While not everyday went super smooth, Summer really did slip by me. Now we really could get snow any time now, though it will most likely melt in the early weeks. One never knows, I gotta think of last year where we had one initial slushy snow drop that did mostly melt early on, but then not too far after another big drop of snow that stayed. It was a good solid drop, not a real gradual set-in to winter drop at all.
But snow is only one part of the onset of the fall-winter season; Fleet farm toyland is opening up this mid-October!
In the big box stores realm, most that are national seem to have a year-round toy department, not so much Fleet farm. I never really paid attention to the seasonal toyland, much like I never paid attention to spring lawn and garden season. Fleet farm is a big box hardware store, essentially, except no-where near the scope of Home depot or Menards. There is the twin Farm and Fleet stores, though, and they also have a seasonal toyland.
I only started paying attention when I saw, what must have been in 2004, the Joe Ice Sabre, and Quickstrike vehicles listed in their flyer. For nearly half the price of what I paid at ShopKo just a couple months prior. I have to see if I can find that advertisement, I hang on to a lot of stuff and may still have it sitting around. The Crimson Command Chopper and the Desert NAC were also listed in a Fleet farm flyer, maybe even in that same year, or the previous...another flyer page I may still have.
While these aren't unheard of low prices, they usually seem like at least one dollar less than the other stores locally. (which those stores drop their prices to match)
This years flyer as you have seen at the top has alpha vehicles and figures. If I remember right, it's a standard $6.99 vs. a lower $5.89 a figure, which is pretty decent. Were the new alphas at stores $14.99 or $15.99? Either way, a couple dollars less is nice.
And what's pictured here, may not be what is in the store. It could end up being all RoC figures. Or none at all, as this happened with the CCC and NAC choppers here; they were found in pallet loads at other stores, but none at the one in town.
In the end, I might browse in a couple weeks after the extremely mad rush on opening week, and really might not buy anything. It's fun to look, though.