KISS – FIGURINES BOX SET I ADDED TO MY KISS COLLECTION!
KISS – It was a cold, dark and dank night this past Winter, when the family and I realized we had a very low supply of food and necessities to keep us alive. So, when a family of four knows they need the essentials to keep the cupboards and fridge stocked… a grocery store trip soon follows. Hello, Super Walmart. We took our sweet time inspecting and deliberating our vast grocery choices that Winter’s night. And why not? Once in awhile in life, a family of four has to stop to smell the groceries… you know?
Our grocery shopping experience was drawing to a close as we positioned ourselves and shopping cart into a check-out line, when all of a sudden, I hear my two daughters exclaim… KISS! Well, that word is Metal Music to my ears. Knowing that Walmart had some KISS merchandise hidden about the Super Store only made me all the more Metal giddy. My head turned to my daughters, then I saw my wonderful wife holding the most gorgeous KISS surprise! Check out the pics below… this is what the KISS figurine box set that I own looks like, both front and back!
Front:
The front of this box shows graphics that are slightly different from other retail store chains that carried this KISS “Super Stars” box set. This KISS box set was released in late 2009, when the KISS album Sonic Boom hit the shelves at Walmart. (I still have to take the price sticker off, located at the top right corner on box front).
Back:
(Photo’s and cropping of these KISS images were done by my graphic design guru wife and I thank her with a million Metal hugs!)
Apparently, when I had my head turned, my wife went into the trading card aisle of this Super Walmart… that is where this unreal cool KISS figurine box set was hiding. The price you might ponder? $20 (U.S.) is what it cost for a terrific piece of KISSTORY. If anyone thinks that is too pricey for this KISS gem, just think about the billions of dollars that BP is throwing away each day in the Gulf Coast. An alarming Metal perspective it is… a real Metal reality check I might add too.
Well, enough with BP… on with my KISS figurine story. I had a smile on my face like the Chesire Cat as I gazed at this KISS memorabilia. Guiding it from my wife’s hands onto the check-out conveyor was crucial… this was one item that could not be plopped down on top of the frozen foods. As this KISS box set made it’s way down the conveyor, I made certain no other item banged into it. Now, the next crucial step was getting it past the cashier’s hands without there being a mishap. The cashier that Winter’s evening was courteous and diligent in her handling of my KISS bounty. She deftly placed this KISS box set into it’s very own Walmart shopping bag too. Score!
With our shopping cart very much filled, (again, we really needed a major grocery order), I made certain that the bag containing my KISS booty was delicately placed on top of all the other bags. As we made our way out of this Super Walmart, concern quickly came over me… is it snowing? Could there be, (gasp), freezing rain? The last thing I needed was inclement weather descending upon my KISS box set, regardless if a paper-thin, plastic shopping bag was covering it. As we approached the exit doors, I noticed there was some very minor precipitation falling from the Winter sky… a very light snow. It was not enough however, to cause any Metal alarm or damage to my new found KISS item.
Placement of the bag, that contained this KISS box set, within the car’s trunk was critical. I could not afford another shopping bag the opportunity to fall or even lean against the KISS box set. No Metal way. My Metal mission was accomplished… the drive home proved a success with no bags moving about in the car’s trunk! Getting my new piece of KISSTORY into the house was now a piece of Metal cake. All of my corn dog worrying about transporting this KISS item from my beautiful wife’s hands at Super Walmart to our house was over. Phew. I have this KISS figurine box set on display now… in my Rock ‘N’ Roll room of course.
I truly thank my wife and daughters for scoping out KISS memorabilia at Super Walmart that Winter’s night… they are the heart, soul and light of my life.
LONG LIVE KISS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!
Stone.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
June 8, 2010 at 11:54 am
Great post. I’m a HUGE Kiss fan and own way too much Kiss memorabilia!
June 9, 2010 at 10:50 am
I also have a ton of KISS merchandise.
I haven’t seen these particular “band set” figures on sale here in Tokyo though. Probably a good thing…or I may have ended up donating more of my cash to Gene Simmons’ coffers! 😉
It’s a cool-looking set though.
June 9, 2010 at 1:45 pm
You haven’t seen this box set even at your Walmart in Tokyo? Maybe the “popularity” of KISS dried up the supply quickly? I know that the Super Walmart near me, had a KISS Kiosk only erected for a very short while… then the KISS merch was “moved about the store”, where I had to actually “hunt it down” so to speak. The KISS fleece blanket I bought was from the KISS Kiosk, then I later saw them in a bin with “Disney” blankets!
I did find the individual figures too, they were “hidden well” amongst the trading cards in the trading card aisle by the cash registers. The “box sets” of KISS Tour Edition trading cards disappeared real fast. The only “box version” I bought was Gene Simmons. At $10 (U.S) a pop, I did not want to spend $40 for all four… we all have to draw the Metal line somewhere!
I never bought the Mr. Potato Head KISS figures… I felt rather embarrassed holding one in the store actually. Now they will probably be worth a small fortune in 5 years too.
Stone
June 9, 2010 at 2:45 pm
There are no “Wal-Mart” stores in Tokyo.
Well, kinda, Wal-Mart bought controlling shares of the struggling Seiyu Dep’t store but it’s still “Seiyu”.
That said…anything can be bought in Tokyo so those figures are probably here.
There is a “KISS Store” in Tokyo. I haven’t been to it in awhile…they probably have those figures in stock.
(And I agree with you about those goofy KISS”Potato Heads”. There are a number of other KISS merchandise that I would never buy.)
June 10, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Whoa… there’s a KISS store in Tokyo? Man, now a trip to Tokyo in my Metal lifetime is looking even all the more sweeter to me! 🙂
I would be there so often… that… there would have to be a chapter of KISSaholics Anonymous started.
June 11, 2010 at 8:11 am
Yeah, come to Tokyo and I’ll show you where the store is.
June 11, 2010 at 11:13 pm
O.k., It will probably be a few years from now… and I will take you up on that offer! Plus… I want to go to a Yomiuri Giants Baseball game too. 🙂
Sadaharu Oh will always be a lasting Baseball legend… who broke and made records in Pro Baseball without any help from steroids.
Just like KISS, Sadaharu was at the top of the food chain in his profession.
Stone
June 12, 2010 at 6:21 am
You know about the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball team…and Sadaharu Oh?
June 14, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Oh yeah… Sadaharu Oh is as legitimate as sliced bread. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, when I was a HUGE sports memorabilia collector, I knew very well about what Mr. Oh had acheived in Japanese Professional Baseball. The pro baseball players out there in Japan are nothing to sneeze at. I only wish I got ahold of an Oh baseball card over the years… they are really rare to find in the States.
September 30, 2012 at 12:06 am
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