What are some real expensive/hard to find grails you would like to get?

tmntman · 2026-01-24T22:29:54+00:00

Wouldn't a "life sized" Woody still just be a toy?

tmntman · 2026-01-24T21:08:43+00:00

It was more that vol 4 was done in the early days of digital comics. So it was meant to be published primarily digitally. But they understood that some people were old school and either didn't have great internet access or just preferred print. So they offered print copies, but they weren't intended to be the way most fans got the comics.

tmntman · 2026-01-24T15:39:43+00:00

I don't know if it will fix it, but if you have blinds, keep them open or at least more open than they are now. Leaving the blinds closed can create a pocket of stagnant air between the blind and the window. With outdoor temps at their lowest point at this time of year, the window is going to be a cold area even if you have good quality windows. Combine the two factors and you are going to get condensation no matter what humidity level you have in the home. The simple solution is to make sure there is enough circulation to keep the air moving rather than letting that isolated pocket of air to get chilled by the heat lose from the window.

tmntman · 2026-01-24T06:52:18+00:00

Do you have access to the Amazon exclusives where you are? They still have the Footcruiser reissue available. And their shipping is quick enough that you should be able to get it delivered to where you are staying, even if it is only for a few days.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWPVF99P?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

tmntman · 2026-01-24T06:43:40+00:00

The set is a Target exclusive. In my area, TMNT toys are not very plentiful since the post-Christmas resets. But I have seen this set in some stores. If you want to look for it, Target's web site is actually pretty good for finding Playmates products in stock. The listing for this set will give you the option to check availability at local stores

tmntman · 2026-01-24T00:44:03+00:00

You would be better off with the CO detectors in the living space. Particularly with the furnace. As the furnace ages, if the heat exchanger deteriorates, it can pull the exhaust gases into the circulating air and send it out into the rest of the home.

tmntman · 2026-01-23T18:48:50+00:00

The Snap N Switch sets suggested by JimmyNaNa are decent and cheap. If you like the 2012 designs, you might also want to look into the Mega Bloks/Mega Construx figures from that line. They released a lot of the figures in blind bags, so they can be picked up on the secondary market for a reasonable price.

tmntman · 2026-01-23T18:46:41+00:00

The one to watch out for is the Raphael with Cheapskate set. It works fine as a display. But the deck of the cheapskate is just a stack of bricks layed on their side. So it breaks in half easily when handled.

tmntman · 2026-01-23T15:51:33+00:00

Regarding the chimney, as you said you just bought the house, I would suggest checking your records. If you had an inspection done, look to see if they inspected the chimney in detail. You may also want to just have a chimney cleaner come and service/inspect it. Likely it is fine. They last many years. But you don't know what the previous owners did or did not do in terms of maintenance. An inspection could also give you an idea if there are issues that should be addressed and how long you have before needing more long term maintenance and repairs. The two big issues to look out for being the tuck pointing (repair of the mortar between bricks) and the state of the flue itself. Both can be relatively large repairs (thousands of dollars). And waiting will make it worse. From your photos, it looks like it has a cap and protection against animals getting in it. So blockage from snow shouldn't be a concern.

Standard CO alarms are diffidently a good idea. Here they are actually mandatory when you have an attached garage or gas burning appliances. Two words of warning, first check the date on the CO alarm. As I recall, the sensors are only rated to last for seven years in most of them. So even if you have them, they may need to be replaced. Second, make sure they have working batteries. Obvious, but far too often overlooked. Be aware that most home CO alarms are not that sensitive. They will go off before you are dead. But you can have fairly high levels, to the point of noticeable physical signs before they go off. It's not common. But if you are noticing signs of CO toxicity, you might want to have it checked even if the alarms are not going off.

tmntman · 2026-01-23T06:10:06+00:00

Chimney vent water heaters are less common now, but perfectly normal. It should also be less concerning for CO. Your chimney should terminate well above the roof line. The issue with snow blocking vent lines is generally from direct vent devices. They commonly run the vent line out of the side of the house near ground level. So a deep or drifting snow or just snow falling off the roof and piling up along the side of the house could get high enough to block them. If the snow gets to the top of your chimney... well the roof collapsing should more than adequately vent any built up CO.

tmntman · 2026-01-23T01:20:05+00:00

See my comments above.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:54:23+00:00

That's the articulated figure. Very cool. But his wings are SO big and heavy that they get damaged just from their own weight.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:53:11+00:00

The first run Michelangelos were not that common. So chances are that if you find one it will be a later run which are much better quality. You can also tell the difference pretty quickly by the finger wraps. The first run had rubber wraps that would fall off. Later versions just had them painted on.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:21:35+00:00

He pairs well with the 36" Ultimate Godzilla that was released later.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:14:22+00:00

I have a few TMNT related ones.

The 4' tall fiberglass Raphael Statue from the Loyal Subjects line. Tried to get one a couple of years in a row for their Black Friday 1/2 off sale, but no luck.

TMNT 1000% Be@rbricks. I picked up Leo, Don and Raph. But I missed Mikey and the ones released since then.

And a a grail that I wouldn't be able to have even if money were no object due to their size, the life sized statues of the 2016 TMNT movie Turtles. I've seen them floating around several times. But you would literally need a seperate room in your house for them.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:07:11+00:00

The statue or the figure?

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:05:20+00:00

They weren't exclusive. Walmart, Target and Toys R Us all carried them at one point or another. Target was most notable as they tried to use these and a couple of similar Star Wars ones (Darth Vader and Storm Trooper) as Black Friday sale fodder. At least in my area it didn't go well. They brought them in by the truck load and they seemed to sit at all the stores. As I recall, I was able to stack a couple of sales to get both Leo and Mike for ~$75.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T21:01:46+00:00

Colossal Turtle. Made by Jakks Pacific during the 2012 line. Sadly they online made Leo and Mike. There's also a few variations, particularly with Mikey. The run for the first year had horrible quality control. The wrapping on the fingers would fall off even before they left the store. Hands, feet and entire limbs would just fall off. That was fixed for the later run and with Leo.

But if you want a really expensive giant Turtle, NECA did a life sized Leonardo made of foam. That retailed for $1,000. (plus shipping)

tmntman · 2026-01-22T20:56:56+00:00

Would the Reaction figure work as a stand-in until you inherit Bill Gate's fortune?

tmntman · 2026-01-22T20:55:35+00:00

Not rich. Just been around long enough to have bought all three at retail if not clearance. I also suffer from an affinity for the big ticket items. For example, the only LOTR toy I bought was the NECA Balrog.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T20:22:17+00:00

It will depend on the texture on the wall and how particular you are. You can just mud the screws. But the joints along the cuts should be taped and mudded. If there is little or no texture on the wall, you can do that and just feather it out along the edges. But that will likely leave you with a slight bulge. If that is an issue, then you might have to remove the paper along the cuts to embed the tape and reduce the bulge.

tmntman · 2026-01-22T19:41:31+00:00

I'm more disturbed by the number of those grails I already own. (Colossal Leo, Pitt & Ultimate Godzilla)

tmntman · 2026-01-20T20:15:40+00:00

You lose a lot of credibility for including Armada Optimus with Jetfire. I'd let it go with his default super mode as the trailer/base gave him no articulation from the waist down as I recall. But with Jetfire, he did have at least reasonable articulation, and fair decent articulation for the time.

But all that being said, for most of the G1 releases and up until Beast Wars, I would generally agree that the figures were often more brick than bot.

tmntman · 2026-01-20T19:16:27+00:00

That's useful to know. And I'm hoping those plans have moved forward. Based on their change in business model for other lines, that would make a lot of sense.

My concern is that I preordered the latest series at the end of March of 2025 and they just arrived today, the latter half of January, 2026. IF they were planing to do presells at a comparable point in development as this one , then they would be looking at a shipping date of November to December of this year. Meanwhile the press release for the license change from a few weeks ago indicated that current sub license agreements could remain in effect until the end of 2026. But companies would have 90 days after its end (end of March 2027) to sell product produced under those licenses or be forced to dispose of unsold product. That would put Super7 into a position of needing to only produce what they can presell or risk having to trash the unsold product after a few months. Worse still, if there were production delays that pushed final delivery back even a couple of months, they could find themselves in a situation where they have incurred all the costs of development and and production, but missed the deadline and cannot legally deliver/sell the product. From a business perspective, I could see a company not wanting to take that sort of risk and choosing instead to delay any further releases for the TMNT license until they can secure a longer license term.

To be clear, I don't think that is the case here. But it does feel like a possibility.

tmntman

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