Fun Friday: Not Fun Edition

For most of the day Banthaskull.com was down. The obvious assumption was that Chris stopped paying the bills, but it looks like he might have just tripped over the power cord on his way to the fridge for a delicious ice-cold Fanta.

Fanta: Bold Choice. Bold Taste.


Anyway, while we were gone the INT-4 went up for presale on Hasbro Pulse. This item was highly anticipated and was seen as a highlight of the SDCC presentation as seen here.

Unfortunately excitement quickly turned to rage as instead of a $51.99 item available from multiple retailers (as described in the press release) it turned out to be a $79.99 Pulse exclusive.



To call this revelation a disappointment would be an understatement. Mistakes happen. That's why pencils come with erasers, but this one felt personal. Instead of being excited to add an all new vehicle and figure to our collections, the average response shifted to somewhere between "Hard Pass" and "Wait for Clearance." In any event, the whole prospect that Hasbro might be able to squeeze some variety into the line in the form of smaller vehicles seems dead in the water. Minirigs were designed in 1980 specifically to fill a price point. If that's not realistic anymore, then we might as well stick to $100+ items that at least feel like something.

This will fail at $80. People can blame corporate greed or incompetence, but the bottom line is that this failure is not good for TVC. It's not going to help us get a Y-Wing or a Vehicle Maintenance Energizer or an Uzbekistan Ball Speeder. World-building items like vehicles and playsets are the little extra spice that makes TVC extra nice. If they are economically unfeasible, than we're not better than the Filthy Sixers™.

Remember, I'm the optimistic one here. At this point carded collectors should think about reporting Hasbro to adult protective services for abuse.

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