It’s been a little while since my last post, and I do plan on writing about something more festive than just a pickups post. But for now, here are some of things I’ve picked up since October! It’s not quite as a varied or long list as the previous posts, as I’ve been concentrating on de-cluttering and selling on eBay instead of buying myself things, and what I have been buying has mainly been Christmas presents for other people. But here we are!

VHS Tapes!

I mentioned in a previous post how I’ve started a video collection. I’ve still yet to actually get a video player, but that’s another matter. I spotted this lot on a facebook page, and the cardboard Child’s Play VHS cases piqued my interest. Generally, cardboard VHS cases are not a thing I remember ever seeing in the UK, aside from blank tapes you could buy to record onto and perhaps rented cases from Blockbusters. When I first saw one of the early Cinemassacre videos on YouTube, that I was surprised how different their VHS cases were to ours, which were nearly always hard plastic cases. I don’t remember how much I paid for these exactly, but I think it was just over £20. The first Child’s Play case is supposedly a little scarcer to find as it’s a display case for stores, prior to Child’s Play getting an age certificate. I’d never heard of Boat House before, but a Google search of all of the actors in the movie reveals it was also released as Prime Suspicion, but I can’t find much else about it. Perhaps it’s a slasher classic or perhaps it’s a load of shit, but until I can source a working VHS player, it shall temporarily remain a mystery!

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Nintendo Switch!

I was a stranger to the Witcher until binging the series on Netflix last year. I’d owned the Witcher 2 for the Xbox 360 for a while now, but hadn’t ever gotten around to playing it. Quite unlike my usual and borderline OCD habits of ensuring I begin at the start of the series and playing each installment subsequently, I jumped into this adventure on the Switch. I very much have enjoyed it so far, but where everyone has always told me for every sequel game ever “Oh you don’t need to play the previous games to understand what’s happening in this one”, this must be the exception to that rule. Because if I’d never seen the Netflix series, I’d know f-all, as this game is so full of references to the previous games or characters that are supposed to be familiar to me. The only saving grace was that I was recognized some of the core characters after having ‘met’ them over the duration of the Netflix show.

Aside from that, I’m very much enjoying the Witcher. Like every game I play which has swords or amour that break over time, I’m pissed off that I’m always needing to go out of my way to find a blacksmith to repair my shit so as I don’t get decimated by overly powerful monsters, but that’s my only real niggle at the moment. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite open-world game (I’m still feeling pretty wowed by Horizon Zero Dawn that I got for Christmas and finished a couple of months ago) but it’s a lot of fun.

Panzer Dragoon, Nintendo Switch!

Another series I was previously unfamiliar with, as have never owned or played a Sega Saturn console in which this series first appeared on. But being a fan of on-rails shooters and dragons, I couldn’t resist picking up this Switch remake when it came up on Limited Run Games. It didn’t take long to finish but as I’ve said before, I’m at that age where I welcome a chance to have a short but fun gaming experience over a long and drawn out one. I look forward to seeing if there will be any other Panzer Dragoon titles released for the Switch, as if they’re all as fun as this, then I’d deffo add a few more to my Switch collection.

Star Wars Jedi Knight/Jedi Outcast dual pack, Nintendo Switch!

It’s been a long time since I last purchased a new Star Wars game. I was gifted Battlefront back in 2015, but it was one of a very small amount of games in recent years that I instantly traded in. It just wasn’t a title I enjoyed, as I wasn’t a fan of the lack of a single player experience and EA’s heavy focus on online play. Since then, I’ve steered clear of anything EA has put out with a Star Wars logo on it, which hasn’t really been very much to be honest. But when I saw this two-pack of classic Star Wars Expanded Universe shenanigans come up on Limited Run, I knew I needed them! I’ve yet to get around to playing these Switch ports, but I know I’ll be in for a treat when I do, as I’ve played both of them before, and both are awesome adventures. As long as LRG keep releasing physical switch version of classic Star Wars video games, I’ll keep buying them! I already have the episode I Podracer game ordered!

Evercade games!

The Evercade is a cracking little system, and the constant release of more cartridges ensures that there’s always something new to pick up and play. Without a doubt, the Oliver Twins collection is my absolute favourite of my Evercade collection to date, as getting to play Dizzy NES games that were exclusive to the US exclusive Aladdin deck enhancer was brilliant, considering I’d had been looking out for Aladdin deck enhancers on eBay for the longest time. I’ve not really played anything other than all the Dizzy games, but I look forward to trying them all out.

MEGO Horror Figures!

Although MEGO figures are something that were popular before my time, I’ve always liked the look of them, and had purchased the Diamond Select remakes of the old MEGO Captain Kirk and Klingon years ago (I might post about them on here one of the days), but after seeing some of the recent action figure offerings from the recent MEGO Corporation, I had to pick up Freddy Krueger and Pennywise. Most figures I can’t help but tear from the cardboard prisons, but I think I might keep these on the card, as they display quite nicely like this. Gosh, is this what growing up is?

Bif Bang Pow Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Figures in Tin Lunchbox!

I’ve been on a classic Doctor Who binge of late, and after looking at modern Mego figures, I recently picked this tin up containing the first and eleventh doctors. I remember seeing these figures back when they were released in 2013, but at the time I was in no position to be buying them, so after having a few funds in my paypal through selling off some older toys, I decided I’d pick them up. They’re neat little figures and the fabric clothing reminds me of Action Man toys I had as a kid. I liked these figures so much, that I’ve since bought the fourth Doctor, a Sontaran, a Cyberleader and the Master. I’m just looking for the Bif Bang Pow Tardis to go with them now, but they don’t come up often and not at a price I’m happy to pay! Hopefully in the near future one will materialize.

Godzilla/King Kong Kaiju Soft Vinyl Figures! (Bandai Movie Monsters, Y-MSF and Raymundo)

I have a small collection of Kaiju figures now, and the ones I don’t have seem to command quite a high price. As I’d sold quite a bit the last few months, I decided to splurge a little and pick up a few of the rarer soft vinyl figures I was wanting from Japanese auction sites, so I now own a Bandai Movie Monsters 1968 Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, a Y-MSF Kong based on his depiction in the Skull Island movie, and a Raymundo King Kong and Mecha Kong. I love my collection of Japanese monsters as I somehow owned a bunch of Godzilla and Ultraman soft vinyl figures as a small boy in the early ’90s, which inspired me to start a new collection as an adult. One of the days I will get around to covering some of them on here!

So there we go! That’s my my most recent interesting things pickups! It’s a little earlier this month, as with Christmas nearing, I didn’t want to have too much to write about in one post, so I figured I’d do it sooner than usual. I’ll hopefully get onto some more festive themed things soon though!