Welcome to another Toy Wizard’s shopping adventure!
If you’ve been a reader of this site for the oh…*checks watch* two months we’ve been in action, then you’ll know that one of our favorite things to do is meander and scope out toys. Whether we’re wandering around Walmart, wandering around Walmart again, kicking it at Five Below, scoping Marshall’s for weird shelf warmers, or hosting a battle royal pitting the Dollar Tree against 99 Cent Only Store, seeing what’s hot and fresh on the discount shelf is definitely one of our favorite pastimes.
Hey– you have your hobbies, and I’ll have mine, capiche?
So for this week’s field trip, we’re pulling up our socks and heading over to our local Ross store to see what treasures lurk upon their shelves. And you know what?
We found 16 of them.
Let’s rock.
16) Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel Red Ranger Mask
Aye, darkness my old friend. Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover. I can’t stand these Power Rangers role playing mask sets. They’re just so cheap and dinky, though it’s never a surprise to me when I see these and the 2017 movie toys keeping the discount shelves warm. Funny enough that these are the final Saban/Bandai Power Rangers toys to grace the shelves, because a new line of similar masks were the first new Power Rangers toy Hasbro announced before they segued into more awesome, relevant, and amazing toys.
15) Eren Jaegar from Attack on Titan
This Attack on Titan figure from McFarlane Toys reminds me a lot of an Armitage III figure that I sold back in like, 2009. Going back to the Dollar Tree article I linked above, I am still not only blown away whenever I see an anime toy on the shelves, but when I see them in discount stores. It makes me wonder where this was originally housed that it didn’t sell and how many units were produced.
Unless this character just sucks. It could be that simple.
14) Blind Box Heaven
Definitely cleared out the Thundercats and Megaman blind boxes on this shelf. I was hoping for a Cut Man, but it was two Megamans instead. In the Thundercats boxes, it was one Mumm Ra and two Cheetarah figures. Now you know everything.
13) Mega Construx Destiny Plane
12) Not-Funko-Or-Nendoroid-Hasbro Bobble Heads
No sir, I don’t like it.
11) Darth Vader Hot Wheels Face
Don’t let this cool Darth Vader head fool you; it’s a storage box for your Hot Wheels. While it may be nicer than the car-shaped cardboard box from the 99 Cent Only Store, this Vader Box is still a little out of left field.
10) Star Wars Rebel Ladies Playset
Containing Force Link technology (not to be mistaken with Sega’s ‘Blast Processing’), this Star Wars could be perfectly fine for any child who is a fan of the film. Although my unprofessional opinion is that it contains a rose-scented ruiner deep inside the box. But that’s just snarky speculation.
9) An Army of Black Box Princess Leia
For $3.99, you can be the proud owner of six Princess Leia black box action figures. It boggles my mind that this line of toys seems to be so cursed. Perhaps they really are just play toys for kids, because they’ve been pretty well-rejected by the collecting community. Granted though, with a face like that…yeesh.
8) Giddy-Up Ride Me Thomas
It’s Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over here at Ross, and they’ve shape shifted into the form of Thomas. My kids had one of these ride-on Thomas toys, which provided them hours of scooting joy. But this newest one from Jakks Pacific (with a little Percy train on his shoulder) just has the goofiest lopsided grin that I can’t look at it without laughing.
Which makes me think I really might need to go back, purchase one, remove his face, and just have a Thomas mask adorned to my wall.
Actually…
*Grabs car keys and runs back to Ross*
7) Force Link Gauntlet Blaster
Rock Star Wars Ben 10 -Power Rangers style with this Force Link Starter Set! Bring the Galaxy to Life with attitude! Now you’re playing with POWER…for $2.99. Something junky this way come with this playset, me thinks.
6) SOLO Buddies Box Set
Even Chewbacca doesn’t look convinced by the bored-faced recasting of his BFF. With his eyes turned away from Neo Solo, you know the second someone buys this two-pack Chewie will be off and running on a Raggedy Ann and Andy/Toy Story forest adventure to find his lost friendship.
…I’d totally watch that movie…
5) Mega Construx Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Bikes
While these aren’t items I need in my toy collection, they’re super cute and charming. The entire set can be found at my local Five Below, but for $3.99, you can’t beat getting to build a turtle bike with a little figure included.
And come on– pizza wheel.
4) NERF Sniper
3) Transformers Autobot RC Friend
For $11.99, this little Wall-E meets BB8 Autobot buddy Sqweeks can be yours. Look at his scuffed up little helmet!
2) ELF Funko Vynl
Saaaaay, it’s a Funko in the wild that’s not a POP! Take cover, toy collectors; you don’t see these roaming free too often!
1) Eager Beast is Eager
I have a secret for you, Toy Wizards readers– my daughter begged me for this toy set for her birthday and for $8.99, this box set is hers. But she doesn’t get it until tomorrow. Hopefully she loves it, but her four year old eyes doesn’t see the comedic eagerness painted all up and down the Beast’s face. I know it’s probably trying to tap into the sweet, hopeful face he makes when he gives Belle the library (when he realizes he’s starting to have feelings for her), but he’s so…up that I can’t help but laugh.
Because that’s what you do when things are ridiculous, friends.
You laugh until there’s nothing left to do.
And then you buy more toys.
I watched the first 3 episodes of Attack of the Titans and that’s all I want to watch from this series. These episodes are about the titans, the destruction they cause and the drama of the survivors. Then, at the third episode, the story seems to be about Eren as part of the anti-titan army. I can not stand this guy, he is so poorly developed that he is a total Gary Stu, the kind of character you end up hating.