A warm welcome once again to my fellow readers to yet another random blog-post by Adam aka WSX! Well, first of all, I would like to mention that I currently am planning to obtain this beast of a super-rare combiner gift-set (fingers crossed) sometime by the end of the year, and, as such, obviously, I currently do NOT own any version of this awesome gestalt D-328 Dinoking, be it his American version which goes by the name of Monstructor or the Japanese Victory series. I have my eye on the prize, so to speak, and can't reveal the source of the seller who has intimated of a definite sighting of a Dinoking giftset --price is not an issue, as the seller is pivvy to A POSSIBLE * pay-as you go monthly installment arrangement via PayPal. It sounds like a long-shot, IMHO, but any collector who is worth his salt would try and get this awesome collection by which ever means he/ she can!! >:-)
Picture above of one of the insane auction price from Ebay is linked to Heroic Decepticon's blog! Thanks-man!
Thus, as I mentioned before, the blogger in me is simply just going to post, link and give my personal views on the said Dinoking giftset, individual toys, and how with time, (like most of the toys from the successfully popular Transformers Victory series), the overall value and inflation factors had played havoc on it's valuation. The main reason for this blog-post however, is to reflect on an "eBay-bidding war" experience which I had earlier in the week. Oh man, did I ever feel the full effect & "geist" of adrenaline-pumping fight to despairingly put in the winning margin in order to win the lot of individually boxed- Dinoforce members. Needless to say, the auction ended at the "acceptable" price of just over USD $1,500! Glad that I wasn't the person paying for that! Phew! LOL!
JEEZ, THAT MUCH FOR SIX PLASTIC TOYS AND DINO-SHELLS?!
*All pictures, linked & credited, courtesy of Seibertron.com!
TECH SPECS
As one might expect of a Transformer combining the entire Dinoforce, he's the top Destron when it comes to being violent. His rival is Landcross, the Cybertrons' Multiforce gestalt. He's pushing to become Emperor of Destruction, and if left alone, he won't stop what he's doing 'til he drops dead.
Personal experience of crazy "endurance bidding" aside, here have only been a handful of Dinoking sightings on the Ebay market-place, or as I personally like to call it, "Evil bay! -- the latest one after my "botched" attempt at snapping up those individual boxed ones, here is another copy-cat and more daring and ridiculously inflated priced listing for yet another (yellowed box and plastic tray inserts! No-go for me!) Sometimes I wonder, if the price is worth the value of the toy or in this case, this supposedly uber-rare giftset consisting of just six individually different (beautifully crafted and made) Dinosaur shells/ and accessories to combine six tiny 5-7 inches robots into a 10-12 inch figure in height. Hefty "investment" if you will, unnecessarily crazy-expensive to even fathom, one might think...well...THE TRUTH of the matter is blindingly obvious to this avid Transformer collector-- Yes, the collector in me tends to overlook the issue of price and valuation, but also, the rational and sensible part of me has rejected the notion of justifying the purchase of such an unnecessary buy,.. However, ultimately, WSX has to see
through the potential deal from the local seller in due course! Stay tuned, people!
BUT THOSE ARE ONE-OFF AND UNIQUE!!
In a nut shell, we all know as well as I do, that the human wants are unlimited, but somehow, we can find other means of getting a really sought-after item if we pull our thoughts and resources together. SINCE THESE TOYS WILL UNLIKELY SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY to be re-released in the near future, this will most likely go down in Transformers collecting history as the most sought-after versions ever, (yes, to those Monstructor fan-boys) --DINOSAURS Rule. Nuff said!
FINAL VERDICT
AS A "PINT-SIZED-COMBINER"-- DINOKING'S OVERALL COLOUR SCHEME IS MILES BETTER THAN THAT OF MONSTRUCTOR'S, HANDS DOWN. THIS, ADDING TO THE FACT THAT THE GIFTSET IS A HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER COLLECTOR'S "GRAIL" IS ONE OF THE MANY REASONS THAT THE PRICE HAS INFLATED OVER THE YEARS BEYOND THE REALM OF RATIONAL THINKING . PERSONALLY, I LOVE THE ONE-OFF CRAFTED DINOSAUR SHELLS/ PRETENDER UNITS WITH SENTIENT BEHAVIOR, PLUS THE COMEDY ( IN THE SHAPE OF THE KIND-HEARTED AND BUMBLING Kakuryū) AND REPENTANT WAYS SHOWN BY THE MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY
- THE LEADER OF THE DINOFORCE, IN THE LATER PART OF THE SERIES, is an endearing factor which fills me up with nostalgia. love the way the characters are crafted into the story!). THIS IS NOT A MISSION IMPOSSIBLE FOR HARD-CORE COLLECTORS, HOWEVER, THOSE CASUAL ONES SHOULD BE WARNED THAT COLLECTING THIS BEASTLY BUT BEAUTIFUL COMBINER IS CERTAINLY NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED! A BIG RESOUNDING A+++++!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
DINOKING & TRANSFORMERS VICTORY COPYRIGHT 1989 TAKARA CO. LTD. JAPAN
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Kuala Lumpur Time