Made a trip to Big Lots tonight for some of those storage compartments, and saw they had some of the command base sets in, which I hadn't seen anywhere since '07. They are $30. I really want one, having missed them the first time round, but couldn't justify $30 today. What's the consensus as to whether these are worth it?

They also had the $15 humvees, $24 bridge set, another $24 set I forget, and the $14 patrol boat (which has less in it than the 3 boat set JC Penny clearanced for $7 awhile back).

The other thing I saw, was a new cheap plastic set, this one based on cops and bad guys. I don't know if it's chap mei or someone else (and just because it's new to me doesn't mean it's new here - sorry if it's been mentioned). Several different mini-vehilce/figure combos. The one that caught my eye was a bad guy biker, with a HUGE bike with a large mounted gun on back, and a big skull on the front. Would make a great Mad Max villain type of ride. Another one I haven't bought yet but probably will. Some decent fodder in that pack, including a kicking guitar with a blade attachment. Anyone else see these yet? (expects to see post of "look at this previous thread, dumbass" soon... )

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GET IT OWN IT LOVE IT

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Agreed. If I could find one, I would totally come home with it.

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For the base alone it's not worth it. But when you look at all the dio accessories you get with it, that more than justifies the price. I have 2 and wish I had room for more. Seriously dude, get it. You won't be disappointed.

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http://www.generalsjoes.com/reviews/PTE/hq.html

If it's that one.. I agree with Yo GO-GO!

yeah, that's the one. I might be headed for a divorce at this rate (lol) but at least my boy will appreciate these purchases when he's old enough to play with them. Guess I'm making another trip to the store tomorrow.

thanks for all the advice guys.

Oh, has anyone bought the other cheap toy set I referenced? thoughts on any of that stuff for fodder?

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I'd probably get it just for the guitar.

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As a plus, the guitar has a slot to feed the ammo belts Chap Mei makes, so it doubles as a machine gun (the neck is the barrel of the gun). It's a great little accessory, and the guy that comes with it is pretty sweet, too.

I picked one up and have yet to open it. I'm saving it for that "some day I'll have room for Dios" when we get a new home.

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The command base rocks.
All the gear that comes with it is great to complete a Joe dio.

I would also recommend the bridge set. Its a lot of fun and it can fit an Hiss.
Oh and the watchtowers.

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I got the command base for Christmas and love it. As others have said the accessories alone make it worth it. Mine came from JC Penney and had the extra Little Bird, but other than that I believe it is the same.

My Big Lots must be the only one that didn't get these in. The only thing they got was the Patrol Boat. The next closest store (about 30 miles away), got the Watchtowers, Little Birds, and figure sets early on but then didn't restock. The third closest store (about 60 miles), never got a thing. No Hummers, no playsets, no desert patrol vehicles. I was in MN for business in November and saw the Hummers, picked one up but my 3 year old broke off the door and my dog stepped on it and broke off a rear wheel. Hopefully they'll still have some when I'm back that way again.

I love the look of the PTE stuff, but I don't think it is as durable as the Chap Mei toys. My son has had one of those ATK trucks from Wal Mart for months and hasn't managed to break it, but the PTE hummer didn't last 2 weeks. I want more but I'll keep them away from the 3 year old.

I had one watchtower from before Christmas - haven't opened it yet (I save most of these for when my boy is older), but I can tell it's cool. My only hang up on buying any of it for the accessories only is that most of those can be had at a nice price from MJ's. But I probably won't be able to hold off on the base set anyway.

The bridge didn't do as much for me, but I'd grab it if it were clearanced. That's the one problem I have with Big Lots. While the stuff is at a good price to begin with, they seem to never clearance it, no matter how long it sits on the shelf.

I did grab a $1.50 adventure figure there, that has a surprising amount of customizing fodder potential to it. I'll post pics whenever I get my desk cleared off enough to do so.

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I referenced above one of the $1.50 Big Lots Adventure figs I grabbed, that has some nice custom fodder potential.

Here's what I've pulled from it so far (some customs using some parts are WIPs right now.



The head is actually very cool, and I bought 2 figures, one thinking I'd just make the head fit my 25A figs, and the other thinking I might try to dremel it down to a removable helmet for anoter fig



The vest would actually be suitable for a Cover Girl custom. I'm making a similar type of female figure (though it will be an original), and it fits very nicely



I don't have a specific use for the arms yet, but I think I will at some point, and I expect to cut some of the pouches off the legs for kibble.

There was a nice shovel with the figure, and the gun - while useless for anything I'd do as is - has a cool blad that I cut off for use on properly scaled weapons. And I also cut off the end of the barrell for use as a flashlight - see the pics for that in the next post

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Not a bad haul at all fodder-wise, for $1.50. The other adventure figs didn't fit as well for me, but the head for the demon type figure and of the egyptian figure, also $1.50 each might be useful for some.

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I just a online coupon from Big Lots for 20% off purchases. Time to go see if they have any HQ's Bridge sets, or Humvee's left.

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