What can you buy for 5 bucks these days?

If you're a cheap cuss like me, you can buy a handful of fun!

Here's my haul from today:




I had to run errands in town today, and I hit two of my favorite places for bargains: Dollar General and Family Dollar. I usually have a policy that I won't spend over ten bucks in either place-- it's a challenge I made up to make being thrifty a bit more fun. It's a good tip for families trying to save money as well-- make saving money a game, and everyone comes out better in the end!

In Dollar General I found a weird book and a mini-figure.

This is Mr. Hands by Gary A. Braunbeck. I have no idea who Gary A. Braunbeck is, but when I saw the cover of the book I pretty much knew I was going to buy it. Turns out the book is about a toy that kills people. That seems oddly appropriate. The toy part-- not the killing part!!!





I want a toy of that guy on the cover. Looks like something itching to be made by a vinyl toy maker!

I also found a Darth Vader Unleashed figure. It was originally 3 bucks, and the blue sticker is supposed to be half-off of the price. It wound up ringing up as 75% off, so he was only 75 cents. Booyah! He doesn't really do much and only has one point of articulation (the right arm), but he looks pretty cool on my shelf, and that's OK by me. Toys don't always have to be super-articulated to be awesome!







At Family Dollar I found the real treasure of the trip: teensy tiny Terminators!!! These are basically scaled-down versions of the 1/18 scale Terminator: Salvation figures by Playmates toys.





They had all the packs there, but I only got the one with the T-600 and the T-700. For 3 bucks you get two tiny, articulated figures with pretty reasonable paint apps and attached weapons.







They are extremely well-sculpted for such small figures. The gunbelt on the T-600 even fits in the mini-gun and can be removed from the chamber! The T-700 has a piece of angle-iron sculpted into his mitt.





They each have 4 points of articulation: both shoulders and hips are swivel joints. They can't do the Macarena, but they can break dance like

champs!



The regular figures stand about 2.5 inches tall and the T-600 stands 2.75 inches tall. They are so cool looking standing on my shelf next to their big cousin.



Finally! A robot Infiltrator Buildman can look down on!



So... next time someone asks you what 5 bucks buys, tell them, "A killer toy, a Sith Lord, and two miniature metallic monstrosities!"