Unboxing Thumpling Skylanders Giants Sidekick

What? Thumpling, Water Element Sidekick to Thumpback
Where Did You Get It?  Frito-Lay Promotion
What Did It Cost?  $2.50
Order Date:  July 15th, 2013
Arrival Date:  July 31st, 2013
Blog Link for More Info on Skylanders Giants Sidekicks: http://www.1ofwiisdom.com/2013/06/skylanders-giants-sidekicks-promo-with.html

Much to my surprise, the mail today had a special haul...

While I knew what the boxes should have inside based on the return address, I assumed I would be getting Eye-Small and Barkley, the two Skylanders Giants Sidekicks I ordered first (July 10th, 2013).  That was not the case...Inside Box (yes, BOX...I know, big upgrade) #1 was none other than Thumpling!

Here is the video showcasing the unboxing (and promo of the recent Swap Force reveal that went live on Monday!) and comparisons to his larger counterpart, Thumpback:

Here are some stand alone shots so you get a feel for the size difference etc.

Thumpling, Front:

Thumpling, Back:

Thumpback and Thumpling:

Size Chart: Giant, Regular Skylander, Sidekick:

Sidekick Reunion:

Skylanders Giants: Giant Upgrade Paths

You know the drill by now...This post will highlight all the Upgrade Paths for the Giant Characters in Skylanders Giants.  Luckily, I either have an extra of most, there was a variant/special character which allows us to check out both paths!  Where that is not the case, I plan to add another to the arsenal so we can check out the other path...I will just wait for the right sale!

If you are curious about the Newlander Upgrade Paths, click here: http://www.1ofwiisdom.com/2013/04/skylanders-giants-newlanders-upgrade.html

If you want to see the Series 2 Skylander Upgrade Paths, check this link:
COMING SOON!

Skylanders Giants Part 121: Swarm's Barberous Avenger Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 122: Crusher's Rubble Master Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 123: Granite Crusher's Rock Grinder Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 124: Hot Head's Burninator Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 125: Hot Head's Oil Baron Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 126: Tree Rex's Tree Folk Charger Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 127: Tree Rex's Lumbering Laserer Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 128: Ninjini's Ancient Djinn Magic Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 129: Scarlet Ninjini's Swords of Might Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 130: Bouncer's Robot Rocketeer Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 131: Legendary Bouncer's I-Beam Supreme Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 132: Eye-Brawl's Eye Brawler Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants Part 133: Thumpback's Up Close & Personal Upgrade Path

Skylanders Giants: Giant Upgrade Paths

Coming Soon! (ie hopefully this weekend before E3!)

This will follow the same format as the Newlander Upgrade Path Post...

I'll take each Giant and showcase their Upgrade Path...most covering both paths!

Weekly Update 2/22/2013: Skylander Hunting and Blog Info

Hey Everyone,

It is a little late, but I figure I just as well get the Weekly Update cranked out...

Skylanders Hunting

Well, we will get started with Skylanders Hunting.  Why?

Here is why...very soon we should see Molten Hot Dog, Legendary LightCore Chill, and even Wave 4...As of right now, nothing it set in stone, but we should know more very soon.

Molten Hot Dog

I can say that Molten Hot Dog IS HERE though.  Wednesday he started showing up in California Walmarts.  As of writing this (3 AM 2/22/13) I've tracked him via ebay all the way to eastern Arizona...It is just a matter of time for him to show up across the US.  I still, adamantly predict that he will be just as easy to obtain as all Walmart Exclusives...So, just be patient and buy him for $9.99.

Legendary Light Core Chill

Is still in Canada at TRU...I've yet to hear word of her crossing the border just yet.

Wave 4: Spyro, Wrecking Ball, and Ninjini

Are still overseas...we should know more on them soon.  With employees seizing virtually all variants and "hot" figures, once the boxes filter in there will be ebay listings.  I haven't skimmed things close enough to monitor whether or not our friends across the pond are seeing the remaining LightCore as well...Stay tuned for updates!

That said, I am happy to report a few firsts tonight.  Every store I went in (and I hit them all minus best buy) had traces of a recent stock of Wave 3.  Target and Walmart also had evidence that Wave 1 had been somewhat restocked...most notably, Terrafin.  Nonetheless, here are the highlights:

Target:

Toys'R'Us:

Walmart:

So, what did you see?  

Target had traces of a W1 restock...Plus, this is the first time in forever I have seen any Giants at this store.  No Hot Head, EB, or TB, BUT they did have pretty much all of W3 minus Prism Break.

Toys'R'Us: Holy cow (haven't said that in a decade or so, lol).  This was the first time I have seen Eye Brawl and Thumpback in mass quantities...I'd say there were 13 Eye-Brawls and 14 Thumpbacks.  They had quite a few Hot Heads and few W3 remnants, most notably Cynder.

Walmart: Man do I regret even entering that place.  My only motivation was of course, Molten Hot Dog.  Everyhwere I went tonight was dead...we had rain, sleet, and snow over night and it was freaking cold all day.  Naturally, that means some people are pre-destined to wander aimlessly through the aisles of Walmart.  It has to be the most crowded I've had to deal with since the holiday season...Granted, I rarely set foot in the place, but geez...this almost makes me want to forego Molten Hot Dog.  This was also about the smallest selection I've seen at this particular store.  They did have some W3 singles as well as Hot Head and Thumpback, but no Eye-Brawl.  This particular store didn't have any sign of a special display either.  If not for the picture it would have been wasted time.  Other big highlight was 2 Lightning Rod singles.

GameStop: Although not pictured, they did have the best stock, albeit in the smallest quantities, of Wave 3.

Just for the record, the Triple Packs I first reported back in January (5 & 6)...I have NEVER seen them anywhere since.  I'm sure they are shipping, but they must be going FAST.

Skylanders Giants Blind Playthrough

Blog Link: http://1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2012/10/skylanders-giants-playthrough.html

As of starting this blog post, Part 83 went LIVE on YouTube.  The uploads tonight were 81-83 which cover Intros, Stats, Upgrades, and Heroics for Cynder, Stealth Elf, and Eruptor respectively.

If you take the above link you can see what Parts 84 and beyond will be...I'll continue that trend to encourage people to actually use the link!

I will tell you this: Parts 89-91 will cover Chapter 16 and the final battle with Kaos...I only used Newlanders.

Part 92 just does random stuff like check accolades, but the real draw will be showcasing Hatterson...who has become a popular point of discussion here lately.  Currently it is the last video to be edited and ready to upload.

Part 93-94 will feature Giants ONLY taking on Kaos.

Parts 95-100 will highlight the Adventure Packs...And yes, I do think it is cool we finished on Part 100 :D

The plan now is to continue working on my "Hard File" to help the Legendaries level up etc.

The next round of recordings will likely be upgrades and/or more intros if I land W4 characters etc.  Following the upgrades I will try to 3 Star each Chapter by getting the Time Goals taken care of!

After the upgrades and Time Goals, I will begin Nightmare Mode.  I am unsure if I will 3 Star Nightmare Mode, or just do a quick playthrough to move on to another title.  The Nightmare Mode poll has a day left to vote, but it is overwhelmingly in favor of me recording Nightmare Mode...I wasn't sure if people would want to see it...clearly it is still of interest.

Skylanders Poll Battles: Castaways vs Newlanders

Check it out: http://www.1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2013/02/blog-poll-42-castaways-vs-newlanders.html

Man, this has turned out to be pretty popular yet again!  As of writing this, most polls were getting close to 100 Votes!  I think we have some killer matches in this one, and a few are within 10 votes...Boomer and Sprocket continue to remain 50/50.

I will likely stretch this one into Round 2 etc, but I also plan to launch some new Poll Battles, complete with supporting vids...so stay tuned.  

If you've got ideas, feel free to post up!

Blog Poll Archive

Speaking of Polls, earlier this week I created the Blog Poll Archive to make an easy way to track and revisit your favorite polls...I added it to the "1ofWiisdom Specials" on the Right Hand Side of the Blog...Here is the direct link: http://www.1ofwiisdom.blogspot.com/2013/02/blog-poll-archive.html

Skylanders Trading Cards

This one had become a hot topic the last few days...namely, "Why don't you open any more Skylander Cards?"  Well, the answer was simple...I couldn't find any!  Note that past tense in that previous sentence.  After posting to both Twitter and Google + about it, guess what I found at Target tonight?  Yep...Skylander cards!  Granted, someone had stashed the Jumbo Packs behind Garbage Pail kids, but I took the time to salvage them...You should see 2 new "opening" vids either this weekend, or early next week.

Movie Review: Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

Yep...expect one.  If you follow on Twitter, you likely saw me mention I watched my first movie in forever last night...Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva...I will do a combo unboxing and review of the movie...I'll keep it fairly basic...stay tuned!  It should be up over the weekend or early next week as well.

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure 3DS UPDATE

If you recall, I was working hot and heavy on this one up until getting on a Layton kick...Last night, after the Layton movie, I picked it back up...

For the first time ever, I pulled one of my 2 "Starters" and put someone else on...That was really my hold up...I have rescued 4 of the 5 seekers and just have a little left in the last area, but was really hurting from all the missed "Elemental Challenges" since I had ONLY used Dark Spyro and Ignitor the ENTIRE TIME.  Well, I am happy to say Warnado entered the picture and cleaned house on the Air Element stuff...I got the Portal out and will be working towards wrapping it up and checking out the Adventure Packs.

And just for the record, I have still yet to play Sklanders Giants 3DS, lol.  One SSA is taken care of, I will plug it on the 3DS and go to town.

Currently Playing

Wii: Skylanders Giants

Wii: Wii Fit Plus

Wii U: Darksiders II (although it has been 2 + weeks)

Wii U: Madden 2013: My Nephew has been enjoying us playing on the same team

3DS: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

3DS: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

3DS: Mario Tennis (Nephew got back into it...I'm working towards 20+ Street Pass Matches)

3DS: Find Mii II (Still vs Dark Lord for 3rd Time)

Currently Listening

Auto Audio (In the Car/Truck): Gary Allan "Set You Free" and "Get Off On the Pain"

Home Audio (At Home): Anna Nalick's 2 AM and Audioslave's "Audioslave"

--Actually, the track right now is "Shadow on the Sun," a track I really like...especially the intro.

Conclusion

Well, it is now really late...but hey, I got the Weekly Blog Update done on time...just like old times!

I hope to edit Parts 93-100 this weekend and have them ready to upload...I will also be uploading Parts 94-86  and beyond etc.

If I get the time you should see new Skylanders Giants Card Opening vids as well as the Professor Layton movie review.

Don't forget you can still vote for how you'd like me to record upgrades AND of course, the Castaways vs Newlanders polls are going strong if you've yet to vote.

Hope everyone is ready for the weekend! Good luck Giant hunting and if you come across any finds, let me know!  I will keep monitoring for Molten Hot Dog and check the ads for L-LC Chill etc.  Anything I find out, I'll post up...

I'm off to Skylands...if my mattress is Skylands anyway...

 

Skylanders Giants Unboxing Thumpback

Skylanders Giants Unboxing and Review of Thumpback

What?  Thumpback, Water Element Giant

Where Did You Get It?  GameStop, locally

How Much Did It Cost?  $14.99 plus tax

What is Included?  Thumpback, stat card, and sticker sheet with web code for Skylanders Universe

What Was Stock Like?  Last one in the store.  I've only seen the one I have in my hand locally.

What Lights Up?  Both armor plates on the wrist in a nice, deep blue.

Quick Character Info

Slogan: "Hail to the Whale!"

Stats:

Power/Strength: 150/150
Defense/Armor: 150/150
Speed/Agility: 60/150
Luck: 40/150
Totals: 400/600

Conclusion

I have to say, once I saw Thumpback in person and then especially after opening him up...I am VERY impressed.  Most of the Giants have just come in a standard pose if you will...they don't really have anything "extra" like you see with some of the regular Skylanders.  Crusher has his hammer and Thumpback was posed with his "Ultimate Anchor."  The anchor and adjoining chain really add something to the table aesthetically.  In addition to the fact he is an "accessorized" Giant, Thumpback is also detailed very, very well.

To further accent his looks, the light-up effect was well done on two fronts.  First, the blue is very nice.  Second, the fact it is spread from end-to-end is much appreciated.  Those two together combine to showcase a very nice, bright light.

I have heard nothing but good things regarding Thumpback and I am excited to see how he plays.

Eye Brawl and Thumpback in the Near Future!

Hey Everybody!

How about some REALLY awesome news to start 2013?  Well, this should suffice.

While skimming the net today I found 2 very good leads on the potential release of both Thumpback, the Water Element Giant, and Eye Brawl, the Undead Element Giant.

Before calling my local GameStop I checked online to make sure the release date on the Scorpion Striker Battle Pack with Hot Dog and Zap was in fact pushed back to 1/9/2013.  That sadly turned out to be the case and I got confirmation when I called in...

However, when on GameStop.com I found the packaging proof had been added for BOTH Thumpback and Eye Brawl!!

This is a big deal because that is what GameStop has done in the past before a new character was up for sale...You can also note that they have  yet to add the Wave 3 Single Packs to that coveted list, so I am thinking it is imminent that we will see both Giants very soon.

Checking around elsewhere, I turned up on Amazon link to Thumpback...with the packaging proof, yet another encouraging sign!

As of right now I do not know solid dates, but I will update this post as the info trickles in...

Here are some helpful links:

Eye Brawl at GameStop:
http://www.gamestop.com/toys/skylanders-giants-eye-brawl-individual-character-pack/105996

Thumpback at GameStop:
http://www.gamestop.com/toys/skylanders-giants-thumpback-individual-character-pack/106002

Thumpback on Amazon:

Thumpback Amazon

Eye Brawl at Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Skylanders-Giants-Giants-Eye-Brawl-Universal/21309831

Thumpback at Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Skylanders-Giants-Giants-Thumpback-Universal/21309832

Personally I am more excited for Eye Brawl, but I know the vast majority seems to want Thumpback.

Stay tuned for updates and good luck landing the new Giants!

*Update 1/2/13 5 AM (so much for getting to bed earlier in 2013): It looks like several sources are saying we will see Thumpback and Eye Brawl hit on the 9th and that we can expect Ninjini mid-to-late January.  I obviously can not confirm this and would still call it speculation, but they have to come out some time, right?!

I also want to point out that there remains a good chance we could see some straggling characters like Wrecking Ball or Spyro in their S2 repose hit the shelves.

I'm still waiting on the assignment of any Triple Packs, although at this point it is likely I'd only be up for the tail end of them (could see all S2 in a few)...

I will update again as new or confirmed info arrives.

Updated 1/4/2013 to add Walmart Links.