pre-Transmetal BW Transformers are Japanese). But yeah, I don't think G1 TFs were very popular there nor were many stores stocking them. I would like to believe that as it makes me feel better.
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nice stuff heroic, glad you had fun hunting!
I also just happened to stumble upon that mandarake store in shibuya while my gf had her nails done (how long were the flight of stairs down?? lol)
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All of em :-)The larger pictures are too ungainly for web-viewing purposes. Let me know which photo you are interested in and I can email you a larger pic.
Ok, I shall narrow it down for you..
Pissed me of that I went to that store 4 times, and only once were they open.. and they were closing so I only got a very rushed look at the place and didn't purchase anything from there.. The open hours on the door didn't seem to make a difference as I visited during the stated hours as well.
Maybe this year ...
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The Japanese love their stairs. Must suck to be mobility impaired in Japan. :/
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You don't say! I felt like I went don't 4 to 5 levels, caught a whiff of sulfur and thought I landed in hell. I realised it was only B2 when I took the lift up.
No offense meant but did you go to the correct side?
The guy actually has 2 shop units that are at opposite ends of a central walkway. If you go down from the escalator (next to the cafe/food court), he has one shop on the right and another on the left. The one on the left is the main shop; and he stores his stock at the one on the right, which is almost always 'closed' because he is in the left side shop.
I also have a good number of photos of his shop if want something to look at in the meanwhile
examples:
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Hrm, probably not then.
I'll have to check better next time I am there..
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