Hot Wheels Car Culture - Trucks

After what seems like an eternity, a large order of die cast arrived from the USA. The second box was the C mix of Car Culture called Trucks. While I had actually seen some of the cars locally, the "hot" castings were missing and it was easier and cheaper to order a full case in from the USA rather than try and track down singles locally.

Once again, a full case was ordered containing two full sets.

Like the rest of the car culture line, all cars are metal/metal with rubber tires but unlike the rest of the known 2016 Car Culture lineup, the Truck assortment was not the most spectacular. JDM enthusiasts will appreciate the Datsun and the Brat, while the Ford F-250 looks pretty nice but the other two are very average.

Hot Wheels Car Culture - Euro Style

After what seems like an eternity, a large order of die cast arrived from the USA. The first box was the B mix of Car Culture called Euro Style. I heard that this case had appeared locally, but I never saw it, which is why it was added to the USA order.

Ordered a full case, containing two sets of cars.

As with the previous Japan Historics cases, these are metal/metal cars with rubber tires. Sadly almost all the cars do not have any headlight or tail light tampographs, though the exception is the Fiat 500. The case marks the debut of the VW Golf MK7 casting into the Hot Wheels lineup.

Nexus 5X 

Back in 2013 I purchased the current model Nexus 4 that had been released in 2012 and fell in love with the concept of a flagship phone from Google that showcases what Android was all about without all the "bells and whistles" that the other manufactures add into their phones. Fast forward to 2015, and I read all about the new Nexus 5X and 6P and decided that the 5X would be my next Nexus device. The issue was price and the fact that by Nexus 4 was still going strong and I didn't have a compelling reason to upgrade.

Throughout 2016 as the price of the Nexus 5X started to drop, I almost purchased one a few times, ultimately telling myself that I still did not need to retire the Nexus 4, and that very soon Google would launch the 2016 model of the Nexus.

As the news spread that the 2016 Nexus was now the Pixel and that it came with a price tag similar to that of the iPhone 7, I decided that the Pixel was not for me at this stage and went looking for an alternative phone, which proved harder than it should be and I keep on coming back to the Nexus 5X which was looking rather attractive given its recent price drop.

So, one lunch time I finally headed into a store and purchased the 5X.
And then sat online and purchased some accessories including cases, screen protectors, adaptors and charging cables.

Due to requiring the case and screen protector before using the phone, the phone currently still sits sealed in its box..

September Transformers

Another month and more Transformers from Japan, along with some additions from the USA. This month however was slightly different from other months.

Continuing the release of Transformers Legends, Takara released their versions of Wheelie and Rewind along with a bonus Headmaster; along with the deluxe Deception Weirdwolf. Missing from the order due to a combination of not really wanting it and financial pressure is Legends Blaster and coming in October due to the cost of postage is the big figure for the year Fortress Maximus.

Sharing an order with another local collector were some Wave 2 Titans Returns figures. I was very eager to get my hands on the Titan Master Apeface, which at the time of ordering was not available in New Zealand (I found it locally a few days before the order arrived), and the rest of the Wave 2 Titan Master set (required purchase in order to get Apeface). The other wanted item was Wave 2 Voyager Alpha Trion, a figure that I thought it was safer to get a Hasbro version while possible, as there was a decent chance that Takara Tomy would not release.

Pokemon Go Plus

Ever since the release of Pokemon Go, I have been playing the game; most lunch times are spent walking around my local city catching anything that appears on the map and during the weekend I keep an eye out for anything when I am out and about.

In the trailers for the game, they announced a separate accessory for the game which was ultimately delayed until mid-September. At first I was interested in the device, but at $70NZ it was a lot to spend on the "unknown" and so I decided to wait for reviews.

After reading and watching a few receives I was hooked, but sadly local stock had already sold out - however Nintendo Australia came to the rescue with an eBay listing and so a Plus was ordered.

Several days later the Plus arrived and after several days of use, the way that I play the game has changed - if I can, I will check the phone to see if I need the Pokemon and if I don't then I will risk using the Plus to catch (one ball, one attempt).

For those who are still playing the game, I highly suggest checking this device out - though not at aftermarket prices!

Xbox One S

Another month, and another games console!
After purchasing a Nintendo 3DS in August, September sees a Xbox One S added to the console line-up.

With the release of the Xbox One in 2014, I was tempted to upgrade from the Xbox 360, however knew that just like the 360 there would be a mid cycle upgrade and eventually that came true in the form of an Xbox One S. After checking out the local deals, I eventually purchased bundle containing a 500GB console, Halo 5, Halo Master Chief Collection and Doom (and because it is practically required, a play and charge battery kit)

A day later I purchased a copy of Forza Horizon 2, and then a few days later, copies of Transformers Devastation and Need for Speed Rivals for cheap.

And a few days later came the purchase of an additional 2TB hard drive that worked out to be a lot cheaper than purchasing a 2TB version of the console.

Not to be outdone, the 3DS also got some love in the early part of the month with the purchase of four games that were on sale at a local online store.

Transformers for August (and early September)

As with past months, the end of August saw quite a few new Transformers releases in Japan - the continuation of Unite Warriors giftsets, Transformers Adventures, Transformers Legends and Masterpiece items.

Under the Unite Warriors line, comes another fantastic giftset featuring Computron. As has been the norm for all of these releases, the Japanese version comes with some significant re-tooling of existing Unite Warriors figures to give a very close to G1 accurate update as possible.

Transformers Adventure continues to release the odd new character and this month sees the release of another much needed Decepticon deluxe, Scorponok.

Transformers Legends continues with the Japanese releases of "Titan Masters"; Blurr and Scourge who have already had releases in previous "CHUG" lineups, but this time they have had alt modes that closely resemble the G1 versions and of course now feature headmasters. The scout sized Shockwave that Hasbro released under Combiner Wars also gets a Japanese release in his signature lighter purple, and comes with a bonus headmaster for use with compatible Transformers.

With the arrival of new Hasbro Transformers items in local stores, I decided to add some items to the collection that I do not think Takara Tomy will release in Japan due to their strange nature. If I am wrong, then I can always sell them again...