AXC: buy it not! - yoda

this page will be a continuation from "marketing: why?", except this will be looking at companies like MAGICBOX again to SEE what they are tryna do with their brands.

[this will only cover brands I've looked into or collected in the past/a lot of current brands]

[BTW, because I was around 8/9, this list will also include AXC listings. AXC stands for A Xmas Craze, because I could not think of a better name - infact, lets call this 'AXC' item 'CorporateCraftiness', because WhyTheHellNot?!?!?!]

ZURU-

I only discovered zuru cos of smashers. at least, that's what I remember.

-smashers [I was 11 when it launched]

the concept really weirded me out, and the series theme caught me off guard [it was sports] I really didn't expect that!

when series 2 rolled around, I was already giving up on smashers, cos the "gross" concept felt a bit lazy.

[EDIT 13 MAY 2023: CONTEXT: everyone was doing 'gross' at the time, but my opinion would've changed had they gone for the 'scary' theme that was in prototype form]

I can't really remember how I discovered series 3, but the concept of a "multi-layer" thing was already being used by other companies [like moose], so I decided to see what they were going to do next.

I only found out about the ice-age series cos of youtube. all it was is them just sticking blue and white on series 3. DAS IT

by this point, I was thinking that they would scrap smashers altogether. until I looked at their website. you can imagine how much of a facepalm I had when I realized all they did for the Dino Light Up series was add lights to the concept for series 3. THAT'S 2 YEARS THEY'VE BEEN USING THE SAME CONCEPT!!!!!!

[if there are any more series in future, I will update [NOT EDITS]

UPDATE - Dino Island - I found it while looking for pictures for my FRS videos on YouTube. THEY! CAN'T! DECIDE! ON! A! THEME! PIRATES! DINOSAURS! WHAT

UPDATE - Monster Trucks. this is still smashers, right? RIGHT??? I found this while doing research for the new green light-up dinos, and yes, before you ask, they have been sticking with dinos for 4 series now [series 3 dino, ice age dino, light-up dino, dino island], so HOPEFULLY if this new MUNSTER TRUCCS thingy does well, they might forget about dinos entirely and move on to something new, and if they do that, I'll do absogaminglutely* NATHING [*THAT WAS A LUDUS REF, DO YOU SEE?????????]

UPDATE: they've got a new Junior Dinosaur Dig thing coming out that's directed at youngest kids. now, because I want to be fair, I'm not counting this towards a series, as they aren't mainly "smashers", but another smaller range [?] of things

UPDATE: they've finally trashed dinosaur geezers! they've replaced them with Horror House - which is strangely odd, considering I was watching Terror Towers earlier... sPoOkEy!!!1111!!

UPDATE: THEY HAVENT TRASHED DINOS THEYRE DOING THE ORANGE DINOS AGAIN SCREW IT

[PS-Dino Light Up counts as series 4. WOT]

MGA-

ready 2 robot- [I was 11]

can't remember where I found out about this series. all I do remember is it being a really big concept.

EDIT 13 MAY 2023: 'big concept' meant IT WOZ EVRYWHEAR]

when I found out about series 1.1/series 2/wreck racers, I was trying to look for them. catch was, they were not in stores where I was looking! [I'm convinced they weren't actually shipped to the UK at this point]

VIVID-

fungus amungus- [I was 8]

found out about batch 1 through a TV ad. [only time that happened]

can't remember about batch 2 or 3, but I do remember being really confused trying to find any batch 4 products. [they did not exist, even though they had clearly planned it and teased it in the B3 CollectorFile]

edit - found out that B3 actually came out in 2017, the year before TRU shut doown, so maybe vivid caught wind of how the shop chain would ... DISMANTLE completely and decided to jump ship before they could bring them out in the US. unfortunately for the printing department, the B3 collector files were already printed, hence why they have a B4 teaser in them with no actual batch 4

SPIN MASTER-

flush force- [I was 8/9]

can't remember where or how I found out about this series...all I do remember is being really confused about series 2 [they were in the ARGOS catalogue, but not in stock.* HOW?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!]

[*every time we asked for a series 2 product, they came back with series 1. something tells me whoever printed the KATLOGG didn't check with the stock OR spinmaster pulled out of the thing where they ship the products over [really likey, because flushforce ended after series 2]

hatchimals- [I was 8/9] [AXC]

the concept was alright, but it got a collectables series. [that kind of wrecked the brand]

different gimmicks were tried- all of them lasted for about 5 months after launch.

["and everyone was SCALPING this, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ghghhgnhbnh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111`1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111211!!!!!!!!12gfjgtjgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!23gtfgvhgfhfhgfhfvgtrkgfviotkigfvitrki!!!!!!"]

MAGICBOX-

[this one is a given. of COURSE I'm gonna talk about this one]

zomlings- [I was 7 when it launched]

this one was on and off for me. what I mean by that is I would get 1 series then leave it for the next. other, than that, not much.

S1 - ONLY 2

S2 - NONE

S3 - MAD CRAZY BUYING

S4 - MAD CRAZIE BYEING

S5 - MADCRAZIEBUYING

S6 - MADCRAZIEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

star monsters- [I was 9/10]

I went mad for these. buying packs left and right. I was really weirded out by no series 3. [infact, HEARS some HISTRY. I was in my local CO-OP [after POINTLESS school] looking for what I thought was a dark yellow star monsters stand.]

superzings/superthings- [I was 10]

I found out about these when I went to my local SAINS. again, buying packs left and right.

found out about series 2 in a magazine I used to read. I started to plan out the series in full. that means buying everything all at once to avoid going to the shops everytime. [the same formula was used for series 3 onwards]

series 3/4/5/secret spies/power machines/kazoom kids/guardians of kazoom I found on youtube. [WATER surprise. I found out about rescue force while looking on the 'net, I found a picture from Toyfair London 2022, and made a YouTube video about it. at the time, it was the first video with the new series]

series 6, 7 and 8 were a PAIN to get because of OVID19 [the entertainer where we got series 2 was closed due to OVID, so instead we waited a bit longer so secret spies was in Hanley SAINS/power machines - we just AMAZON/kazoom kids was a bigger pain then secret spies, because again, cos of ovid, was out of stock EVERYWHERE, and as such, that entertainer had little to no stock at all, and we wound up buying all nearly all of it on AMAZON - the 2 things we DID get were a full box of 50 1 packs, and a full box of 12 kazoom sliders - we were one of the first [if not the first] people to take anything from it. as an added BOUNS, I stood there, looking like a right idiot feeling ALL the other blind bags [a open 1 pack box, a open kazoom slider box] for NEONBLAST, and he was not there, due to how rare he is. GUESS WHAT? the missing silvers we just EBAY, due to the shops not having the blister 4s in stock due to OVID]

UPDATE 3 DEC 2022 - NEON POWER - first found it through the Feb 2023 MB catalogue

gogo's crazy bones [3rd gen]

the only gogo's series I had at the time was series 4 [power].

I found it in a HOME BARGAINS out of all places. [the one in affinity when it was called Freeport*]

[around 2014, so I would've been around 7]

all the other series I discovered way after this]

*WARNING, just cos it was called Freeport doesn't mean everything was free. don't get confused! [also, Affinity is a walking FurAffinity ref for me now...the internet is alive]

MOOSE

the trash pack--on and off. [I was 3. and, because of my age, the only series I got was-2/4 [in a magazine] and 5]

grossery gang-can't remember how I found it. buying left and dead centre. [I was 9 [I think]]

AXC - magic mixies.* [2021/14]

the concept is really strange-and if that wasn't enough, Stephen Mulhern has been paid - I mean told about the product.

I feel like the whole thing is a weird dream-a guy who I have not seen on any kid's thing since 2010 [that's when CITV'S TRICKEY TEAVEE!! ended] + weird concept. [but that's just an excuse to purchase it, which I think is NO]

[*if I ever get a domain name, I might call this site 'MEMESFORYOUDOTCOM.COM', because THATSFUNY,ROIGHT?!?!]

*I just think they will just do a hatchimals and try more gimmicks to keep it relevant.

EDIT - 20 MAY 2022 - turns out that I was right all along - they've got a collectable series now. another pain to live with now they've got more LIMITID EDISON items

EDIT - 9 JULY 2023 - i'm a fyootcher predicter. wanna no y???! well i discovered earlier that THEY'RE COPYING HATCHIMALS AGAIN WITH MAGIC MIXIES PIXLINGS. THESE ARE ACTAULLY VERY CLOSE TO THE RECENT HATCHIMALS THINGIES, ONLY WITH A POTION-THING STAPLED ON THE END

OH, and before I forget, there's this message on the MOOSE website that says [and I quote] -

'please note: only buy magic mixies from local reputable retailers.'

what does this mean? SCALPERS.

keep that comment in your head when I tell you that there are still sellers selling a $69.99 [lol] product [on EBAY] for the following -

-£74.99

-£85.99

-£91.00

-£94.48

-£111.73

-116.23

-149.99

yeah, moose, that comment from earlier will DEFO stop scalpers! - - EDIT 13 MAY 2023: this message was removed a few months ago, and was never seen again. wonder why that is...

BTW, do NOT buy into this money-stalking kind of thing. all the adverts on YOOTOOB make it look really good, but don't be fooled [obvz]. here's what I mean.

if you go onto the VERY app [or amazon], you can see that consumers were SENT the bloody damn 70 POUND product, only for a good amount to leave BAD reviews about how the 70POUNDPRODUCTFORKIDS doesn't EVEN WORK.

don't know what I'm talking about? well, the main gimmick with this AXC is the fact it has mist in it. yeah, I know. anyway, apparently, the 'mist-vial-container-gubbin' LEAKED OUT and DAMAGED EVERYTHING inside the pack. how much does a refill cost? £10. and I'm pretty sure they won't send you any free if the pack came like that anyway. amazon - 16% 1-star. VERY - 4-1-star. that means LOADS...i think. I rest my case. this kind of marketing is bad. really, really BAD... AND BY BAD WE DON'T MEAN GOOD

[OH, and there's a store exclusive one. that concept needs to stop, too - ebay has more scalpers selling that 'limited edition' version.

EDIT 19 JUN 2022 - they don't seem to care about 2021's lot anymore, [waiting for SEPT, so they can RELEASE THE NEXT LOT] so they listed the walmart-ex version on their website, OGTGTRDYH

EDIT 31 AUG 2022 - they've got a crystal ball out soon. it's just a PlayStation Move ripoff, other than that exactly the same. you need 10 batteries to get everything to work [included, but still]. refills are still a thing, which is a pain. AND WE CANT FORGET THE ABSURD AMOUNTS OF TROUBLESHOOTING VIDEOS AND STORE-EXCLUSIVE ONES!!!1111!!!!

EDIT 20 DEC 2022 - they've got new colour change things out 1st jan. these are no where near as X-PENSIVE as the first lots, so I'll go a bit easier on them. it seems they're treating this like treasure X, so that must be doing well for them.

there's no electronics at all, so no technical flaws or anything. the one other thing I can say is that the packaging looks like the things I would see on my APPZ series of videos

EDIT 9 JULY 2023 - additional guff for the 20 quid range: fire and water. THIS! CONCEPT! HAS! BEEN! DONE! FOR! THE! LAST! FOUR! BILLION! TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT 10 AUG 2023: I'M TOO BUSY FOR TH---- anyway, they've got a genie lamp out soon, and, like all the times, am going to talk about it and possibly poke fun at it for being so X-PENSIVE.

so right, you've got a lamp you apparently have to rub so start the misting thing. 2 things here, Moose. first up is the BOATLOAD of Smokey/Jenji refs I can make on the grounds that he comes from MagiShine's laser lamp in both MSMR and PRMF. second up is ... the truckload of innuendos I can make off the back of 'rubbing the lamp to get it to smoke'. yes, really. suddenly 'rub the lamp, create your pet' doesn't sound so PG anymore

EDIT 11 SEPT 2023: alright, I've sort of missed this one on account of it not being MAGIC MIXIES, but I'm going to talk about it anyway: COOKEEZ makery. dunno if this is the first of a million, but here we are. there's a few things I need to go over first...

1. £39.00 price. it's X-PENSIVE, but there's the BOUNS of it A. not needing refills and B. there's not many chances for technical flaws like with Magic Mixies

2. it works like the Zomlings Magic Trick School. yes, really. there's a sort of lift system

3. one of the taglines, which made me want to implode - "the only plush you make with love". of course, me being a furry and all that, the obvious thing to say here would be something explicit, but I'm not going to do that.

I TOLD LIES! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

4. this is not a holiday item, it came out about July time, hence why I'm late to talk about it. this of course means that it WILL be marketed along Magic Mixies and all the lot, but it ALSO won't be stupidly flawed like Magic Mixies [hopefully]

5. YHERE;S ALSO AN EXCLUDVE ONE FOR SOME RESON¬¬¬!!!1!!!!!1111!!!!1111!!11!11!!!!!1!!!!1!!!!! [dont ask why there's an exclusive one, it just happens to be the thing Moose likestodoforsomereason]

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MOAR. turns out there's ANOTHER THING that's BRAN NOO at time of writing - BEAST LAB. this is a TOTAL CLONE OF MAGIC MIXIES, but it's treated like COOKEEZ for some reason. I actually thought this thing was from ZURU to start out with, but it's not. there's mist so of course it's a Mixies clone, but also it looks like a fusion of GOOJITZU and AKEDO, which is the weirdest combo ever. it's basically YODZILLA but Fungus Amungus*

but also MR BEAST LAB [I made this joke before he got the rights to it, ouch] also has refills AND technikal floors, MAKING IT A TOTAL RIPOFF OF MAGIC MIXIES. gender roles, who'd ave em? KNOT ME

*DRIP DROP IS THE IMPOSTER, DIDNT YOU KNOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

EDIT 8 JAN 2024 - new thing for BL - BIOMITES. basically TP S7 - JANK JERMS, but also with fizz and you "create them"? are they running oot of ideas?!

EDIT 28 JAN 2024 - new thing for CM - TOASTY TREATZ. it's another ALIVE FUDZ item, but you put the uwu bread in and it pops back out as a scented plushie. the second item in this range and I'm already confused somehow

EDIT 12 JUL 2024 - the new SeptLot have appeared for Cookeez - freezie treatz. while it may sound new, it's EXACTLY THE SAME concept as the first little lot. it's a fridge and not an oven, so it's the same idea, just with a different skeleton. argh why did i say that

as for the pancakes lot, well it's just a bunch of hinges. again, there's not technikal floors, so that's really good for the lots who are getting this. my only real COMPLAINER about it is the slime you use, it all depends on if yous can save it or not

EDIT 3 OCT 2024 - I went on toyworld today, and I found out that HATCHIMALS ARE RETURNING TO THEIR ROOTS. but why? yous lot know why - so they can fight moose in the BUSINESS WARS! this lot is called HATCHIMALS ALIVE, and at first glance, yeah, it seems like they've come back with all the flawed lots as the first 2016 lot. which is only half true - a closer look will reveal 2 more things...

1. they've decided to make 5 total lots - and they've made 3 store exclusive [amazon, target and walmart]. this is actually WORSE than what magic mixies pulled with the store exclusive items before, I mean, at least they only did one and not three. think of the SKALPERZ, spinmaster!

2. taking a look at the product features, you'll find out that they've only gone and nicked off with the mist idea from magic mixies, which is extra sneaky, considering the most recent mixies release with mist was LAST YEAR, which, in business terms, is basically last week. I'm so sorry but this is totally abysmal, mates

EDIT 9 NOV 2024 - we're back on with cookeez, cos they've got new lots coming out soon - yum yumz singles. no clue if "yum yumz" is a new sub-set, it's not branded as "series 1", BUT that doesn't mean that they won't do more. BUT WHAT IS IT, THOUGH??? is a question I WOULD be asking if they were not basically just blind boxes, there's no "reveal" element to it, which seems a bit anticlimactic, but whatevs - it's moose, after all. they'd have come out with a hot fridge or a cold oven by sept next year anyways

EDIT 19 DEC 2024 - so right, I was looking at magic mixies on the moose site to see if they sneaked out with something extrawhile I wasn't looking. turns out I was sort of right - they've re-engineered the cauldron from 2021 to only be one colour, and with different packaging. it was weird, so I gave it a google search thinking it was a form of overstock, but no - this is the same lot but with less stuff in it, and it has the same price, because of course it does

ok, that's this page finished. that's it.

how many brands have I put?

well-IDK

other brands-

hasbro-they are doing the power rangers gubbins at the moment. [and not a very good job of it if I'm honest]

EDIT 11/MAY 2024 - turns out, they got tired of everyone slamming them for mucking it up. SO THEY'RE SELLING THE TOY RIGHTS TO PLAYMATES TOYS!!! who also did the last lot of Ben 10 merch... that was also owned by Bandai US. I'm detecting a pattern here... THEY ALL DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING

drumond park-I know them for The Box Of Shocks. now that's shocking!* they're also British, so THATHELPS, BLOKES!

*but that was a terrible joke, so don't bother laughing at it. also, WHO AT THE MAD PLACE CAME UP WITH THAT IDEA?!?!?!?!

EDIT - 22 DEC 2021 - I just had the idea to count the amount of ADVERTS made to market hatchimals/magic mixies [since this is DEC]

hatchimals - 15+ over 5 or so years

magic mixies - 15 on 1 year. yes. 15 in 1 year. now take into account what I said earlier...

they both have more than 15. INTER-ESTING. now take into account what I said earlier. YES, AXC are money-stalkers, and will trick ANYONE into getting their wallets out and going BLAAAA until they get their hands on one [that'll mean going on EBAY and paying scalpers, because they were out of stock in-store, obviously]