RCAdvent News!

Thanks to a kind overseas friend, several copies of the 6299 Pirate Advent Calendar just arrived in Detroit. (From what I've read, it seems really doubtful there'll be a North American release of this set.)



This means the Reasonably Clever Traditions of Advent Madness and BrikWars will continue - and, yes, that third Calendar is destined to be a prize in an upcoming contest. Details on that very soon!

The Last Naughty Elves

The December 2007 Buy-Me-Mizer promotion ends in a few hours, and I thought this would be a good time to highlight the (presumably) last of the Naughty Elves to escape my Workshop.

Three more Elves join the ranks, bringing the horde to 9 members. The three new NEs are:

• Minski
  
• Santa Pimp
  
• Blinder
  

To view photos and data on the all of the Elves, click here.

More Naught Elves Revealed

I've been remiss in announcing the Naughty Elves as they shipped. You might remember the first Naughty Elf to be revealed: Thugsy.

Well, say hello to his compatriots:

• Lucky
• Lumpy
• Blast Cap
• Darth Minimus
  
• Mimer

To view data on the Elves, click here.

2008 Mars Mission sets

Toys R Us always seems to have a few new sets out for Black Friday (the shopping day after Thanksgiving in the US). By "new sets" I mean "sets slated for a 2008 release date" and "not available at the Target across the street."

This year was no exception - I counted four new kits. All of them were expansions of existing lines; two were Exo-Force, two were Mars Mission. I was tempted to pick up all four, but I was on a budget and I decided on a half-price Arkham Assylum set over the Exo-Force kits. I did bring home the Mars Missions, though.

Set 7648: MT-21 Mobile Mining Unit


This first set was $12.99 - I'd expect to see it at other retailers for $9.99 after the holidays. (TRU seems to always have an in-store 10-20% markup on the Cool/Exclusive sets compared to even on-line prices) Not too bad for 130 pieces, a couple of which were new to me.

The set consists of a Mining Unit (Labeled MT-21 on the box, but MT-51 on the sticker sheet), a mobile drill, a wee mini-bot and the obligatory alien figure with jet-pack. That jet pack must be a pain to use, as it attaches by jamming the connection rod entirely through the chest of the alien mini.

Set 7647: MX-41 Switch Fighter


The Switch Fighter cost $20.99 - at 235 parts a slightly better per-piece deal than the Mining Unit. It comes with a small alien fighter craft and a larger human vehicle. The hook is that the bigger vehicle "transforms" between Jet and Tank modes.

It's not a bad switch - the merits of using the same part for both wheels and jets can be debated - the two modes both look like they could be "primary" model for a non-transforming kit. I'm less happy with the Jet mode as the cockpit does not lock in the "extended" mode - it tends to slosh around while swooshing. It's a fairly minor quibble, though.

Here's a shot of the jet-mode...


Sadly, neither kit made me as happy as the item I found at Target the following day:

For under a buck, this little car brought a bucket of holiday cheer.

But I'm just geeky like that.

First "Naughty Elf" Revealed!

The first "Naughty Elf" bonus from the Buy-Me-Mizer has shipped!

This holiday season if you purchase 10 mini-figures in a single order, in addition to a bunch of other bonus items, you'll receive a custom "Naughty Elf" mini. Each one is unique, and each will be featured here once they leave Reasonably Clever Central.

So...without further ado...here's Thugsy.

(Thugsy's card was created using this on-line Trading Card Maker.)

Who will be the next Naughty Elf? Stay tuned...or, heck, go order some figures and find out for yourself!

Buy-Me-Mizer Update and Holiday Specials

There are new parts and new specials for the Buy-Me-Mizer.

First up the new parts: Two "neckwear" chest plate armors, Five new heads, new Purple hands, three new Accessories (chrome sword, blade sword, airtanks), two new torso options, and two new helmets (including the swanky knight helm with visor)

This brings the total available combinations to 117,804,960,000. Do you have the full set yet?



I also announced this year's Holiday Special. Depending on the number of figures you order you can get a bunch of cool freebies including a Santa Mini-Figure, Happy Elf Mini, and a secret "Naughty Elf" chase figure. Click the pic-link above for more details.