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Capsule toys in different countries: a study on loss


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#1 Patomago

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 03:59 PM

The old capsule toys. Little, round surprises for really cheap that fill our hearts with wonder and occasional dissapointment. So many kinds, so many different worlds each contained in a little plastic bubble, waiting for you to pay and take it home like you're buying that thing in the most casual manner and you haven't been stalking the machine for like three days or whatever. Who doesn't love that shit?

 

Well, as it turns out, my country is not a big fan. I'm spanish and man does 90% of capsule toys here suck enormous balls. I've spent quite some time sternly looking for all the capsule vending machines I could find: in bars, in gas stations, at kids stores, at the mall, you name it. And we are still stuck on the Stone Age of capsule toys. You can find yourself some basic vehicle on one of those, or an army man if you're lucky, but for the most part? Little horns, stupid cutesy stuff, hollow baby dolls. Only recently I've began to see some Gashapon-style vending machines with different levels and previews of the toy lines you can get and such. But they are in the minority and yeah, it sucks and so I ask you all:

 

How is the capsule toys situation on your country/town/whatever? Do you find interesting stuff in them, or do you have to avoid those like the plague? Any findings you could share from those kind of machines near you?


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#2 Sixthwizard

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 04:12 PM

Fairfield, Ohio USA. Sucks. Haha. Mostly them rubber sticky hands, gold "grill" piece and buck teeth, hahaha, and little 9mm and bazookas and grenades and shit. Sucks bad.....

Edited by Sixthwizard, 11 September 2014 - 04:13 PM.

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#3 fkro6784

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 04:18 PM

Toy vending machines in the U.S. have gotten a lot less exciting over the years. In the '80s and '90s there was so much great stuff, including lots of bootleg keshi. Today, once in a great while you'll find some gems (like Oh No! Aliens), but it's very rare.

 

On a related note, it's a huge bummer what's happened to cereal prizes over the years. They're pretty much non-existent now.


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#4 Rubberhammer

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 04:34 PM


On a related note, it's a huge bummer what's happened to cereal prizes over the years. They're pretty much non-existent now.


They contribute to childhood obesity, man.

Don't you know that all the kids got fat, because there were Monster in my Pocket figs in the breakfast cereal.

Just look at how trim and lean all the kids are, now that there are no toys in the cereal.




OH

and, capsule machines in northeast Oklahoma,

They suck.
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#5 Behemoth

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 04:52 PM

They contribute to childhood obesity, man.

Don't you know that all the kids got fat, because there were Monster in my Pocket figs in the breakfast cereal.

Just look at how trim and lean all the kids are, now that there are no toys in the cereal.
 

I ate so much shredded wheat during that time. Probably had enough fiber to crap logs.


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#6 Sixthwizard

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 05:03 PM

I ate so much shredded wheat during that time. Probably had enough fiber to crap logs.


Not sure how to interpret that, behemoth.... Haha. Because in the 80's, you were older already and didn't eat sugary cereal anymore?- because your parents wouldn't let you eat the good sugary stuff?- haha give me a clue because I have none. Haha

I did see some SouthPark capsules in the Best Buy entryway last Christmas.... Forgot about those....
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#7 CaffeineSanta

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 05:43 PM

I live in Eugene, OR, and yeah, mostly it's a bunch of sh*tty plastic toy guns, bazookas, fake teeth, temp tattoos, and other utter crap. It's been a looong time since I've seen some good vending machine stuff. 


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#8 iwao

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 06:08 PM

Cool capsule toys are pretty rare in my area too, even though a lot of places have the machines. Makes me wonder if the people that own the machines make much money on the junk they put in them. Good stuff is out there like Neo Neons, Oh No Aliens, Buggyboos, Bok Choy Boy, Karma Kidz, Marvel build-a-figures and whatnot. You would think people that own the machines would buy some cool stuff in bulk to fill them. 


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#9 bronchuseven

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 06:27 PM

I love capsule toys -  before getting back into M.U.S.C.L.E.s via eBay I was buying a lot of Homies. I haven't seen a machine stocked with Homies in ages, though..

I've read about some cool capsule toy lines on this site but never manage to find any :( I believe the last capsule toy I bought was a Bok Choy Boy 3 years ago.


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#10 Sixthwizard

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 06:52 PM

I've seen the Bok Choy Boys...hahaha sounds like an Asian gang!
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#11 spacefrog

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 06:56 PM

I don't see hardly any here is Australia, the only ones are the licensed Nintendo or of the sort.
if not that just bouncy balls ::(


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#12 Ericnilla

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 07:13 PM

I have a good assortment of stores I can go to if I have an itch to buy a capsule toy. Big Lots or a Chinese food place By me have decent toys from time to time. Anything that has came up here on the board Or from an online friend I can usually find near me.
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#13 bachamn

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 07:37 PM

Yeah like everyone else has said, in the US it sucks. The majority of thep laces I see don't even have toys, it's stickers and temporary tattoos. And yeah, the "billy bob" teeth and grills.

 

This thread reminds me though, out of nowhere seemingly my local Toys R Us recently got one of their machines stocked full of those Neo Neons that were discussed here and subsequently disappeared from suppliers a few years ago. 


Edited by bachamn, 11 September 2014 - 07:38 PM.

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#14 Behemoth

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 08:46 PM

Not sure how to interpret that, behemoth.... Haha. Because in the 80's, you were older already and didn't eat sugary cereal anymore?- because your parents wouldn't let you eat the good sugary stuff?- haha give me a clue because I have none. Haha

I did see some SouthPark capsules in the Best Buy entryway last Christmas.... Forgot about those....

I am so obsessed with MIMP that I ate tons of Shredded Wheat to get all of them. Fiber gave me poop power to shoot out logs (Insert anus jokes here).


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#15 plasticfiend

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 08:49 PM

There's a Frys electronics near me that has a pretty good selection... Haven't looked there recently though.

Spacefrog - did you just say you have access to Nintendo vending toys? That's sounds GReAT!!!


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#16 Krangala

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Posted 11 September 2014 - 10:35 PM

I wish a company would come along and revolutionize the capsule toy market with well sculpted figures in a fun, unique theme. Zerboz would have been better as a vending toy.

Problem is, manufacturing costs are so high now, that figures for a quarter are impossible, and even fifty cents is starting to look like a bargain for a good cheap toy.
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#17 bachamn

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 06:59 AM

Problem is, manufacturing costs are so high now, that figures for a quarter are impossible, and even fifty cents is starting to look like a bargain for a good cheap toy.

This is true, and it's why gachapon machines in Japan range from 100-500yen, depending on the figure, which means that there ends up being a decent selection of figures for ~$1 but you don't get anything smaller than that, so the excuse for crap quality isn't there.

 

I think the issue is that in the US, and in most parts of the world, there isn't a culture that supports paying that much for capsule/impulse toys and like you mentioned, the costs have exceeded their purpose, so stickers it is.


Edited by bachamn, 12 September 2014 - 07:00 AM.

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#18 fkro6784

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 07:13 AM

 

I am so obsessed with MIMP that I ate tons of Shredded Wheat to get all of them. Fiber gave me poop power to shoot out logs (Insert anus jokes here).

 

You actually collected all of the Nabisco premiums out of the cereal back in the day? That's pretty awesome. There was only one store I ever saw them at back then and they only had one (which I got my pine Hobgoblin from). I was all prepared to try to convince my mom to buy like 10 boxes of shredded wheat squares, but then I never saw them again.


Edited by fkro6784, 12 September 2014 - 07:13 AM.

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#19 ironmask

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 07:37 AM

Here in Columbus, shit is really inconsistent. Sometimes, we'll have sweet selections all over... Then followed my protracted periods of sticky hands, and candy. 


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#20 Behemoth

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 07:38 AM

 

 

 

You actually collected all of the Nabisco premiums out of the cereal back in the day? That's pretty awesome. There was only one store I ever saw them at back then and they only had one (which I got my pine Hobgoblin from). I was all prepared to try to convince my mom to buy like 10 boxes of shredded wheat squares, but then I never saw them again.

 

Yep, I got them all out of the cereal. I was MIMP'ing hard even at 5 years old. Ate nothing at breakfast but that cereal for weeks to get them all.


Edited by Behemoth, 12 September 2014 - 07:38 AM.

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#21 bachamn

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 08:00 AM

You actually collected all of the Nabisco premiums out of the cereal back in the day? That's pretty awesome. There was only one store I ever saw them at back then and they only had one (which I got my pine Hobgoblin from). I was all prepared to try to convince my mom to buy like 10 boxes of shredded wheat squares, but then I never saw them again.

 

I had a weird perspective on MIMP growing up; they came out right around the time I really took an interest in to collecting Battle Beasts (realizing they had been cancelled a few years earlier).  In fact, I'm pretty sure my mom bought me the only 24-pack of MIMPs I owned after we spent my 9th birthday looking for BB's at flea markets and turning up with nothing. I remember seeing the LRG connection at that age but they just weren't "as cool" to me so I never got that into them. I got a neon pink cockatrice from a box of Shredded Wheat, which was my second and final venture into MIMP as a kid.


Edited by bachamn, 12 September 2014 - 08:00 AM.

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#22 Krangala

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 12:36 PM

This is true, and it's why gachapon machines in Japan range from 100-500yen, depending on the figure, which means that there ends up being a decent selection of figures for ~$1 but you don't get anything smaller than that, so the excuse for crap quality isn't there.
 
I think the issue is that in the US, and in most parts of the world, there isn't a culture that supports paying that much for capsule/impulse toys and like you mentioned, the costs have exceeded their purpose, so stickers it is.


Nobody ever effectively tapped the market here. Homies is literally the best example of American capsule toys. There was never a culture built around it like in Japan.

If somebody could do a line that kept quality high, and costs low, they could revolutionize that market and effectively improve quality across the board. But it's an uphill battle combatting the junk dealers. Because they're also your distributors.
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#23 PlasticSoul

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 12:58 PM

American capsule machines suck. Luckily i have pretty free access to some huge asian malls and stores with incredible stuff all the time. Last week i hit one up and they had really small and odd boxed japanese muscle figures in a machine and another had big super detailed multi-part beetles and hornets and another had some insane monsters(i sent one to fkro if he wants to show it off)and another had crazy yokai monsters with tiny dioramas. Only problem is some of them are pretty expensive lines. I mean they are sold for retail price of course but the armorvor looking clear blue bird monster line is like 8 bucks a pop. The killer insects are like 6 bucks. Some stuff is a lot cheaper though.


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#24 PlasticSoul

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 01:25 PM

Here is the last random insanity i got from a vending machine.

 

I think it's some kind of asian pork bun baby...

Attached Files


Edited by PlasticSoul, 12 September 2014 - 01:27 PM.

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#25 Ericnilla

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Posted 12 September 2014 - 01:30 PM

Haha, that thing is wacky!

 

We should start taking pics of local Caspule machines and sharing here.


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