paanjang16

Another old school cement mixer ready and waiting

This is what I used to do when playing with my color changer in those days aka 1990s. Leave them in the freezer for a while, and when you take them out there is ice all over!

Ya, I do invest ALOT in toys. Dun want to mention how much I spend on TF toys after the first TF movie Needless to say, wayyy too much. That is why I am not buying any TF toys since from my experience there will be a glut of the favorite TF characters since Hasbro will repaint the mold over and over. So in 1-2 years time I am sure you still can get BB09 or the updated BB10 with better paintjob etc. Got hooked on Nerf for while. I bought 2 Nerf guns, the Maverick and the Longshot. Longshot I managed to get it at 10% off at Parkson and the blue version with extra ammo clip. The new yellow version does not come with the extra ammo clip and still the same price. After the price increse so mood already. Anyway thanks to Mattel for raising price maybe I should divert my money to other stuff; like going dating Also dug up my old Lego sets and maybe will try to complete all the missing pieces. So in a way this price increase has made me switch from HWs to other stuff, much like fuel increase made everyone changed (and GM bankrupt). Was at KLCC just now, browsing through Parkson, TRU and Isetan. I dunno why, TRU does not seem interested to stock up on 09 HW cars anymore. Isetan and Parkson also the same, like not interested to sell HWs TRU maybe want to push its Fastlane cars which I saw got R34 skyline, RX-7, BMWs, Mercedes and even Pagani Zonda in the 20 pack! I would say Fastlane is already eating HW's business since Fastlane is near the old price of Hws and HWs has became too expensive. In fact TRU never stock any MBX cars at all, which means they never rely on Mattel in the first place. Its a bad sign when a large store like TRU dun bother to stock up on your products anymore since their own "home brand" is superior. Tomica in Parkson and Isetan the price dropped to RM 10.32, but at Parkson the new Honda Freed and Daihatsu Move Conte was still priced at RM 12.90, maybe it is still new?

Well said netmatrix. So there is a high chance that these ppl are actually hoarding those GTRs, Lambos in their factory in Penang and ready to unleash it once all the retailers raise the price to RM 6.90? Sounds plausible? Only difference is that I think most retailers dun want increase price since they have too many unsold stock. I think the best thing to do now is to stop buying HWs. I have stopped buying atm- too cash strapped for cash. No not because of TF2: ROTF, I did not buy ANY TF figure or toy yet after Hasblow raise the prices of the TFs. If you think Mattel is evil, Hasblow is on the same league as Mattel and vice versa. Another example of sucking by a major toy distributer; The price for the Nerf Vulcan, nerf maverick and Nerf Recon was raised by RM 10 early this year for no particular reason. Fortunately I managed to get my Maverick at the old price before the retailer I bought from knew about the price increase. Another example; I bought my Voyager class Animated Grimlock for RM 99.90 from C4 SJ mid last year. By early 2009 the price naik to RM 104.90 then now RM 109.90. Same product, different price. Padan muka to whoever increase the price since those Grimmies took a while to clear. (but sadly it did clear in the end) Now that Mattel SEA is waiting for a price increase to RM 7 (hey, Ron 97 going to be RM 2, let's increase price!!!), I think it will be a while before those GTRs, Lambos will see the light of day. Since there is such a drought of HWs, I recommend looking at other brands such as Majorettes, Tesco car and the like which is cheaper. Tomica I noticed in Jusco has dropped price to RM 10.32, so maybe the high price of RM 12.90 is not good for Jusco after all. Forget about "Buatan Malaysia" or "Beli Barangan Malaysia"; ppl will never buy a local product if it is overpriced or of lousy quality. Proton learned its lesson, Mas learned its lesson, high time Mattel SEA learn its lesson. Remember, when the buying stops, the sucking can too. P.S Maybe we can have a poll on whether you will buy a HW GTR, Lambo, Corvette priced at RM 7. Knowing someone up there wants to profit even more.

Did someone say ambulance? Matchbox Volkswagen Ambulance Matchbox Ambulance Tomica Nissan Caravan Ambulance

Since got a Majorette thread here I can share my classic majorettes from those days. Honda Accord (yes! a Jap car made by the French!). Both front doors open! London bus Fiat Ritmo. Rear boot open! These cars came from an era where Majorettes have the famous metal base and have other features like openable doors etc. Compared to the Majorettes today, some come in some odd color while others lack openable doors. Fortunately the Racing (rally) series are superb!! Normal carded Majorettes cost RM 4.90 Racing series (the rally cars) cost RM 7.90, which is a steal since there is so much detail on it!! The team lorry like Subaru rally team lorry cost RM 19.90. I think almost all the teams are made as die-cast; Peuguet, Renault, Citroen, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Ford.. any other car manufacturer?

I dun think Mattel will want to make a Rubber Wheeled Hot Wheels. The cost will be too prohibitive for them to break even. Even then I dun think there will be a large demand for it. Rubber wheeled Blimp/42 Ford/62 Chevy/Dragtor? All will bomb terribly (except when it is a green ) Last time Matchbox (B4 Mattel took over) had this series called "World Class" with real-life paint color and rubber wheels. It costs more than the usual Matchbox but unfortunately not as popular as the regular Matchbox. But the detail was simply "world class". Too bad my parents only bought me 1 World class car last time Tomica also got a rubber wheel series called Tomica Limited, but it costs almost RM 30 and in extremely limited quantities. Once you miss the boat, you miss the boat. Tomica at RM 12.90 yes it is a bit overpriced, but some have openable doors (Alphards, EVO X, GTR), bonnet (Civic Type-R, Subaru WRX STI), boot (Mira, Passo) etc. Some have LONG ladders (Hino fire engine), long crane boom (Tadano rough terrain vehicle), extreme weight (Hummer H2, JSDF), etc. You dun find a Hot Wheel or Matchbox with an openable door anymore now. In fact I would prefer my cars to have openable features like the regular tomica instead of rubber wheels. At least you know it will last longer.

#1 You are right, maybe there is more profit to get from those playsets than the actual car itself. But this is more akin to a chicken and egg situation; do you sell the cars first or sell the playsets so that ppl will buy the cars or vice versa? Personally I find HW playsets is all about speed, crashing and more speed. Prefer Tomica or classic Matchbox (before Mattel) playsets as they are more realistic. #2 You do not need a green series to get more buyers, as proven with Majorettes, Tomica. HWs have a different customer base and so does Matchbox. Like me I prefer Matchbox due to its realistic paintwork and better looking cars. Compared to HWs it caters more to hot rods, old american muscles, imaginary cars and the like. Even a recent Matchbox Corvette ZR1 has more details than a HW Corvette ZR1!!! If Matchbox packs more Audi R8s, Civic Type-Rs, Mercedes E class, EVO, Mazda, Porsche, Merc SLK instead of other cars then it will sell more, but it too suffers from bad case distribution. #3 Sad but true, a store can't tell the difference. That is why if the store have a suggestion box or something, we can teach them a 2 bout old cars and new cars. That way they will not end up with lots of unsold cars and can persuade Mattel to buck up! So guys, if you are in Jusco, spend a few minutes writing into the suggestion box. If enough complains the store will act. I did wrote once when I was in Aeon Bukit Tinggi Klang, was surprised to receive a call from them asking bout my suggestion , so they DO listen. #5 Gosh, such a big price increase . Looks like the price increase is worldwide. I think Mattel seriously got to improve. I have seen kids prefering to pick Tomica costing TWICE as much in Jusco/Isetan coz the HWs cars are "Tak Cantik" (Tak = Not, Cantik = beautiful). Note that a kid said that!! and this is when his mother was suggesting him to choose a HW car instead coz HWs are cheaper. A Tomica car costs RM 12.90 while a HW car only cost RM 6.50. Another way is for Mattel to abandon the whole green thing all together and have a distribution system like Tomica! 1 type of car per box of 20, somthing like that. That way a fast selling car can easily be replenish without adding more unsold stock. Just order more of the same car!

Haha, you guys just keep on thinking bout T-hunt only I didn't ask her bout the T-hunt since I practically give up hunting for them and the greens IHMO is not that special anyway to me. Well I have bombarded her with all my complaints, but she was at that time very busy arranging the playsets and the like. Almost wanted to tell her that "lady, we dun need more playsets, we need more cars!!!!". But it is no secret that whatever marketing strategy Mattel is doing is all wrong:- bad case distribution, like more suited for US market rather than M'sian market. selling 2008, even 2007 cars at 2009 price (come on!! All car manufacturers sell their unsold models in the previous year at a cheaper price to get rid of stock!!!, Litt Tak also another suspect) Selling 3-packs and 5 packs at a higher cost per car than normal 1 carded, by right the more cars in 1 pack the cheaper the pack Keep promoting their playsets more than the actual car itself. You need to sell the cars 1st then only the playsets!! Not promoting enough of Matchbox cars and I'm sure you all have alot of T-hunt complains. I find it extremely insulting for Mattel to sell 2007 cars at 2009 price. Do they really think that customers will not notice that when the cars were manufactured in 2007 and sold then it only cost RM 5.90? If 2009 cars were at 2009 price I can understand since maybe it cost more to produce now and have some added features, but in 2007/2008 when you can manufacture it and sell it for RM 5.90, why increase the price to RM 6.50? Imagine you buy a Toyota/Proton/P2 whatever, the sales man all trying to sell you a 2007, 2008 Civic, Accord, Persona, Savvy at 2009 price. No way any customer will buy right? P.S: Did the US market increase price? I'll be even mad if the US market never increase price and we were made to suffer

Was at MV today for a meeting, so after my meeting I went around looking for anything nice to buy like Tomicas, HWs, MBX, Nerf bullets (still looking!!). Happen to bump into this lady with a blue Mattel T-shirt restocking some of the Hot Wheels playsets in Metrojaya. Since I was curious to know if Mattel SEA is even aware of how pitiful our HW situation is here, I went up to chat with her. Her reply shocked me, no she was not rude or lansi or anything, but on how they procure thier stock from their factory in Penang. You know how badly Mattel packs thier cars into the cases? Highly sought after cars underpacked while those ugly ones (42 Ford in C4 SJ being the worst example) overpacked and left to rot and Mattel STILL Pack them in the 09 cases (but in different color)? Apparently Mattel SEA has NO POWER to adjust the case distribution in the boxes!! Whatever is packed into the cases is totally random and apparently also the distribution is handled by the Mattel HQ in the States. In other words, Mattel SEA can only take whatever is from the factory and distribute, but the actual running of the factory is by Mattel HQ (Well actually not surprising, since Mattel HQ is the one which originally invested in M'sia). Even she admits Mattel SEA knows of the problem and receives lots of complains regarding this issue. So looks like bad case distribution is here to stay unless we somehow get the message across to some guy in the US. Ask her bout the Matchbox Best of British/Best of International/Best of Muscle, apparently those cars are meant for oversea Even suggested to her to use the short-card version to save cost and pass the savings to us (but hawker mentality this Mattel has ), complained that overseas all the new waves are already on sale. Come to think about it, maybe I was too harsh with her. Before I went to MJ I even wrote in the Jusco suggestion box to pack more Reventons, Type-Rs, BLuebirds in the MBX and HW cases, dunno if Jusco can "persuade" Mattel SEA after hearing what I heard from the Mattel lady. Haih, I never knew buying/selling/collecting toys can be so frustrating. P.S: She said her manager visits this site, so I can only hope that our input here will help Mattel SEA.

I almost wanted to post the picture of this vette myself. When I first saw it hanging on the pegs, it did not come to me to buy it, after all, I have the Hot wheels version. But then when I had a closer look, I noticed the carbon fiber roof that the HWs did not have I saw a comparison done on another blog, but they never compare the roof (or probably did mention about it, but the entire site is in some Euro language ). Again, MBX triumphs over HW, even today. Oh, the undercarriage (the base) is even more detailed than the HWs version! But if you are wondering why Matchbox is better valued then Hot wheels for the same price, it is because Matchbox is now made in Thailand while Hot wheels are made in Penang Malaysia. Labor in Thailand is cheaper than here, hence can have more details. Kinda ironic that our locally made cars are inferior to the Thailand made cars (compare Perdana with Camry , Hot wheels with Matchbox), seems like anything car related industry here is cursed. @ redkop, I have alot of Matchbox cars, with some Tomicas, Majorettes and Hws as well which the paint is quite battered too. But no way I am selling them off; the nostalgic value on them is simply priceless since I played with them long time ago (20years ago, I'm now 25 ). Another reason why Matchbox is better was their playsets. I dunno why, Hot Wheels playsets is all about CRASHING your cars into one another. But Matchbox playsets have some good road sets with lights, signboards, bridges, etc. Like this set which I have (the box image I found online). I have the yellow truck, the red BMW, the rally car with red boot kena tarik, the tow truck (different color), the white van etc. Some Matchbox which I have. Although lost its windows, the doors can still open and all 4 wheels still can turn. I dun think you can have so many decals and openable doors in todays Matchbox/HWs, Majorettes/Tomicas for less then RM 5.

Well said redkop. I always preferred Matchbox cars since I grew up with them. During those days when comparing Matchbox with Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels are crap (sorry to say this in a HW forum ). Matchbox had operable doors, hood, realistic paintwork and decals and some even had features which are part of the mold (unlike now most are stickers). Here's an example:- Dodge Challenger with Big rear tires, soft top, big air intake, racing decals, big exhaust, Dodge wording on hood, number plate front and rear. I highly doubt there is any Hot wheel car from the same era (1980s) that can match this Matchbox. But the good old days of Matchbox are over unfortunately .More so when Mattel bought them over Would have preferred Hasbro to take over Matchbox than Mattel.

You're not the only one who thinks so, I have been preaching this since last year, but apparently they simply do not care! Even wrote to Toycarsmy last year, TWICE! Here: http://www.toycarsmy.com/2008/08/mattel-marketing-strategy-need-some.html and here: http://www.toycarsmy.com/2008/08/my-thoughts-about-hw-mb-and-tomicatomy.html Even today you see things which they would have learned such as:- 1) Still packing some 08 cars which were unsellable at all in 09 cards eg. that old chevy truck with the surfboard at the back, now in black color. 2) Still underpacking highly in demand cars such as Civic Type-R for MBX, Bluebird, Mercedes, Panoz, ferrari for Hot Wheels. For the Civic Type-R it is simply inexcusable and shows that the Mattel marketing team NEVER study the local die-cast market. Did they know how hard it is to get the Civic Type-R for Tomica? Have they ever look at their competitors like Tomica? In fact I just wish MBX is run by Hasbro instead then maybe we will get better cars coz Mattel will work harder to compete!!! I want to see if Mattel underpacks the GTR (the tomica version is highly sought after, I can't even find the normal GTR, only have the Limited version) , Reventon in the coming waves If they do, then its GG for them.

Maybe they should suit the distribution of cars in their case for maximum saleability depending on our market. It is a known fact that Civics, Volks, Lambos, and maybe some other hot models are highly sought after. Thus in 1 case they should increase the distribution of the highly sought after cars compared to the not so sought after cars. Examples: MBX Civic Type-R, Volkswagen Fastback, Beetle Cup, Cadillac 16, red Smart 4 2, HW Datsun My point is that, unless I am totally BLUR to the market trends in Malaysia, I will NEVER underpack cars like MBX Civic Type-R in my MBX shipments, especially after how scarce the Tomica Civic Type-R is. No point selling to the store 72 cars, where only 1 is a hot car, but will leave the store dry with maybe 71 or 36 unwanted cars. Imagine a Proton dealer who got 50 Personas, 30 Basic Line, 15 Medium line and only 5 High Line. Unfortunately the High Line is the most high selling of them all. But to order more High-Lines they need to order 50 car batches which will leave them with extra 45 cars which may not sell. This is currently the scenario affecting all the stores here. Granted the MBX factory is in Thailand, so it maybe hard for them to ask their peers in Thailand on what to pack. But the irony is that HWs are made locally, and I'm sure Mattel SEA can ask for some selective cases right? They should not come up with excuses really. I mean, if they can pack not so hot cars with hot cars in 5 packs and 3 packs and even the DC promo packs, then packing the right ratio of cars in the cases must be very easy for them. They know which are hot and which are not. So Mattel, pls dun thread all the retailers like my Proton dealer example above.

They are members of the top secret United Scalpers Club (USC) in which their goal is to create a great shortage of some highly sought after models so that their peers in the Ebay Scalper Corps (ESC) can sell those highly sought after models at higher prices. On the other hand I still dun get why ppl like to hoard stuff or want to have 1135431421 of the same T-hunt or some car.