Marvel Heroes 2-Inch
Self-Vending Buildable Figures
Ah, to be a kid again.
I remember weekends, going to the grocery store with my mom, waiting for her while she was at the check out counter, staring intently at the various vending machines by the door. These magic machinces, with their glorious treasures, dispensing all varieties of sinfully sweet temptation and disposable plastic frivolty, calling to me, asking me to spend my hard earned lawn-mowing money for a few minutes of fun.
Now as an adult, I know that vending machinces with their point of purchase placement aren’t the cheapest way to get your jollies on. If you wanted candy, it was better to go into the supermarket and buy a kilo of them in a bag than to spend a quarter (I don’t know how much those babies cost now, but back then a quarter was a lot) for a single gumball. If it was those little, cheaply-made toys you wanted… well you were better off buying a Happy Meal or a box of cereal than you were feeding coins to one of those metal boxes.
The worst thing was, you never knew what you were getting. It could have been that bannana flavored gumball you wanted, but it just as easily have been that vile, black licorice one. There was no way to control what came out of the box short of feeding it your quarters until it was empty.
Which is probably what the vending machine companies count on.
The “Marvel Heroes 2-Inch Self-Vending Buildable Figures” are a set of licensed vending machine toys made in China. I saw them online about a year ago, and wanted them desperately. They were so unbelievably cute and made such wonderful desktop decorations that I hurriedly clicked the link to see how I might order a few. Sadly, it didn’t look like I’d be able to.
To read the happy ending, click HERE.
