Batman Begins (Manta Lab Exclusive #53) (WEA 4K UHD/2D Blu-ray Steelbook) [Hong Kong]

[damships]

6 minutes ago, Squeegie McGee said:

Not necessarily, you're just going to have to ask while requesting it. After that it's a matter of playing go fish

 

Definitely sounds like a fishing situation lol. Thanks I'm going to look into it. 

[FlanInTheFace]

50 minutes ago, damships said:

I'm new to this hobby, but I really only plan on buying premiums for my absolute favorite films. Pretty much all the Nolan films and perhaps some other sci-fi classics I hold to high esteem. I'm more than willing to pay a reasonable extra amount for these via eBay, Mercari, Discord, etc. That's just the reality of the situation.

 

I'm still going to try as a Regular member, but if it's something you're passionate about I think it's good to set an expectation of just getting it via third party. If you're going in thinking you're absolutely getting it, there's only room for disappointment. 

 

I can see though if you're collecting like EVERYTHING, then it would be stressful as all hell. 

Lol I said the exact same thing, as I’m sure everyone here has at the start of collecting🤣

[Sidewinder]

8 minutes ago, FlanInTheFace said:

Lol I said the exact same thing, as I’m sure everyone here has at the start of collecting🤣

Same here, except I bought WW84 because I liked the artwork so much. So that rule went out the window fairly quickly 😂

[deckard99]

57 minutes ago, damships said:

I'm new to this hobby, but I really only plan on buying premiums for my absolute favorite films. Pretty much all the Nolan films and perhaps some other sci-fi classics I hold to high esteem. I'm more than willing to pay a reasonable extra amount for these via eBay, Mercari, Discord, etc. That's just the reality of the situation.

 

I'm still going to try as a Regular member, but if it's something you're passionate about I think it's good to set an expectation of just getting it via third party. If you're going in thinking you're absolutely getting it, there's only room for disappointment. 

 

I can see though if you're collecting like EVERYTHING, then it would be stressful as all hell. 

 

5 minutes ago, FlanInTheFace said:

Lol I said the exact same thing, as I’m sure everyone here has at the start of collecting🤣

 

I started out saying that as well! 🤣

 

You start out with singles and before you know it you want OCs more and more. Advanced signs of the syndrome are multiple OCs (2x or 3x) and collectors numbers! 🤪 

 

 

 

 

[Squeegie McGee]

1 minute ago, deckard99 said:

 

 

I started out saying that as well! 🤣

 

You start out with singles and before you know it you want OCs more and more. Advanced signs of the syndrome are multiple OCs (2x or 3x) and collectors numbers! 🤪 

 

 

 

 

I've yet to hit my OC phase... yet...

 

[RockinRaccoon]

2 minutes ago, deckard99 said:

 

 

I started out saying that as well! 🤣

 

You start out with singles and before you know it you want OCs more and more. Advanced signs of the syndrome are multiple OCs (2x or 3x) and collectors numbers! 🤪 

 

 

 

 

Ya I started off with slips and now I have 3 OCs: Blufans Beauty and the Beast, Blufans CoCo, and NovaMedia Grindhouse.  I still get slips but OCs are for when I like all the slips or the movie is one of my favorites.

[tr0llhatt]

I started straight at OCs.... what's next?!

[Squeegie McGee]

1 minute ago, tr0llhatt said:

I started straight at OCs.... what's next?!

[damships]

19 minutes ago, deckard99 said:

 

 

I started out saying that as well! 🤣

 

You start out with singles and before you know it you want OCs more and more. Advanced signs of the syndrome are multiple OCs (2x or 3x) and collectors numbers! 🤪 

 

 

 

 

That's what everyone keeps telling me! lmao. But my wife and I are saving for a house this year, so that's a good motivator lol.

[Boilersteel]

Good idea.  A new house to store all your OCs 😃 

[deckard99]

36 minutes ago, Boilersteel said:

Good idea.  A new house to store all your OCs 😃 

 

My house is made out of OCs. Turns out they are great insulation.

[Squeegie McGee]

4 minutes ago, waxenol said:

Glad to hear, my wife's probably gonna bury me with mine. I heard the afterlife can be chilly😬

In your case 

[FlanInTheFace]

1 hour ago, tr0llhatt said:

I started straight at OCs.... what's next?!

Probably starting your own premium company??🤣

[damships]

You guys are all awesome...but you're also all enablers. 😝

 

[Squeegie McGee]

28 minutes ago, damships said:

You guys are all awesome...but you're also all enablers. 😝

 

[ThereIsNoooSpoon]

3 hours ago, damships said:

I'm new to this hobby, but I really only plan on buying premiums for my absolute favorite films. Pretty much all the Nolan films and perhaps some other sci-fi classics I hold to high esteem. I'm more than willing to pay a reasonable extra amount for these via eBay, Mercari, Discord, etc. That's just the reality of the situation.

 

I'm still going to try as a Regular member, but if it's something you're passionate about I think it's good to set an expectation of just getting it via third party. If you're going in thinking you're absolutely getting it, there's only room for disappointment. 

 

I can see though if you're collecting like EVERYTHING, then it would be stressful as all hell. 

 

Well this sounds awfully familiar!

 

I started with steelbooks from zavvi, promised myself I was just gonna get my top 20 favorite movies or so and only in 4k. Didnt really go according to plan...

 

I even wrote a piece documenting how it all went downhill. Good luck! I'll check back on you in about a year to see how you're doing . May the force be with you!

 

 

On 8/17/2021 at 7:36 PM, ThereIsNoooSpoon said:

  Hide contents

ACT I

 

It all started when I came across some news about the Titans of Cult release for Mad Max (don't really recall where I saw it). This was back in June 2020, with the pandemic in its early stages and working from home,  left me with a lot more spare time and probably found it while checking some movie news on some random website. At this point a thought came to my mind, the one of having my top 20 movies in steelbook to display on a shelf. It sounded like a great idea since I LOVE MOVIES!

 

Hence started the hunt for my favorite stuff. First stop Zavvi. Looking for the Titans of Cult release of Mad Max led me there. In my head I had some rules I had to follow on this endeavour:

1.  I was gonna stick with my top 20 movies and no more.
2.  Only purchase 4k editions (meaning I would have to skip some of my real top 20s due to not having a 4k release yet)

Pretty simple rules right? 

 

I started snoopin around Zavvi's steelbook section, I saw Stallone's Lock Up and I thought to myself, weeeell definitely not in your top 20 but it's a pretty good action flick and kinda cheap. Kept scrolling, and along with Lock Up also got Gremlins, Inception and Alien along with the Titans of Cult Mad Max. Inception, Alien and Mad Max are all serious contenders to my top 20 but at this point I didn't really care anymore, you like it you buy it friend! Rule number 1 one broken 👍! Well done...

 

And to make my life easier Zavvi had just started putting out the Star Wars saga. I go like, damn the original trilogy is a classic, I'll get just those and ignore the rest 👀

 

 

I had just discovered my OCD with incomplete collections...

 

ACT II

 

Shortly after the first zavvi purchase I found the steelbooks subreddit, and looking at all those people sharing shiny pictures of their new steelbooks just made my addiction more severe. The steelbook library kept growing and soon I was all over ebay trying to find the treasured editions for my favorite movies. That second rule of getting only 4k releases had also gone down the drain quite fast...

 

 

Double dipping never even crossed my mind

 

 

Late July or early August, Zavvi announces the steelbook design for Goonies. I was super disappointed with the design... Some days later in the subreddit I see a post of another edition for Goonies with the original poster art, it was the Cinemuseum WEA. I was like I gotta have this, and immediately asked where I could get it, I was completely unaware of the premium stuff back then. The guy who made the post, felixmontoya92 (if you are reading this, forever grateful), he pointed me to Media Psychos Group Buys. And that was when I found this beautiful place , where we all share the same love for collecting premium physical media.

 

HELLO MEDIA PSYCHOS, GOODBYE MONEY

 

ACT III

 

So I start navigating the forum, figuring out my way around and I eventually join a couple of GBs, Goonies wasn't open yet. I guess I joined The Matrix and Scarface from Manta at the time.

But this was a whole new world for me, after going through all the retailers masterlists, I was like what have I been missing out!! At the same time I was thinking, ok I really gotta take it easy on these premium stuff because they are expensive...

 

One thing I promised myself I wouldnt do was to start buying MCU premiums. 23 movies and counting would just be too much... 

Then this happened

 

One other funny thing was when I came across One Cicks I was confused. What are these? I tought... Wait so people buy several copies of the same movie with the same steelbook in it 🤔?? No F****** way!

 

 

And for the great FINALE here's what I got over the past month...

 

 

 

This was it, the story of my descent deep into the rabbit hole.

 

TL;DR PREMIUMS NOT DRUGS!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by ThereIsNoooSpoon

[damships]

5 hours ago, ThereIsNoooSpoon said:

 

Well this sounds awfully familiar!

 

I started with steelbooks from zavvi, promised myself I was just gonna get my top 20 favorite movies or so and only in 4k. Didnt really go according to plan...

 

I even wrote a piece documenting how it all went downhill. Good luck! I'll check back on you in about a year to see how you're doing . May the force be with you!

 

 

 

 

Damn! I keep hearing the same thing. My wife is definitely gonna kill me if I fall down the rabbit hole. 

[Basil]

2 hours ago, damships said:

Damn! I keep hearing the same thing. My wife is definitely gonna kill me if I fall down the rabbit hole. 

 

basil 

[tr0llhatt]

9 hours ago, FlanInTheFace said:

Probably starting your own premium company??🤣

You jest, but this sounds like a perfect, albeit maybe a bit convoluted to reach my end goal; total world domination! (Got it in 1 @Squeegie McGee!)
It also has the benefit of making the world at large aware of my mspaint.exe brilliance, it's mind boggling really. My first release, and you heard it here first, shall be, since MAG is taking their sweet time; The Rock!

Prepare yourselves for a work of truly legendary art, to be revealed later of course

Edited February 6, 2022 by tr0llhatt

[Sidewinder]

1 hour ago, tr0llhatt said:

You jest, but this sounds like a perfect, albeit maybe a bit convoluted to reach my end goal; total world domination! (Got it in 1 @Squeegie McGee!)
It also has the benefit of making the world at large aware of my mspaint.exe brilliance, it's mind boggling really. My first release, and you heard it here first, shall be, since MAG is taking their sweet time; The Rock!

Prepare yourselves for a work of truly legendary art, to be revealed later of course

Hope it's an MP exclusive 😍

[llandingbay]

On 2/4/2022 at 9:32 AM, Basil said:

last manta was

oc 61

dl 26

sl 26

fs 26

 

 

Are you trying to make other people give up now to better your chances? 

[Sidewinder]

8 minutes ago, llandingbay said:

Are you trying to make other people give up now to better your chances? 

@Basil is referring to the ZSJL allocations, you can see the final lists linked below.

 

I very much doubt he's trying to make people give up now, the general message in this thread is that it's still worth entering a Manta group buy as you might get lucky. I managed to secure a DL for ZSJL as a regular member and was even around 20 minutes late to put my request in after it opened.

 

 

[Basil]

17 minutes ago, llandingbay said:

Are you trying to make other people give up now to better your chances? 

no not at all, just putting out the honest picture.

tbh i dont even collect that many mantas now

and manta have been pushing there own website for last year cutting all forums gbs numbers for a while now for that very reason 👍

 

but if you want i can lie if you prefer?

 

people who know me i always try tell the truthful picture to help all members out, even when that doesn't win me any favours  

 

 

basil 

[Basil]

if i where you join gb here if you get no joy then try direct afterwards that way you get 2 chances.

but always be prepared to cover all eventualities, still beats the bay 👍 

[LeGonze]

4 hours ago, Basil said:

no not at all, just putting out the honest picture.

tbh i dont even collect that many mantas now

and manta have been pushing there own website for last year cutting all forums gbs numbers for a while now for that very reason 👍

 

but if you want i can lie if you prefer?

 

people who know me i always try tell the truthful picture to help all members out, even when that doesn't win me any favours  

 

 

basil 

I think he was just joking… And I think it was funny 😅😅🤓