Family Dollar Terminator: Salvation 2-Packs

Back in 2009, we were subjected to the craptastic Terminator: Salvation. Like Terminator: Rise of the Machines, it was a sequel that just didn’t seem to understand what had made the first two installments so great. Lesser directors, lesser actors, and increasingly convoluted continuities made for a muddled mess that was no longer entertaining. That simple, unyielding dread of being all alone, on the run from an unstoppable, single-minded killing machine just wasn’t there.

The fact that the film underperformed at the box office probably contributed to the lack of demand for the movie toy line, but I think the real problem was that the main consumer base had little interest in it and that it was far too simple to attract the collectors. The figures had basic articulation, uninspired accessories, and sculpting that looked very rough. With NECA producing far superior, collector-centric toys like the Pescadero Escape Terminator, a toy based on a far more successful installment of the franchise, the Playmates versions weren’t long for this world.

In the 3^rd quarter of 2009 – just a few months after the toys came out – Playmates announced that the line was dead.

Before that happened though, they did release a sub-line of action figures, only 2 inches tall, at the discount chain, Family Dollar. These toys were sold in packs of two and cost about $3.00 US at the start. As the entire line was on its way to the graveyard by the time these appeared, there’s very little info on them on the web. I have to guess that they didn’t sell well either, because it looks like one of the distributors here got their hands on the leftovers.

There are four packs of 2 figures each.

1. Marcus & T-600
2. T-600 & T-700
3. Battle Damage Marcus & John Connor
4. Barnes & T-RIP

 

I got my first 2-pack (Marcus & T-600) at Robinson’s Galleria at only Php 30.00, but that must have been a mistake, because when they brought out the other 3 sets the week after, they were back to Php 50.00 each. The back of the card makes me feel as if Playmates just wanted to get these out there on the double, because they didn’t even bother to print it in color, AND they got the assortment wrong. The T-600 with the pseudo-skin hanging off it comes with the Marcus figure. That’s all right with me since that means it’s easier to army build the bare bones T-600 (and T-700) with its nifty little mini-gun.

It sucks that they couldn’t have done the same with the helmeted John Carter and stuck him with the T-RIP. I would have bought tons of those so I could have a shiny metal mob fighting a squad of generic soldiers. Barnes just doesn’t work as well for that.

  

The toys are about the same in terms of sculpting as the 1:18 scale line, even if they are at 1:48 scale. Since they’re smaller, though, they look better to me. The details that look dull on the 4” figure look pretty impressive on one that’s only 2” tall. The best of the lot has got to be the T-600, with its gun metal finish and the dark crannies. The T-700 is too dark and comes with a boomerang (bent I-beam - whatevs), and the T-RIP’s pose looks kind of awkward.

Speaking of, the humans all look more robotic that the robots. I’m not sure why they’ve been sculpted like this, but all 4 of the human figures are standing ramrod straight, arms hanging parallel to the sides. Lego mini-figures have more expression.

The articulation is about what you’d expect for a line this cheap: 4 points, maybe 5 if the figure happens to have a neck (not all of them do). Actually, make that only 3 points, since most of the figures’ legs move together at the hip, not individually. The T-600 is the only one among them that can kick.

The real draw, I think, for these figures is that 1) they’re cheap as hell, and 2) they’re 2” tall, making them the perfect size to fit with many Transformers.

If you happen to have collected the various Human Alliance Transformers like Autobot Whirl or Backfire, they fit great with the human figures that come with the robots. They might not fit inside all the vehicle forms, but they are roughly the same scale, so they’re great for building a crowd.

 

 

Like most toys in the bargain bin, I probably would have never picked this up at the regular suggested retail price. $3.00 is roughly Php 150.00. While that's not a fortune, it still makes me stop and think, "do I really need this in my collection?"

However, at Php 50.00, or even better, at Php 30.00, that sort of nonsense is automatically circumvented by my inner gastador, which immediately replies to the question with, "YES."